NSFW (Language Warning) - Think Twice!

Jackie Wilson & LaVern Baker - Think Twice ("Version X")

(EDITOR'S NOTE - I have the internet now in my new place, but a snafu by the moving company has our official move delayed until this afternoon. Rather than sit in an apartment full of boxes we have come to the new place to cool our heels. I decided to do a post today, but due to my need to swear at people for their incompetence I picked a selection that has the saltiest language of anything I'll probably ever post on the blog. This is not safe for work and is not for anyone who may be offended by strong language and adult themes.)

One of the greatest things about the CD era is that lots of unreleased and pretty difficult-to-find material is now available for fans of any kind of music, as record companies have mined the vaults of many of the great and not-so-well-known labels to create label retrospectives, provide bonus tracks for artist compilations, and the like. Today's selection has appreared on some Jackie Wilson comps. The issued version of "Think Twice" was an R&B hit for Wilson and '50s R&B legend LaVern Baker, whose '60s stint at Brunswick unfortunately did not return her to the heights she had enjoyed with Atlantic in the prior decade. This unissued "Version X" finds Wilson and Baker exchanging X-rated lines that cover everything from basic insults to drug use to sexual practices. Although such dirty tomfoolery has appeared on various compilations, what makes "Version X" work is that when Baker and Wilson aren't cracking each other up with their lines, they actually sing the song with the full extent of their talent (check out Wilson's singing of the line "bye bye ho" at the end of the second verse). It's a trip.