By John Katsilometes Las Vegas Review-Journal
The Billy F. Gibbons-Morris Day collaboration has turned out about how you’d expect.
It is epic.
Gibbons is certainly pleased with the result.
“Morris Day’s soulful nature and unflagging witticisms bring some satisfying foot-stomping to the fore,” Gibbons said in a phone chat Friday afternoon just before soundcheck for a show at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City.
Gibbons was referring to “Too Much Girl 4 Me,” the new single from Day’s upcoming “Last Call” album. The song dropped Friday, more than two years after Gibbons and Day teased the partnership in a social media post (they were shopping for a six-pack of beer and Day cigars at a convenience store in L.A.)
Among Day’s witticisms, “When she caught my eye, I had ta comply!”
Gibbons says the two are now scouting sites for a proper video to go with the single. The audio YouTube clip was released Friday, along with the song. Survey points include locations near Boulder City, and also Pioneer Saloon in Goodsprings (the former mining town of 250 residents about 40 minutes from the Strip).
As Gibbons explains, “We’re looking for some unusual rock formations.” The guitar legend’s pairing with Day, frontman of The Time, is such an unusual formation.
The two united unexpectedly. Day had been working on his new album, while contacting possible partners, dating to the fall of 2019. In January 2020, Gibbons bumped into Will Luke and Courtney Benson of Morris Day Management at the Grammy Awards after-show party at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
The two execs told Gibbons that Day was working on a new release and was looking for guest artists. Snoop Dogg was on the shortlist, and he’s also on the album with “Used to Be The Playa.”
Benson asked Gibbons if he had a song that would be a fit for Day’s project.
“I always have a song,” Gibbons said.
Gibbons immediately thought of something a friend said that day, when Gibbons asked about his girlfriend. The couple had broken up, with the friend telling Gibbons, “She was too much girl for me.”
“A bell went off,” said Gibbons, still prolific at age 72. He found his frequent writing partner Tom Vickers, famous for his work with Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Parliament-Funkadelic. “Too Much Girl 4 Me” was the result, recorded at Snoop’s Dogg Pound studio in L.A..
The full album is due Nov. 11, and is intended to be Day’s final release. At age 64, he says he’s retiring.
Day was confident the two would produce a great song. As he told Rolling Stone, “We both obviously have a great love for music, and doing things out of the box. That’s what I love about the song ‘Too Much Girl 4 Me.’ Billy’s production on this is not what you would expect him to do. He managed to bridge his and my genre together to create this song. I was literally impressed working with him every day.”
Day explained the artists’ mutual admiration. “He has a love for my music as well. It’s safe to say I believe his favorite song of mine is ‘The Bird,’ and my favorite ZZ Top songs are ‘La Grange’ and, of course, ‘Sharp Dressed Man.’”
We’ll take that medley, with video, anytime.
complete article: https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainment/entertainment-columns/kats/billy-gibbons-morris-day-unleash-too-much-girl-4-me-2662003/
