They MFing killed it. What a band. Gary Wright plays keyboard-electric guitar solo. Mike Harrison sings with his soul. Spooky Two is one of my all time favorite albums.
This track appeared on the “Nice Enough to Eat” island records sampler album circa 1971 , this track was listed after the equally impressive At the Crossroads by Mott the Hoople. I had this album and in very early 1972 during a very dark period of my life these 2 tracks along with Woman by Free got me through, I just played them constantly at that time. Now listening and watching this in 2023 Mike Harrison’s voice sounds just as good as it did in the dark winter days of my life in 1972
Mike Harrison's vocals are pretty amazing-40 years on. I fact the whole band seem to have been stuck in a time warp and incredibly, are still playing like it's 1969-pretty awesome!
Mike had a brief comeback with a band called Saigon. Live in Carlisle is still one of my best 3 gigs ever. Got to play with him once in a jam session. By far the best musician I've had the honour to play with :-)
smashie2000 Sad to hear that. I used to work with Mike in the mid 90s but lost touch with him when he went off to join Hamburg Blues Band. When did he pass away?
Man, I love that Spooky Tooth! Looks like they have most of the "Spooky Two" lineup! I actually have an A&M pressing of that album from '69! I LOVE IT SO MUCH!
I knew these guys in '69. I worked on the road crew in California on a tour that also had the great Terry Reid opening. Luther Grosvenor was on lead guitar. He later became Ariel Bender when he joined Mott the Hoople and after that he was in Stealer's Wheel (Stuck in the Middle with You) for a while.
Gary´s keyboard solo (from 4:01) is a lection on simple, but most effective playing, everything directed toward the next level of cooking up the music, the listener . Oooooh, extremely intense performance from all.
Fantastic to see they are still Playing this all time classic!Love the single audience scream at 2:13,right on time no less,would of been great for a live recording if one was made here! Also,some very rare studio rehersal footage of Spooky Tooth performing this track no less,has just been uploaded to YT lately.Well worth checking out,great material and performance as well.A search for this track and studio should return the appropriate clip.Is somewhat lacking here without the Hammond.Thanks
OUT freaking STANDING...GREAT to see a reunion that is SO SHARP...tight stuff here kids !!! Saw Gary Wright in N.Ridgeville,OH in '74. A Month before the Dream Weaver stuff came out...just as fine here with Mike and this line-up,WOW...
Great song and awesome musicianship and perfomance from Mike, Mike and Gary! Progressive underground rules! Larkio Music LLC the best company in the world!!!
JP's version is arguably superior to the original ST version, but this particular live version is superior to all, as it seems! The synth guitar solo in particular was a joy to hear!
Some kids in Nevada were drinking, and doing drugs one night, (Who both had been mentally abused, and beaten by their fathers year's before) decided to make a suicide pact, the night that they did it, they just happened to be listening to Judas Priest "Stained Class" album which had the cover on it. After all was said, and done it was just an attempt by the parents to try, and get a ton of money by taking Priest to court.
Hey Mac , it was because they recorded this song and like you the daft wanker who tried to blame Judas Priest for their actions didn’t hear the original , they heard the priest version .
I think one of them was called Tommy Vance. He blew his face off but survived for a couple of years afterwards. A sad story all around. Priest were the scape-goats but as mentioned above, the were found not guilty. If you listen to the Priest version you can hear someone say "do it" just after the "better than me" in the first line of the second chorus. The case was based on that "subliminal" message. There's a really good documentary which may be on YT somewhere.
Better By You, Better Than Me is a Spooky Tooth song, precisely written by the keyboardist Gary Wrigth. The song, however, became famous for the cover made by the English metal group Judas Priest and for the 1990 trial in which the latter were accused of having led to suicide two young American boys, through a series of subliminal messages entered in the song that according to the accusation would be noticeable by listening to the record in reverse. At the end of the trial, the band was acquitted because, according to the judge, the hypothetical hidden messages are not due to anything other than a combination of sounds and words.
Holy crap! It's great hearing this stuff, being born in the 60's, somehow I'm relating - lol Gary Wright, Mr. Dreamweaver?? Great tune and yes, it's DIFFERENT!!! And yes, Rob Halford sings differently, but I'm digging this version as well, being a big Priest fan. Thanks Rock on!! \m/
Wow! They've still got it! The singers voice is still fantastic. Almost a forgotten band, they were a really big act back in the late 60s. They played Edgbastion University in Birmingham in 1968 and were supported by Black Sabbath. Only about 12 people came out of the bar & into the hall to watch the 'unknown' support band - the rest only wanted to see the mighty Spooky Tooth...
lol, funny cuz I've been listening to the song for 30 years and I ain't dead yet. That whole thing was absurd in nevada.. the old man can still rock, 5 stars. :)
@criminaltango I was listening to this song by Spooky Tooth years before Judas Priest had ever even met. The song was published on the band's 1969 album Spooky Two. Wikipedia: "Better By You, Better Than Me" is a song by the band Spooky Tooth and written by its keyboardist Gary Wright. It is also famous in the cover version by British heavy metal band Judas Priest.
Vocalists usually suffer the most drop-off in ability as they get older but Mike still has a lot of power and passion in his voice here. It's really an amazing thing.
I had no idea it was a cover when Judas Priest did it. Both versions rock. Ironic in a cool way, Spooky Tooth pioneered the duel lead keyboards and Judas Priest did the same thing in heavy metal with duel lead guitars.
This is one of the band's that I regret till this day for seeing them live. But they still sonnd great! Hope you have their early records on vinyl. Nathaniel Trone Timeless3 Hotep!
naa..you're thinking of Peter Frampton with Humble Pie.. The keyboard player in this band is Gary Wright, he wrote Dream Weaver after his stint with Spooky Tooth...Back in the early 70s, these guys were pretty tight music...a couple covers have come from their music, and Judas Priest did BBYBTM in the mid 80s...great seeing these encore performances by the old rockers...
Watching this great performance in 2024, and realising Mike Harrison (lead singer), Gary Wright (keyboardist) and Mike Kellie (drummer) all original members of Spooky Tooth have all now died. So sad and such an influential rock band who never got the acclaim their talent deserved. RiP🙏
Haai ... Aku "cukup banyak ' menyukai" musik2 jadul . . Yg "walau memang ' ku tak tau" sya'ir nya . . . /Komen anda ' bagus ! . . dan "merupakan ' pengetahuan" lah ' untuk ku . . .
In reply to GOLDENFLYWARRIOR-thank you for finally explaining what this song is about. And Vietnam was a lot longer than 10 years. WE sent the first US troops to vietnam BEFORE the end of the Korean War in 1953. Who knows, if it hadn't been for TV showing live killings of war for the first time, the Vietnam war could have gone on for many more years. I remember seeing footage as a kid-I was born in 66'.
Always loved this group. When Spooky Two came out I flipped. What songs! What vocals! RIP Gary and Mike.
They MFing killed it. What a band. Gary Wright plays keyboard-electric guitar solo. Mike Harrison sings with his soul. Spooky Two is one of my all time favorite albums.
This track appeared on the “Nice Enough to Eat” island records sampler album circa 1971 , this track was listed after the equally impressive At the Crossroads by Mott the Hoople. I had this album and in very early 1972 during a very dark period of my life these 2 tracks along with Woman by Free got me through, I just played them constantly at that time. Now listening and watching this in 2023 Mike Harrison’s voice sounds just as good as it did in the dark winter days of my life in 1972
Music is therapeutic if listening to the ones . I hope your doing well . Peace and love my friend
Wow, Mike Harrison still sounds awesome!
That doesn't happen very often. Such an exciting voice!
he does
What a voice!
Incredible action !
His voice is simply awesome. I really like Judas Priest's cover, but the version by ST is even better.
I loved this tune! Mike Harrison still sounding just as good as back in the day, wow!
Guys did a great job here . love it ! Took me years to realize Judas Priest didn't write it
Look at all the old guys in the audience, every one of them on a nostalgia trip.....you can't beat it.
Now it's eleven yrs later and you're an old guy.ironic huh?
This might be the best live recording I've ever heard. It sounds so HEAVY. Great song and Mike Harrison sounds fantastic.
this sounds better than the LP from '70, Harrison has gotten better with age it sounds like.
Dont agree but damn he sounds great here!
Just thinking the same - they were good though in the 70s saw em live at the Country club many times as my slightly used brain tells me
I don't agree, the original LP sounds much better!
Mike Harrison's vocals are pretty amazing-40 years on. I fact the whole band seem to have been stuck in a time warp and incredibly, are still playing like it's 1969-pretty awesome!
my uncle gave me his two Sppoky Tooth albums and now I have their CD's...rock-n-roll will never die
Mike had a brief comeback with a band called Saigon. Live in Carlisle is still one of my best 3 gigs ever. Got to play with him once in a jam session. By far the best musician I've had the honour to play with :-)
Im sure i use to work in the same place as Mike a company called Hays
What a vocalist, utterly effortless, a man born to sing! RIP Mike.
Harrison sings with such authority. Age certainly hasn't withered him.
Wow... still has the pipes... and the band.. at this show very tight.
We gotta keep going.
Rest in peace Mike :(
smashie2000
Sad to hear that. I used to work with Mike in the mid 90s but lost touch with him when he went off to join Hamburg Blues Band. When did he pass away?
Darren, on the 26th March, I couldn't make the funeral as it was back home for him.
how amazing is this????? sing it loud brother!!!!!
Man, I love that Spooky Tooth!
Looks like they have most of the "Spooky Two" lineup!
I actually have an A&M pressing of that album from '69!
I LOVE IT SO MUCH!
I do to' went to Woodstock 69' did you go?
Still have original album bit beat up now but I love it rip guys
I have the original. I'd never sell it.
New guitarist and bassist otherwise the same
Such a great band, three of them passed away far too early. Rock em upstairs Mike
extremely underrated band!!
This is the sort of stuff you really needed to see. Absolutely amazing.
One of my favorite bands, one must check out the spooky 2 cd, heavy organ, gut wretching vocals, a must for spookytooth fans
Mike Harrison still has it, great performance
Gary still resembles a miniature Gitmo inmate with a giant stylophone, and Mike Harrison still looks excrutiatingly cool :D
I knew these guys in '69. I worked on the road crew in California on a tour that also had the great Terry Reid opening. Luther Grosvenor was on lead guitar. He later became Ariel Bender when he joined Mott the Hoople and after that he was in Stealer's Wheel (Stuck in the Middle with You) for a while.
And it was preserved on the DVD "Groupies"
Oh Cool I don't know many that even remember this group but I loved them lol. thanks for the down load
Mike Harrison sounds as good as ever. Amazing!
Awesome...Incredible....i'm speechless ....great performance
Gary´s keyboard solo (from 4:01) is a lection on simple, but most effective playing, everything directed toward the next level of cooking up the music, the listener .
Oooooh, extremely intense performance from all.
One of the best super groups of all time
This is the first time that I have heard a song by tow different groups and I love both versions. Spooky and Judas
Fantastic to see they are still Playing this all time classic!Love the single audience scream at 2:13,right on time no less,would of been great for a live recording if one was made here!
Also,some very rare studio rehersal footage of Spooky Tooth performing this track no less,has just been uploaded to YT lately.Well worth checking out,great material and performance as well.A search for this track and studio should return the appropriate clip.Is somewhat lacking here without the Hammond.Thanks
Wow. These guys play same good sound like more than 30 years ago. It's still a damn great song.
Really strong performance!
They play better than 40 yrs. ago,
all three: Harrison, Kellie and Wright.
OUT freaking STANDING...GREAT to see a reunion that is SO SHARP...tight stuff here kids !!! Saw Gary Wright in N.Ridgeville,OH in '74. A Month before the Dream Weaver stuff came out...just as fine here with Mike and this line-up,WOW...
Awesome, loved them many years ago and still do.
Mike Kellie was a great drummer. He was in the Punk band " The Only Ones".
Great song and awesome musicianship and perfomance from Mike, Mike and Gary! Progressive underground rules! Larkio Music LLC the best company in the world!!!
Wusste garnicht, dass es diese Videos gibt von meinem Freund Mike, grossartig!
JP's version is arguably superior to the original ST version, but this particular live version is superior to all, as it seems! The synth guitar solo in particular was a joy to hear!
Gary Wright never really got the credit he truly deserved for his incredible songwriting.
such a good voice!!
How is it that Judas Priest got in trouble for this song, when they didn't even write it?
sick teens interpreted these lyrics. just finding reason and justice for senseless deaths. i think your question was rhetoric but felt like answering
Some kids in Nevada were drinking, and doing drugs one night, (Who both had been mentally abused, and beaten by their fathers year's before) decided to make a suicide pact, the night that they did it, they just happened to be listening to Judas Priest "Stained Class" album which had the cover on it. After all was said, and done it was just an attempt by the parents to try, and get a ton of money by taking Priest to court.
Hey Mac , it was because they recorded this song and like you the daft wanker who tried to blame Judas Priest for their actions didn’t hear the original , they heard the priest version .
I think one of them was called Tommy Vance. He blew his face off but survived for a couple of years afterwards. A sad story all around. Priest were the scape-goats but as mentioned above, the were found not guilty. If you listen to the Priest version you can hear someone say "do it" just after the "better than me" in the first line of the second chorus. The case was based on that "subliminal" message. There's a really good documentary which may be on YT somewhere.
Better By You, Better Than Me is a Spooky Tooth song, precisely written by the keyboardist Gary Wrigth. The song, however, became famous for the cover made by the English metal group Judas Priest and for the 1990 trial in which the latter were accused of having led to suicide two young American boys, through a series of subliminal messages entered in the song that according to the accusation would be noticeable by listening to the record in reverse. At the end of the trial, the band was acquitted because, according to the judge, the hypothetical hidden messages are not due to anything other than a combination of sounds and words.
This is the original song. It's written by Gary Wright (the keyboard player in red) and was originally on their second album "Spooky Two" in 1969.
Spooky 2, one of the best of its era. First heard this on the Island sampler "Nice Enough to Eat" in about 1970
I used to play this song inna cover band in the 70's, still rocks the house. Cheers!!!
Holy crap! It's great hearing this stuff, being born in the 60's, somehow I'm relating - lol Gary Wright, Mr. Dreamweaver??
Great tune and yes, it's DIFFERENT!!! And yes, Rob Halford sings differently, but I'm digging this version as well, being a big Priest fan. Thanks Rock on!! \m/
When music became magic........
I think that both versions are great !!
Still sounds amazing!!!
Wow!
They've still got it!
The singers voice is still fantastic.
Almost a forgotten band, they were a really big act back in the late 60s. They played Edgbastion University in Birmingham in 1968 and were supported by Black Sabbath. Only about 12 people came out of the bar & into the hall to watch the 'unknown' support band - the rest only wanted to see the mighty Spooky Tooth...
Wow. I'm an old school ST fan and this one sounds as good as the original!
just the greatest british rock band ever!!! No one else comes even close !
Gary Wright American
indémodable, les années passent, la voix du chanteur toujours au top
lol, funny cuz I've been listening to the song for 30 years and I ain't dead yet.
That whole thing was absurd in nevada..
the old man can still rock, 5 stars. :)
Incredible, I had never listened to Spooky Tooth playing the original. I still prefer Judas Priest's cover, but good sirs, you've earned my respect!
One of the first riffs I learned to play on my old 'Broadway' electric guitar, way back 196.....9? Sweet.
Must have been a great experience , was really into TERRY REID back then also ,all this stuff is timeless from then ...thanks..
Watching and listening to Spooky Tooth on Holloween. Cant get better.
Late night high school music for me.
Thanks for the memories. 1970 ish, I think this album came out.
simplement génial !!! que de souvenirs !!!!
Class act. The old boys still have it
Simply Brilliant! As good, if not better than the original recording!
fitzpatrickken aaaa
Man is this for real, what a survivor...
voice is great
Great Band 🔥⚡🎹🎸😎
@criminaltango I was listening to this song by Spooky Tooth years before Judas Priest had ever even met.
The song was published on the band's 1969 album Spooky Two.
Wikipedia: "Better By You, Better Than Me" is a song by the band Spooky Tooth and written by its keyboardist Gary Wright. It is also famous in the cover version by British heavy metal band Judas Priest.
peterpanama1 Actually Judas priest originally formed in 1969! Coincidence???
Important band, which has influenced many other bands.
Monsters-Loved them from their beginning !!!!
good Lord, Mike Harrison sounds inCREDIBLE! and just RADIATES confidence... amazing!
this guy has an awesome voice...I'm impressed! All this time I thought it was a JP song
You guys are the balls....
Please give us more!!!
a classic !
Vocalists usually suffer the most drop-off in ability as they get older but Mike still has a lot of power and passion in his voice here. It's really an amazing thing.
Wow, wish I still had my old Nice Enough To Eat! compilation.
I had no idea it was a cover when Judas Priest did it. Both versions rock. Ironic in a cool way, Spooky Tooth pioneered the duel lead keyboards and Judas Priest did the same thing in heavy metal with duel lead guitars.
Good point
And this is amazingly faithful to the '60's original.
I wish they'd play the U.S. Spooky really is a great band.
Since now, never heard the original... Also real great! Old men still keep on rocking!
It’s amazing how good Mike Harrison is here..
This is one of the band's that I regret till this day for seeing them live. But they still sonnd great! Hope you have their early records on vinyl. Nathaniel Trone Timeless3 Hotep!
...great old times...i'm just sad that they don't play in the US...
first heard this on a sampler album in the early 70s, loved it then & they still sound as good now
naa..you're thinking of Peter Frampton with Humble Pie..
The keyboard player in this band is Gary Wright, he wrote Dream Weaver after his stint with Spooky Tooth...Back in the early 70s, these guys were pretty tight music...a couple covers have come from their music, and Judas Priest did BBYBTM in the mid 80s...great seeing these encore performances by the old rockers...
wow - they still sound good! what a great band...
Watching this great performance in 2024, and realising Mike Harrison (lead singer), Gary Wright (keyboardist) and Mike Kellie (drummer) all original members of Spooky Tooth have all now died. So sad and such an influential rock band who never got the acclaim their talent deserved. RiP🙏
Haai ... Aku "cukup banyak ' menyukai" musik2 jadul . . Yg "walau memang ' ku tak tau" sya'ir nya . . . /Komen anda ' bagus ! . . dan "merupakan ' pengetahuan" lah ' untuk ku . . .
Какая мощная вещ, первый раз я её услышал в исполнении Джудас Прист, спустя 40 лет эффект тот же, пронимает до кома в горле !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He still sounds WONDERFUL!!! ROCK ON, GUYS!!! x0!
Still awesome !
Spooky Tooth sounded really fine for being "long in the tooth".
what a voice ! still ! on of the best bands ever.
Great rock band.
Great.---.where has it been..they still rockin...one of my favorites with evil woman and .wa9ting for the wind...***
What a fucking incredible piece of music.
com certeza a melhor música da banda.
I always remember this song from the album nice enough to eat great album on the island label
same..was a great album!..think I still have it in a cupboard somewhere
i luv it seen these as the vip"s at newcastle gogo and enjoyed them then
In reply to GOLDENFLYWARRIOR-thank you for finally explaining what this song is about. And Vietnam was a lot longer than 10 years. WE sent the first US troops to vietnam BEFORE the end of the Korean War in 1953. Who knows, if it hadn't been for TV showing live killings of war for the first time, the Vietnam war could have gone on for many more years. I remember seeing footage as a kid-I was born in 66'.
They are up in years here, but sound very nice. One of the few groups that sound just their albums.