“With A Little Help From My Friends” with Mike Massé – Collaboration
With A Little Help From Our Friend!
Back in 2019, our musician friend Mike Massé was touring the UK and had invited us to do a few songs with him that day at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool. You already know our version of ‘Africa’ by Toto, but we never shared our rendition of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ – until today!
We had a look at the old recording and video and decided that it was well worth sharing in the MLT Club! Mike will also post it to his YouTube Channel soon but for now it’s a little MLT Club exclusive. 🙂 Mike is playing live quite a lot so if you ever want to catch one of his shows, have a look here.
Thanks to Mike for inviting us up on stage that evening! Everything is more fun with a little help from our friends! 🙂
Mona & Lisa
Lisa and Mona,
It would be well worth thinking about to do a tour with Mike Masse! I’ll bet it would boost both Mike’s & your career by gaining each other’s audience! I’m sure you would know exactly which songs to do and the order of appearance. Either Mike (or you two,) would open the show with several songs, & then do several altogether.
Then have whoever didn’t open the show go next. INTERMISSION, then separate and finally together again! I would love to see your performance, as I’m sure all of your fans would also! Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck, (although luck is less a factor than your sensational talent!)
I wish you “All the Best” in the next stages of your career! — Bud
Mike Masse is the perfect person to sing with as lead or back-up. He can sing anything, but so can Mona and Lisa, you were great!!! Stay Groovy!!!!!
Absolutely perfect! Everything from Mona’s 12 string to Mikes rhythm to Lisa’s bass and then you add the vocals! Wow all I can say is thank you for sharing with us. This is another masterpiece. Love and Hugs from Bill and Maddie
I am glad there was an audience.
Mona, Mike & Lisa should tour someday.
And be sure to make it across the pond.
Very nice job.
Cheers
Thank you, thank you for this life interpretation with Mike! More of that!
Words of Wisdom
“Music is a higher revelation, than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.”
Ludwig Van Beethoven
Another great Friday!! I’m kind of a fan of the duo sessions… but it is certainly nice to have a change! I’m sure both of you enjoy playing with other people! And we certainly enjoy watching!🤓
Love it, Love it, Love it 🥰 I really enjoy seeing you collaborate with other musicians. More surprises?
Lisa & Mona,
I really enjoyed your performance here & would like to hear more from your Concert with Mike! (But with songs released one by one instead of all together. Keep us in suspense!) I’ll take a slightly different stance on my feelings here. Everyone’s opinion is valid of course, & this is how I feel. I know there are lots of MLT fans who are also musicians!
I’ve been a huge Beatle fan for decades, & also a fan of Paul, John, George & Ringo’s solo careers! And as much as I LOVE the Beatles, I still love their solo careers, especially Paul’s, just as much as the Beatles! For them to be in that HUGELY popular group, and to then go out & put out MORE Great Music Individually was a very difficult thing to do!
Also, I’ve enjoyed seeing many of the Beatle look & sound-alike groups. There’s definitely a place for them, to fill the void of not seeing the Beatles as they were in the ’60’s. They’re entertaining, but of course none of them are AS GOOD as the Beatles were. And there’s still nothing like seeing Paul & Ringo live!
Then we have the Mona Lisa Twins, who are my absolute FAVORITE DUO (& Quartet, when they have a group,) that cover Beatle songs! I don’t like them BETTER than the actual Beatles. But I love them JUST AS MUCH! And that is high praise for anyone!
It has to be scary enough to try covering Beatles songs, but to take these great songs & make them Their Own as the MLT’s do, is on a higher level than ANY of the Imitation Beatle groups — (who I still like!) Then for Mona & Lisa to cover SO MANY other ’60’s & ’70’s groups so wonderfully AND write & record their own songs on such a high level is simply ASTOUNDING! And for the record, as much as I enjoy & appreciate the Beach Boys, (apologies to all their fans,) I DO love the MLT’s version of “God Only Knows” better than the original recording, which is also very fine!
I think Mike is an awesome singer/guitar player & hope I will see him live one day! However, as homely a voice as Ringo possesses, I still prefer his vocal on “With A Little Help From My Friends!” Somehow, his voice is perfect for all his songs, & is hard to copy! Now Mike certainly doesn’t need to try and copy Ringo! He has a great voice “In His Own Write!” ESPECIALLY on the song “Africa,” which he & our “Dear Lassies” did to such perfection! — WOW! Mike & the MLT’s version of “If I Needed Someone” is great too!
So overall, I honestly can’t say that anyone can replace the BEATLES, but I LOVE THE MONA LISA TWINS just AS WELL as the BEATLES! You can disagree with me if you like; no offense taken! They just have a certain MAGIC AURA about them that the Beatles still have — COLLECTIVELY and INDIVIDUALLY!
Mona & Lisa/Lisa & Mona each have so many Unique & Outstanding Qualities that have earned our Respect, Admiration & Love for everything they do! Luckily, what we enjoy from them is exactly what they LOVE to do in life! I’m just so happy that we have them with us in the World today! Thanks ladies once again for sharing your talents with all of us!!
— Bud Jackson
It is always a treat when you play with Mike Masse. I remember the video in which you were preparing for this show, it was time very well-spent.
It’s been a rough week…thank you for putting a smile on my face!
Very true….. MLT and Mike sound awesome together!!
Hope you’re doing well….. When the news gets me depressed, I start watching MLT on You Tube (I just became a member to “the grooviest place on the internet”) and now I always go to bed in a good mood.
What I want to know is why did you wait to release this??? It’s Great!
The 3-part harmony is fabulous. It’s pretty amazing to hear Mona hit the lower harmony notes so nicely when we all know she can hit the high ones too. I love the way the three of you switch from one voice to three, then back to the two twins, it really adds to the song, as it did in “Africa”.
And it looked like you were just having fun!
Haven’t heard that song in awhile. You guys and Mike are excellent musicians, but the harmonies were so tight! I bet the electricity in the auditorium was thick. I wish I had been there. Peace be
What a great performance! Wow. Lisa “Macca” Wagner: singing those high harmonies while doing those Macca base lines that walk al over the place. You never know how hard that is until you try it yourself -in front of an audience, with no ‘redo’-
And they all make it look like a stroll in the park.
Mark that one ‘FAB’.
You absolutely amaze me. You are each strong enough to be solo artists and yet you perform as an incredibly dynamic duo… as well as bringing greater excellence to artists who have already achieved their own measure of recognition like Mike Masse’. Beyond all of that fantastic talent, you are both so very aware, so very committed to your art and equally committed to being very excellent human beings. There is so much more to the MonaLisa Twins than just their music… you are a bright Light at the right time in our World. I personally thank you for the moments of peace, optimism and joy that you bring to my life. I love you both as well as your wonderful parents…
What a great video!!! I really enjoyed this. What are the chances of seeing the whole concert? (I had to ask) Just like the one in 2007.
My new favorite version. Joe who?
Ringo who? 😀
OK, I guess I should be more specific…my new favorite cover.
Nice to hear Lisa tackle one of the most iconic bass lines by McCartney.🙂
Oh Lirdy….. How that was #MLTBUZZLUVGROOVIFIED Frikkin Awesome … So Organically Complimentary Interwoven Poetically from The Trio Harminization, right on down to the Instrumentation…. That song choice just reverberated, eminated Positivity-fied Power two fold and beyond… Thankyou fir such an inspirational way to make one’s Friday and Wknd kick start off …am in full bloom of smiles, like tulios here in Ottawa, that gave bloomed/blossoming a tad earlier than normal, ( hoping they’ll still be in peak form by the time Ottawa Tulip Festival comes … in a week or so ) … Kudos on a Stellar performance and rendition… If Mike ever comes to Ottawa, and I’m able to afford/can g, I’d certainly would love to see him live. 💎🫶🤘🏻😎🌷⚘️
Thank you for sharing this fantastic performance with us. It’s a great version of this Beatles Classic. Just like in “Africa” and in “If I need someone”, the harmonies with Mike Massé are amazing.
Very Very Nice !
Speaking of getting by with a little help from my friends.
Let’s get Mona & Lisa cover of, God Only Knows. To 2 million views !!
That was really nice. Mike is a great singer and your voices sound so good together. Thank you for sharing the video with us.
Wonderful performance MLT! We used to play that song but we didn’t sound that good! Mona 👱♀️ and 👩🦰 Lisa are the best!🎸🎤💖
Thanks. I enjoyed that. I’ve got my Friday face on – smiling. Mike’s repertoire dovetails nicely with yours, as does his singing.
Mike has been coming to Ann Arbor, in recent years . He plays a room that holds 400 people, so about the same size as the Epstein Theatre, called The Ark.
Sure enough, he’s scheduled to be back here on 31st May. $30-38/seat. That’s at least 3 years in a row for him to come here in May, iirc, so it must be working for him. Maybe I’ll go this time and see if I can talk to him.
That would be great! I’m sure he’ll come out after the show to take photos and talk to everyone, we did that in Liverpool too! 🙂
First there was If I Needed Someone. And now there is With A Little Help From My Friends. Tell me Mona and Lisa accompanied Mr. Masse on only two songs at that performance. Don’t these Twins just love to tease?
Wonderful! I to always wondered if you sang more than Africa with Mike Masse you compliment each other exceptionally well thank you for sharing what more delights up your sleeves lay in store?
What a great cover! It brings back memories from my teen years.
Always great to hear Mona and Lisa joined by another musician and another voice! It really expands their sonic universe.
I noted this a couple of years ago, but I’ll do so again here. A few weeks before Sgt. Pepper was released, Jefferson Airplane had a hit in which Grace Slick asked, “Don’t you want somebody to love? Don’t you need somebody to love?” In With a Little Help from My Friends, Ringo answers these questions verbatim.
Could this be a deliberate nod from one group to another? I haven’t been able to find any discussion of this topic on-line.
What a wonderful Friday morning pick me up! That is one superb trio!
I’ve always loved that number – now I love it even more. Brilliant. Is set to Play on repeat now…
Thank you very much😃
Ohhhhh!!! That is lovely! When you guys jump in to accompany Mike, your harmonies just explode onto the stage with rich colour, the back and forth with Mike’s great singing is absolutely delightful. The pull of your beautiful harmonies can really be felt, it’s wonderful. I remember in that little video when Michaela captured you both practicing for this in your room and you were singing this song, I always wanted to hear it and waited a long time, and so thank you for this absolutely delightful version. Love it!
That practice video was posted not long after I joined the club, and really humanized Mona and Lisa for me early on. What other professional musicians would be okay with letting the world see them like this?
The Warning. 😀
I agree David, it is so special and fulfilling to be invited into their lives. Feels like I grew up with them over the years.
Jung you always make such great posts. I may need to just start posting “Ditto what Jung wrote”, without even looking at what you wrote.
Hey, thanks for the kind words Stephen. Always enjoy reading your comments too here week after week. 👍😊
Wonderful! I always wondered if you sang more than Africa with Mike that night. Are there any more surprises coming from then? Just an aside about Lisa’s base playing. I find it remarkable how well she played and how intricately she moved over the frets with very little background in the instrument. Such a talent! And Mona banging on the 12 string like a boss! I am continually in awe of you ladies!
I think Lisa is a totally underrated guitar player. I think that her play in “Africa” on the base pretty much stole the end of the song (watch Mike smile), and her playing the base was a total surprise to me. Was that Papa’s base Lisa?
Hello Ladies,
What a way to kick off a weekend! An Iconic Beatles song, at The Epstien no less.
So glad that Mike asked you all to sit in on a few songs. Your voices certainly resonate thru the venue. Thanks for sharing Ladies! Certainly worth sharing! ❤️ 😍 💛♥️
Terrific version with great backing vocals from Mona and Lisa copying John and Paul! Well worth escaping from the vault.
I’ve been waiting to hear this for years! – Ever since I saw the Behind-the/Scenes video from Michaela of Mona and Lisa rehearsing to play with Mike Masse. It’s better than I imagined; Lisa magnificently propelling the amazing bass line, Mona’s twelve strong mastery and taking the low harmonies. Absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing, Mona and Lisa! It was worth waiting for…
Awesome! Thanks for sharing this.
Mike’s grin says it all. Groovy!
Can’t wait to watch this later on the TV at home. Ugh, back to work.
TGIF!
JP
What can you say about it? Simply beautiful – like all your covers!
Bravo bravo what a great version of the song I love it thanks for sharing it