Friday, August 12, 2011

Weekend Listomania: Special The Song Remains the Same (or Something) Audio/Video Edition

Well, it's Friday, and you know what that means. Yes, my Oriental cash on the barrelhead consultant Fah Lo Suee and I are off to...frankly, I got nothing. This whole bankster crap is just depressing the hell out of me; I mean, wouldn't it be really great if we had a liberal President dealing with all of it?

But, of course, we don't. And that being the case, and because things will almost certainly be a little sleepy around here until our return, here's a fun little project to help us all wile away the idle hours.

Post Elvis Pop/Rock Song That You'd Hope Would Have Been Covered A Lot, But For Whatever Reason Hasn't or Has But Only Rarely!!!

No arbitrary rules whatsoever, you're welcome very much.

And my totally top of my head Top Six is/are:

6. XTC -- Senses Working Overtime




I have a theory as to why XTC isn't the biggest band on the planet, and it basically comes down to the fact that Andy Partridge's slightly adenoidal vocal stylings are, shall we say, an acquired taste. In any case, this song should by all rights be a standard, but as far as I know the only serious cover version of it is the above one by the perhaps overly perky Mandy Moore. Say what you will about the little Jeebus tart -- she can, in fact, sing, and to my ears anyway it sounds like she actually gets what the song is about.

5. Spirit -- Nature's Way



And speaking of gorgeous blah blah blah. Does it strike anybody else as odd that along with the dearth of covers, it's never (to my knowledge) been used for a commercial? Or a PSA by an environmental group?

4. Marah -- It's Only Money, Tyrone




Bruce Springsteen fronting The Replacements in an outtake from Exile on Main Street, and it doesn't get any cooler. Seriously -- if I had a loud guitar-driven band at the moment I would be using a cover of this to open our sets. So why hasn't anybody else gotten the message?

3. The Beatles -- Hey Bulldog



The Fabs' most overlooked, kickass riff-rocker, and you'd think it would be more ubiquitous. Fanny's 1971 cover version is the only one I can think of without Googling, and alas, like everything these admittedly pioneering gals did, it strikes me as sort of a dancing bear thing, i.e., it's not that it's done particularly well, but that it's done at all.

2. Thin Lizzy -- Old Flame




This one just slays me; 60s-derived r&b romanticism at its most poignant, and the guitars just make me float away. Why this wasn't the followup hit to "The Boys Are Back in Town" is a mystery that may never be solved, as is why somebody hasn't covered the thing.

And the Numero Uno They're (Not) Playing Our Song Song of all time clearly is....

1. The Rolling Stones -- You Got the Silver




A serious candidate for the Stones' most exquisite ballad ever, regardless of whether it's Mick or Keith singing it (the above is an absolutely devastating outtake alternate mix featuring Mick, for those of you keeping score). Pop Quiz: How come the song itself isn't as over-exposed as, say, "Wild Horses"?

Alrighty then -- what would your choices be?

19 comments:

Faze said...

Great choices! And you're so right about XTC's biggest deficit being "that voice". I love XTC, but usually poop out on the Partridge adnoidals about halfway through each album. (A future list-o-mania might be "groups that would have been a lot more successful if they'd had a better singer").

Here's a song I think shoulda been covered a lot more:
the Blues Project's http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OJdq5zdj14&feature=fvsr

steve simels said...

Couldn't agree more about "Fly Away," but then again it's no secret that I think the BP are probably the most underrated group ever.
:-)

Sal Nunziato said...

Susan Tedeschi does a not bad cover of "You Got The Silver" from a few albums back. Have you heard Joe Jackson's "Senses Working Overtime" or "Mayor Of Simpleton?" Kinda great.

I'll get back to you with my choice in a bit.

Shriner said...

That Mandy Moore covers album is great. *Completely* changed my mind about her as a singer.


And why "Do Ya" hasn't been covered often enough, I don't' get it (he said sarcastically...)

edward said...

I was pretty sure Nature's Way had been used in an ad and this confirms it:
http://zeegrooves.blogspot.com/2011/03/spirit-natures-way.html

Of course, you don't have Winn Dixie up there, so there is no reason for you to have every heard it.

Peter Fleischman said...

Even if I had heard the Mick version of "You Got the Silver" first, I think I'd still favor Keith's London whine.

steve simels said...

A little slow today, it seems.


What -- you were expecting maybe a movie listomania this week?
:-)

Blue Ash Fan said...

I'm not really big on covers, so I'm having trouble getting my mind around this one. But two songs did jump out at me, both of which have been covered only once to the best of my knowledge.

Abracadabra (Have You Seen Her?) -- Blue Ash
Can't Get It Out of My Head -- ELO

The Records covered Blue Ash (gotta get my Blue Ash plug in) and Fountains of Wayne released a live version of the ELO tune.

Other than that, I'm tapped. I feel that the originals typically tend to blow the covers away.

FD13NYC said...

The group Boxer fronted by Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall did a fine cover of Hey Bulldog from the LP Bloodletting 1979. Worth a listen.

steve simels said...

I didnt know there was a second Boxer album. I'm a fan of the first, or at least a couple of songs from it....

dave™© said...

Gee, I actually LIKE Andy's voice.

Definitely agree about "Hey Bulldog." Another classic from Lennon that he knocked off in about three minutes. So much of his best work was like that...

pete said...

Susan Tedeschi does a great cover of Dylan's "Lord, Protect My Child." A Dylan tune I'd love to hear covered is "In the Summertime."

Haik Mendelovich said...

I never understood why there aren't a million covers of the Beatles Revolution 9. I mean, really, it's a classic and all...

If you like covers (some really, really obscure covers), check this - it's a streaming station of nothing but covers:

http://somafm.com/listen/

(Just go to Covers, and pick your stream type.)

steve simels said...

Haik --

Thanks for the link; I'm gonna go check out that covers channel pronto.

side3 said...

"Revolution 9" has been covered by The Shazam (with great additions!)!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glrYaNqOPDU

I never thought in a million years I would buy a Mandy Moore album, but I did....the album she did with Mike Viola is fab.

That Thin Lizzy track is great, and I cannot agree more with "Natures Way". Such a classic!

Faze said...

So how about Thin Lizzy? They were completely off my radar when they came out, so I'm not sure ... should I like them? If I want to appreciate Thin Lizzy, what should I listen to? Is it worth pursuing?

FD13NYC said...

It sure is Faze, you should get your hands on a copy of Jailbreak from 1976, a classic. Then, pick up a "best of" you won't be sorry. Probably one of the best rock bands ever.

Faze said...

FD13NYC:
Thanks for the tip. I'll check out that "Best of ..."

Stefanie Magura said...

One song which I would like to see covered, also by the Beatles, is "Yes it is." Reading about this post made me think of that. I also just thought of the fact that there's a little possible irony in listing Beatles songs on a songs that should be covered more list. Lol. I'll have to think of other ideas.