Covers Week Has Risen From the Grave! (Part Four): Something Sinister This Way Comes

From 1976, please enjoy The Fabulous Sheepskins...

...and the most deliberately creepy cover of a Herman's Hermits song ever heard by sentient mammalian ears.



The Sheepskins were a sort of Los Angeles glam-rock collective which featured a couple of rock critics and also friend of PowerPop Kirk Henry, whom attentive readers will recall as a member of cult band Christopher Milk. In any case, I'm not sure I prefer their version of "I'm Into Something Good" to the original, but I think it has a certain je ne sais quoi that truly says "I don't know what" and I definitely dig it.

Have a great weekend, everybody!

We Interrupt Covers Week For a Commercial Message

Attentive readers are doubtless aware of friend of PowerPop Joe Benoit (pictured below with some grizzled old timer)...

...who happens to be, coincidentally, a ridiculously talented singer/songwriter/guitarist whose praises I have sung here on numerous occasions.

Joe recently released a four-song EP...

...featuring this quite glorious tune...



...and now he's getting ready to release a full-length album -- ON HIGH QUALITY VINYL! With a real album cover (the kind you used to clean your weed on) and everything!!!

It'll have 9 songs (including the 4 from the EP); I've heard them all and they're killer, instant power pop classics every one of them.

Unfortunately, a project like this costs money, so Joe has started a Kickstarter campaign. At the moment, he's close to reaching half of his goal; I've contributed, and so should you.

So come on, kids -- be a patron of the arts! It's fun, and plus you'll actually be doing something socially valuable, which is rare in these troubled times.

Help make Joe's album a reality -- just click HERE and pledge whatever you can! You won't be sorry!

And tell 'em PowerPop sent you!!!

Covers Week Has Risen From the Grave! (Part Four): Special "In the Autumn of My Madness" Edition

From 2002, please enjoy that old lemon squeezer Robert Plant and his splendid cover of Moby Grape's magnificent "Skip's Song" (a/k/a "Seeing").



The definitive version of this is on Moby Grape 69; Plant is actually covering an earlier Grape demo that first appeared on Columbia/Legacy's now criminally out of print Grape box set, and you can read what I had to say about it back in the day at the Magazine Formerly Known as Stereo Review on page 92 HERE.

In any case, Plant (to his credit) is a huge Grape fan; this is actually the second cover he did of their stuff (the earlier is the wonderful "Naked If I Want To"). I don't think either of them live up to the originals, but hopefully the royalties helped their composer Skip Spence at the end of his troubled life.

Covers Week Has Risen From the Grave! (Part Deux): Special "Hey, It's Better Than Being Stood Up" Edition

From 1968, and his absolutely wonderful post-Lovin' Spoonful solo album, please enjoy the great Zal Yanovsky and his fabulous guitar take on Floyd Cramer's piano instrumental hit "Last Date."



That whole album is a riot, BTW, particularly the title song and an utterly demented cover of "Little Bitty Pretty One," which I may post later in the week.

Covers Week Has Risen From the Grave! (Part One): Special "Clare De Lune Rose" Edition

From 2019, please enjoy the incredible Joshua Lee Turner and an absolutely magisterial cover of Nick Drake's sublime "Pink Moon."



You can find out more about this kid (and hear more of his stuff, which is largely beyond belief good) over at his webiste HERE.

[h/t Matt Mitchell]

Bride of Covers Week (Part 4): Special "Heavy Metal Meets Folk-Rock and Then They All Go Out to the Pub For Dinner" Edition

From 1970, please enjoy The Move and their staggering cover of Tom Paxton's "Last Thing on My Mind."



Quite a reimagining of the song, I think; let's just say that it's usually performed in a gentler, more bucolic style. I'd give my right arm to know if the song's composer ever heard it.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

Bride of Covers Week (Part III): Special "These Guys Sing Like Birds" Edition

From 1966, please enjoy The Everly Brothers and their lovely take on The Hollies' "Signs That Will Never Change."



Okay, technically this may not be a cover, given that Don and Phil's version came out first. (The Hollies didn't release theirs till 1967, as the B-side of "Carrie Anne.")

Nevertheless, it's gorgeous and I love it and this is my blog so don't give me a hard time.

Bride of Covers Week (Part II): Special "Quick Henry, the Visine!" Edition

From 2008, please enjoy The Bangles absolutely killing it on a version of the Todd Rundgren/Nazz classic "Open My Eyes."



I gotta say that's about as transplendent as it gets, for Debbi Peterson's drumming alone. And don't even get me started on the harmonies.

Who Listens to the Radio?

Well, hopefully you guys. Because I'm going to be a guest on friend of PowerPop Capt. Al's Lost at Sea show this morning. On fabulous Area 24 radio.

You can access the station HERE; after you click on the link, just hit the Tune In button on the top right and crank the volume. The show starts at approximately 11am EST; I'll make my appearance around 11:15, at which point both you and Capt. Al will try to guess the theme uniting all the music I'll be introducing.

Enjoy!!!

Bride of Covers Week (Part I): Special "You Talk Too Much" Edition

From 2019 and their just released Running for Covers album...

...please enjoy the pride of New Jersey The Doughboys (featuring the great Richard X. Heyman on drums) and a hilarious Yardbirds-esque version of Mose Allison's classic insult song "Your Mind is On Vacation..."



As in "...And Your Mouth is Working Overtime."

Long time readers are aware of my affection for both this band and Richard X. Heyman on numerous preious occasions, to which I will only add -- order this new record over at Amazon immediately.