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Long Beach’s Magic Lantern have finally gone and released a new sonic document after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Eagerly anticipated by those who have been biding their time waiting for the band to get on with their uber limited cassette only and CD-R releases (their Self-Titled CD-R was limited to 30), “High Beams”, the band’s latest opus [...]
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(Preface: This was written prior to the New York Post piece naming the 100 best covers. You’ll notice only one song listed here appears in their article. Why the hell the NYP bothers to contain anything even remotely having to do with art is beyond me. They should stick to what they’re good at – conservative propaganda.)
There are times when events converge in such a way that one must trust it to be a sign. I have experienced a convergence as such within the last few weeks, thus I’m compelled to write about it…
It all began a few weeks back when I was out at a show to check out an up-and-coming indie band, whose proverbial buzzing has become audible on blogs across the net (this one included). At said show the band attempted a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm,” a lofty aspiration indeed, and one that most artists would avoid or should avoid (sorry Zac De La Rocca & Co. this includes you). Now, I can give them 1 point for having the gumption to try it, unfortunately I cannot award any more points as it came out as quite a mess in my opinion. This concludes Event # 1…
Event # 2: A little over one week ago (on 7/7/07 to be exact), the immense project known as “Live Earth” took place on all seven continents (yes, even Antarctica), and musical superstars from around the world performed throughout the day and night to raise environmental awareness. Bravo was broadcasting the performances throughout the day, and I kept it on in the background most of the day allowing me to see bits and pieces as the Saturday ran its usual course. It was somewhere in the early afternoon that I happened to catch the end of AFI’s performance, just as 2007s’ Sexiest Vegan (aka Davey Havok), was introducing their next song which was to be a cover of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” (see a theme starting to develop). Again I was taken aback by the attempt at covering what I consider to be a song of the “Do Not Touch” variety (just one man’s opinion), and again my skepticism was confirmed with a rather poor showing. * You can watch video of the performance Here, along with the rest of the NY Live Earth performances (you’ll have to scroll to find the AFI clip).
Event # 3: A couple months back an album was put in my Inbox which for some reason I never got around to listening to. A mere two days ago I came across it again and decided to give it a listen. The album was “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” by an Australian band called Ground Components. I was impressed by the album in it’s entirety, but the final track, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” stood out to me as quite impressive, especially considering it is a song that clocks in over 7 minutes long and has lyrics galore. I won’t go as far as one review I read that claimed it outshines the original, but it brings me to the point of this verbose introduction…
A cover song should not be judged by it’s being ‘better’ than the original (though that is not to say that it hasn’t happened – Mr. Dylan meet Mr. Hendrix), rather it should be judged by the creativity and originality put into the interpretation. That being said, if one is going to set out to cover a tune of a certain magnitude, in the upper echelon of great songs no less such as those in the aforementioned events 1-3, they better “bring it.”
Below are 5 covers that meet the challenge and are must-haves:
1. “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” – Rolling Stones (1965) – As covered by Devo on their 1978 debut album “Q: Are We Not Me? A: We Are Devo!”
They took all the energy, spit and swagger of the original, sped it up, staccatoed the hell out of it and made “new wave” history (note to anyone desiring to claim The Residents avant-garde fuzz-noise version as superior… don’t – cause it’s not).
2. “Higher Ground” – Stevie Wonder (1973) – As covered by Ellen Mcilwaine on her 1975 album “The Real Ellen Mcilwaine”
That’s right kids, the song containing one of the most recognizable melodies in music history, and it was NOT written by The Red Hot Chili Peppers! There are many covers of this classic out there but this early one by a little known female blues singer/guitarist is my favorite by far.
3. “Death Letter” – Son House (Exact Original Date Unknown) – As covered by The White Stripes on their 2000 album “De Stijl”
The blues song, by The original bluesman – done true justice by Mr. White – on what is The White Stripes best album (there I said it).
4. “Taxman” – Beatles (1966) – As covered by Junior Parker on 1970 Capitol recordings.
One of Parker’s later and funkiest recordings before he died in 1971. I know it’s the Beatles, and liking any version of their songs that is not the original is sacrilege, but this version is great. I will say that Parker’s covers of a couple other Beatles tunes from the same sessions are not nearly as impressive, but this one hits the mark – I’m sure even George himself approved of it (though I have no proof).
5. “The Man Who Sold The World” – David Bowie (1969/1970) – As covered by Nirvana on the 1994 “MTV Unplugged in New York” album.
Albeit a somewhat obvious choice, it must be included as this is one of those songs that I continually find myself debating which version I like better. I guess it’s a toss-up.
Download “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” (mp3) from Ground Components album “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” which is available now.
[audio:Its_Alright_Ma_Im_Only_Bleeding.mp3]
Get “An Eye For A Brow, A Tooth For A Pick” from: Amazon
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