Saturday 11 May 2019

The Saturday List #217 - My Top Ten Cover versions of all times

I have long been of the opinion that BBC Radio London is blessed to have some excellent presenters. Of these Robert Elms, formerly of this parish, is perhaps my favourite. His show is a joy to behold. I probably go to ten things a year as a result of hearing about them on his show. Last night, we went to see the new Aretha Franklin documentary film at the Picturehouse, mainly because we heard an interview with one of the producers on his show. Robert has a slot on a friday called a Fourfer, and this featured four songs by Aretha. For me, Aretha Franklin is a very special artist, she is the primary reason that I developed a love of soul and gospel music. The reason? It wasn't a genre I payed much attention to growing up. To understand this, you need to understand the way we interacted with music as kids at the time. Our main introduction to music was Top of the Pops. Our main source of radio music was Radio One which was chart music. For more obscure stuff, as kids, it was our elder brothers and sister who would introduce us. My elder siblings liked Rock music.  Soul and Gospel wasn't really on the menu.

In 1978, bought Prehistoric Sounds by The Saints, an Aussie Punk band, who had been the first punk band I'd seen. My favourite track was Save Me. Further inspection revealed that this was a song by Aretha Franklin. I ventured out and located a well worn copy of I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You in a second hand shop in Camden Town. I had no great expectation of liking it, but it blew me away. Inspired by this, I acquired a stack of ten records, including Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and Otis Redding, on the recommendation  of a helpful chap in a specialist record shop (always the best way to explore a new genre of music).  I'd told him what I liked an didn't like.

Back to Robert Elms, he does a weekly slot called cover to cover. On this, he plays an original version followed by a classic cover. Listeners are asked to ring in and say which they prefer, then he gives a winner based on the listeners feedback. As we travelled back on the train, I mulled all of this and asked myself "What are my ten favourite covers of all time". The criteria is simple. The original must be a belter, but the cover must take it somewhere different and better. You will probably disagree with my selections but check them out. All of these are classics. I did a top ten of covers that are better known, this one is simply the ones I like

1. Ed Kuepper  - If I were a carpenter. From Kueppers classic album Today Wonder. A much covered song, but I think Kuepper nails the song in a way no one else has. Dark and moody. To really appreciate it, I'd recommend listening to the whole album. Amazingly Kuepper takes a classic song and makes it the pivotal track on the album, the crescendo. On the album, the way Eternally Yours dovetails into it is immense and awesome. I sort of think that if people don't get this record, they don't really get music.

NME said this was "the best album released this year" when it was released. I agree, sadly few bothered to buy it. A gem





2. Spirit  - Like a Rolling Stone. From Spirit of '76. To me, Spirit are one of the most criminally underrated bands of all time. I saw them a few times, have most of their albums and could never figure out why they weren't massive. Spirit of 76 is there greatest album and Like A Rolling Stone is the stand out track. I think many Bob Dylan songs have made better covers. Dylan is a great songwriter, but to me none compare with Spirits version of Like a Rolling Stone.


3. Knox - Gigolo Aunt. When Knox quit the Vibrators, he launched a solo career and this was his first single. A cover of the rather weird and wonderful Gigolo Aunt by Syd Barrett. I love Barratts version, but Knox tranformed it into a perfect Pop song. Knox had a great band and the set was weird, wacky and wonderful. Had he done this fifteen years later, when Indie was at its peak, I'm convinced it would have been massive, but it was just not right for the post punk 1980's



4. Soft Cell - Tainted Love. The original was by Gloria Jones and is a Northern Soul Classic. It's a decent enough song, but MarcAlmond transforms it into a monster. The song sounds as if it was written for Almond. The song works so well when it is about a young man coming to terms with his own sexuality.


5. Sid Vicious - My Way. How could anyone take Frank Sinatra's theme tune and make it there own? I was never a Sid Vicious fan. I felt the Sex Pistols musically lost it when Glen Matlock left. Vicious seemed to me to bring nothing to the party. When we trotted along to the cinema to watch The Great Rock and Roll Swindle, I expected nothing from  Vicious. My views were pretty much confirmed until he performed My Way. It is stunning. I think in many ways, it is the finest version. It begs the question whether Vicious was in the wrong job as the bassist in the Pistols. He was clearly an amazing performer, if a lousy musician. It is just a shame that no one really realised this until he was dead.



6. Aretha Franklin - Respect. Any list of great covers which doesn't include this is simply a rubbish list. The original by Otis Redding is fine, but this is a whirlwind.




7. Patti Smith - Gloria. Maybe this is the best cover of them all. Van  Morrison is an icon, but Patti Smith transforms the song into something way above the nice little pop song that Van recorded. Patti Smith shows just what an amazing artist she is. I've often wondered what Van Morrison made of this.



8. Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes. Originally recorded by Carl Perkins, Presley owns it. For me, the early period Elvis recordings are simply awesome. This is the best of them



9. Amy Winehouse - Someone to watch over me. There are many Amy tracks that could be picked. When I first started thinking about this, I was drawn to Valerie. I then listened to a whole stack of other Amy covers. I stumbled across this which is a demo version. I heard Amy sing a snatch of this before she was famous when she was rehearsing at Mill Hill Music Complex studio 9. When she emerged, I asked if she was covering an Ella Fitzgerald song. She said, rather embarrassedly, "Yes, was it Ok?" I told her it sounded great. It was about the third time I'd heard her sing at the studios, but I realised that if she could do Ella Fitzgerald properly she was some talent. Maybe I'm biased but I think this is awesome.


10. The Dickies - Banana Split Song. There are a few gigs that I've seen that were simply mindblowing. The Dickies at The Marquee Club in the late 1970's was one such night. At the time they were in the charts with The Banana Split song. The Dickies were not cool and got no recognition. I was at the gig with a group of people, including Steve Ignorant of Crass, who left in disgust at the comic antics of The Dickies. I loved it. There is space in everyones life for fun. I recently saw the Dickies on a UK Tour and it was hilarious watching 60 year old bald punks pogoing to this. As a kid I'd loved the Banana Splits and this was a real gulity pleasure



Have a great weekend







1 comment:

JVK said...

Agreed, especially re. Gloria
Off the top of my head:

Hound Dog (Live) – Alan Clayson and the Argonauts
Sorrow — David Bowie
I Can’t Explain — Yvonne Elliman
Save Your Kisses for Me — Morgan Fisher
The ‘In’ Crowd — Bryan Ferry
Only Women Bleed — Julie Covington
Tomorrow Never Knows — 801

Regards, John