Cover Tunes- Viva la Vida by Pet Shop Boys

I am not really a Coldplay fan, but I like a few songs and Viva La Vida is undoubtedly a great song. On the other hand, I am a big Pet Shop Boys fan. Here’s a couple of things that seem ironic 1- As an electronic duo, it would seem contrary that their live albums would be good. I don’t know about this particular band, but I often hear stories from friends who have seen the band’s peers in concert and usually there are bad reviews Now, the Pet Shop Boys aren’t your usual band, and I think they really try to make it a party. Additionally, the mixture of songs in medley form seems to work well. I may never get a chance to write about 2010’s “Pandemonium” - a fantastic live album- or some of their other live records, so this will have to do. So my statement is that even if it’s been a decade, I still love it. 2- Point two is that I really love the band’s choice of covers. Again, Neil Tennant is an amazing lyricist- one of the best of his generation - but the band has some well placed covers- Always on my Mind and Go West Anyway, I love this. That’s the post 2009 - Parlophone

Cover Tunes- Focus on "Der Kommissar"

One of my favorite songs of youth was Der Kommisar by After the Fire. That song was a cover of a song by Falco. As much as I love that song and as long as a career the band had (four albums), it it odd that i don’t think I have ever heard another song the band did I vaguely remember radio stations playing both versions, though I could be misremembering somewhat since Falco would have an American hit or two of his own later and there were other NDW artists who had English and German hits (Nena, Peter Schilling). While I prefer the After the Fire version as an English speaker and they add some variety to it, I definitely love Falco. Plus while I consider the After the Fire video one of the iconic ones of the time (among many of that time), credit to Falco for basically pulling it off with just a bluescreen What’s interesting is this little video which is, I think, an Australian countdown show where they play all the versions. I would not be surprised if radio statins did play the two back to back. But what people might not know, is with Faldo’s success and a rush to make it a hit internationally, not only did After the Fire do a version, but Laura Branigan performed a song that layered new lyrics over the same melody and gave us “Deep in the Dark”. I know I’m not a huge Branigan fan, but I can’t help but think how multi faceted she was. I can’t think of too many pop stars in recent years that would compare. I appreciate that “Gloria” is now at a classic level few songs reach. It is another case where artists are distilled to one or two songs. I mean she’s not in a genre I listen to much, but hey she had a voice. “Self Control” is on the short list of best songs of the 80s Anyway, I get a kick out of looking back at the days of Der Kommisar Fever.

Cover Tunes- Under My Thumb by The Who

I always find it a bit weird. when rock legends cover their peers. For example, on the incredible Join the Dots boxed set, the Cure cover Joy Division and Depeche Mode. In 1967, The Who covered The Rolling Stones to support raising bail for a Keef n Mick drug bust with the single “The Last Time” and the b-side of “Under my Thumb” Perhaps one day, someone should curate a compilation of all the songs inspired by the Stones getting in trouble (the Clash’s 1977 “Jail Guitar Doors and the Stones’ own “We Love You”) “Under My Thumb” hasn’t aged well lyrically, though that is up to debate (more on Wikipedia which has a few theories including one about it being about a guitar) Musically, however, that fuzzy bass and marimba- it’s a classic I wouldn’t suggest trying to Out-Stones the Stones but there are a couple of versions of some significance. Canadian band Streetheart (a precursor to Loverboy) had a top 20 hit in Canada in 1979. It gets described as a disco rock hybrid, but if I didn’t know any better, I would have guessed mid 80s Glam/Arena rock. I can definitely see the appeal. Social Distortion did a revved up version in their style in 1996 The Who’s cover eventually landed on the expanded edition of their Odds and Sods collection. YouTube comments can be brutal but I actually like the cover. Not saying it’s better, but it does sound like a Who song. Keith’s drumming propels it and it feels like a Pete and Roger song of that time. 1967 - Track

Cover Tunes- Kronos Quartet - Purple Haze

I think the Kronos Quartet is great I’m embarrassingly not overly well versed in their work outside of knowing quite a bit about their career and the Nuevo disc. Perhaps a deep dive is needed some day Their career is so vast, you should just go lot their Wikipedia page, but I will try. So here goes, I think the Kronos Quartet are probably the musical act that would be the best entry into classical music from a rock fan’s ears. (I could surely be forgetting someone and Frank Zappa probably had that title before he passed, but that feels like a proper statement. They have worked with some of the biggest modern classical names- Part, Gorecki, Reich, Glass, Riley and the aforementioned Zappa. They have recorded with a who’s who of music- Cafe Tacuba, Pat Metheny, Asha Boshle, Taraf de Haidouks, Dave Matthews, Nelly Furtado, Amon Tobin, Faith No More, Joan Armatrading and The Tiger Lillies. They have performed live with McCartney, Bowie, Waits, Bjork, the National, and Allen Ginsberg. I would have to say their biggest commercial moment that I can recall was the Requiem for a Dream soundtrack. In 1986, they recorded their self titled album for Nonesuch Records and ended it with a cover of Purple Haze. I think most everyone would agree that it’s a fitting tribute to someone who was really a great American composer. I do see the comments on the YouTube page and it’s not perfect - you have to make room for Mitchell and Redding’s contributions, too but it’s pretty fun. 1986 - Nonesuch

Cover tunes- Heart Full of Soul- Chris Isaak

I love a good cover song and wanted to post a variety- some serious, some funny, some known, some obscure. I’m going to start with a fairly straightforward cover. The original is a classic- - The Graham Gouldman-penned "Heart Full Of Soul". A 1965 hit for the Yardbirds. A #9 hit in the US and #2 in the UK I have to admit that even if there are better singers than Keith Relf, I can’t imagine anyone else singing it. I also have seen performances of it (and lip synched or not) my brain goes to Jeff Beck rocking out. This song was the first single Beck played on after Eric Clapton left the band. I won’t spend much more time here but if you don’t know, I’m a pretty big Yardbirds fan. I heard this cover a long time ago and it can be found on the self titled 1987 Chris Isaak album. I am a big Chris Isaac fan. He’s such a left field performer in comparison with other artists of his time. He has spent a lot of time converting classic 50s rock but I love his original work even more Anyway, I have to admit this is a pretty neat cover- really adding *ahem* soul to the original. I feel I’d be remiss not to add Rush covered the song in 2004 for the Feedback EP. I’m not the hugest Rush fan, and I suspect if you are, you’ve probably heard it already. But if not, look it up- it feels like. Modern version- faithful to the original, but doing it in a way that would probably cause many modern listeners to prefer it 1987 - Warner Bros

Cover Tunes- Focus on Roxy Music- More Than This

Many moons ago I would blog about a lot of cover songs- some big hits, some obscure, some sincere, some humorous, some better, some worse. Years, even decades later- I am going to take a week to revisit a few and ask who prefers the cover and who prefers the original. I will post 3 or 4 couplings and I will try to do every day this week- but I might skip a Sunday or Saturday- depending So, one of my favorite band's is Roxy Music. I was hooked when I heard their debut. It is a near perfect album. I cannot overstate how much I like "ReMake/ReModel (and Virginia Plain for the matter, which was added to the US edition). It is proto-punk, it is space rock, it is Stooges-style jazz punk. It is perfection. From there, of course, where do you go? Country Life is nearly perfect, too, and there are gems throughout. I bought the Ferry/Roxy compilation early in my teens, but it has been worthwhile to go deeper. When I got into music, Ferry was a fairly successful solo musician, even though his style didn't line up with a lot of what was on radio or MTV. I have always liked his solo career, but only have really begun to love it in recent years. Ferry is no stranger to covers, of course. This single (More Than This from 1982 Roxy Music swansong album Avalon) followed their cover of Lennon’s “Jealous Guy” (which is another great original/cover pairing where both songs are classics) and would make it 10 #102 on the US charts. I would be here awhile if I named all of Ferry’s covers but “A Hard Rains A Gonna Fall”, “Like a Hurricane", "In the Midnight Hour" and “Lets Stick Together" are well known, and he did an entire album of Dylan covers in 2007. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the two Bryan Ferry Orchestra albums, which are essentially Ferry covering himself in 1920s/30s/40s styles and are fantastic. Yes, I had my doubts, but love these records. As far as 10,000 Maniacs, their version went to #25 in 1997. As much as I love the original, the cover is one of my all time favorite songs. Like so many 90s bands, I felt their was so much hype about the 10,000 Maniacs at the time, but I really was a fan. In retrospect, they seem such an unlikely crossover hit (and to continue the thread- their most famous hit was a cover of a song that was a hit for another musician- and probably that musician's most famous song- and it was also a cover. I suppose that's a tribute to all involved- Natalie Merchant and Patti Smith were fantastic performers on top of being amazing lyricists). The ironic thing is I never did chase down the Mary Ramsey album. I surely need to someday. I feel she was in a spot where she was never going to make anyone forget Natalie, but unlike say, Gary Cherone, she was an integral part of the band because of her relationship with John Lombardo in Maniac sideproject John and Mary, and playing on a couple of "Our Time in Eden tracks and the MTV Unplugged album. Of note, the song became a popular concert cover over the years for Blondie and Robyn Hitchcock and of course, all probably remember it was sang by Bill Murray in Lost in Translation.

Album Review- Dave Stewart- Ebony McQueen

One of my favorite “lost” albums is “Greetings from the Gutter” - a 1995 album by Dave Stewart. But more about that later. The Eurythmics were definitely one of the biggest bands of the 80s. I don’t think it’s surprising that the two ensuing solo careers don’t match the level of the duo previously. (Ok, perhaps the only issue with Annie Lennox’s career might be she chose to go a different direction than what I would have preferred). In retrospect, perhaps Stewart was more successful than anyone might have guessed. “Lily was Here” featuring saxophonist Candy Dulfer was a Top 15 chart hit in the US in 1990. I can’t find any chart information on Stewart’s Spiritual Cowboys album but it had decent sales and exposure based on my experience. “Gutter” isn’t a perfect album by any means, but one of its biggest strengths is how deftly Stewart navigates through various genres. I bring that album up as an introduction to Stewart’s latest album. “Ebony McQueen” is solo Stewart on steroids. It is being marketed as a biography, a musical, a possible film, a photo book and a five disc album set. At 26 tracks and just over 80 minutes (the old standard CD running time), it’s certainly a double or triple album and surely more Stewart than anyone will ever need. Like Gutter, it never quite nails that perfect Eurythmics radio single. But it also has those moments that impress. Once again, The Beatles, Kinks and Bowie influences are on display, mixed with a variety of Caribbean, blues and theatrical sounds. It will be one of those albums that critics likely get right- a bit of indulgent mess that only the artist will love. Dave either knowingly or unknowingly prods the critic with a song called “What’s the F*cking Point”. Still, there’s some good stuff here and I suspect there are a few listeners that will gravitate to this album like I did to a Stewart album nearly 30 years ago. 2022 - Bay Street Records

Album Review- Steve Earle- Jerry Jeff

ONE NAUGHTY WORD NEAR THE BEGINNING of the video- Hope the performance makes up for it- otherwise skip to about 45 seconds in Steve Earle is one of my favorite artists. His recent album is the third in a trilogy of tributes to his mentors- Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark and Jerry Jeff Walker. As a fan, these are generally among my least favorite Earle albums and reviewing almost seems unfair. Because these are homage pieces and jumping on points for new listeners. Are tribute albums ever going to be better than the real thing? No but they serve a purpose and you can’t be too harsh on a artist for putting out heartfelt product, and to be fair I am not all that familiar with the depth of these men’s work. (As an aside, I really do love the JT album and artistically think it is well done. It sounds like a Steve Earle album and is different from the originals in all the right ways. It is the kind of album that one will enjoy and then sit right down and listen to both versions) A couple of things stand out - one is Steve seems to slip into a Jerry Jeff persona. Earle has put himself in the position where he obviously wants to respect the music. Which leads to the second thing, when you listen to JJ it’s clear where Earle got his influence especially when he does some rambling of his own, or sings a particularly pensive song. Oh and I probably should remind that Earle is one of my favorite, if not my favorite artist, so this isn’t criticism. Jerry Jeff is a fine listen. If I am pushed to review, I will say that it’s not quite as good as Guy in what I would expect to return for repeated listening but it sure does it what it advertises, and that was getting me to check out the work of one Jerry Jeff Walker. 2022 - New West

Album Review- The Dream Syndicate- Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions

The Dream Syndicate have a rather fascinating story. Four albums in the 80s that solidify their reputation as one of the great American indie bands, though never quite breaking through like REM (to be honest, few did). Then a 20 year career for Steve Wynn which generally was well received. But nothing really prepared listeners for a second run of Dream Syndicate that has been surprisingly fulfilling. I got into the Dream Syndicate through a pretty obvious spot- the 1992 Rhino comp. That album called Tell Me When It’s Over is just about as close as one can get to perfect. It takes a bunch of the bands classic debut album and cherry picks from later records. The reunited Dream Syndicate is now four albums in and they all seem quite different. 2017’s How Did I Find Myself Here seemed drawn from the late 80s albums- with a focus on lyrics and smart songwriting. 2019’s These Times felt like a continuation but in retrospect, is also a bridge to 2020’s The Universe Inside. The Universe Inside felt like a big moment and a changed band. As with seemingly everything the band it has done, not everyone shared the same opinion- but at least this felt like the consensus that this was something special. This was a band bent on psychedelic jazz-influenced jamming. While “jam band” is a bad word in some circles, the album was pulling in from sources as disaparate as Coltrane, Crazy Horse and Hawkwind. The 21st Century iteration of the Dream Syndicate is so unpredictable from album to album that it is almost predictable that the follow up to The Universe Inside would be completely different. And it does, Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions is a throwback to the band’s debut. That album had a heavy Velvet Underground influence - sparse instrumentation, over complicated lyrics, goth overtones and that sneaky subtle great guitar interaction - influential sounds that bubbled up most prominently in bands on the Alias Records and Flying Nun record labels in the late 80s and on a number of various major indie labels in that golden era of the 1990s. Dream Syndicate are now near the front and again at the end of that implied shades-wearing lineage that includes every one from Yo La Tengo to Black Rebel Motorcycle Club to Parquet Courts. It should be little shock that review of UBH&TC are once again all over the place, though most are highly complimentary. Personally, for me, I rather enjoy it. Like their debut disc, some songs are better but the whole collection hangs together quite well. I know comparing the two records is quite unfair, so I will simply say my experience of the record is that it is one that I can listen to in its entirety and want to do the same tomorrow. 2022 - Fire Records

Album Review- The Interrupters- In The Wild

One of my favorite bands of recent years are the Interrupters. It seems a requirement to mention the ska craze of the 90s that brought No Doubt and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones to the masses. It’s hard to say if the Interrupters will ever have that much fame. Though 2018’s Fight the Good Fight was in all definitions, a smash in terms of the brave, new music world. The new album In The Wild gives some insight on where the band’s heart lies. It’s got some cameos, but rather than some random guests, it seems like a very particular group of bands that pull as much from reggae and soul, as they do from ska. Bands that gravitated to traditional Jamaican sounds instead of pop radio. Those guests are Rhoda Dakar of the original 2 tone band The Bodysnatchers, 90s throwback ska band Hepcat and 201xs London ska punks The Skints. The band goes back a long way with Tim Armstrong (Rancid/Operation Ivy/Transplants). Aimee Interrupter and guitarist Kevin Bivona both appear in backing roles for Jimmy Cliff on his 2012 Rebirth album. Yet in many ways, the band seems to be just now hitting a full realization of themselves. A lot of critics have pointed out the turn the lyrics have taken toward the personal. That my conjure a mental image of some bookish Morrissey or Dylan musings. That’s not really a characteristic that goes well with ska. So I’m not sure lyrical heaviness is always for the best. Singles “In the Mirror” starts leaning closer to No Doubt than the Clash for example. But generally, the band gets the balance right. Also it seems counterintuitive for a band who gave us the scorching “She’s Kerosene” on the last album, the best moments on In The Wild often are when things slow down a bit. For me personally, I think I prefer the previous album, but there’s nothing wrong with In The Wild which has obligations to be radio-friendly, be taken as a serious work of art, and rock enough to keep up with the Operation Ivy/Green Day crowd. It shows a band that is going down a well traveled road, but doing things in a way that remains fresh. 2022 - Hellcat

Book Review- Out of Control: The Last Days of the Clash

I recently read Out Of Control: The Last Days of The Clash by Vince White. You might recall that I had recently watched the doc The Rise and the Fall of the Clash by filmmaker Danny Garcia. Along with Marcus Gray’s fantastic book The Last Gang in Town, these are about the only two places where post Mick Jones Clash history is recorded. Garcia’s film postulates that the Clash mark 2 are probably not deserving of their reputation, and were a great live band who were victims of a weird power struggle and one poorly mixed record. Vince White was the second guitarist for the Mk 2 lineup. Apparently he has become labeled an “unreliable narrator” for some of his activity on Clash message boards over the years, but I don’t doubt his story in the book. It doesn’t help of course, White always seems to be chasing women and drink, even having an affair with the band manager Bernie Rhodes’s girlfriend. But I don’t doubt the Jones-less Clash were a mess with Joe Strummer and Bernie Rhodes chasing past glories that were likely way out of reach. The Clash were dinosaurs in a scene with UK punk bands like the Exploited and American hardcore. Even if the 80s were defined political rock of the arena variety was covered by U2, the Police, the Fixx and others, Strummer had an antagonistic relationship with Bob Geldof, so you will notice the Clash missing from those contemporary big musical events. White is an interesting side to the Clash story. Rhodes and Strummer were interested in advancing the band with the sloganeering that was included on the inside of the sleeve for Cut the Crap. One example of conforming to the ideal, White shares the story of how he played the Stiff Little Fingers debut cassette on the tour bus, and then got in trouble because it wasn’t 50s rock or jazz, which was the only music allowed. White is an interesting observer since he generally does love punk, but doesn’t seem to be beholden to any of the legend. He joins the band because he passes the audition, but I think he would have done the same if the band was the Clash, Status Quo or Pink Floyd. You can’t blame Rhodes and Strummer for acting the way they did, wanting to make a new album that matched the fury of the debut, the ambition of London Calling and the look ahead futurism of Combat Rock. To accomplish this, ironically, they were rigid, even dictatorial. I don’t doubt for a minute that the three new band members were allowed very limited input on the band, nor do I doubt the album was worse for that. White’s story is probably better that he wasn’t beholden to the idol worship of the Clash. We get a side of Strummer that is human, flawed and tired. Same goes for Paul Simonon, Kosmo Vinyl and the rest of the gang. For Clash fans, it’s definitely worth the read. While you might end up not liking him, White can definitely tell a story. That said, if you are expecting a insightful rock memoir, this is definitely on the gossipy, trashy side of things, so be warned in advance. In finding the appropriate song for this story, I found there are an amazing amount of bootleg audio of Clash Mark Two on YouTube. As expected for the time, the quality borders on fair to awful, so I made what I could of the results. What I did find interesting was last year, Gerald Manns, a member of a German punk/metal band called Mutant Proof took to recreating Cut The Crap. I am surprised given the Clash's reputation that this hasn't been done before more offically, but Manns used software to isolate Strummer's vocals and then added a mix of bootleg audio and his own best estimation of the instrumentalism. I would recommend Clash fans to give the album a listen https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6ggjMklzIx0aCGDhE1FIS2HDu2WNLL17

Tribute to a Friend

A couple of weeks ago while on vacation, I received news that a friend had passed. It would seem to be necessary to point out that he had very human failings. I can’t speak to that. I wasn’t all that close to him, but in a very modern way, we talked often through social media and we often talked music. We were both fans of what you would call Outlaw Country but that term encompasses different things. For me it’s country filtered through rock years (Old 97s, Wilco, Hank 3) and the mid-to-late 80s neo traditionalists (Earle, Yoakum, Roseanne, Crowell, Lovett). For him it was more the traditional definition - Texas based singer songwriters like Ray Whylie Hubbard, Robert Earl Keen and Jimmie Dale Gilmore not to mention a strong attachment to those 70s outlaws like Willie, Waylon and David Allen Coe and Southern rock a la Skynyrd, Petty an Marshall Tucker. But, this did mean we had some overlap. He was a big fan of Red Dirt Music. This is a genre that has really become a movement with festivals, radio, Spotify playlists and the like in the last decade and he had his ear to the ground a few years even before mainstream media did. He was into Jason Boland and the Stragglers, Cody Canada (and his bands), Turnpike Troubadours, Corb Lund and Cody Johnson. It is made up of (mostly) Oklahoma based bands that play Country Music with those previously named influences also drawing in from blues, bluegrass and honky tonk. At its core, its those artists I listed above, but given the broader movement now attributed to it, some of my favorite recent artists (Cody Jinks, Hayes Carll) are now lumped in (I would say they’re more tangential than those I mentioned above, but so be it). If you listen to Country radio, the Influence has broken through to airplay - Luke Combs, Eric Church, Chris Janson, Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and so on- have drawn upon these artists to be proclaimed as a "new Outlaw Country movement". While we had two years of pandemic, 2022 has been the toughest year in my life in terms of loss. While most were acquaintance or coworkers, I have lost at least four people this year whose death really affected me. The pandemic definitely brings mortality to mind. I have gravitated to the idea that as long as someone still talks about a person, they are still really alive. Perhaps appropriately, his favorite artist was Gram Parsons, the renegade country rocker who died young and who is one of the biggest influences on this generation of Outlaws. It was Gram that played at the funeral “A Song For You”. 1973 - Reprise

Album Review - The Ninth Wave - Heavy Like a Headache

There are millions of Joy Division influenced bands. Millions? Probably not. Still maybe? There are of course some who became favorite bands of mine - the obvious (Editors, Interpol) to a variety of others (as varied as Sweden’s synth outfit Holograms to Los Angeles hardcore punks Cemento to dark wave favorites She Wants Revenge). U2 would certainly fall in this category, as would the shoegaze movement. All goth bands surely from and including Xymox, Sisters of Mercy and Christian Death on. Also come to think of it, a full list of industrial bands (Psychic TV wrote “IC Water” after all.) Like the Velvet Underground, it might be easier to list bands not influenced by them. A band as distinct as Arcade Fire or Sea Power may have mixed other influences but inevitably call to mind Ian Curtis and crew. Maybe a band mimics the umm… atmosphere of “Atmosphere” or “New Dawn Fades” or maybe it’s the Punk pulse of Disorder and She’s Lost Control. Glasgow’s The Ninth Wave are one of the latest to be painted by the Joy Division brush. Their second album Heavy Like A Headache could be their last as it was released simultaneously as the band announced a hiatus. The reviews generally have not been kind to this album, which seems a disservice. I can guess at the reason. The band splits vocal duties between its two members - Haydn Park-Patterson and Millie Kidd. Additionally, songs might rotate from inward looking Goth ballads to soaring arena anthems. Particularly on the anthemic songs, they have peaks that stand far above other tracks. It’s the kind of thing that will annoy record critics. That said,if the sound appeals to you, you might want to stay around for the whole thing. If you are not a huge fan of the genre, you still may find a few songs to cherry-pick for playlists. “What Makes You a Man” was in the Umbrella Academy and a couple others sound ripe for soundtracks. 2022 - Distiller Records