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Post by strat-0 on Jan 26, 2008 23:21:44 GMT -5
Let's see...
Best version of Sweet Jane by far: Mott the Hoople
Jac, I must disagree strongly about Pinball Wizard; the EJ version makes my skin crawl, while I love the original. You nailed Train Kept Rollin', however. One could also make a good case for Aerosmith's version of "Walkin' the Dog." They are a band that usually does a cover proud. Here's another puker: Live and Let Die by Guns n Roses.
I like the original "I Fought the Law" so well it's hard to say I like the Clash's better.
One that immediately comes to mind: Mama Told Me not to Come by Three Dog Night. Way better than the Randy Newman original.
Skvor, I have to go with the Who for best Summertime Blues, but I'm prejudiced that way. The Blue Cheer version does kick ass.
I'm still waiting for someone to do a cover of Hot Smoke and Sassafras. (Bubble Puppy) Man, that was a hot tune. Just the intro is enough to...
I expect I'll be back with more.
Question: What is so great about that stupid song "I think We're Alone Now" that it rates being covered so many times? I think I'd rather hear "Hooked on a Feeling," or "Seasons in the Sun" or some other schmaltzy crap redone.
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Post by maarts on Jan 26, 2008 23:59:18 GMT -5
Is that the version with Lou on vocals?
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Post by strat-0 on Jan 27, 2008 15:12:34 GMT -5
No, You're probably thinking of the live version from the Rock and Roll Animal album Doc mentioned, Maarts. That one has some tremendous guitar work by Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, especially in the fabulous "Intro".
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Post by maarts on Jan 28, 2008 2:49:27 GMT -5
Actually I was thinking of a particular bootleg that surfaced after All The Young Dudes appeared. I heard that Reed came into the studio and laid down a vocal track to guide the band around the track- it was said that Reed didn't get on with the band and left in a tiff.
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Post by bowiglou on Jan 28, 2008 13:00:08 GMT -5
let's see...
Santana's cover of Black Magic Woman (original by Fleetwood Mac)
Rod Stewart's cover of tim hardin's "Reason to Believe"
Beatles' cover of Please Mr. Postman (forget the group...Vandallas?)
Camper Van Beehtoven's cover of Matchstick Men (or some similar title)
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Post by Ayinger on Jan 28, 2008 18:18:44 GMT -5
Was "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" done by Camper or the Cracker incarnation? I've got the latter doing it live......
As much as I love the Mac vers. of "Black Magic Woman", Carlos & Co. put a def. spin on it! I'll also go as far to say Judas Priest's metallic take on "The Green Manalishi" is also prime stuff -- although the Peter Green original brings out a spookiness that about puts chills down the spine.
The whole "Sweet Jane" Velvets/Reed v. Mott is a toss-up for me. The original has a nice street-grittiness to it that I like, Lou's Rock N Roll Animal is a classic in it's own right but really owes itself to the lengthy intro Strat0 spoke of (in fact when the vocals come in, it's almost a downshift), while Mott The Hoople put a nice swing to it (thank you Mr. Bowie). I'll also give you that I kinda like Mott's original of "Ready For Love" that Mick Ralphs later took to Bad Company's first album....but here too it's a guitar out-tro called "After Lights" that makes it for me.
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Post by Galactus on Jan 28, 2008 18:51:37 GMT -5
Yeah, it was CVB first but Cracker still play it live all the time. Have you heard Ozzy's cover of that song? It's terrible, in fact that whole covers album is so bad you have to hear it.
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Post by bowiglou on Jan 29, 2008 12:27:12 GMT -5
yup, it was CVB on the album 'key lime pie'...or some configuration of those words!!.......a racous version...very loud guitars........
and my favorite Sweet Jane still has to be the bombast from Rock and Roll Animal...Lou reed meets arena rock!!.......man, I remember first hearing that LP in the dorms, I think circa 74/75, and just being blown away...I was in my Bowie-fixation mode and Lou was a natural progression!!
Ayinger, I think I need to listen to FM's version again of Black Magic Woman..and Ayinger, ever heard Joe Jackson's cover of Fleetwoods 'oh well'...he does a serviceable job
and one of the great LIVE covers I saw was Midnight Oil doing Costellos' 'Whats so funny about peace love and understanding'l.....they nailed that one!
if any of you have ever seen Midnight Oil live, you know what a sensational act they were
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Post by Kensterberg on Jan 29, 2008 13:57:43 GMT -5
My favorite version of Sweet Jane is the VU's, particularly the restored mix that Lou did for the box set and for the Fully Loaded release with the "wine and roses" bridge. So I guess my favorite "cover" of the song would be Lou's rendition on Live in Italy.
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Post by RocDoc on Jan 29, 2008 16:53:09 GMT -5
rerminds me that i should pull out that 'live in italy' lou reed that rocky (bless 'im) YSI'd here once upon a time...not to say that it knocked RnR animal off of it's pedestal for me, but it WAS pretty damned good. .... if any of you have ever seen Midnight Oil live, you know what a sensational act they were memeME! ~ and i completely loved the version of ready for love/after lights on mott the hoople's all the young dudes disc. i had a copy of rs magazine's review of that in my pocket when i bought 'atyd' AND reo speedwagon's 't.w.o.' album which was one of my greatest 1-2 pickups at a record store....rivalling ma-a-aybe when i bought band of gypsys and zeppelin II whenthey had just come out. the mystery of not knowing what you're going to get and then being simply floored is such a delicious memory now. you had to be there, you zeppelin (and reo too!) haters!  |
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Post by Ayinger on Jan 29, 2008 18:05:23 GMT -5
Ayinger, I think I need to listen to FM's version again of Black Magic Woman..and Ayinger, ever heard Joe Jackson's cover of Fleetwoods 'oh well'...he does a serviceable job I think I have a copy of that "Oh Well" cover somewhere...poss. stashed away on cassette. Must have liked it as I know I copied it....whatever lp it came off of had a handful of good tunes but I don't think it was one of his more well-known releases. I do have a live version of him doing The Yardbirds' "For Your Love" that's mixed in with "Fools In Love" and that is pulled off rather nicely! Slowed down to basically piano, bass and a drum beat....you don't even see "For Your Love" hardly coming. DOC ~ you might help yourself by clarifying that REO actually played some ROCK back then! No "Keep On Lovin' You" shit when you got that snarling "Golden Country" to play -- one of THE best air-guitar tunes of the 70's! |
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Post by RocDoc on Jan 30, 2008 1:47:20 GMT -5
well, they rawked right up til the imo sublime roll with the changes (i will forever love that song's rolling piano fills and richrath squonking all over the place)....but it's not up to me to edumacate whatever cracked opinions the naysaying pups here might have.
tho after seeing live aid footage of kevin cronin stoned on his ass, unable to saty in key, wearing some sorta fucking caftan...well then they asked for the derision they get from those not knowing what power had come before.
cronin should have been horsewhipped early on....he brought them down to his level of schlock while dreaming of dollar signs that thankfully stopped relatively early for them.
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Post by strat-0 on Jan 30, 2008 5:11:05 GMT -5
Funny how there's really very little to the "wine and roses" bridge of which you speak, Ken, and yet it adds so much.
Having spent my formative years in the midwest, I'm up on the well kept secret that REO were actually hard rockers in the day. REO TWO was as fine a rock record as ever came out of that era. They should have never let Cronin (singer) back in when he left after that record. Their follow up albums without him were fine - it wasn't til he returned that they headed down the sad road to schmaltz. From which they never returned. That really hurt.
To the topic, their cover of Little Queenie (with Boots Randolf on sax) from TWO kicked some serious ass.
Meanwhile... I was stilllll thinkin...
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Post by Galactus on Jan 30, 2008 5:34:49 GMT -5
The Black Crowes w/Jimmy Page really bring the rock their covers of Oh Well and Shapes Of Things (The Yardbirds) mixed in with damn fine versions of Zeptunes. That Shapes Of Things I'd put over the Yardbird's version any day.
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Post by Galactus on Jan 30, 2008 5:43:13 GMT -5
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