WTF: More Crazy Covers

Francoise Hardy

For the sake of an attention-grabbing headline, we call these “crazy covers” and for the most part they’re not crazy at all.

Back in the day it was fairly common practice for even the biggest artists to do covers, because they were cheap and easy to license. And besides – when the songwriters of the day were Lennon-McCartney, Jagger-Richards, Ray Davies and this cat named Dylan, why not toss in a cover?

So here we have a handful of cover versions, mainly of tunes from the 1960s when the giants listed above still ruled the world. Each cover version sheds a new light on each song, in their own initimable way.

A few of these are kind of sneaky: Clarence Clemons is of course “covering” a song he originally played on as part of the E Street Band. Neil Diamond and Carole King are here “covering” songs that they actually wrote, but were made famous by others.

MP3: “Who’ll Be The Next In Line” by Francoise Hardy (covering The Kinks)

MP3: “If You Gotta Go, Go Now” by Mae West (covering Bob Dylan)

MP3: “Save The Last Dance For Me” by Ike & Tina Turner (covering The Drifters)

MP3: “It’s All Too Much” by My Darling Clementine (covering The Beatles)

MP3: “Cracklin’ Rosie” by Shane McGowan & The Popes (covering Neil Diamond)

MP3: “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” by Buck Owens (covering Bob Dylan)

MP3: “The Rains Came” by the Sir Douglas Quintet (covering Big Sambo)

MP3: “Foxey Lady” by Cee Lo Green (covering Jimi Hendrix)

MP3: “Woodstock” by America (covering Joni Mitchell)

MP3: “I’m A Believer” by Neil Diamond (covering The Monkees)

MP3: “I Can’t Turn You Loose” by Edgar Winter’s White Trash (covering Otis Redding)

MP3: “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” by Alex Chilton (covering The Rolling Stones)

MP3: “Small Things” by Clarence Clemons (covering Bruce Springsteen)

MP3: “I’m Into Something Good” by Brian Wilson and Carole King (covering Herman’s Hermits)

Review: “The Very Best of Neil Diamond,” by Neil Diamond

This greatest hits collection is Neil Diamond’s 37th since bursting onto the scene in 1966. You heard me, 37th. How many times can you release “Sweet Caroline?” Apparently, at least 37 times. So this begs the question…do we really need The Very Best of Neil Diamond? The answer is a definitive yes!

I remember back in 1992 buying “The Greatest Hits: 1966-1992” and being extremely disappointed because it included awful live versions done in the 80s and early 90s including a version of “Red Red Wine” where Diamond actually says “UB40 We’re Number One.” Dreadful. This remastered collection sounds terrific and is the first to include the original recordings of tunes like “I Am I Said,” “Forever In Blue Jeans,” “America,” “Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” and mono versions of “Solitary Man,” “I’m A Believer” (yes, he wrote that one), “Shilo,” “Kentucky Woman,” “Cherry Cherry,” and “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” just to mention a few. As Diamond told “The Today Show,” it’s the first time in his career that all of his record companies joined forces and put together one collection of original recordings. Bravo!!

Whether you think Neil Diamond is a music icon or the king of schmaltz, one things is for sure, he is one of the great pop songwriters of the rock era and The Very Best of Neil Diamond proves that with every track.

Neil Diamond Official Website

“Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show” (Live on “The Johnny Cash Show”) by Neil Diamond

“I’m A Believer” by Neil Diamond

“Kentucky Woman” by Neil Diamond

Ridin’ Out The Storm

Hurricane Ike from 2008.

By now everyone should be ready for this big storm. Just remember – when the wind’s blowin’ stay indoors, and try to find high ground when the floodwaters come. These big storms are gifts from Mother Nature, who doesn’t give a shit if you live in New York City or Podunk, Texas.

She couldn’t care less if you have someplace to be or something to do, and if you think you are going to show Mother Nature how tough you are then she may just want to show you back. That’s usually when we read about you in the paper – in the past tense.

Be smart, stay high and keep dry. Do that and you’ll stay safe. Here are some tunes to help you ride out the storm.

MP3: “Ridin’ The Storm Out” (live) by REO Speedwagon

MP3: “Stormbringer” by Beck

MP3: “Storm” by Blackmore’s Night

MP3: “Stand Out In The Rain” by the Jayhawks

MP3: “Into The Storm” by Yes

MP3: “Stormy Weather” by Dizzy Gillespie

MP3: “Thunder Island” by Jay Ferguson

MP3: “Rainy Night In Georgia” by Conway Twitty & Sam Moore

MP3: “Rainy Day Blues” by Lightnin’ Hopkins

MP3: “Box of Rain” by the Grateful Dead

MP3: “Didn’t It Rain” by the Band

MP3: “Rainy Day” by America

MP3: “Let It Rain” (live) by Derek & the Dominos

MP3: “When the Wild Wind Blows” by Iron Maiden

MP3: “Light From Your Lighthouse” by the Fireman

MP3: “After The Storm” by Mumford & Sons

MP3: “The Only Living Boy In New York” by Simon & Garfunkel

National Hurricane Center

The Weather Channel

Mike’s Weather Page (This excellent page is one of the best I’ve seen – it’s a virtual hurricane command center)

Sampler Daze: WB/Reprise Loss Leaders, Part 4

By 1972, the world was still rockin’ in a sort of Sixties-era hangover: newly freaky 18-year-olds had been given the right to vote for the first time (only fair, since they were long qualified to be drafted into the military), and men were still walking on the moon way up there.  Warner/Reprise issued a whopping four – count ’em – 2-disc sets in 1972, so for brevity’s sake we’ll break ’em up here.

The Whole Burbank Catalog showcased the variety of the label’s stable: rockers like Jethro Tull and Alice Cooper were mixed in with Jerry Garcia, Jackie Lomax and Bonnie Raitt.  T. Rex and Faces would spotlight their best albums with “Bang A Gong (Get It On)” and “Memphis,” respectively.  Cuts from old radio shows were interspersed with the music, to really make it sound like a free-form FM radio show – that technique is still in use today.   A new group making their first appearance in the Loss Leaders series was the trio America, represented by “Sandman,” a deep cut from their first LP.  That album would of course yield the big hits “Horse With No Name” and “I Need You,” and was the springboard for a long career.  It would take another album for the Texas-born duo of Seals & Crofts to hit it big – here they offer “Sudan Village,” a cut from their first album.  They’d cash in later in the year with the title song from their next album: Summer Breeze.