Just like heaven

Okay, so I’m back again I think, or at least I think I want to be. I mean I still have so many of these pairs to do. Sorry if anyone was super into this thing, or you know, at least liked to use it to kill a few minutes here and there. I didn’t really mean to bail on it. That’s just kind of what happened.

So this time I’m going to compare the Cure’s Just like Heaven to Dinosaur Jr.’s cover.

Just like heaven was the third single on the Cure’s 1987 album Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me. It was their first American hit and reached number 40 on the Billboard charts. It was written by Cure frontman Robert Smith who considers it the Cure’s strongest song.

Dinosaur Jr. covered it in the late 80s. It was released in the UK in 1989 and, 1990 in the US. Apparently Robert Smith really digs this cover. He is quoted as saying, "J. Mascis [of Dinosaur Jr.] sent me a cassette, and it was so passionate. It was fantastic. I've never had such a visceral reaction to a cover version before or since." He was also quoted as saying that it "influenced how we play it live." Wow, that’s pretty good praise right? I first heard it on a special edition of the 1987 album You’re living all over me that included the single, but it did not originally appear as a track on the album.

The Cure:

Dinosaur Jr.:

This is a case where it had been a while since I had listened to either version. I really came into it not being sure who would come out the winner. It’s pretty close for me, but I’m going to have to agree with Smith and give this one to Dinosaur Jr. Yeah, it cuts off in kind of a weird, awkward way at the end, but its other aspects are just so good you kind of forgive it, and just wish that it had kept going. Either that, or you think something went wrong and listen to it again, or go online and look up if was supposed to cut off that way. Man, imagine all the people in 1989 or 1990 who didn’t have the internet and were just like, “what’s going on

Hazy shade of winter

Hazy shade of winter

I’m kind of back from an unscheduled break in blogging. At least I think I might be. I picked this song, because it’s cold outside, and because it’s been like that for a while. I figured I had to post it soon, because it would pretty silly to not post it, and then have the weather warm up. I’d have to post something else instead.

Paul Simon wrote Hazy shade of winter sometime around 1966. It was a single, and then later included on the Simon and Garfunkel album Bookends in 1968. It did fairly well on the charts, 13 in the US, 30 in the UK.

The Bangles covered it in 1987 for the soundtrack to the movie Less than zero. It placed higher than the original on both charts. 2 in the US and 11 in the UK.

Simon and Garfunkel:

The Bangles:

Okay. So I had nearly written off the Bangles version in the first couple of seconds, but then all of a sudden a guitar just jumps out of nowhere. It made me actually stop and consider that maybe I had spoken too quickly. But now the song is over, and it really just wasn’t enough. Simon and Garfunkel’s version is basically flawless. The arrangement is so good, and the vocal is, well come on, it’s Simon and Garfunkel. It’s really tight. The Bangles version has some cheesy production that’s gone of style, and even though their version is actually not bad, it’s just all the little things that are problematic, like the opening, that just end up taking too much away from it, and as a result, it’s noticeably worse. 

Back in the USA

First released in 1959 as a single on Chess Records, Chuck Berry’s Back in the USA took the 37^th spot on the American Hot 100 and the 16^th spot on the American R&B chart. It also appears on the 1962 album More Chuck Berry. Berry supposedly wrote the song upon returned to the USA after a trip to Australia and witnessing the poor living standards of the Australian Aborigines. Which is a little ironic when you consider how America treated its aboriginal population after colonization.

The song has been covered by a few different people including Jonathon Richman and the Modern Lovers (bonus points if you’ve heard of them), and Linda Ronstadt, who can claim to have had the most commercial success with the song. Her 1978 album Living in the USA went double platinum.

The MC5 released their cover in 1970 on their second album Back in the USA. Though not a commercially successful album it has received notable accolades. In 2011 Rolling Stone ranked it number 451 on one of its 500 greatest album lists. NME Magazine placed it at number 490 on a similar list.

Chuck Berry:

MC5:

Close huh? It’s pretty tough. I think the like the vocals on Berry’s version better, but the MC5 really bring it on their version. I think I have to give the nod to them.

To love somebody

To love somebody was the second single released off of the Bee Gees debut album Bee Gees 1^st. Written by Berry and Rob Gibb, it was originally intended for Otis Redding who was killed in a plane crash before he was able to record it. I’ve heard that Bee Gees 1^st is considered a great record, and is often compared to the Beatles’ Revolver, but I have never listened to the entire thing myself. To love somebody was fairly successful making it on to the charts in several countries: it placed at 41 in the UK, 17 in the US, 9 in Canada, and 6 in Australia to list a few.

The Flying Burrito Brothers covered To love somebody sometime between 1968 and 1970 during the time Gram Parsons was still in their lineup. It remained unreleased until it was included on the 1974 compilation album Close up the Honkey Tonks, which was likely an attempt to capitalize on posthumous interest in Parsons' music. Parsons died in 1973 at the age of 26 from an overdose of morphine and alcohol. Interestingly enough, Otis Redding was also 26 when he died.

To love somebody has also been covered by several other artists including Michael Bolton, the Animals, Joe Cocker, Janis Joplin, and like 50 other notable ones.

Bee Gees:

Flying Burrito Bothers:

The Burrito Bros. win! Come on. They have Gram Parsons on vocals. What did you expect?

Part of me feels like that’s all I should have said about it, but another part of me wanted to write this paragraph. Depending on which part of me you prefer, you can choose not to read this one: I like how the FBB gave their version a classic country sound, but what really gets it over for me, is that Parsons empties his soul into it. He really sounds heartbroken. They took the song to another level. I do like the Bee Gees version, but I'm not a fan of the string arrangement that is included in it. It’s too much.

1970

This time I’m featuring 1970 by the Stooges. This is probably the least accessible song that I’ve featured so far. I think that I can fairly say, it’s something you’re either going to love or hate. Released in 1970 on the Stooges’ second album Fun House, an album that has been both Panned and praised by critics.

One quote I liked is from Robert Christgau. He said, “Now I regret all the times I've used words like 'power' and 'energy' to describe rock and roll, because this is what such rhetoric should have been saved for. Shall I compare it to an atom bomb? A wrecker's ball? A hydroelectric plant? Language wasn't designed for the job.”

In a funny coincidence, the album was produced by Don Galluci, the keyboardist for the Kingsmen, one of the bands featured in the last post. Fun House wasn’t a commercially successful album upon its release. However since then, it and the Stooges have developed a rather strong following. Both the band and the album are considered important to the development of punk rock.

In 1977 the Damned, the first UK punk band, covered 1970 on their debut album Damned Damned Damned. The Damned changed the name of the song to I feel alright. I’m not really sure why they changed the name, but I think it’s probably a really punk thing to have done. Like Fun House, Damned Damned Damned was not very successful upon is initial release, but has since become popular with modern critics.

The Stooges:

The Damned:

I think the Stooges clearly win. They have the crazy saxophone, and well, really everything about their version is crazy. It’s desperate and wild. It’s rock and roll pushed to the brink. The damned’s version is pretty good. They do some neat stuff, but it just can’t compete with the intensity the Stooges bring with 1970.

Fun House is really best enjoyed as a full album. It really creates an amazing atmosphere. The music is almost tangible. Except maybe LA Blues. That’s really just the band spiraling out of control and self-destructing at the end of the album. I mean it’s the perfect way to end such a fervent album, but it is not for everyone.

Damned Damned Damned is really good too, it has some weak moments, but the strong songs, like New Rose, Neat Neat Neat and Fan Club are great. And let’s face it, not every really good album is really good all the way through.

Louie Louie

Congratulations, it turns out that this November has accumulated the most views out of any month ever for my blog. I’m not really sure how that happened. I’d just like to thank you all for your hard work. Together we have earned an arbitrary achievement. Well done everyone!

Apparently this song is the most covered song of all time. I don’t actually know if that’s true. Wikipedia said it has been covered 1,600 times and counting. That seems like a large number. Previously, Stand by Me was the most covered song I had included in the blog. It was listed as having 400 covers, but apparently 7 million performances. 7 million is a lot (but not really. A lot is a piece of property).

I’m pretty sure most people are familiar with this song. Louie Louie by the Kingsmen. What I think most people don’t know, is that the Kingmen’s version is a cover. I didn’t, but someone did. Just to illustrate how frequently the Kingsmen’s cover is mistaken as the original, when you do a YouTube search for their version the second search suggestion that comes up is the Kingsmen Louie Louie original.  

The original version was written by Richard Berry sometime between 1955 and 1957, when the song was released. The song’s full story is actually really interesting. Berry’s version was originally released as a B-side and became popular on the West Coast, and was later rereleased as an A-side. It didn’t appear on any Billboard Charts, however.

The Kingsmen covered Louie Louie in 1963. Their version peaked at number 2 on the Billboard chart, and spent a total of 16 weeks in the top 100.

Originally I had planned to include the Beach Boys version, but after listening to Berry’s version I decided to use it instead. The Beach Boys cover is much like the original in structure. I still thought it was worth mentioning. If you’d like, you can listen to it, and compare it to the other two. It would be like a blog post in your own head. Or if you’re feeling especially critical, you can even post a comment and say what you think.

Richard Berry:

The Kingsmen:

I totally thought that I was going to be super sick of the Kingsmen’s version, and that it would be an easy choice. It’s really not though. You can understand the words in Berry’s version so that earns it points, but the Kingsmen rock the song so hard. Their version has such a strong opening, and their singer has got a pretty decent rock and roll scream. I think the Kingsmen win this one. Even considering how over exposed their version has been over the last 50 years. Berry’s version is good too, and it can be a welcome change to the familiar.

4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)

4^th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy) first appears on Bruce Springsteen’s second album, the 1973 release The Wild, The Innocent and The E Street Shuffle. There were no singles released from the album; however, Sandy and Rosalita, became fan favorites, and received radio airplay prior to the release of 1975’s Born to Run. Sandy was released as a single in Germany in 1975.

The Hollies recorded Sandy as a single in 1975, and included it on their album, Another Night. Their version only received minor airplay, and only reached the 85^th spot on the American pop chart.

I'm a fairly big Springsteen fan, but Sandy was never really one of his songs that jumped out at me. I always preferred songs like E Street Shuffle and Rosalita when listening to Wild and Innocent. I actually got the idea to feature this song after listening to the Hollies cover and really enjoying it. I've never listened to them back to back before, so I'm interested to see what the outcome will be.

Bruce Springsteen:

The Hollies:

Yeah I know, it’s another super long song. Sorry about that. It’s totally worth listening to though.

Okay, so this song is super good. I know it’s all slow and stuff, and it’s long. But seriously, it’s so poetic and it’s a great story. It paints a great word picture. I should have loved this song way sooner. It’s going to be another tough decision. The Hollies have awesome harmonies and a string arrangement, and Springsteen has the accordion. I'm not exactly sure whether those last two things are positive or negative qualities of their perspective versions. As close as it is, it’s not really hard to choose. Springsteen wins. His performance is so emotional. It’s like he’s living the song while he sings it. That just makes me believe in the song so much more.