“Cover Tunes (Playlist and Mini-Reviews!)” by Richard F. Yates

cover tunes 4 may 2020 by rfy.jpg

Greetings Citizens!!! It’s time for another trip down Auditory Avenue! You undoubtedly remember from yesterday’s post that I mentioned a CD I made a few days ago. (For those from the BEFORE NOW times, a CD is a shiny circle with music scribbled on it by a laser. These shiny “disks” spin really fast and sound comes out. They were popular for a while, but not as long as RECORDS were. Records are cool, too...)

Below, you will find the playlist for a CD, which I mostly made for Mariah (aka: The Wife) and I to listen to while we were driving somewhere---although I can’t remember where we were driving, anymore. Maybe I wrote it down somewhere… OH!!! Now I remember. I made the playlist for the drive to Portland, Oregon, to pick up our younger daughter’s boyfriend from the Portland Airport. He flew home from New York (he’s away at college) for a few weeks and needed a lift back to Longview… (How could I have forgotten that, already? It was like two days ago! Too many pills, I guess….)

If you continue down below the list, you will discover a “mini-reviews” section, where I talk a bit about each of the songs. Continue even FURTHER down, and I will provide a handful of links to the tunes for which I am able to find videos. (Most of these will probably be audio only with a still image, but the point of music isn’t REALLY what it looks like, though we forgot that for a while back in the ‘80s...) Here is the playlist:

“Cover Tunes” (Approx. 1 hour and 18 minutes)

Weezer – “Africa”
Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules – “Mad World”
The Beatles – “Act Naturally”
Furnace – “Hey You”
Jason Mraz – “I Melt with You”
The Dickies – “Epistle to Dippy”
Tripping Daisy – “Friends / Sigmund and the Seamonsters”
Moloko – “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?”
Lemonheads – “Mrs. Robinson”
The Cardigans – “Iron Man”
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes – “Country Roads”
NOFX – “Electricity”
Kat Edmonson – “Just Like Heaven”
Nouvelle Vague – “I Just Can’t Get Enough”
The Moog Cookbook – “Whole Lotta Love”
Adamski – “Soul Kitchen”
Control Freq – “Lola”
Groovie Ghoulies – “Pet Sematary”
Save Ferris – “Come on Eileen”
Templebeat – “You Spin Me Round”

The REVIEW portion of today’s show!

Weezer – “Africa” (2018) – Originally by Toto.
There is a whole big story about how Weezer came to cover Toto, which I didn’t know before researching the track for this post! What I CAN tell you is that I got this song off the self-titled “Teal album” by Weezer, which is all cover tunes. The track is rather faithful to the original, and Rivers Cuomo does a great job of singing it. It’s one of those, sort of making fun of it, but also sort of (obviously) loves it type covers.
Michael Andrews feat. Gary Jules – “Mad World” (2001) – Originally by Tears for Fears.
This track comes from the soundtrack to the creepy, cult film, Donnie Darko. This version is much slower and far more haunting than the original, with Jules pulling every last smidgen of emotion he can from his vocal performance. It’s a great cut, but not a pop-dance track anymore. More doom and gloom pop.
The Beatles – “Act Naturally” (1965) – Originally by Buck Owens and The Buckaroos.
Taken from The Beatles Help! album, this track is sung by Ringo, and it’s a fun, upbeat, but still kind of sadfunny track about a guy being asked to play a lonely, sad man in a movie, and the fellow says he’s going to be a hit, for sure, since all he’ll have to do is “act naturally.” It’s a fantastic track, and the performance here isn’t very far from the Buck Owens’ version. Great song.
Furnace – “Hey You” (1995) – Originally by Pink Floyd.
This cut, a slow, churning, gritty remake of the dark, Pink Floyd classic, comes from a 2 CD tribute to the Pink ones, called A Saucerful of Pink, which was released by Cleopatra Records and includes industrial, goth, and psychedelic-freak versions of a bunch of Floyd cuts by bands, like Psychic T.V., Alien Sex Fiend, Controlled Bleeding, Sky Cries Mary, Spahn Ranch, Helios Creed, The Electric Hellfire Club, and a ton more. The set is fantastic, and the tracks from these disks have been in heavy rotation in my playlists since I bought it, back when it first came out. The Furnace cut is actually one of the more understated of the remakes, which still manages to capture a good deal of the mood of the original.
Jason Mraz – “I Melt with You” (2004) – Originally by Modern English.
This track comes from the soundtrack to the goofy rom-com, 50 First Dates, starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Mraz adds a slight ragga-synth vibe to the cut, bubble-gumming it up a bit (and it was already pretty poppy), but it’s still a solid version of the track. The originally is one of my wife and my favorite songs, and this version doesn’t hurt our feelings, so I’d say it’s pretty well done.
The Dickies – “Epistle to Dippy” (1998) – Originally by Donovan.
The Dickies are well known for their cover tunes, tracks like the “Banana Splits Theme” or “Gigantor” or their scorching version of “Eve of Destruction,” but this track, from the album, Dogs from the Hare That Bit Us, is mellower than a lot of Dickies' songs. The track is sped up a BIT from the original version, but they mostly chose to keep it cool here, going with more of a psychedelic vibe than a punk thing. I love this version, personally, even if it’s quite different from what we might expect from this band. FAB cover.
Tripping Daisy – “Friends / Sigmund and the Seamonsters” (1995) – Originally by Johnny Whitaker.
Sigmund and the Seamonsters was a terrible, live action kids show by the Sid and Marty Krofft crew, starring Billy Barty in a goofy, green foam costume that looked like living seaweed with giant, googly eyes. (I still don’t know why I loved this show when I was a kid---but it makes me feel good to this day just hearing those terrible songs and hearing that awful, canned laugh track!) The Tripping Daisy’s excellent, psychedelic cover of the theme comes from a fantastic compilation of bands all doing cartoon theme songs, called Saturday Morning Cartoons’ Greatest Hits. The collection, if you can find it, is a brilliant post-grunge monument to weirdness, with songs by everyone from The Butthole Surfer to the Violent Femmes, and Helmet, Sublime, Reverend Horton Heat, Juliana Hatfield, Matthew Sweet, and so on. Super excellent CD, especially if you are nostalgic at all about the glory days of Saturday Morning Cartoons...
Moloko – “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” (1997) – Originally by Gary Numan & Tubeway Army.
Somehow, Moloko made Numan, the KING OF COLD, sound funky. The track comes from a double CD tribute to Numan, called Random, that tears the New Wave God a bunch of new ones. It has songs by Pop Will Eat Itself, Gravity Kills, Jesus Jones, EMF, St. Etienne, Republica, Amanda Ghost, bis, and others. Moloko’s take on “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” is certainly a highlight, featuring some deep, funky synth work, and her soulful, powerful vocals. Great stuff here! (Still weird, too, which I love…)
Lemonheads – “Mrs. Robinson” (1992) – Originally by Simon & Garfunkel.
I got this track off the CD single for the song, although if I remember correctly, the song came out right about the same time as the Lemonheads album, It’s a Shame About Ray. The original Simon & Garfunkel cut was famously included in the soundtrack to the film, The Graduate. The Lemonheads cover is definitely punkier and buzzier, but Evan Dando still manages to kick a little bit of melodic charm into the vocals. This is also my favorite song by the Lemonheads!
The Cardigans – “Iron Man” (1996) – Originally by Black Sabbath.
The Cardigans (you remember them from “Love Fool,” surely), were a weird, fun band. Despite being primarily a dream-pop act, suspended somewhere between lounge, twee, and shoegaze, they also thought it was funny to cover a few Black Sabbath tracks every now and then. This killer cover comes from their album, First Band on the Moon, and it’s a slowed down, sickly sweet, lounge meets trip hop retake on the classic heavy rocking track. The song is uncomfortable and woozy...in all the right ways!
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes – “Country Roads” (1995) – Originally by John Denver.
I got this on the Fat Wreck Chords' compilation, Survival of the Fattest, although the track was originally released on the 7” EP, Denver. The Gimme Gimmes speed this sucker up to OVERDRIVE, but they still manage to keep it listenable, and like the track by Weezer, you honestly doget the impression that these guys love this song. Most tracks by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are great, but this one in particular is STELLAR!
NOFX – “Electricity” (1999) – Originally by OMD
Here’s a fun one! The snotty punk hooligans, NOFX, take on an iconic New Wave synthpop classic, and they slam this sucker into the dirt. The song goes a million miles an hour, and Fat Mike snarls the lyrics like he’s trying to murder them and their entire family. The track comes from Vagrant Records’s SECOND volume of punk covers of old New Wave songs, called Before You Were Punk. (Both volumes are a lot of fun. Highly recommended!) (Incidentally, this was the one track on this mix that I was worried might be a bit TOO FAR over the line for Mariah to enjoy it, but I couldn’t NOT put it on here, could I???)
Kat Edmonson – “Just Like Heaven” (2009) – Originally by The Cure.
I found this cut on the now gone (and badly missed) RCRD LBL.com, where artists would put out demos, remixes, and weird cuts for folks to sample and enjoy. Eventually, the track ended up on Edmonson’s album, Take to the Sky. What we have with this version is a full-on lounge / jazz / smoky bar-room cover of THE ULTIMATE song by The Cure. It’s slow and haunting and chill, and although it’s not as good as the Robert Smith version, nothing ever will be! (I’m still angry at Dinosaur Jr. for their piss-take cover of this song... I’ll probably never forgive them.) This version is mellow and sweet---with all the goth bleached from its bones.
Nouvelle Vague – “I Just Can’t Get Enough” (2004) – Originally by Depeche Mode.
Another loungy cut, this one comes from Nouvelle Vague’s self-titled album. It’s a bit peppier than the Kat Edmonson cover, but still chill and sweet. It has a bouncy, upbeat feel, perfect for any cocktail party or tiki bar!
The Moog Cookbook – “Whole Lotta Love” (1997) – Originally by Led Zeppelin.
Here’s a weird one. What would it sound like if a band used dirty, broken, pawn-shop synths to do elevator music covers of a bunch of classic rock hits? It would sound like Ye Olde Space Bande. The Moogers do mutilated renditions of Eagles, Kiss, Boston, Bowie, and more---but this Zep cover... This is something SPECIAL. It has ROBOT VOICES chanting the chorus. Might be the best thing that ever happened to a Robert Plant lyric…
Adamski – “Soul Kitchen” (1990) – Originally by The Doors.
At the dawn of the techno-rave revolution, Adamski dropped an album called, Doctor Adamski’s Musical Pharmacy, and I remember hearing the progressive dance-via-acid-house rendition of Elvis Presley’s “All Shook Up,” redubbed “The Space Jungle” by Adamski, for some reason, playing at the clubs quite a bit when it first came out. Once I bought the album, though, my favorite song became the odd, downtempo, fuzzy, glitchy version of The Door’s “Soul Kitchen.” It’s DIFFERENT than the original, less Jim Morrison-y and way more electro-pop, but appealing to me in it’s own way.
Control Freq – “Lola” (2000) – Originally by The Kinks.
I got this track from an album, Freq Show, that came in as a promo when I was working at a locally owned record store (for almst ten years.) It must not have been a big hit, though, because I couldn’t find a video for the song anywhere online!!! (I would upload one myself, but I’m guessing the track was flagged because the song, “Lola,” is still owned by somebody who doesn’t want it floating around the YoooTooobs for free.) Anyway, the Control Freq version is noisy and squelchy, in an electro-pop sense. The vocals are nowhere near as good as Ray Davies’ pipes produced, but that shouldn’t be shocking. It’s still a fun cut, though, so if you happen to find the CD floating around in a cut-out bin or a second-hand shop, it’s worth grabbing! Somewhere between industrial-rock, techno, fuzz-pop, and dance…
Groovie Ghoulies – “Pet Sematary” (2003) – Originally by The Ramones.
From the brilliant, funny, cartoony, and endlessly entertaining album, Monster Club, this cover of The Ramones’ nod to the Stephen King novel and unsettling film adaptation, is great fun. Kepi Ghoulie has a unique, slightly rough vocal style, and the guitars go BUZZING along here, so this might not appeal to fans of stuff like Kenny G or Michael Bolton, but if you love listening to people who LOVE what they’re doing (and you're fond of monsters), then this track is for you. Actually, this whole CD is excellent. My family used to drive around listening to the thing on repeat---for several years in a row!
Save Ferris – “Come on Eileen” (1997) – Originally by Dexys Midnight Runners.
You know the original, even if you can’t name the band who wrote it. This cover is a female fronted, ska-punk take on the classic ‘80’s track, and it's quite fun. Save Ferris (named after the slogan constantly repeated in the film, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), speeds the original up a bit, pumps up the horns, and lets it rip. It's energetic, fun, and entertaining. Again, Kevin Rowland’s vocals were unique, so they couldn’t be copied, but the tune is still certainly worth a listen!
Templebeat – “You Spin Me Round” (1996) – Originally by Dead or Alive.
This track has been available on a few different CDs, but I grabbed the version from the 21st Circuitry Records' compilation, Newer Wave, which was full of industrial, EBM, and dark wave covers of New Wave songs. (You might have noticed, I buy a lot of New Wave covers compilations…) Templebeat take the original hi-nrg track apart, slow it down, goth it up, and quadruple the STOMP factor. The vocals, surprisingly, are quite similar to Pete Burns’ style, with maybe a touch of Cold-War-era, Eastern-Bloc drawl. (The band was actually Italian, but they obviously come from the Laibach / Borghesia school of dark industrial singing…) It’s a fun, spooky, sludgy take on a club classic…

And that’s it for this playlist! Hopefully there’s a band or two in that batch that are new to you and might require further investigation! Before we go, though, let’s see how many of these tracks have videos that I can link to;