To Scott Wth Love

Brotherly love, that is!  Scott has mentioned more than once that he wanted to do a covers tribute to one of his favorite albums, Forever Changes by the band Love.  I (jonder) don't mean to steal his idea; I just wanted to surprise him.

Some of the artists are well known, but here's a little background on track 9. Matt Brown was in a band called Uncle Green, four young guys who left New Jersey for Athens, GA in the early 80's.  After five albums, they changed the band's name to 3 Lb Thrill.   


The record label decided not to release the band's final album Rycopa (cdbaby.com/Artist/UncleGreen).  Matt Brown made a solo album also went unreleased (mattcbrown.bandcamp.com).  In 2012 he started a group (theme-music.org) for musicians to record and share songs based on a weekly theme.



A duo called Occasionally David did an album length cover of Forever Changes, but it's rare and hard to find. 

There's also a various artists collection of Forever Changes covers called Unloved, and a Love tribute called We're All Normal And We Want Our Freedom.  You can find more Love covers on this blog by searching for the Duke Spirit, the Damned, and the Hellacopters.

FOREVER NEVER CHANGES  

01 A House Is Not A Motel - THE ENTRANCE BAND
02 Alone Again Or - CALEXICO
03 Andmoreagain - ROBYN HITCHCOCK
04 Bummer In The Summer - THE RIVER CITY TANLINES
05 Live And Let Live - THE CHEMISTRY SET
06 Maybe The People Would Be The Times - THE PALE FOUNTAINS
07 Old Man - LA BUENA VIDA
08 The Daily Planet - THE JIGSAW SEEN
09 The Good Humour Man He Sees Everything Like This - MATT BROWN
10 The Red Telephone - FRANKENSTEIN 3000
11 You Set The Scene - BABY LEMONADE

Brian - Metal Covers of Eighties Songs!

I've been gathering covers of 80's songs for awhile now, never sure what shape it would all take. My only parameters were they had to be covers of pop tunes: no college rock, metal, or rap songs. I've ended up with about 100 covers, almost all of them from actual releases - not so many YouTube rips as the R•diohead post. An interesting side effect of all this, I found myself with a whole album's worth of metal covers! Keep in mind, it's metal covers of pop songs. Several of these are some of my favorite covers ever, just great reimaginings! The other four volumes will be coming in a few days, but since this came together so easily I wanted to get it to you. I am cackling with glee at the thought of this one!

We start with Austrian Death Machine's version of the "T2 Theme". Remember those three albums of theirs I posted last year? Didn't think so. Disturbed's great cover of "Shout" comes from their first album. Linea 77 bring a dose of East Coast hardcore to "Walk Like An Egyptian". Leo Moracchioli's metal version of "Never Gonna Give You Up" came from YouTube. Look up the video; he plays all the instruments himself, and the guy is gonzo! It's fun to watch.

Colombian group Los Rabanes do a great Spanish language version of "Electric Avenue" that rocks like hell! American thrashers Lich King drop a meaty, pitch-perfect rendition of "Hot For Teacher"... love it. Downplay's cover of "Cruel Summer" owes more than a little to the earlier Disturbed song, but I like it. And a surprising find, Children of Bodom fucking rip up "Jessie's Girl", finding a song that suits their synthesizer proclivities.

Now, by this point you guys have heard any number of strange covers coming from me... but Panzerballet's version of the Dirty Dancing song almost defies description! Starting with a straightforward pop vocal, then moving into the jazz fusion verses, before it gets all metal on the choruses, it's gotta be heard to be believed! Northern Kings are a Finnish metal supergroup, and they bring the right amount of grandiosity to "We Don't Need Another Hero". Warmen is also a Finnish group, and they perform a sleek, metalicized version of "Like A Virgin" (still sung by a woman, fortunately).

In his career, Marilyn Manson has done many 80's covers, and his breakout song was his version of "Sweet Dreams". But I've always thought his cover of "Tainted Love" from Not Another Teen Movie was better, so that's here. Madison Apart turn "Love Is A Battlefield" into a still-melodic scream fest. Vision Divine are an Italian power metal band, and they swing for the fences with their cover of "Take On Me". With the overdriven synthesizers and the singer going for his Bruce Dickinson Award, it's a beauty!

"Beds are Burning" was always a fave of mine, and Devilment do a great headbanging version of it. Ten Masked Men (remember their version of "Goldeneye"?) warp Madonna's "Live To Tell" heavily out of shape. Scandinavian metal heroes In Flames give "Land of Confusion" a great crunchy update. And whereas Til Tuesday's original "Voices Carry" was kind of meek and gentle, Dear Enemy's version will fuck you up.

German Dark Wave metallers Umbra et Imago might be the only group that could do "Rock Me Amadeus" justice. Necronomiccon's cover of "Separate Ways" is brilliant, maintaining the melody of the original while still being hardcore black metal. Comes from their great album Mjølnir For Nothing. 

And we end things with the group Arsis. Remember their "Roses On White Lace" from the Alice Cooper comp? Well, their cover of Corey Taylor's "Sunglasses At Night" just rips from the get-go; metal as hell! I play these last two for people just to watch their expression change!

Hope you guys dig this. There'll be more covers on the way. Now, BANG YOUR HEAD!

1. Austrian Death Machine - T2 Theme

2. Disturbed - Shout

3. Linea 77 - Walk Like An Egyptian

4. Leo Moracchioli - Never Gonna Give You Up

5. Los Rabanes - Electric Avenue

6. Lich King - Hot For Teacher

7. Downplay - Cruel Summer

8. Children of Bodom - Jessie's Girl

9. Panzerballet - (I've Had) The Time of My Life

10. Northern Kings - We Don't Need Another Hero

11. Warmen - Like A Virgin

12. Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love

13. Madison Apart - Love Is A Battlefield

14. Vision Divine - Take On Me

15. Devilment - Beds Are Burning

16. Ten Masked Men - Live To Tell

17. In Flames - Land Of Confusion

18. Dear Enemy - Voices Carry

19. Umbra Et Imago - Rock Me Amadeus

20. Necronomiccon - Separate Ways

21. Arsis - Sunglasses At Night

Brian - The R•diohead Covers Project

(NOTE: Though I'm careful with the band name I cannot write a post this involved without using the song titles. It would be too much of a headache. So, let's hope...ALSO, this post is gonna be a STICKY at the top for a while. so there will be newer posts under it.)

OH MY GOD, is this one good!!! I mean, really, with no hyperbole - and no small amount of pride, either - this is one of the top 3 covers comps I've ever come up with. It's just that good; I mean, I'm the one who made it and even I don't know how it happened! My favorite kind of cover projects are the ones that seem to come together on their own. The Alice In Coverland post comes to mind, or Bowie, or The Purple One. This collection of R•diohead covers was like that, after some false starts. My usual MP3 sites were giving up some interesting versions of songs, but not enough. So I did what I do usually only as a last resort - I went on YouTube. 

And this entire compilation opened up to me! I found some more famous names, sure, but what amazed me was all the great live covers by smaller indie bands, university ensembles, jazz bands, foreign groups, and people making music at home. I mean, the entire fucking planet loves R•diohead! While I avoided recordings of standard tribute cover bands (especially barroom cell phone vids), I was intrigued by some of the other groups I found. There was such a wealth of covers, I was afraid of sorting them all out. But I went with my ears and my gut, and I let this thing take its own shape. 

And in the end, this turned out just like the Bowie comp, even down to writing every track name down on a piece of paper and shuffling them. It's also divided into three "discs", each timed at just shy of 80 minutes should anyone feel the need to burn these. And since there were some I couldn't decide between, like the Bowie project each volume is bracketed by dual covers: "Creep" for #1, "High and Dry" for #2, and (interestingly) "Street Spirit" for #3. I chose not to be a cover completist since what I'd already found came to exactly 4 hours of music. So please don't leave any suggestions, OK? I've heard enough R•diohead songs lately. 

The only album that is completely represented is OKComputer. Bends, KidA, and Rainbows each have 7. Pablo and Amnesiac have 5, Hail and MoonShaped have 4, while KOL has three covers taken from it.

This collection sounds great! The only track that is a bit dodgy is John Frusciante's live version of "Lucky", but Jonder cleaned it up well. Everything else is a HQ mp3 file or was ripped from HQ video. Jonder helped big time, editing down some of the tracks. And his son went ahead and made covers for me. So, thanks boys. YOU ARE IN STORE FOR AWESOME, PEOPLE!!! And if you see a "YT", that is a link to that specific sourced YouTube vid. So, let's get the famous names out of the way....

THE WELL KNOWN NAMES

Jimmy Eat World deliver a heart-on-the-sleeve version of "Stop Whispering", probably R•diohead's purest pop tune. Weezer [YT] perform a great cover of "Paranoid Android", though Rivers Cuomo does change some of the lyrics (harrumph). The Flaming Lips deliver a wistful version of "Knives Out", from their Fight Test EP. And Gnarls Barkley's [---] cover of "Reckoner", maaaan.... if you've ever doubted Ceelo Green, just hear those first notes he sings; your hair will stand up!

Deadmau5's great cover of "Codex" sounds like it could be in a Michael Mann movie. The faithful cover of "The Bends" is by none other than Anthrax, from their 1998 Inside Out EP. And oh boy, everybody sit down.... That devastating, killer version of "Optimistic" is performed by Hanson. Yes, HANSON. Give it a listen, you'll believe! And as mentioned earlier, John Frusciante does a great version of "Lucky".

And after auditioning many (MANY!) versions of "Creep", one of the ones I picked was the one by Korn [---], from their 2007 Un-plugged show. The intro is touching, and the performance is very nuanced. It's interesting that they use the bass drum to replace the stuttered chords at the start of the chorus. And also oddly, none of the other "Creep" covers I listened to attempted to try the riff either. And - a nice surprise here - I have Toots and the Maytals performing a sunny version of "Let Down".

THE ENSEMBLES

And that's it for famous people. Now, the unknown ensemble groups perform some of the best covers here. The R•diohead Ensemble of the Berklee School of Music is featured twice [YT], [YT ], turning in a sexy and ethereal "Nude", as well as a great "Morning Bell". Also coming from academia, there is the R•diohead Jazz Project of Lawrence University, [YT] performing a groovy, brass-led rendition of "Bodysnatchers". Check out the videos for these three.

The Paul Dunton Orchestra [YT] performs a driving cover of "Jigsaw Falling Into Place", that also has great vocals! The Portland Cello Project (feat Adam Shearer) [YT] absolutely blow "Exit Music (For A Film)" out of the water, just amazing! And the version of "Black Star" is by a non-audition public choir from Victoria, BC called... um, The Choir [YT]. The first time I watched the video this came from, I wept. It was just so moving to see this big group of regular people covering such a personal, singular song. That was when I committed to this comp having the aesthetic that it does. And lastly, the piano-and-opera-vocal version of "I Will" is by Monta Martinsone and Artyom Musaelov [YT]

THE TRIBUTES

Austin group Mother Falcon released a front-to-back cover album of OK that was called MF Computer, which I grabbed two tracks from, "Fitter Happier", and a version of "Electioneering" that manages to rock even without guitars! The Easy Star All Stars' dub reggae cover of "Climbing Up the Walls" still manages to carry some real menace, and comes from their album called (heh) Radiodread. Secret Society's faithful-yet-dance-ish cover of "Planet Telex" comes from the tribute album Anyone Can Play R•diohead.

From the (online only?) tribute Exit Music: Songs With Radio Heads, a group called L.O. Freq performs a moody, acoustic cover of "Blow Out". And to honor the three (!) different string quartet R•diohead tributes, I chose the Vitamin String Quartet's version of "Weird Fishes/Arpeggi". And did you know there have been two R•diohead lullaby music tributes? From the Rockabye Baby one, I chose a sonically beautiful rendition of "There There". Great on headphones!

THE INDIES

Multi-instrumentalist Marissa Nadler sings an even-wearier cover of "No Surprises" that I just love. I get goosebumps every time I hear it. Cut from the same cloth is Camille O'Sullivan's heartbreaking and dreamy version of "True Love Waits". My God! That track is from her album Changeling. Bella Ruse [YT ] sings an equally haunting "Like Spinning Plates". These gals just nail it!

Two more good covers come from R•diohead's most recent album MoonShapedPool. Llargo's [YT] cover of "Daydreaming" is beautiful with that ethereal guitar sound. And metal band Johari [----] deliver a smashing, Isis-tinged take of "Burn the Witch". The album only came out a few months ago, and there's already great interpretations out there!

I'm not familiar with iLonely and Sombra, but I like their acoustic version of "You and Whose Army?" Tanya O'Callaghan [YT ]and friends perform a "15 Step" with real soulful vocals, while still holding a tech-sounding edge. For a change of pace, the group Children Slyness drops a very dubstep cover of "Pearly". The kids should love it...

Belém - who I think is the singer for a Spanish group, hard to find info - drops a faithful acoustic version of "Thinking About You". I don't know the group Blizzar B [YT ], but that's a great close-harmony take of "2+2=5". UK singer-songwriter Daniel Cavanagh performs a tender and moving "How To Disappear Completely", from his album Memory & Meaning.

JAZZ LÉ R•DIOHEAD

Did you know KidA and Amnesiac were secretly jazz albums? Given the workout that "National Anthem" and "Pyramid Song" are given, I think so. Atomic's "Pyramid" is a nice post-bop kind of take - sounding like Miles in '63 - and Perhaps Contraption's "Anthem" has a stomping groove. Also in a jazz vein is Postmodern Jukebox ft. Hayley Reinhart's [YT] cover of "Creep". It's a torch song reading, but for me it still goes to the forlorn longing of the original...gorgeous!

And yes, I know of Richard Cheese's cover of "Creep", but I didn't want to go funny with that song. But to acknowledge his love of the group - I particularly like the cover of his album OK Bartender - I used his version of "Airbag" to start everything off strange.

THE HOMEBODIES

This is kind of a blanket term I'm using to refer to the amateurs and pros here who performed their songs at home. I was gonna avoid homemade versions initially (type in "Creep" and "acoustic", I dare ya). However, I came across many songs (most of them studio-quality), that I liked very much. And I wanted the comp to reflect that aspect of how everybody, even everyday people, have taken R•diohead to heart.

Hayley Richman [---] has many covers of R•diohead songs on YouTube, with a lot of views, so I wanted to use her at some point. So, I picked her cover of "Identikit". It's a good version; I like her voice, reminds me of an Icelandic singer almost. And check that photo: gal's got a nice pad! Tara Rice [YT] delivers a great homemade cover of "Lotus Flower". The video is cool; it shows her doing all the percussion herself.

I had a hell of a time trying to find "Anyone Can Play Guitar". Even harder given that there's a web instruction show called that! Finally found this version by the Rocket Brothers [YT ]. I can only assume it's home studio stuff. Well recorded, and the guy's got a great voice, though European diction on some words, German maybe? Sounds of Venus [YT] is another small group, and their acoustic cover of "Give Up the Ghost" has some really haunting (pun, sorry) vocal harmonies.

The cover song that made me change my mind about homemade solo acoustic performances is the cover of "High and Dry" here by a girl named Kayla L [YT]. It's gotten 41,000 views, it's played with heart, and I really like her earnest, elfin, almost weightless singing voice. Great version, and you gotta admit, she's easy on the eyes...

FOLK/BLUEGRASS/COUNTRY

Somehow, ukuleles and banjos weave their way through these discs, even more than the jazz. First up is a reappearance of Amanda Palmer, performing "Fake Plastic Trees", from that R•diohead uke tribute disc of hers I'd posted last year. From Denver, CO comes the Ooks of Hazzard [---], an 8 piece folk band who deliver a great version of "Subterranean Homesick Alien". Singer Sarah Jarosz (also a uke player) performs a dynamite cover of "The Tourist".

Meghan Linsey [YT] does a great traditional country version of "High and Dry". I love how the guitar line is played on the violin. The group Punch Brothers - who have several R•diohead covers out there - do a killer version of "Kid A", all with mandolins and ukuleles. I love the way they replicate those electro sounds with these acoustic instruments. 

The last track in this section I'll talk about is my favorite of the whole collection: Birds Of Bellwoods' astounding cover of "Idioteque". B.O.B. (YT) are a Canadian quartet (guitar, mandolin, banjo, cello/bass) who do covers and originals in unique arrangements. The way they adapt the original song to their style (check that palm-muted banjo), as well as keeping the rhythmic complexity of it, amazes me. I love the opening, where they're all drumming on their instruments. Their singing harmony is great, too. These boys are goood!

THE REST OF THEM

English/Pakistani group Bat For Lashes perform a moving live version of "All I Need". The "Tao" Church Choir [YT] of Tblisi, Georgia (country, not state) do an a capella cover of "Everything In It's Right Place" that you just gotta hear! The way they're all modulating their voices is very striking. R&B singer Muhsinah does a rhythmically driving version of "Scatterbrain". Tel Aviv pop star Shefita [YT] performs a quite different Middle Eastern take on "Karma Police", featuring traditional instruments like the oud. Pianist Christopher O'Riley does a great instrumental version of "Bulletproof".

The two versions of "Street Spirit" may seem the same, but they're not. The one by Manuja feat. Dimaestro that opens disc 3 is a moodily beautiful Spanish acoustic cut. The one by the (generically named?) Djambe Band is recorded off the street somewhere in Africa maybe, and features some traditional sounding instruments, and is spookier. And I couldn't resist this whole compilation ending with the sound of somebody turning off a tape. The boys would appreciate that, I think.

Hope you guys like this; I'm really proud of it! Tracks compiled from July 28-31st....three days! (I have no life). Text finished August 3rd. Any time between that and posting will be figuring how the hell to sequence this! And if any of the people featured here object to their inclusion, please try to take this in the spirit in which it was made. I love R•diohead, you love R•diohead... I just wanna show the world!

TRACKLIST - http://pastebin.com/zMCTKmye

To round out the "Covers Anniversary", there will be some more random cover projects coming (Eighties covers, re-posting of old comps), but this one is the JEWEL.

And since I forgot to put them on the comp, check out this performance by Acoustic Madness of "I Might Be Wrong" - YT

And here's a great performance of a guy doing "15 Step" using only his iPhone! - YT

Brian presents Alice (Cooper) in Coverland

(Scott)-You know how I love these covers projects, and having attempted to create one or two I know how much of a challenge it is.....both Brian and Jonder are masters of the art, I doubt I will ever become such, but I sure do like them, and they are quite popular with the readers as well......this one covers a lot of the spectrum of the career of the one and only Alice Cooper......when I did a post on the band long ago, my feelings were then what they remain, that it is nearly impossible for someone in 2016 to understand how "shocking" their act was considered, unless you were there. My own grandmother (a long story there on its own) publicly said a prayer for my soul in church after she found I attended one of their shows......anyway, when all the gloss and glitter is stripped away, history declares them to be a fair-to-good hard rock singles band, playing sort of a Stonesy-MC5-ish type style. And, as a singles band, they/he are ripe for a covers project. Like the best in cover projects, this one avoids the carbon copy soundalikes and focuses on DOING SOMETHING with the song. This one is rocking as hell, REALLY some hard ass stuff on here.......and another winner. Thanks to Brian for the work on this one

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As so often happens with these covers comps, sudden inspiration and having a day off of work made me create something. A remark on the Bond Covers post about Alice Cooper's "Man With The Golden Gun" got me listening to my pile of Alice again, and the thought hit me like it usually does: covers!

I want to state right out my opinion on old "Al". I consider myself a well-rounded fan of his music. I recognize the earliest two albums as bizarre psych rock, the albums released by the classic 70's lineup are premium hard rock (Killer especially), and his first few solo albums are intensely structured "rock as theater" records. But.... my gateway to Alice was his late 80's music. That's right: albums like Constrictor, Raise Your Fist And Yell, and the oh so easily dismissed Trash. There were hooks, and they rocked me. And c'mon, I was 12 when the video for "Poison" was released. It meant something....

Anyway, disclaimers aside, this comp rocks! I found more musical variety than I expected. I was just gonna replicate the 70's Greatest Hits album, but found many more covers, including almost all the songs on Killer and Billion Dollar Babies. There's even a few interesting covers of 80's Alice songs. And the players here go beyond the usual metal band suspects you'd expect. The runtime is around 100 mins, like most of my comps end up being, strangely enough.

Anthrax start things of with a cover of "I'm Eighteen", off of their debut album Fistful Of Metal. Next is the great Entombed, who dig into the descending chords of "Black Juju" to deliver a heavy, faithful version. When the dude screams "Wake up!!!", it's metal as hell! Then Sonic Youth cover "Is It My Body?"... Kim Gordon was always meant to coo those lyrics. Man, I'm a fan and I never knew they covered this song! It's a great find.

The Melvins cover of "The Ballad Of Dwight Fry" comes from their awesome 1991 Lysol album. Finnish glam rockers Hanoi Rocks deliver a great live cover of "Under My Wheels". Eighties rockabilly oddball Mojo Nixon does an acoustic version of "Be My Lover"; I like how the desk bell is used as a percussion instrument! Black metallers Impaled Nazarene turn "Halo Of Flies" into an appropriately evil sonic shitstorm. Goth rock band Kathedral (who later evolved into Electric Frankenstein) deliver an awesome cover of "Desperado", maybe my favorite on the whole comp.

Garage rockers The Chesterfield Kings turn "You Drive Me Nervous" into the audio equivalent of a middle finger. Great stuff. Heavy metallers Iced Earth deliver a moodily heavy "Dead Babies". (And hey peeps, go hit up Scott's post of Iced Earth from awhile ago. It took some work, and needs some DLs.) I chose German power metal band Grave Digger for their version of "School's Out". It's just preposterous in its rawking; I love it. Industrial artist Pig warp "Hello Hooray" pretty good. Sounds like KMFDM or Foetus. Not surprising, since the guy was in both groups.

There is an Alice Cooper tribute album called Humanary Stew. It's one of those records where a producer assembles different groups of rock artists. I selected three tracks from it. The first is a version of "Elected", featuring Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, and Steve Jones. Next is a cover of "No More Mr Nice Guy" with Slash, Mike Inez, Carmine Appice, and with Roger Daltrey on vocals! I think it's pretty damn awesome. And then there's a cover of "Billion Dollar Babies" featuring George Lynch (of Dokken) on guitar and Phil Lewis (of L.A. Guns) on vocals.

Theatrical L.A. metal band Lizzy Borden (who were always influenced by Alice) do a faithful take of "Generation Landslide". Italian horror metal band Death SS are a perfect choice for "I Love The Dead". Fireball Ministry deliver a snarling version of "Muscle Of Love". There are many groups called The Now, and I don't know which one this is, but that's a great cover of "Teenage Lament '74". Flush The Fashion was Alice's ill-advised attempt at New Wave, and long ago The Smashing Pumpkins covered "Clones (We're All)" from it. Prog metal project Warmen perform a great heavy cover of "Man Behind The Mask", Alice's song about Friday The 13th.

Virginia tech metal band Arsis cover "Roses On White Lace" with a nice blackish metal crust. A band called Shining (I don't know which one) tear into "Prince Of Darkness". And to close things out, we've got three covers by three very different ladies. "Only Women Bleed" was a big hit for Alice, and many people have covered it. I chose this gospel-tinged version by none other than eternal Etta James. "How You Gonna See Me Now?" is from Alice's post-booze album From The Inside. I selected this jazz vocal version of the song by Dutch singer Laura Fygi. Not what you'd expect. I wanted to end with a cover of "Poison" - my gateway Alice tune - so I picked this acoustic one by a YouTube singer named Cleo. Give this version a listen... I mean this track could be a hit now, really.

Alice In Coverland

1. Anthrax - I'm Eighteen

2. Entombed - Black Juju

3. Sonic Youth - Is It My Body?

4. The Melvins - Ballad of Dwight Fry

5. Hanoi Rocks - Under My Wheels

6. Mojo Nixon - Be My Lover

7. Impaled Nazarene - Halo Of Flies

8. Kathedral - Desperado

9. The Chesterfield Kings - You Drive Me Nervous

10. Iced Earth - Dead Babies

11. Grave Digger - School's Out

12. Pig - Hello Hooray

13. Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum, Steve Jones - Elected 

14. George Lynch - Billion Dollar Babies

15. Slash, Mike Inez, Carmine Appice, and Roger Daltrey - No More Mr Nice Guy

16. Lizzy Borden - Generation Landslide  

17. Death SS - I Love The Dead

18. Fireball Ministry - Muscle Of Love                                        

19. The Now - Teenage Lament '74

20. Smashing Pumpkins - Clones (We're All)

21. Warmen - He's Back (The Man Behind The Mask)

22. Arsis - Roses On White Lace

23. Shining - Prince Of Darkness

24. Etta James - Only Women Bleed

25. Laura Fygi - How You Gonna See Me Now

26. Cleo - Poison

The bonus link for this post is an album by a duo of 70's FM Radio/Comedy guys. Thanks to Fuji Puzzle Box for originally hosting the files. Funny shit. (Plus, there's an older comedy link that needs some love).

Brian presents Exile on Covers Street

(Scott)- Rolling Stone magazine once picked "Exile" as the greatest rock album of all time......while I don't
agree (by a long shot), it's certainly a classic. Brian did his usual stellar job of creating a covers project (LORD, I have to do a few of those myself sometime, don't judge me!).......couple of unrelated thoughts.....I know I once did a Pussy Galore post, I'm sure it was long enough ago that their kinda cool track- for- track cover of "Exile" is long gone, it's much more interesting than listenable, but worth tracking down for the curiosity factor......also, in case you were unaware, Liz Phair's classic "Exile In Guyville", long a favorite of mine, is supposed to be a song for song "response" to the Stones "Exile", however, I've listened to it 1000 times and have NEVER made any such connection........perhaps if Liz wishes to come to my home and explain it to me while she sits on my face it would become more clear......anyway, Brian turns in another classic, it's great as you will see, and I've got so much shit backed up for the next couple of days you guys will be exploding in gratitude (or, perhaps NOT)......
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This one is probably my last Stones cover project. I thought putting together a cover version of Exile would be easy, but it took a lot of digging. I actually started this right after that cover version of Hot Rocks! I knew going in that Pussy Galore did a version of the whole Exile album, but given its fractious nature, I didn't want to use more than one track. That's why it took me longer. These things can wear a brother out....

Alt-Country group The Old 97's kick things off with a great version of "Rocks Off". Fortunately it downplays the horns a bit. Billy Squier (of all people) shows up for a rocking live cover of "Rip This Joint". German rockabilly powerhouses The Bosshoss deliver a killer version of "Shake Your Hips", which the Stones themselves covered from Slim Harpo. I've never heard of Privettricker, but this is about the only cover of "Casino Boogie" I could find, and I think it's good. The Gaslight Anthem's "Tumbling Dice" is as bleary-eyed and gorgeous as the original.

As a surprise, Jerry Lee Lewis himself does a cover of "Sweet Virginia". He changes "shit" to "shine", but it's a great performance anyway. I really like Blue Mountain's  "Torn and Frayed", from the alt-country Paint It Black tribute. Reggae group Wailing Souls do a great sun-drenched reggae version of "Sweet Black Angel". The Black Crowes perform a faithful live take on "Loving Cup". Those boys sure love the Stones, huh?

I had to dig for a version of "Happy", until I found this one by Elvis Costello. Forgive the fidelity and the phasing, but I couldn't pass up putting Elvis here. And I couldn't find any other good versions. I've never heard of Wrong Turn, but their take of "Turd On The Run" is almost psychobilly in it's intensity. Richard Hell's "Ventilator Blues" is as jagged as you'd expect from him. Phish deliver (of course) a long, jammy version of "I Just Want To See His Face".

I finally use Pussy Galore for their feedback-fueled rave up of "Let It Loose". Sheryl Crow does a good live cover of "All Down The Line". She's always good for a tune. The White Stripes make "Stop Breaking Down" sound like on of their own. Then I bring back Jennifer Warnes's great version of "Shine A Light". (NOTE: the version of this song I put on that anthology of hers a few months ago was shortened; you might want to copy this MP3 and retag it for that album.) And finally, I had a hard time finding a cover of "Soul Survivor", which was surprising. Then I found this by what I believe is a Japanese bar band named Brian Lunch. Maybe it's meant to be "brain lunch"...I don't know. But it rocks, either way.

1.) Old 97s - Rocks Off

2.) Billy Squier - Rip This Joint

3.) The Bosshoss - Shake Your Hips

4.) Privettricker - Casino Boogie

5.) The Gaslight Anthem - Tumbling Dice

6.) Jerry Lee Lewis - Sweet Virginia

7.) Blue Mountain - Torn and Frayed

8.) Wailing Souls - Sweet Black Angel

9.) The Black Crowes - Loving Cup

10.) Elvis Costello - Happy

11.) Wrong Turn - Turd On The Run

12.) Richard Hell - Ventilator Blues

13.) Phish - I Just Want To See His Face

14.) Pussy Galore - Let It Loose

15.) Sheryl Crow - All Down The Line

16.) The White Stripes- Stop Breaking Down

17.) Jennifer Warnes - Shine A Light

18.) Brian Lunch - Soul Survivor 

As always, hope this is enjoyed. The bonus link for this post is an early album by a great Scottish comedian/singer. He won't need explaining to UK readers, but to you folks here in the U.S., remember that ultimate badass Il Duce from The Boondock Saints? Did you know he was funny?

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And, at Brian's request, I am reposting the link for the ultimate cover project of all time, Brian's "Dylan" project.....some of the links are about to expire, and if you have not checked these out, DO SO NOW, do not ask for a reup in 2018, I will only make fun of you.......here is the whole thing, NO EXCUSES, every music lover on earth should have this, it's THAT great, and took more work than probably any post I have ever seen ANYONE make!

http://growboredbigscott62.blogspot.com/2015/09/150-artists-cover-bob.html