Cover News: May 8, 2010

Posted by Ray Padgett at 4:00 pm 3 Responses »

May 082010

Cover News is a weekly feature keeping you up to date on the goings-on in the world of cover tunes, tribute albums, etc. At the bottom we showcase the submissions we’ve been sent in the past week (send us yours)! As always, follow Cover Me on Twitter for the latest news.

Courtney Love

This Week’s News

You ain’t never heard “Livin’ on a Prayer” the way Coconut and the Duke do it. [Cover Me]
Continue reading »

Cover Commissions is a monthly series in which a featured artist covers a reader-selected song for this blog. Any artists interested in participating, email me.

Once upon a time, not so long ago…

A song covered as often as “Livin’ on a Prayer” presents a challenge to any artist. When big haired Bon Jovi narrowly beat littler haired Arcade Fire in last month’s Cover Commissions poll though, Coconut and the Duke accepted that challenge. The people had spoken, but could the Wisconsin duo ring any more life from the song that spawned a million fist-pumps?

They delivered in spades. It’s folk, it’s jazz; it’s ironic, it’s sincere; it’s Mark Knopfler, it’s Dean Martin. It’s hard to describe. I’ll turn it over to them.

Coconut writes:  

I talked to a former record store owner from Minneapolis (Roadrunner and Aardvark) who said he’d never heard Bon Jovi’s song ‘Living on a Prayer’. That impressed me. He said he “probably sold a lot of their records, but he didn’t see any reason to play their music”. This song had to be one of the most popular of the 80′s. If you didn’t listen to it, eventually, you were forced to hear it. I thought this song would make a good cover mainly because I am interested in the final days of the record store music industry. Where people went in and talked to an employee or other audiophile about who is making interesting music. My reason for singing it is more nostalgia for an era than for a particular song. Now more than ever, artists are ‘Living on a Prayer’ .   

The Duke writes:  

When ‘Living On A Prayer’ was voted in by your readers, my first thoughts were: Let’s do it a la Frank Sinatra (another great New Jersey export). But then I realized, to pull off Old Blue Eyes, we would need that Big Band sound. A challenge to say the least. I wanted to stick to a jazz style, as jazz is a big part of our Invasive Folk sound. Joe and I bounced around some chord changes and different jazz styles, ultimately going with one of our favorite tunes. After laying down some basic tracks, it took Coconut and I a few takes to “find” the song. First there was too many instruments. Then, the vocals needed developing. After filling the song with loads of instruments and vocal overdubs, we realized less was more. ’80s hair bands were known for excess. We wanted our version to stray from BJ’s, using ukulele, electric guitar, mandolin, bass and simple vocals.

“Stray from BJ’s” it certainly does. You ain’t never heard “Livin’ on a Prayer” like this!

Coconut and the Duke – Livin’ on a Prayer (Bon Jovi)

BONUS: The guys even made a video for it (love the tongue-in-cheek title):

Check out more Coconut and the Duke at their website, MySpace or CD Baby.

This mp3 may be freely shared with the artist’s blessing. Post it on your blog, send it to your friends, tweet it to the world. When you do though, please include a link to this site to promote future installments of Cover Commissions.

Full Albums: London Calling

Posted by Ray Padgett at 3:22 pm 7 Responses »

May 032010

The first post of the month features covers of every track on a famous album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

London Calling entered into the world in December 1979, but didn’t make its stateside debut for another month. That makes 2010 the album’s 30th anniversary on this side of the pond. It’s aged well. While many classic albums sound very much of their time — that’s not to say dated — London Calling sounds like something that could have been made yesterday. With the cover image and the cover songs, the politics and the pop, the ambitious two-disc package set a bar that no double album has since matched. So, all together now: “And I…live by the river!”

Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl and Little Steven Van Zandt – London Calling
Many artists cross genres with “London Calling,” ranging from bossa nova (Bruce Lash) to surf instrumental (The Pyronauts). Somehow though, kicking this set off with anything besides a balls-to-the-wall rocker seemed wrong. This all-star performance comes from a Grammy tribute to Joe Strummer. [Buy]

The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Brand New Cadillac (Vince Taylor)
The Clash wasted no time getting to the rockabilly, turning Vince Taylor’s 1958 twelve-bar b-side into a full throttled rave-up. Setzer and his orchestra jump, jive and wail through their unique brand of big band punk, adding in a touch of the Theme from Peter Gunn. [Buy]

Skarabazoo – Jimmy Jazz
You may never have noticed the subdued whistle in the intro to this one, but Skarabazoo pushes it front and center. The Italian accent adds a suitably sinister touch. [Buy]

No Doubt – Hateful
Before all the B-A-N-A-N-A-S nonsense, Gwen Stefani could pull off some real punk swagger. [Buy]

The Cocktail Preachers – Rudie Can’t Fail
The Charlie Does Surf tribute album settles comfortably into the über-niche genre of instrumental surf-rock. The Cocktail Preachers buck the trend though, shouting out “Rudie can’t fail” one whole time! Such rebels. [Buy]

Brady Harris – Spanish Bombs
Brady’s fantastic Cover Charge album polishes everyone from Motörhead to the Killers with a country-folk gloss. Check out the “Heart of Glass” cover he recorded for Cover Me back in February. [Buy]

Southern Arts Society – The Right Profile
In 1956, screen star Montgomery Clift was driving home from a party at Elizabeth Taylor’s. Having had one too many, he smashed his car into a tree, destroying his famous good looks with one crunch of glass and metal. His next ten years have been described as the “longest suicide in Hollywood history.” The Clash wrote this song about it. [Buy]

Petty Booka – Lost in the Supermarket
Joe Strummer wrote this song imagining the childhood of guitarist Mick Jones (who sang lead on the track). Japanese ukulele player Booka adds a dose of cute without losing the sad. [Buy]

The National – Clampdown
In music history, 2010 may be remembered as the Year of the National. Everyone from Rolling Stone to NPR is stumbling over themselves praising High Violet, the most anticipated album of the spring. The stream over at the New York Times indicates it might live up to the hype. [Buy]

Calexico – The Guns of Brixton
Fun trivia fact: Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong named his son Brixton after this song. Must be cheery growing up as an homage to police repression. [Buy]

Buck-O-Nine – Wrong ‘Em Boyo (The Rulers)
The classic death-ballad tale of Stagger Lee, a southern pimp convicting of murdering William “Billy” Lyons on Christmas Eve 1885, gets twisted around. In the Rulers’ version, Stagger Lee is the hero of the tale. St. Louis’ Riverfront Times hosts a telling. [Buy]

Social Distortion – Death or Glory
Following a few years behind the Clash, Social Distortion gave punk anger a West coast spin. They didn’t get around to covering the Clash until 2005 though, on the soundtrack to the skateboard film Lord of Dogtown. [Buy]

La Furia – Koka Kola
La Furia are a Clash cover band with a twist: every song gets translated into Spanish. [Buy]

James Dean Bradfield – The Card Cheat
The Manic Street Preachers singer busted out this relative obscurity at a 2006 festival appearance. This underrated narrative describes the rise and fall (mostly fall) of a dishonest gambler. [Buy]

Mauri – Lover’s Rock
If one had to name London Calling’s Achilles heel, this song might be it. It aims for insight into the tension between love and sex, but quickly devolves into blowjob puns. [Buy]

Creation Rockers – Four Horsemen
The Clash roiled punk purists by incorporating outside styles like reggae. Shatter the Hotel: A Dub Inspired Tribute to Joe Strummer pays it back. [Buy]

Thea Gilmore – I’m Not Down
Gilmore popped up here last week, beautifying Dylan’s “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine.” Now she’s back with an anthem for society’s trampled on. [Buy]

Los Fabulosos Cadillacs – Revolution Rock (Jackie Edwards & Danny Ray)
And we’re back to Spanish, on a track from these prolific Argentineans’ 1994 album Vasoc Vacíos (Empty Glasses). [Buy]

Dwight Yoakam – Train in Vain
Johnny Cash once called Yoakam his favorite country singer, which is about as much endorsement as anyone should need. [Buy]

Last month’s album: So, by Peter Gabriel.

Each week Shuffle Sundays features a cover chosen at random. The songs will usually be good, occasionally be bad, always be interesting. All downloads will only be available for one week, so get them while you can.

“Jesus Is on the Main Line” was first recorded by folk ethnomusicologiest Alan Lomax, recording his discovery Mississippi Fred McDowell in the late ‘50s. The song likely claims a longer history though — the railroad metaphor could date it as far back as the late 1800s.

Aerosmith released the most well-known version on their 2004 blues covers disc Honkin’ on Bobo. Before that, roots rocker Ry Cooder laid claim to the title. On his 1974 career-defining album Paradise and Lunch he found the bridge between gospel and rock. Here’s a live performance from around the time.

Cooder produced Mavis Staple’s 2007 comeback album We’ll Never Turn Back, so one might reasonably guess he nudged her towards the tune. Her rich baritone takes its time through the opening bars, building over six minutes to a call-and-response with a choir that shakes the rafters. If that doesn’t fill you with the holy spirit, nothing will.

Mavis Staples – Jesus Is on the Main Line (Trad.) [Buy]

What do you think? Sound off in the comments section below.

Cover News: May 1, 2010

Posted by Ray Padgett at 1:00 pm 2 Responses »

May 012010

The Arcade Fire

This Week’s News

The latest Cover Commissions brings us an ethereal “Political Science” by We Are the Willows. Check in next week to vote on May’s Cover Commissions! [Cover Me]

On April Fool’s Day, I tricked our Twitter followers with a claim that Matt at You Ain’t No Picasso had posted a bunch of Arcade Fire covers. Inspired by the joke, he did just that two weeks later. You’re welcome, internet. [YANP]

We already knew Bettye LaVette’s album tackling “The British Rock Songbook” would be amazing. “All My Love” confirms it. [Spinner]

The Flaming Lips released their Dark Side of the Moon tribute on vinyl a few weeks ago, promoting it with an acid-trippy “Breathe” on Jimmy Fallon. [The Music Slut]

We’ve posted Via Tania’s cover of “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” back in January. Now she’s back, in front of a mountain, with a ukulele Fever Ray cover. [Filter]

Keller Williams makes the short list (very short) of Jam Band Artists Non-Jam Fans Can Enjoy, so his Thief covers album should me fun. [Glide]

Bon Iver covered Peter Gabriel for Record Store Day. He then covered Tom Petty just for the hell of it. [Each Note Secure]

Girl in a Coma (nice Smiths reference) has released the third and final volume of their Adventures in Coverland series. Listen to the tunes online and then pick it up on vinyl. [Blackheart]

If you want to destroy my sweater, hold this thread as I walk away. [Stereogum]

It’s a few weeks old, but Josh Ritter covering “Moon River” is worth any delay. [Daytrotter]

Florence and the Machine wants to get into your pants with this Mario Winans cover. [Billboard]

The AV Club continues their series of exclusive cover videos and includes a tantalizing list of to-be-posted songs. “Who will cover Journey’s ‘Faithfully’?” the site asks. Any chance the answer is “No one”? [The AV Club]

This Week’s Submissions

Christopher Bryant – Frank Sinatra (Cake) [more]

Christopher Bryant – Going the Distance (Cake) [more]

Christopher Bryant – Italian Leather Sofa (Cake) [more]

Christopher Bryant – Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps (~~Cake~~ Farrés/Davis) [more]

Deerhoof – Hitch Hike (LiLiPUT) [more]

Grand Mal – Rich Girl (Hall & Oates) [more]

Grand Mal – Winter In (Gene Clark) [more]

Grand Mal – You Should Be Ashamed (Emitt Rhodes) [more]

The Hecklers – Rock N Roll Is Dead (The Rubinoos) [more]

Peter Pracek – Kokomo Me, Baby (Mississippi Fred McDowell) [more]

Peter Parcek – Showbiz Blues (Fleetwood Mac) [more]