Five Good Covers Archives - Page 3 of 39

Five Good Covers: “God Bless the Child” (Billie Holiday)

Posted by Patrick Robbins at 10:00 am No Responses »

Apr 072023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

Today marks the 108th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s birth. Her significance as a singer needs no elaboration from me; her songs speak for themselves, just as they have spoken to the souls of millions. “Strange Fruit” is considered her signature work, but a good argument has been made that “God Bless the Child” is of equal significance, with the added fillip of a sense of hope.

Born from an argument over money Holiday had with her mother, the song still has the zest of anger lain across it. But it also shows the way out; hard work, it’s implied, will bear its own fruit, both material and spiritual. The hope may not be powerfully warm, nor even all that self-evident, but it’s there, and it can help to lift you out and up.

With more than five hundred covers produced and released over the years, it’s impossible to single out only five as being among the best. That’s why you’ll find six featured here, and believe me, it could have been sixty. We hope these half-dozen bring you all that Mama may have and Papa may have.

Five Good Covers: “‘Til I Gain Control Again” (Rodney Crowell/Emmylou Harris)

Posted by Seuras Og at 1:00 pm 3 Responses »

Mar 242023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

If everything about Rodney Crowell were forgotten save for “‘Til I Gain Control Again,” he wouldn’t be forgotten at all. Which is a clumsy way of saying that this long-established writer, singer and performer, the author of a mighty, mighty tome of material, can sleep content in the knowledge that he has written at least one stone-cold classic.

Mind you, for the purposes of this piece, let’s not forget that the original iteration of this beauty came via the incomparable throat of Emmylou Harris. It made for the show-stopping side one closer on her second record, Elite Hotel. While she and Crowell have played a lot of shows together this century, as a double header, way back then he was just one of the hired hands in her incomparable Hot Band. Alongside the players couped from Elvis Presley’s TCB band, James Burton and Glen D. Hardin, Crowell was the fresh-faced rhythm guitarist who was hired to sing duets with Harris and write some songs. He delivered “Blueberry Wine” for her debut, sufficient reason to be kept on.

It is a relief that the Harris version is the de facto original. Not because Crowell can’t give it a decent going over (he can), but because, were it not, it would be a shoo-in for this selection. We are thus granted five full further versions, all of which cast a slightly different sheen on this quintessential country weepie.
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Five Good Covers: “Baby, Please Don’t Go”

Posted by Seuras Og at 12:00 pm 1 Response »

Feb 242023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

What makes the original artist of a cover? Does it depend on which you heard first? Me, I doubt even I could pretend my initial exposure to “Baby Please Don’t Go” was the original I held dearest and first to my heart. I’ll go further: I bet, that for many, the first notes of “Baby Please Don’t Go” they ever heard came from the whip-thin guitar of Billy Harrison (unless the rumors are true and it was actually session veteran Jimmy Page). He was part of Belfast’s finest, Them, with none other than Mr. Grumpyguts himself, Van Morrison, in moodily magnificent vocal form even then.

But no, Them’s take wasn’t the original, that being the domain of good old trad. arr., responsible for any number of ancient ditties that have transformed and transmogrified over the ages, across oceans and genres. But for the purposes of this piece, Them’s take is my original, even if their version was drawn from the twin wells of Big Joe Williams, the first recorded iteration, in 1935, and John Lee Hooker‘s 1949 version, which lopped the “please” off the title.
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Five Good Covers: “Baltimore” (Randy Newman)

Posted by Seuras Og at 1:00 pm 3 Responses »

Feb 172023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

It seems a shame that people today know Randy Newman better known for Toy Story than for the rest of his career, but I guess that is a legacy few would mind having. Anyway, I doubt his accountant is complaining. Of course, Newman has a wealth of uberfans, who will crawl out of the woodwork at any such treason, proclaiming as to the width and wonder of his canon and his voice (both his writing voice and his distinctive drawl of a croak, each a different kind of acquired taste).

“Baltimore” is a perfect example of a Newman song that comes at a topic in an unconventional way. It’s not a love song to the city; indeed, Newman appreciated from the start that it might court some controversy. I have never been, but, between him and Bobby Bare, the picture painted of the Maryland city does not attract. From his 1977 album Little Criminals, backed by members of the Eagles, he near-decimates the postindustrial wreck of a city, counterbalancing the barbs with an actually quite delightful, if simple, melody. And his own vocal delivery isn’t half as bad as my memory suggested. Quite good, actually. Very good, even.

Good enough, certainly, to attract the ears of many of his contemporaries; according to the bible of cover versions, www.secondhandsongs.com, there have been upward of 20 versions since, and counting. Let’s find the five best.
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Five Good Covers: “See No Evil” (Television)

Posted by Patrick Robbins at 1:00 pm No Responses »

Feb 032023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

January 2023 was not a good month for guitar heroes. Not three weeks after Jeff Beck passed away, Tom Verlaine followed him to the great gig in the sky. Both were hailed from all corners of the music world and valued for their contributions to their instrument. Verlaine had one advantage to music fans’ hearts that Beck didn’t – he was the front man for Television, writing the band’s songs and singing them with a voice of strangled urgency.

Millions of people listened to Television’s Marquee Moon this week, whether in memoriam or to find out what all the fuss was about. The opening track, “See No Evil,” was a thrilling introduction to one of the era’s greatest albums. It saw great interplay with guitarist Richard Lloyd (that’s Lloyd doing the solo), and bassist Fred Smith and drummer Billy Ficca held down a solid rhythm that allowed Verlaine and Lloyd the chances to drive, lift, and soar.

Five Good Covers: “Hammond Song” (The Roches)

Posted by Jordan Becker at 2:00 pm 5 Responses »

Jan 202023

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

In 1975, after an apprenticeship with Paul Simon and two years of grueling touring on the college circuit, Maggie and Terre Roche released their debut album, Seductive Reasoning, which featured songs written by Maggie. The album was not a success, and the sisters became disillusioned by the process and the music business. Telling their label that they were no longer going to promote the album, Maggie and Terre retreated to Hammond, Louisiana, where they slept in a friend’s kung fu studio and worked as waitresses.

In 1976, they returned to New York, where they tended bar at Folk City. With younger sister Suzzy, who was studying acting, they busked on street corners singing Christmas carols. The trio performed at clubs throughout the Village, creating a buzz about the sister act with the quirky harmonies and great songs, and they signed with Warner Brothers Records.

In 1978, the sisters went into the studio to record their first album as a trio. In what seemed an odd pairing, the producer was Robert Fripp, whose philosophy of simply recording what they sounded like (he called it “audio vérité”) was appealing, especially after Maggie and Terre’s experience with the more traditional process of using studio musicians. The self-titled debut album was a critical success–it was The New York Times’ album of the year, and finished at #11 in The Village Voice’s prestigious Pazz & Jop poll.

One of the album’s standout tracks, “Hammond Song,” was written by Maggie about her experiences in Hammond, Louisiana, but like many great songs, it is really about more. It’s about independence and making your own decisions—but it also includes the other side of the argument. And it features the incredible harmonies that the Roches are known for–Terre taking the high part, Suzzy holding down the middle, and Maggie anchoring the bottom. It also sees Fripp taking a guitar solo that’s one of The Roches‘ highlights. The notoriously finicky Pitchfork named it the 170th best song of the 1970s.
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