“Paranoid” was Black Sabbath‘s biggest hit and, hilariously, it makes them a one-hit wonder in the UK (they never had a Top 4 hit in the US). I honestly thought “War Pigs” or “Iron Man” would have eclipsed it in popularity over the years but “Paranoid” remains far and away both their most covered song and their most streamed song. Continue reading »
‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
“We are The Clash!” they sang on their final album. The artists below are not The Clash (even if one of them, in covering that very song, says they are). For the most part, they sound nothing like The Clash. It turns out, though, that Clash songs sound great in a wide array of styles, from trip-hop electronic to orchestral pop, olde-time a cappella to walking-bass lounge jazz.
Go straight to our clampdown—sorry, countdown—of the 30 best Clash covers on the next page.
The Beaches released one of the best albums of last year with No Hard Feelings. Now they’ve followed up with a Flock of Seagulls cover. Why? Why not! They don’t veer too far away from the original arrangement, but add an extra dose of indie-rock crunch. Halfway through it gets a little more shoegazy and expansive, with a huge build.
This deeper cut is a high point of the Damned’s new covers record, which, per our review, “takes the song into near heavy metal territory, if leavened by the catchy choral chorus, which, especially with the bass and drums, comes over like the Who in their prime.” Continue reading »
Nessa Barrett delivered a beautiful cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” during her recent appearance on Triple J’s “Like a Version,” stripping the country classic down to its emotional core. Paired only with an acoustic guitar, Barrett’s husky and sweet vocals are the star of the performance. The self-proclaimed Dolly fan said the decision to cover “Jolene” was in part because it is one of her favorite Parton tracks. Continue reading »
That the Damned should still be around, still plugging the same level of 2-D technicolor bombast, should be no surprise. Cartoon characters don’t age, so why should the Archies of Punk? But these are grown men, all approaching 70 from one direction or another, and nobody lives forever. Which is sort of the point and the purpose of Not Like Everybody Else.
This is a true tribute album, a celebration both of the band’s influences and of their bandmate Brian James, who died last March. James was the catalyst who pulled this motley crew of reprobates together, back in the dim and distant 1970s, writing the vast bulk of songs on their first two albums, cementing their name and reputation as trailblazers in the emergent punk scene. With chaotic and rabid live performances their calling card, this first iteration of the band burned at both ends, lasting barely a couple of years.
In the fifty years since, there have been innumerable variations and versions of the band, stumbling from lineup to lineup, label to label, yet always guaranteed to kick up a skirmish live, with a slow and steady trickle of singles to keep them in the public eye. With, as always, Dave Vanian at the helm, on vocals and Dracula impersonations, there have been upward of 20 members, yet it is that earliest line up that is inked in most indelibly: Vanian, James, Rat Scabies on drums, and Captain Sensible on bass and then guitar. So much so that, in 2024, that lineup convened for a sellout tour. With James already ill, that was as much as anything a means to give him a financial leg up, but it was nonetheless triumphant.
Now, with his death, the band celebrate his life with this set of covers, the sort of songs that inspired them back in the day, and probably still do. Possibly a surprising selection, but then, they were never really hardwired for punk, with always a love of psychedelic garage rock coursing through their veins, and a good touch of goth for good measure. The omnipresent Vanian leads from the front, with Captain Sensible on guitar. Having patched up their differences on the re-union tour, Rat Scabies has stayed on behind the drum kit. Paul Gray, on and off bassist since 1980, makes up the quartet, abetted by Monty Oxymoron, a permanent fixture since 1986, if curiously always absent from publicity shots, on keyboards.
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In what seems like the inverse of what has been happening lately, fans of The Smiths and Morrissey fans got to hear some of their songs live on stage. The comedy group The State came together at SF SketchFest to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their film Wet Hot American Summer. Part of that celebration included a performance by Death Cab for Cutie‘s Ben Gibbard with The Smiths tribute band the Sweet and Tender Hooligans. (Also joining with performances of their own were comedians Ana Gasteyer, Tony Hale and Natasha Leggero and musician Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go’s.) Continue reading »