Goose Archives - Cover Me

Goose Combine “I Would Die 4 U” and Beverly Hills Cop Theme Live

Posted by Mike Tobyn at 9:00 am No Responses »

Nov 282023

The Festive Season is upon us, and jam-band fans know what that means: Goosemas. In preparation for their annual showcase in December, Goose played their first European tour in smaller venues and, in one case, on a moored boat. A portion of their devoted flock joined them, along with interested locals. During their first-ever show in Manchester, England, they played a cover, only their second, of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” with a new twist.

Of course, it is always an act of bravery to take on a Prince tune. To do it live when you know that this version exists, raises the stakes higher still. No trepidation shows. Opening the second set, Peter Anspach frames the piece with keyboards and then the band fill the scene, before Rick Mitarotonda takes on the improvisational duties. In a bravura performance, he goes through delicate phrasings and a panoply of power chords before something suddenly emerges.

Multiple listens do not give any hint of what is coming. If “Purple Rain” was one of the cultural phenomena of 1984, the surprise addition of “Axel F,” aka the theme to Beverly Hills Cop, was another. Bringing them together is something even Prince did not do.

Goose’s Manchester gig was one of the best-received on the tour and is available on Bandcamp.

Goose Jam Through Patriotic Debut of The Dead’s “US Blues”

Posted by Mike Tobyn at 12:00 pm No Responses »

Jul 172023

We recently wrote about how one chapter in the history of jam bands was ending, with the final show of Dead and Company (see: The 30 Best Grateful Dead Covers Ever). In another chapter, though, Norwalk, CT, based indie groove specialists Goose continue to write their own story. They have a close relationship with the Dead’s fanbase and have been joined by Bob Weir on occasion. They have covered many artists, across genres, but have made a specialty of Dead songs. The first appearance of “US Blues” came on the Stone Pony Summer Stage at Asbury Park on Independence Day. Continue reading »

The Best Covers of 1980s One Hit Wonders

Posted by Staff at 2:00 pm 3 Responses »

Jun 302023

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

Is the 1980s the best decade ever for one-hit wonders? So many classic songs came out that decade by not-so-classic bands. It was, perhaps, a particularly fickle time to be chasing pop-chart success. Many of the oft-discussed one hit wonder bands have killer catalogs, but, for whatever reason, those catalogs contain only one tune that is widely remembered today. If you like “Take on Me” or “Safety Dance,” check out the respective A-Ha and Men Without Hats albums they came from, both just as good! The same holds true for many other ’80s bands. Dead or Alive, pictured above, has some other killer jams too, but alas, these days they’re best known as the “you spin me right round” band.

So today, we celebrate the big one-off hits in new wave, synth-rock, easy listening, and other very-’80s genres with some knockout covers. From “867-5309/Jenny” (Tommy Tutone) to “Turning Japanese” (The Vapors) to “In a Big Country” (Big Country — maybe hard to follow-up a hit that has your band name in the title). Rock down to Electric Avenue, and let these covers take you higher.
Continue reading »

The Best Covers of 1950s One Hit Wonders

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am 2 Responses »

May 052023

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

As regular readers know, every month we put together a giant list we call Best Covers Ever. We take a household-name artist and count down the best covers of their songs. We’ve done Bob Dylan and Beyoncé and Billy Joel and Bee Gees and Britney Spears and Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen and Buddy Holly and those are just the B’s.

What do all of those “B” artists have in common? Not much, except for this: They all have a lot of different songs that get covered by a lot of different people.

But there are some artists who will likely never get their own list here. Why not? Maybe they just don’t get covered enough. Or maybe they get covered often — but people mostly just cover a single song. These are the artists we colloquially call One Hit Wonders. And in a special series starting today, we’re celebrating covers of their songs. Continue reading »

Full Albums: The Grateful Dead’s ‘Europe ’72’

Posted by Curtis Zimmermann at 3:00 pm No Responses »

Mar 302022

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

On April 7, 1972, the Grateful Dead hit the stage at Wembley Empire Pool in London, kicking off a multi-city European tour. The 22-date outing would eventually be immortalized in the three-LP live album it spawned: Europe ‘72.

The tour has been chronicled heavily in band members’ memoirs, remembered for both its great musical output as well as its levels of unbridled debauchery, excessive even by the standards of the Dead. For the band at the time, the tour felt like a monumental undertaking that included both scores of people and mountains of gear. In A Long Strange Trip: The Inside History of the Grateful Dead, Dennis McNally cataloged everything that came along for the journey, which included: “seven musicians, ten crew, five staff, seventeen assorted friends, wives, girlfriends and children … They brought themselves and fifteen tons of instruments, a sound system, and a sixteen-track recording system which they would install in a truck as a mobile studio. There was also lighting gear and their first traveling lighting designer.”

That spring, the band’s lineup was in a state of evolution. It was their last tour to include founding member Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, who would pass away in 1973. The husband and wife duo, pianist Keith Godchaux and vocalist Donna, were firmly entrenched in the band. Mickey Hart was on hiatus after his father had stolen money from the band, leaving Bill Kreutzmann as the band’s lone drummer. Given both this blend of musicians and the high quality of the recording equipment, the shows have a unique sound that differs from other eras of the band’s music.

While many bands use live albums as an easy way of fulfilling their contract or rehashing their greatest hits, Europe ‘72 is very much a complete work in its own right. The 17-track, three record set contained practically a full album’s worth of new material mixed in with older tracks. There are six new songs that were never even included on any studio records, three previously unreleased covers and two instrumental jams. Given the album and tour’s popularity among Deadheads, in 2011 the band released a more exhaustive collection, Europe ‘72: The Complete Recordings, a 73-CD box set.

As Deadhead nation marks the album and tour’s 50th anniversary, we decided to put together our own form of celebration. Here’s a breakdown of live covers of every single track on the album.
Continue reading »

Under the Radar: Goose

Posted by Sara Stoudt at 10:00 am No Responses »

Feb 092021

Under the Radar shines a light on lesser-known cover artists. If you’re not listening to these folks, you should. Catch up on past installments here.

Goose, whose name was inspired by an inside taco-related joke between bandmates Peter Anspach, Ben Atkind, Trevor Bass, and Rick Mitarotonda, formed in Connecticut in 2006. Many point to their performance at the Peach Festival in Scranton, PA in 2019 as the moment that elevated them from local heroes to more widespread fame.

Following in the footsteps of great jam bands before them (yes, they get compared to Phish a lot), Goose is known for keeping the vibe going with extended instrumentals. They’ve been keeping busy during the pandemic, even profiting from a “Bingo Tour” where they live stream a setlist determined in real time by random draws of bingo balls and raising money for charity.

Throughout their different gigs they’ve performed quite a few covers. Let’s check out a sampling of them.