Cover Classics: Beat the Retreat: Songs By Richard Thompson

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Sep 142012
 

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

Richard Thompson is an ideal subject for a tribute album. He’s been acknowledged as the most underrated guitarist in rock for so long he’s in danger of losing the title. His songwriting is inspired, both musically and lyrically. If his singing voice is by default the weak leg in the tripod, that only means a band can put their own stamp on it with greater ease. To top it off, his cult audience would guarantee small but significant sales to people who knew music and who would be more open to a wide range of approaches to Thompson’s songs. 1994’s Beat the Retreat: Songs by Richard Thompson is a gathering of some of Thompson’s best work, performed by disparate artists with devoted followers of their own, bringing all their contrasting styles to salute one man – as such, for all its flaws, it has become an archetypal tribute album. Continue reading »

Back Track: X Adds Extremes to Jerry Lee Lewis’ “Breathless”

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Sep 052012
 

Back Track reexamines an old cover that deserves a new spotlight.

In 1983 X released More Fun in the New World, which became the fourth consecutive album to garner critical praise, and no doubt helped solidify their status as L.A. punk legends. More Fun was crisper than their previous albums, but no less raw and passionate. John Doe and Exene Cervenka still wrote their lyrics as if they were simply writing poems, and while there were more elements of pop to this album, the band’s punk and rockabilly roots held a presence. Continue reading »

Stream the ‘Beat LA’ Covers Album, Featuring No Age, Crystal Antlers, and More

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Aug 022011
 

Last month, we mentioned a new tribute compilation of Los Angeles bands today covering their L.A. influences. Titled Beat LA, the punk-leaning album features city upstarts like No Age and Crystal Antlers digging deep into L.A.’s musical history to cover bands both obvious (The Doors, Minutemen) and less so (Thelonious Monster, 20/20). It’s out today and you can stream the whole thing below. Continue reading »

They Say It’s Your Birthday: Merle Haggard

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Apr 062011
 

They Say It’s Your Birthday celebrates an artist’s special day with other people singing his or her songs. Let others do the work for a while. Happy birthday!

Thirty-eight number one country hits, numerous Academy of Country Music awards, three Grammy Awards and somewhere around 10 billion studio and live albums (give or take): Merle Haggard has accomplished a good deal in his 74 years on this planet. He has experienced his share of hardships as well – “hard living,” four marriages, heart problems and recent lung cancer – but he still continues to release albums and tour constantly. As an originator of both the Bakersfield sound and outlaw country, Haggard came upon the scene at a time when country music had drifted far from its roots, with overwrought, schmaltzy ballads dominating the charts. Along with Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, he helped inject a much-needed dose of reality, likely rescuing the genre from a permanent descent into the adult contemporary wilderness. Continue reading »

Song of the Day: YACHT, “Nausea” (X Cover)

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Aug 092010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Many albums go gold. Many albums make best-ever lists. But how many albums earn the band an “Official Certificate of Recognition from the City of Los Angeles”? That’s a unique claim to fame if there ever was one, but X’s Los Angeles did just that. Apparently whoever decides these things didn’t understand that the flaming Klan-style X on the cover and lyrics about sex and blood isn’t exactly “I Love L.A.”

The Doors’ organist Ray Manzarek produced the record, cajoling the band into covering “Soul Kitchen.” Thirty years later, BBC Radio 6 cajoled YACHT into covering the album’s next track, “Nausea.” The punk-rock fury becomes a lowkey dance jam. It sounds like LCD Soundsystem with better singing. A winning combination. Continue reading »

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