Cover Freak

Albert Hofmann, the chemist who discovered LSD, died recently at the age of 102. His discovery changed the world in ways large and small, good and bad. Don’t forget that Doc Ellis pitched a no-hitter on acid. Here’s a collection of acid rock, the musical style Mr. Hofmann indirectly helped create.

The Zig Zag People “Little Bit Of Soul” (Music Explosion)
Uncle Flakey pointed me at this album, which was at the extremely cool Redtelephone66 blog. The Zig Zag People recorded an entire album of acid rock covers of bubblegum songs. And I’m so very glad they did.

Curfew “Ode To Billie Joe” (Bobbie Gentry)
This song is sort of a paint-by-numbers primer on how to do acid rock. It’s got the weird time changes, the totally unnecessary keyboard solo in the middle, and the shouted vocals.

Blue Cheer “Summertime Blues” (Eddie Cochran)
You listen to this and you wonder what kind of ungodly noise these kids could have made if they actually knew how to play their instruments. Mister Mitch reminded me that they became much less interesting as they became more “musical” on their later albums.

Fever Tree “Ninety-Nine And A Half (Won’t Do)” (Wilson Pickett)
They’re pretty insistent, even if they don’t sound as desperate as Wilson Pickett. Or even Creedence Clearwater Revival.

Vanilla Fudge”Ticket To Ride” (The Beatles)
And here’s the softer side of acid rock. It’s mellow and dreamy but still completely drug-addled. I remember reading a quote from one of the guys in the Fudge to the effect that when they played in bars the owners couldn’t understand why the audience didn’t drink. I think it was the blotter.

One of my neighbors grew up near the lakeshore in Michigan. Her home decor consists mostly of stuff with sailboats and lighthouses on it. A recent visit to her house made “Sloop John B” start running endlessly through my head. Which led to this post.

Barry McGuire “Sloop John B” (Beach Boys)
Yeah, it’s the “Eve Of Destruction” guy. In fact, this is from his Eve Of Destruction album. Thanks to the dynamic Uncle Flakey for bringing it to my attention.

A-Bones “Rock The Boat” (Hues Corporation)
Any disco song sounds better with a Bo Diddly beat.

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee “Sail Away” (Randy Newman)
This is a beautiful, sarcastic song that Randy Newman wrote before he went all sappy and started whoring himself to Disney. Terry and McGhee give it a great bluesy spin.

Face To Face “I’m Popeye The Sailor Man” (Cartoon Theme Song)
As soon as you get your sea legs you can start pumping your fist.

George Clinton “The Banana Boat Song” (Harry Belafonte)
Harry Belafonte’s cool and all, but he just can’t bring the funk like George Clinton.

Thursday marks May Day, the international worker’s holiday that we don’t celebrate in the U.S. because it was invented by dirty commies. Feel free to listen to these songs in solidarity with your comrades.

The Busters “Friday On My Mind” (The Easybeats)
Some songs are just fated to become ska covers.

The Recliners “Working For The Weekend” (Loverboy)
The Recliners are a lounge band out of Austin. They work the same territory as Richard Cheese but with a bit more range.

Stevie Wonder “Sixteen Tons” (Tennessee Ernie Ford)
Stevie Wonder has this knack for making other people’s songs sound like his own songs, whether that’s appropriate or not. Sing along with Stevie on this one. Or hum if you’d prefer.

The Notting Hilbillies “Railroad Work Song” (Traditional)
I’ve never handed my hammer to the boss and run away but I did once go to lunch and not come back.

David Lindley and Wally Ingram “Do You Want My Job?” (Little Village)
This song is so tragically sad. I try to remember that no matter how bad my job seems, at least I’m not dumping plutonium into the bay.

In case you missed it, head on over to Coverville to listen to a roundtable discussion about covers featuring myself, Liza of Copy, Right?, Jamie of Fong Songs, Joshua of Cover Lay Down, and Kurtis of Covering The Mouse. I make a strong first impression by muting my microphone while I’m being introduced. And to think I used to be a college disc jockey.

Thanks to Brian of Coverville for inviting me to participate and to the other bloggers for putting up with me. And congrats to Brian on his 450th podcast.

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I used to work at the corner of LaSalle and Chicago. There was a hole in the wall nearby called the Joanne Piano Bar. Several of my coworkers frequented the place. I went there a couple of times but it wasn’t my scene. I just wasn’t urban-hipster enough, I guess. So here’s a tribute to the late great Joanne.

Emm Gryner “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (Def Leppard)
Generous reader Hanne shared this with me some time ago. She says that she used to play it alongside the original when she was teaching orchestration and arranging. I can only imagine the expressions on the faces of her students.

Tori Amos “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (Nirvana)
If anybody tells you that there aren’t too many covers of “Teen Spirit” just play this for them. They’ll shut up pretty quickly.

Greg Laswell “Girls Just Want To Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper)
They may want to have fun but this song doesn’t make them sound all that enthusiastic about it.

Giant Sand “Iron Man” (Black Sabbath)
Kick back with a martini and enjoy some smooth jazz.

Twink “Beautiful World” (Devo)
Twink does some really interesting things with toy pianos. Check out their website.

Update: Hey folks, check out Coverville to hear a roundtable discussion about covers featuring myself and other cover bloggers.

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It’s cold and rainy, but let’s remember that April showers bring May flowers. And some pretty good songs to boot.

Bryan Ferry “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (Bob Dylan)
I want to be like Bryan Ferry when I grow up. He’s so suave. He also does a great job of reinterpreting other people’s songs.

Sally Timms and Jon Langford “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” (Roy Acuff)
Why aren’t there more songs that feature bicycle bells?

Jebediah “It’s Raining Men” (The Weather Girls)
Wikipedia describes this song as a “classic female anthem,” which was news to me. I’ve always identified it more with the gay disco scene. But what do I know?

Deadbolt “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head” (B.J. Thomas)
This song comes to us from a surf tribute album to Burt Bacharach. The music doesn’t matter, I just love that concept.

Cracker “Rainy Days And Mondays” (The Carpenters)
Even by Karen Carpenter’s standards this is one mopey song. David Lowry’s surfer drawl fits it perfectly.