Each week I'm posting a random or not-so-random cover song. Only the current week's track will be available but if you see a past one you'd like, contact me and we'll make arrangements.
If you are the copyright holder of the current track and wish it to be taken down please contact me to do so.
Sunday, June 26th, 2011
Crooked Fingers covers Bruce Springsteen
MergeWhy post a Crooked Fingers track when this Summer, all anyone is talking about with regards to one Eric Bachmann is the Archers Of Loaf reunion? Because said reunion isn’t coming to Toronto – at least not this Summer – and Crooked Fingers are.
The band, consisting of Bachmann and who knows who else this time out, were last heard from on last year’s Reservoir Songs 2. As the name implies, it was a sequel to 2002’s Reservoir Songs, both EPs of cover songs as interpreted by Bachmann and band. Some of the selections on the first volume – like the Prince and David Bowie/Queen tunes – were rather left-field but the Springsteen song? Not so much. Bachmann’s rasp is perfectly suited to The Boss’ tale of smalltown desperation, and if anything the sparer, banjo-led arrangement of the Crooked Fingers version makes theirs even more haunting.
Crooked Fingers will be at The Horseshoe on July 3 and no, I don’t think a couple of Archers requests would be out of line. Their new album Breaks In The Armor comes out in October. Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band suffered a huge loss last week with the passing of saxophonist Clarence Clemons. Their last album was 2009’s Working On A Dream.
MP3 Crooked Fingers – “The River”
Video: Bruce Springsteen – “The River”
Sunday, June 19th, 2011
Elvis Costello covers The Beach Boys
WikipediaAt some point last night, probably around 11PM, Brian Wilson took a bow on a Toronto stage for possibly the last time. The show at Massey Hall was originally a promo stop for last year’s Reimagines Gershwin album, but following an interview with The Evening Standard last month wherein he mused that he could be retiring from touring following this year, it also became a sort of farewell tour.
So this week’s selection is both a tribute to the man and his work and also a nod to another pop music legend coming by for a visit this week, though I don’t think anyone is worried that Elvis Costello will be retiring anytime soon even if his current Spectacular Spinning Songbook tour has a whiff of victory lap-ness about it. Crowd-pleasing was rather the last thing on his mind back in 1993 when he released The Juliet Letters, a collaboration with English string ensemble The Brodsky Quartet. In addition to the original material on the record based on fictional letters written to one Juliet Capulet, Costello took advantage of the players at his disposal to reinterpret some favourite songs including the Pet Sounds classic, this live version of which didn’t appear on the original album but was included in the 2005 reissue.
Costello will be at The Sony Centre in Toronto this Thursday, June 23, and being backed by The Imposters it’s unlikely any Juliet Letters material will be found on the song-selecting wheel of fortune. As stated, we probably won’t see Wilson in these parts again unless those persistent rumours about a Beach Boys 50th anniversary tour come to fruition, and I wouldn’t hold my breath on that one.
MP3: Elvis Costello & The Brodsky Quartet – “God Only Knows”
Video: The Beach Boys – “God Only Knows”
Sunday, June 12th, 2011
Patrick Wolf covers Kate Bush
Frank YangYou don’t need to have any sort of imagination to envision a young Patrick Wolf discovering and instantly becoming devoted to the works of Kate Bush; lines drawn between her groundbreaking art-pop in the 1980s and his version of same in the ’00s would be straight and thick. So it’s kind of interesting that according to this live clip, before performing a different cover of one of her songs, he says that he was only introduced to her work at age 20, well after his debut album Lycanthropy was completed.
But even if it was late in coming, her influence on his work is pretty clear so when tapped to contribute a cover to Peace (currently offline), the compilation assembled by Buffet Libre in support of Amnesty International, he chose her sombre, anti-war single from her third album Never For Ever, still topical over thirty years on from its release.
Patrick Wolf’s fifth album Lupercalia is due for release in the UK next week with a North American release to follow later this year. Kate Bush released her first sort-of new album in over five years last month with the revisionist Director’s Cut, and Bush has confirmed that she is working on all-new material though a release date for such is still to be set.
MP3: Patrick Wolf – “Army Dreamers”
Video: Kate Bush – “Army Dreamers”
Sunday, June 5th, 2011
Okkervil River cover Elvis Costello & The Attractions
elviscostello.infoIf you were to play me this week’s cover selection by Okkervil River alongside their latest album I Am Very Far and tell me that it came from the same sessions – and assuming I didn’t know any better – I wouldn’t necessarily protest. Like much of the Austin-based band’s sixth record, their take on the closing track on Elvis Costello & The Attractions’ third album Get Happy!! is dense, bracing and a little unhinged.
But in fact the track dates back to 2002 or 2003, circa the band’s first record Don’t Fall In Love With Everyone You See. With the exception of Will Sheff, the song features a completely different Okkervil lineup from that which operates under the name today and while these days when Sheff’s voice gets as haggard as it does here it’s for effect, back then it was just how he sang. The tune was recorded for the Almost You Elvis Costello tribute album released in 2003.
Okkervil River are at The Phoenix this Friday night and Philly.com and Washington City Paper have features on the band. Elvis Costello brings his Revolver tour, complete with Spectacular Spinning Songbook, to the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts, on June 23.
MP3: Okkervil River – “Riot Act”
Video: Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “Riot Act” (live)
Sunday, May 29th, 2011
My Morning Jacket covers The Who
Frank YangStill on vacation, so a quick one while I’m away.
The Bonnaroo festival in the middle of Tennessee is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and including this year, My Morning Jacket have played six of them. Clearly, they don’t need any particular excuse to get up there and jam it out for a few hours but when they do so this year, they’ll have a shiny new album in Circuital to show off. This doesn’t necessarily mean that folks should expect a track-by-track recital of the new record, though. When they performed in 2006, their new record Z wasn’t a year old and yet they still opted to include a complete performance of The Who’s mini rock-opera “A Quick One (While He’s Away)” into their set. Why? Why not? There’s precious little in the musical world that My Morning Jacket aren’t willing or able to tackle. Does it always work? Evil Urges says no, but by god they’ll try it.
The New York Times has a feature piece on My Morning Jacket, whose Circuital is out May 31 and who have a date at The Kool Haus on July 20. The Who are off the road at the moment but Roger Daltry will be heading out solo this Fall to perform Tommy – there’s a Toronto date for September 30 at the Sony Centre. Pete Townshend’s memoirs, which may be called Who He?, is set for a 2012 release. Bonnaroo goes June 9 to 12 in Manchester, Tennessee.
MP3: My Morning Jacket – “A Quick One (While He’s Away)” (live at Bonnaroo 2006)
Video: The Who – “A Quick One (While He’s Away)”
del.icio.us
digg
facebook
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.chromewaves.net/images/interface/valid-rss.png "Validate my RSS feed"){kind=small}