–Cover Songs-

Finally, a post unrelated to manual therapy. Sort of. I thought that I’d have some fun sharing a bit about my music tastes and possibly find out a bit about your tastes.

I’ve loved what I do for a living for nearly all of my career, whether it was in the early days working in an early intervention center and with the developmentally disabled, to mid-career when I was working in home care. Then later, starting and growing a manual therapy-based private PT practice. Since 2007, I’ve developed my seminars and in 2013 began teaching a workshop directed toward speech-language pathologists and others in the voice field. There is an irony that I am working both with patients experiencing voice problems, as well as in the larger sense with professionals who work with voice. The irony is how much I love music and song.

I’ve been a fan of new interpretations of older songs for decades, though don’t get me started on the awful covers songs that the Byrds made of some classic Bob Dylan recordings. Some covers songs are faithful to the original, which at times makes me wonder why the artist even bothered recording the cover. My favorite covers are those that reinterpret an older song entirely, with the artist truly making the song their own. 

One of the first covers that I loved happened before I even knew that the artist had remade an older song. Shawn Colvin released the song, “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” on her 1994 album, Cover Girl. I knew nothing about the Talking Heads original version from their 1983 album, Speaking in Tongues. Without question, I prefer Colvin’s version, probably as I was beginning to follow her music with a passion. Here are the two songs; which do you prefer?

Another cover that blew me away was a song by Lucinda Williams, “Ode To Billie Joe”, originally recorded by Bobby Gentry in 1967. Both versions are great, but Williams reinterprets the song in a gritty yet polished styling that drew me in hard and fast. 

Speaking of Lucinda Williams, she recorded a remake of Jimi Hendryx’s “Angel” that is really worth a listen. 

Preference for a voice is highly personal. One of my favorite singers is Frazey Ford, who’s early start with the Be Good Tanyas’ Americana styling and morphed into a solid R&B phrasing on her newer albums. She takes Bob Dylan’s “One More Cup of Coffee” to a different plane, IMO.

Ranked as his number one song in a 2014 issue of Rolling Stone, Neil Young’s “Powderfinger” is a bit hard for me to sit through, though The Cowboy Junkie’s version smooths things for me nicely. (How about that 1991 haircut on Neil?)

Cover songs can be difficult for many to tolerate, as they may seem pale in comparison to a song that they’ve loved. Tom Waits’ voice is one many would prefer to avoid, but he has written some great songs. “Downtown Train” was released by Waits in 1985, and while Rod Stewart’s version should be forgotten, Everything But The Girl’s 1992 version is so smooth that I could skate on it.

Sticking with Tom Waits for a moment, he remade the classic, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” in a gritty style that flows so well. While Judy Garland’s version will always be a fan favorite, what about Waits’ version…not to mention Israel Kamakawiwo’Ole’s take? By the way, I was first exposed to Tom Waits when I won 10 albums on a radio station call-in giveaway back in 1978. Blue Valentine, by Waits, remains today as one of my favorite albums.

“Sweet Jane”, By Velvet Underground, is certainly a classic, though Lou Reed’s version when he left the Underground was more familiar to many. But the remake, by The Cowboy Junkies, stands equal to Lou’s version. (Can you see the direction my tastes go?)

Etta james first recorded, “I’d Rather Go Blind”, which remains one of my fav’s. But having seen Beth Hart perform this same song live made me love covers even more.

One more: “Crossroads” was performed by Cream and most probably link that song to them. But it was originally written and performed by Robert Johnson in 1936. While Cream’s version may be a fan favorite, please give me The Cowboy Junkie’s Version any day.

I could go one forever with this theme and indeed may revisit it in the future. But what about you? Got any covers on your playlist that you love?

From comments posted to this thread on Facebook, here are a few more entries. Pink Floyd was one of my teen favorites when I was in a bit of a dirge-like place. “Have a Cigar” had that air-guitar quality that kept my friends and I gesticulating for hours. But The Foo Fighter’s version was suggested as a favorite cover.

But, never one to leave well-enough alone, I’d put forward Elephant revival’s version. How many rock banjo solos do you hear?

John Mayer and John Scofield’s version of the original Ray Charles’ “I Don’t Need No Doctor” was another Facebook suggestion. It’s tough to top Ray, but what do you think?

A few more came to mind for me. One is Blind Faith’s classic, “Can’t Find My Way Home”, which, to me, is a perfect song. But how about Rachael Price’s version? (You might be seeing my preference for female voices by now!)

Another entry from Facebook. Radiohead was a band that I missed. Maybe I was listening to the wrong radio stations or just not listening, but their song, “Blackstar” was not one I knew until I started listening to Gillian Welch. The Suggestion form a Facebook reader was just that song.

Messing with classic artists often gets loyal fans a bit upset, but as I’ve never been much of a David Bowie fan I can put this one out there with no angst. Nirvana (hey, what’s an old bald guy doing listening to Nirvana!) remade, “The Man Who Sold The World” and included it on their MTV Unplugged album in 1994. That Unplugged series was one of my favorites, across many genres. And since Bowie’s version of this song just sounds grainy and annoying (to me), I gladly put forth the redone version by Nirvana.

Cheers,

Walt Fritz, PT

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