moonra is under the covers

cover then original:

I Don’t Know Why covered by The Rolling Stones / I Don’t Know Why by Stevie Wonder On any given day one of my favorite Rolling Stones’ tracks, and not even an original. The grooves and vibe that are emitted from this track alone are the essence of the pureness I’m constantly searching for. (did I just write that? does it make sense?) Original is quite spectactular as well

Fools Rush In covered by Peggy Sue / Fools Rush In Ricky Nelson version Peggy Sue has been a paramount discovery of mine, caught by chance as an opening band in Chicago. This cover if part of an ep (Play The Songs of Scorpio Rising) they released with all covers, totally worth picking up; also available on Spotify.

Diamonds And Rust (Live) covered by Judas Priest / Diamonds And Rust by Joan Baez Rob did Joan a huge favor covering this song; I’m a fan of both believe it or not.

Hurt covered by Johnny Cash / Hurt by Nine Inch Nails Truly amazing, nuff said.

Tiger Mountain Peasant Song covered by First Aid Kit / Tiger Mountain Peasant Song by Fleet Foxes The voices of child-angels, crazy as they were like 15 and 16 years old in this video.

Hard Luck Woman covered by Garth Brooks / Hard Luck Woman by Kiss Who knew? this cover really kicks ass.

The Warning covered by Black Sabbath / The Warning by Aynsley Dunbar Great song, an all-time favorite. Sort of cool hearing the original as well.

Let’s Lynch The Landlord covered by Faith No More / Let’s Lynch The Landlord by Dead Kennedys I posted this one becasue I love the spin they did on the original – great ending too

Underdog covered by The Dirtbombs / Underdog – Sly and the Family Stone ok, great cover, but not better than Sly Stone, still love it though. Hint: garage – feel it?

If 6 was 9 covered by Don Byron / If 6 was 9 by Jimi Hendrix super cover, love the instrumental sarcasm put into play with the Turtles’ reprise. (I despise the Turtles, which makes it that much more meanful).

Chariot Choogle covered by Fantomas / Chariot Choogle by T Rex I think I love this cover as much as I do because I got to see Fantomas do it live, way better live too. Original is golden though.

See Emily Play covered by David Bowie / See Emily Play by Pink Floyd I couldn’t stop playing Pin Ups as a kid, I would skip right to this one if time was limited.

And 2 by The Melvins:

The Green Manalishi covered by The Melvins / The Green Manalishi by Fleetwood Mac think S L O W….

Station To Station covered by The Melvins / Station To Station by David Bowie Hardcore brilliance!

BONUS PICK by Lisa Gatewood:

Everytime covered by Glen Hansard and The Frames / Everytime – Brittany Spears

Guitar Solos

As I considered this topic over the course of the month, I had similar criteria to Tim’s with one addition: the solo must be memorable. So, after listening to hundreds of songs with solos that I thought might qualify, it is interesting that those that finally made it were the same that I probably would have listed at the beginning of the month, off the cuff. Some of these songs are overplayed, yes, and we’ve heard them a million times, but still, in every case I am transported by not just the solo but the song. Like Bob, I’m not even listing some of my favorite guitarists here: Don Rich, Sonny Sharrock, Robin Trower, Fred Frith, Richard Thompson, Frank Zappa, Steve Hackett.

Stranglehold (Ted Nugent)–Ted Nugent. 8 minutes or so of melodic guitar solo bliss.
Sailor’s Tale (Robert Fripp)–King Crimson. The only solo here that consists entirely of chords. So unlike any guitar solo that had probably ever been done before, and since! But not just groundbreaking, earth-shattering and apocalyptic. Few pieces of music have such power.
Hammond Song (Robert Fripp)–The Roches. And then here’s the other side of Fripp. Such a unique sound, it gets me on his guest solos with Bowie, Gabriel, Eno, Heads, etc.. As with all the others, this one takes an already spellbinding song and catapults it into the stratosphere. When I see this album available for $3 or so in every used record store on the planet, I am always tempted to hand it to someone along with a $5.
Starship Trooper (Steve Howe)–Yes. Could have easily selected any song off this album. Given my current listening habits–Bakersfield country–there was no way I could exclude him. As influenced by guys like James Burton and Don Rich as anyone and that is especially clear on this song.
Sultans of Swing (Mark Knopfler)–Dire Straits. Just can’t help it. Lyrical. Check the closing solo on the live Alchemy version as well.
Bohemian Rhapsody (Brian May)–Queen. Another obvious one that I could not in good conscience exclude.
Resemblances (Arto Lindsay)—Arto Lindsay. Brief but perfect noise execution.
Loan Me a Dime (Duane Allman)—Boz Scaggs. Gotta include my favorite blues solo here (especially 7:44-12 something where the song ends just when the solo REALLY gets going).
Time (The Revelator) (Dave Rawlings)–Gillian Welch. Another jaw-dropping instrumentalist who can do absolutely anything he wants with a guitar. One of dozens that I could have picked without embarrassment. I love the Welch songs where he basically solos throughout the song, the guitar acting acting as a melodic counterpoint alongside Gillian’s perfect rhythm.
Machine Gun (Jimi Hendrix)—Band of Gypsys. What can I say, just takes me completely over the edge.

Oh, and one other old favorite from a Wisconsin neighbor: Renaissance (Daryl Stuermer)–Jean Luc Ponty. Plays it like a mandolin.

Mike’s 1970

Songs

Again decided to restrict myself to songs that did not appear on my top ten albums. It allows me to cover more artists here and in some cases, talk about some additional albums of note:

1. Machine Gun-Band of Gypsys

Oh Christ. This IS the greatest guitar work ever laid down on vinyl.

2. Dear Betty Baby-Mayo Thompson

The arrangements on Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter album from 1970 completely ruined a similar and otherwise lovely batch of Drake songs, whereas this Joe Dugan arrangement is unobtrusive and gorgeous. For some reason the youtube version does not do this song justice so no link. Not on Spotify either, darn it.

3. Child in Time-Deep Purple

I’ve noted it before on this blog; I simply cannot restrain myself when I hear some songs. I become lunatic and inspired. For this one, when Ian takes it up an octave at around 2:50, and again around 8:35, with the swirling Lord organ, I lose all control. I’m screaming along just fine to that point and although I know I can’t possibly reach the note, I try. If I’m wearing headphones, which I usually am when I play this, everyone else leaves the house. If I’m not wearing headphones, I get an embarrassed look that says, ok, here we go again, just how far are you going to be taking this. This is Wagnerian. Like others here, I cherish these moments in recorded history. They alone make life worth living, don’t they?

4. 54-46 Was My Number-Toots & the Maytals

Whenever I need a pick-me-up…

5. (They Long To Be) Close To You-Carpenters

Perfect songcraft.

6. I Am The Walrus-Spooky Tooth

7. It Ain’t Easy-Ron Davies

The album—Silent Song Through the Wood—is at the top of my wishlist. This song completely annihilates the Bowie version. Other songs serve as templates Bowie would mine, especially on Hunky Dory. The guitar riff on Andy Warhol, for example, is copped from the song “Silent Song…”.

8. Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield-Lou Rawls

I struggled between choosing the Newman original and this one. The Newman is a minimalist masterpiece, with every musical note, especially the Cooder slide and the Milt Holland percussion, intended to scare shit out of you. The lyrics could be the first paragraph of a great Harry Crews novel. The muddy production detracts from most of the songs on the Newman album, but it adds to the spookiness of this one.

The Rawls version includes a fiery guitar solo that I could swear is uncredited Duane Allman–he was on everything else in 1970–and a fierce horn section. And there’s the Rawls vocal with the immaculately precise timing.

9. The Way I Feel-Fotheringay

Impossible to choose between this and a bunch of other great British folk from this year: Mr Fox, Forest, Pentangle (“Lord Franklin”–Isn’t this the song, if not the version, we heard Brent on the ferry on Lake Champlain?), Fairport (“Sloth”)…Not to mention the other folkie stuff that I love that missed this list. My favorite Joan Baez song of all-time, maybe because it is so unlike most everything else she’s done, “Jolie Blond”, off one of my favorite Joan Baez albums (One Day at a Time). I also had to leave off what I thought, before this exercise, might be my favorite song of all time, Loudon Wainwright’s “School Days”. I can only justify its exclusion because there is a better version later with his son, daughter and ex-wife on the great McGarrigle Hour album.

10. Woodstock–Joni Mitchell

Just missed:

Dance in the Smoke-Argent

What do you know; one song from Argent nearly made each of my calendar year lists. You might think I’m a huge Argent fan. I’m really not. When I pull out this first album, it is usually only to play this song, although I’ll occasionally put the needle down on song 2 (“Liar”) and let it play through “Schoolgirl” and the rest of the first side to this song. The rest of the album is pretty good too but there is only so much time, right, and so why not just play Odyssey and Oracle instead?

 Albums

1. Plastic Ono Band-John Lennon (“God“)

2. Moon Dance-Van Morrison (“Into the Mystic“)

Side A may be the greatest side of music and lyrics ever released. Side opener, “And It Stoned Me”-awakening, and indestructible youth. Side closer, “Into the Mystic”-recollection and resumption of youthful spirit.

3. Fun House-The Stooges (“Dirt“)

Someone else said: “If all of the great albums in rock history came together and formed like Voltron, this would definitely be the balls.”

4. Bitches Brew-Miles Davis (“Miles Runs the Voodoo Down“)

5. Morrison Hotel-The Doors (“Waiting for the Sun“)

This is a reason why I love these opportunities to focus my listening. I hadn’t played this in 10 years or so, instead reaching for the first record more often than not. I had somehow forgotten the power of this. Every song is great.

6. Exuma-Exuma (“Dambala“)

Before hearing this, I thought Dr. John’s “The Night Tripper” was a totally unique recording. It isn’t. And this may be even better.

7. If I Could Do It All Over Again, I’d Do It All Over You-Caravan

8. 12 Dreams of Dr. Sardonicus-Spirit (“Nature’s Way“)

9. Weasels Ripped My Flesh-The Mothers of Invention (“Toad of the Short Forest“)

This was in my car cd player most of last year. One of the things I love most about the avant-garde is when it is accompanied by humor; for example, the absurdist vocal interjections on Kagel’s Hallelujah, or just about anything by Cage. This is the funniest rock/avant-garde exploration in my collection. Also has “Directly From My Heart To You” with that incomparable Sugarcane Harris violin. It enthralls even my 12 year old, if not everything that leads up to it (“Didja Get Any Onya”) or follows. My favorite Zappa record.

10. Paranoid-Black Sabbath (“Jack the Stripper/Fairies Wear Boots“)

The self-titled first release continues the theme of great side A’s with incredibly powerful but lesser side Bs (Morrison Hotel, Exuma, If I Could…, Fun House). Paranoid on the other hand culminates in my favorite Sabbath tune of all-time “Fairies Wear Boots”. For me, it never got any better than this for metal; it never got close and never will. Since my mind was completely blown in 7th grade listening to the first album on 8 track, I’ve spent 35 years trying to find doom metal equivalents. There are none (OK, none aside from Kyuss).

Missed:

After the Gold Rush-Neil Young

I can’t figure out why I don’t love this. Like Bob said in regard to Close To The Edge last month, this fatigues me. I never make it to the end without picking up the needle. Whereas Tonight’s the Night, On the Beach and Everybody Knows This is Nowhere are sometimes reckless and thereby thrilling, this album always feels relatively safe and contrived. I don’t think I’ll ever play it again.

Tea For The Tillerman-Cat Stevens

I always sort of thought Cat Stevens was a joke for some reason. His songs were certainly pleasant enough when I heard them on the radio. I bought a used copy of this when I was quite young but only played it a couple times. I think I considered it a bit twee. It sat in my sister’s room for several years.

Then a few years ago I started listening to an Archer Prewitt record my brother was trying to turn me on to. The first couple of listens I thought he sounded like Cat Stevens and said so in order to be disparaging. But my brother agreed without batting an eye, as though it was a compliment! I kept listening to the Prewitt and eventually came to regard it as one of my favorite, and most often played, records of the 2000’s. Which brought me back to Cat Stevens. If he really is anything like this Prewitt guy, maybe I should take him more seriously. I don’t know if I’d have gotten there without the Prewitt, but I’m glad I did.