Tim’s Covers/Tributes

Top Cover Versions

1. Say You Don’t Mind (Colin Blunstone – orig. Denny Laine) – beautiful cover, very much in the style of Nick Drake, who may or may not have been influenced by Blunstone’s singing style in the first place.
2. Carry Me Home (Primal Scream – orig Dennis Wilson) – sometimes credited as a Beach Boys effort – this is one of Dennis’ darker songs, swung down to a new low on this Primal Scream B-Sider.
3. Sunshine Of Your Love (Ella Fitzgerald – orig, Cream) – she kicks its ass.
4. Hey Joe (Sparklehorse – orig, Daniel Johnston) – If Daniel doesn’t break your heart, Mark Linkous will.
5. Son of a Gun (Nirvana – orig. The Vaselines)  – this track was the affirmation that the punk world needed to let them know they were right to like Nirvana.
6. Life’s A Gas (Teenage Fanclub – orig. T-Rex) – I think Marc would’ve dug it.
7. Let’s Spend The Night Together (David Bowie – orig. The Rolling Stones) – just amazing.
8. Beginnings (Astrud Gilberto – orig. Chicago) – not a huge departure from the original, but very funky and weird for Astrud!
9. Journey To The Center Of The Mind (Ramones – orig. The Amboy Dukes) – the Acid Eaters album is all cover versions, and all of them are great. Never realised how much Joey is influenced by Jagger until I heard their cover of ‘Out Of Time‘. This one’s sung by latterday bassist C.J. Ramone.
10. Southern Man (Merry Clayton – orig. Neil Young) – I’ve ranted about her before – if you haven’t heard her – don’t miss this!

Tribute Songs 

I don’t really like tribute albums, but the occasional track is awesome:

1. Getting Better (The Wedding Present with Amelia Fletcher – orig. The Beatles) –  this proto-grunge version appeared on tribute album ‘Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father’ (1988). After hearing this, the original became among my most hated Beatles songs.
2. Follow Me (The Innocence Mission – orig. John Denver) – ‘Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver’ is a brilliant album, far better than the one that came out in 2013. This track is my favourite, but check out Will Oldham’s amazing cover of The Eagle and The Hawk,
3. Going Underground (Buffalo Tom – orig. The Jam) –  punk anthem into emotive masterpiece. From a fairly obscure Jam tribute album.
4. Velouria (Weezer – orig, Pixies) – Again, not a stretch for Weezer, but they do the seemingly impossible and give this amazing song even more emotion and power. From the ‘Where Is My Mind’ Pixies tribute album.