Archie and the Bunkers
Play the Damned EP
scum stats: my copy on black, apparently there’s a limited quantity on black with red and yellow splatter
If middle fingers on the front cover didn’t piss me off or have me rolling my eyes, then that’s saying something.
What can I say, I’m a sucker for younger folks playing rock and roll. The drums/organ, big brother/little brother duo of Archie and the Bunkers are good. Their heads seem on straight, they’re influenced by all the right shit from the past. And I honestly think that if they keep at it, they will make something GREAT.
As for Damned covers, they dug a little below the surface, ignoring the obvious covers like “New Rose” or “Neat Neat Neat” and I have to give ‘em credit for that. I never spent much time with the Damned, really just a little bit with the first album. So besides the lead-off track, these songs are all kinda fresh to me.
I think the band is still figuring things out and I predict in another year, two tops, they will put out a masterpiece. Until then, this record (and the rest of their increasingly-expanding catalog) serve as moderate placeholders.
In my never-ending quest to keep you weirdos engaged, post in the comments about your favorite releases where one artist covers exclusively another artist. Don’t just LIST something, convince me as to why it is important. Can be Pussy Galore doing Exile, Sonic Youth doing the Fall, Dylan (or Willie) doing Sinatra, whatever. Maybe turn me on to something I’m unaware of? Anyway, most enlightening comment (as determined by me) gets an original Sub Pop pressing of the White Stripes covering the songs of Captain Beefheart. See the connection there? Deadline is a week from today, so get your shit in here already.
Hey is anyone going to be getting the trip colored 7 the 18 of this month I’m not about to go I’m working but if someone wants to buy me a copy I’ll pay you extra money for getting it.
Has the early Seattle been put out yet?
Male sounding Dolly Parton covering Dolly Parton.
Even though there have been so many fun features and gimmicks made on vinyl especially when it comes to TMR, however to this day I think that the greatest gimmick on a vinyl was not done on purpose and that is when you take the Dolly Parton’s – Jolene 7inch record and play it in 33rpm, and it sounds like such a good cover by a male singer it is crazy! It is a flawless cover made by 33rpm Dolly covering Dolly!
I have one. I think you should listen to CONDOR GRUPPEs FROG BOG. It’s a Belgian band with a tribute to Moondog.The songs are still familiar but they also really make it their own.It’s from 2016 and their other albums are really great to. I like ’’m very much!So here it is…btw I Love The Damned!
If this doesn’t make you wanna dance or move albeit it’s only one song DEVOs (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction. From the day I heard it way back when it came out I was hooked on New Wave/Punk music……ahhhhh those were the days!
Not sure if you checked out The Stallion’s Dark Side Of The Wall when In The Red put it out last year. I was trepidatious, not having much regard for the original Pink Floyd album, which at the time represented a gassier, bloated Alan Parsons Project take on Thatcher’s Britain, viewed from the eyes of a bunch of drug-soaked millionaires. But I digress. When I heard that In The Red were releasing a TRIPLE ALBUM covering The Wall in its entirety, recorded by half the Country Teasers, I was skeptical. And then I played it, and from the first go-thru, I was hooked. The Stallion’s version of The Wall replaces the preposterous pomp and circumstance of the original with claustrophobic, twisted angst, and a tangible angry passion. Madly creative, despondent and sonically surprising, The Stallion have twisted their Wall into the perfect soundtrack for the divided post-Brexit Britain of today. Simply put, it’s fucking astonishing.
I’m a big fan of Dirty Projectors’ Rise Above, which hears them covering the Black Flag album Damaged in its entirety. It’s the first Dirty Projectors album as a proper band instead of an elaborate solo project. Some people might say its stupid to start a band with a covers record but I think it’s a pretty cool idea, it lets the band craft their sound without having to worry about song writing, maybe lessening the weight on their shoulders. Also, it gives them the opportunity to say “oh we were just goofing off” if it sucks. On the flipside of that coin, if it is good or great they can figure out which elements made it stand out and really pursue them in later records, which I think is the case. The weird-ass harmonies and vocal phrasing and faux-African guitar playing that are such signatures of Dirty Projectors are there on this covers record, and they suss them out to greatness in records down the road.
Cabaret Contemporain’s album “Moondog” is a great album of Moondog compositions. Amazing and unexpected arrangements and incredible vocals. Some very creative interpretations of this brilliant composer’s music. Seeing through hearing.
Hello again Mr. Blackwell.
Thanks for this great contest. It immediately brought to mind a small label, run by a husband and wife team, that I feel deserves full props for their work. The label is called ‘Turntable Kitchen’ and they combine music and food recipes into a great concept. One of their projects is called ‘Sounds Delicious’ and is a subscription club similar to Third man’s Vault. The concept of ‘Sounds Delicious’ is that a new artist performs, front to back, an album by another artist of their choosing and some amazing releases have come out of it.
Some examples have been Ava Luna doing ‘Histoire de Melody Nelson’ by Serge Gainsbourg, Yumi Zouma covering Oasis’ (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, Jonathan Rado covering Springsteen’s Born To Run, and Ben Gibbard performing Teenage Fanclub’s Bandwagonesque. Although they have all been great, my personal favorite, so far, is The Cure’s Seveteen Seconds covered by Frankie Rose, which would be my answer to your contest question.
Why then is it important? Personally I would have to say that when an artist reveals their inspirations that stuck with them long enough and strongly enough to inspire them to invest the time and care to cover an entire album, and then put themselves into the music by inserting their own slant and swing to the package, it becomes a new entity worth absorbing again from someone else’s eyes and ears. It takes a great artist and a great album to inspire them for the magic to work!
Cheers!
Joshua James covering Tom Waits’ Green Grass. James’ version is not only haunting, but also beautiful. He sings it like the song was written for him. The passion emoted makes you hang on every word. The only instruments (besides Joshua James’ slightly raspy voice) played in the song are a single (overdriven?) electric guitar and a set of bells. The bells solo fits the spirit of Tom Waits so well, that I’d bet that Tom wishes he came up with the idea. To me, it is easily one of the best cover versions I have ever heard.