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100 best covers: #91 Dum Dum Girls “There is a light that never goes out”

<< #92    |    #90 >>

“And if a double-decker bus
Crashes into us
To die by your side
Is such a heavenly way to die”

Who else but Morrissey could pen such a lyric? Pair that with Johnny Marr’s instantly recognizable jangly guitar and you might wonder how anyone could possibly stand up to cover any song by The Smiths. Many bands try but very few succeed. Dum Dum Girls, the noise rock project led by Dee Dee Penny, have managed it, in my opinion, with their version of “There is a light that never goes out”.

The original appeared on The Smiths’ third record, “The queen is dead”, and is considered by some to be among the band’s best work. It’s got Marr’s aforementioned jangle, some synthesized strings, and of course, Morrissey’s warble, all typically morbid and depressing. It’s tone is melancholy in its regal, unhurried sound, a song that many a teenager has spun in their bedroom to soundtrack their breaking heart.

Dum Dum Girls’ cover appeared as the final track on their 2011 EP “He gets me high”, which was produced by Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner and by Richard Gottehrer (writer of 60s girl group hits, like “My boyfriend’s back”). Their version is bigger, brasher, and faster. The arrangements are the same but the sound is completely different. There are noisy guitars and heavy-footed bass drumming, and Dee Dee’s vocals are exuberant and thrilling in the pure emotion created by fresh love.

I’m not even close to admitting it to be better than the original, but Penny and her Dum Dum Girls, gave “There is a light” a pretty sweet makeover for a date night on a town. What do you all think?

The cover:

The original:

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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100 best covers: #92 Crash Vegas “Pocahontas”

<< #93    |    #91 >>

I did things a little backwards as it pertains to my university years’ accommodations. I won’t go into why I lived off campus for my first two years and then, moved into residence during my third year, but in hindsight, am very glad that was the way things turned out. My grades definitely suffered that year but I made countless memories and met some amazing people. One of these was Bahar, who everyone simply called ‘Boo’, and who lived just a few doors down the residence hall from me and over the course of the year, became my ‘little sister’.

I mention Boo in connection with this cover of “Pocahontas” by Crash Vegas, since it’s likely because of her that it is on this list. I half remember hanging out in her room one afternoon and my mentioning that I had seen the video and how it had stuck with me, despite never really having heard anything else in their catalogue. She immediately pulled a CD copy of “Aurora” off her massive CD shelf and replaced the Beastie Boys disc in the player to put it on. I later borrowed the disc when I was making a mixed tape, pulling this track and “Scarborough” for the mix. And a couple of years later, when I bought a used copy of the album for myself, it was on basis of these two songs.

I’m not terribly familiar with Neil Young’s original and only really knew that the song was a cover because Boo told me so that day. I know he’s done a few versions, ranging from electric to acoustic, and if you’re one of his fans, I’m sure you prefer his original. Crash Vegas, a Canadian alternative rock band that saw some success in the 90s, doesn’t do anything spectacularly different with the song, an acoustic backbone and a spiritual edge, but I do prefer Michelle McAdorey’s soft vocals to the whines of Young. I’ve always appreciated his talent. What makes “Pocahontas” such a great tune is his songwriting, the imagery evoked through astral plane time travel and the connection of cultural figures not immediately plausible, but I could never get past his voice enough to explore his original. I could play this cover on end though, and remember back to 1995 with fondness whenever I do.

The cover:

The original:

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.

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Tunes

100 best covers: #93 Billy Bragg with Natalie Merchant and Wilco “Way over yonder in the minor key”

<< #94    |    #92 >>

As I understand it, the story goes something like this. Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora, approached Britain’s modern equivalent, Billy Bragg, after seeing him perform at a Woody Guthrie tribute concert with the proposition of bringing some of her father’s unrecorded compositions to life. Bragg agreed, but not before enlisting the help of American indie folk/rock group, Wilco. The extraordinary and perhaps a bit surprising results were recorded and released as 1998’s Grammy-nominated album, “Mermaid avenue”. In fact, it was so successful that a second volume was released two years later, followed by a three volume box set that included outtakes in 2012.

This song, “Way over yonder in the minor key”, is a bit unique on this list of covers series in that we don’t have an original recording to which to compare it. Apparently, when Woody Guthrie died, he left behind manuscripts containing the lyrics to over a thousand songs but because he never read or wrote music, we’ll never know for sure how these were really meant to sound. Yet without a solid guide, I think Billy Bragg has done a fine job here, keeping to Guthrie’s spirit but adding his own personal touch. It’s simply strummed on his acoustic guitar and sung in his inimitable and working class accented vocals. He’s enlisted Wilco’s Jay Bennet to lay down a lovely Hammond B-3 backbone, some Eliza McCarthy fiddles, and of course, Natalie Merchant’s lovely backing vocal track.

“Way over yonder” is one of the lesser politically-charged of Guthrie’s tunes and is not overtly making social commentary but perhaps is more personal. It’s light and jocular, calling to mind a simpler time. Childhood. And all of those childhood teasing games.

“She said it’s hard for me to see
How one little boy got so ugly
Yes, my luttle girly, that might be
But there ain’t nobody that can sing like me”

The cover:

For the rest of the 100 best covers list, click here.