3 Teens Kill 4 "Tell Me Something Good"

3 Teens Kill 4 No Motive LP (L'Invitation au Suicide, 1984)

I can't think of what to write. I love the song, but I'm not inspired at all. This post has been sitting here for days waiting for me to finish it, though, so, here it is.

Slow Horse "Wicked Game"

Slow Horse Slow Horse CD (Freebird Records, 1999)

What a long, strange week it's been, eh? I got stuck on the write-up for the next piece I'd chosen, and hit a mental roadblock. More like smashed into it and declared totaled by my insurance company. So, I finally decided to ditch it, and go with something else. I featured a song from Slow Horse's eponymous, doomtastic debut album a while back, and Devil Dick, of the awesome blog The Devil's Music, requested I post their cover of Chris Isaak's "Wicked Game,", from that same album. So, without further ado, here 'tis.

Fraser & DeBolt "Don't Let Me Down"

Fraser & DeBolt
Fraser & DeBolt (with Ian Guenther)
LP
(Columbia Records, 1971)

I remember listening to today's song for the first time, and thinking, That's a Beatles song! By the time it was done, however, I started to doubt myself. I checked the songwriting credits on the label, and, indeed, it was the Lenny Mac half of the Fab Four. Sure, it was just a b-side, but it's a pretty great song, nonetheless. This interpretation, however, replaces the electric-rock-quartet-plus-guest-keyboardist backing with two acoustic guitars and a fiddle, played by guest Ian Guenther. It also boasts a rather different arrangement (surprise!). It's the final track on Fraser & DeBolt's stunning debut album, and is a beautiful closer. The whole album is an impressive mélange of acoustic, folk rock and atonal, avant garde experimentation. I can honestly say I've heard little else similar to it, as their second album, With Pleasure, was recorded with a full backing band and a reigning in of atonality (it's still a wonderful album).

When I bought my first device for burning CDRs from my stereo ('twas a stereo component CD player/recorder), the very first things I burnt were the two Fraser & DeBolt albums and the first two Hanatarash albums. Fallout Records released a pirate version of the first album on CD and LP a few years back, if you want to find a relatively inexpensive copy. I was all excited when it came out 'cause I thought it was legit. It arrived in the mail and looked suspicious to me, and my suspicions were confirmed when the first song on side two was preceded by a very loud needle drop. Great quality control there, bozos; you should be crushed. Fallout was the successor to Radioactive Records, after they got busted. I guess Fallout got busted, too, as they now release stuff under the name Phoenix Records.

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*I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone cover Genesis, come to think of it. On the other hand, the lone time I saw Axehandle they did a devastatingly heavy and acrimonious cover of Phil Collins' I Don't Care Anymore. I was bummed that it didn't end up on their sole album. Or their soul album, which does not exist.

Today's selection gets the friend recommendation tag as my friend Marlo Donahue suggested I check them out when I told her 15 years or so ago that I was getting heavily into Tim Buckley. I kept my eyes peeled and came across a copy of With Pleasure a year or two later, and loved it.

Kim Salmon and The Surrealists "Je t'aime"

Kim Salmon and The Surrealists Just Because You Can't See It . . . . . . Doesn't Mean It Isn't There LP (Black Eye Records, 1989)

I'm finally starting to hopefully feel a bit better, so onward with the very long "week" of cover tunes. Today's selection was inspired by one of my reader/listeners asking recently at a dinner party if the original version of this song was for real, since it's rather stupid. I think that's the word she used. She knows who she is, so she's most welcome to correct me here. We were discussing French pop music, btw, and the original of this was written by Serge Gainsbourg. I've got three different versions of this tune by Kim Salmon and The Surrealists, and I decided to go with the studio version from their second album. There are also live versions on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre EP, which came as a bonus disc with initial copies of the Australian pressing of their Sin Factory album, and on the Kneel Down at the Altar of Pop reunion show CDR from a few years back.

Gumball "A Love Supreme"

Gumball Revolution on Ice CD (Sony Records [Japan], 1994)

"A Love Supreme" is one of those jazz covers that's been done enough that it's pretty much a cliché. Well, too bad! Today's piece is a cover of it, featuring some lovely, screaming psychedelic guitar skree from ax-meister Don Fleming. As you may know, these days many CDs come out in Japan with extra songs for the Japanese market; that was the case with this one. I already had the album in question, Revolution on Ice, when I stumbled across a Japanese pressing in a bargain bin. Hooray! Gumball arose from the demise of the somewhat similarly named B.A.L.L., who had also featured Fleming on guitar and Jay Spiegel on drums. On their 1989 European tour, however, bassist Kramer just up and quit. They soldiered on for a bit longer, I guess, as I saw them with bassist Guy Pinhas at the Circus in Gammelsforf, near Munich, West Germany. It was an insane show. I'm not sure if Guy knew the songs or not, but he played like a madman. Don shredded away on the guit, and Jay held down the rhythm. The highlight of the show was the encore; roadie Joey Pea came out in a green lamé dress and feather boa, and they did a slammin' cover of The Stooges' "Funhouse."

Slaraffenland "Take on Me"

Slaraffenland Sunshine CD EP (Home Tapes, 2008)

To quote The Damned, I'm "Sick of Being Sick." I've had the flu, or something similar, for the last week, hence the lack of posts. I'm still sick, but feeling up to posting at the moment, so you get one! No kisses, though. I'm not sharing my germs; they're MINE MINE MINE!!! One of the things I love about covers, is a cover can take a song one absolutely loathes and make it listenable, nay, even enjoyable! Today's example comes courtesy of Denmark's Slaraffenland, from their fourth release, the Sunshine EP. Now, I'm not gonna say who did the original, but I'll link the video after the jump. I just searched it out on YouTube, and, yep, I still hate it. Were it not for the innovative video techniques, including ripping off Altered States, I doubt it would've been the massive hit it was. I discovered Slaraffenland, btw, via the bargain bin at my favorite local record store. Their second album (and third release, overall), Private Cinema, was in the bin of oddly shapped stuff and it really grabbed my eye and pulled. Hard. See, it was packaged in a little hardback book, rather than a jewelcase or digipak. On top of that, the band name was interesting, the artwork was neat, and IT WAS PINK! Sold!

Job's Daughters "The Prophecy of Daniel and John the Divine (Six-Six-Six)"

Job's Daughters The Prophecy of Daniel and John the Divine/Sinner Man 7" single (Nuf Sed Southwestern Radio Church, 1991)

And so we begin covers week! Now, as I was driving around town on Saturday (i.e., yesterday), I was writing down ideas in my cute lil' notepad app in my HTC Tilt 2 smartass phone. I did this, of course, only at stop lights and when waiting at the drive-through window at my dealer. Ninth on my list of idears was this little platter, which I first heard on a mix tape my buddy James made for me eons ago (like, probably twenty years ago, seeing as this record is almost old enough to drink in the USA). When I pulled it out of one of my many crates of little records, the cover made it disturbingly obvious that it had to be today's song. Anyhow, I fell in love with the song, and the first copy I saw for sale, I snapped up. As you can tell by the price sticker, it was in a bargain bin; yes, it took me well over a decade to stumble across one. So, anyhow, I looked at the credits, and it's a COVER! And it was originally recorded by The Partridge Family The Cowsills, at that! How crazy is that? I've still never heard the original, so my apologies if this adds nothing new to it. Six more goodies in store in the next few days! And next month will be an entire theme month! Unless I change my mind, of course.