Elvis Covers Part II: Girls Talk

 Dave Edmunds: Girls Talk

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Elvis Costello gave Dave Edmunds this song in "a moment of drunken bravado" as he put it in the liner notes of  Rhino's reissue of Get Happy!! In 1979 Edmunds scored a UK#4 hit with the hard charging song which he recorded with Nick Lowe ( whom you can hear chanting "girls talk" at the end) and Rockpile. (The same bunch of pub crawlers who recorded Lowe's Jesus Of Cool that year). The result is power pop perfection. Costello was at the very height of his snarky word-playing powers:

There are some things you can't cover up with lipstick and powder
I thought I heard you mention my name, can't you talk any louder?

It was far too late for EC to take back the song by the time he recorded his own version later that year with The Attractions. The two minute version is more herky jerky, sounds a bit like a throw-away, and got stuck to the B-side of the 1980 Get Happy!! single "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down".

Even an alternate version Costello recorded can't match Edmunds's straight ahead approach.

Linda Ronstadt has always known a good song when she heard one. She covered "Girls Talk" and two other Elvis Costello tunes for her new wave album Mad Love. An almost instant million seller, that 1980 album is out of print.

And yet Billy Joel's new wave recording Glass Houses is not. I know I've run off topic but really!! Is this justice? Discuss below.

Elvis Covers II: The Big Light

Johnny Cash: The Big Light

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Elvis Costello on Johnny Cash, from the June Carter Keep on the Sunnyside compilation Joe Ross wrote about a few weeks back:

Being pals of their son-in-law, Nick Lowe, seemed to afford us some kind of "friend of the family" status with Johnny and June, and they extended a very generous welcome to a group of pale and trembling young men who had been tearing it up every night of their stay in town.

Before dinner, John took us on a tour of the grounds and property...Struggling to find anything coherent to say, I spied a Sun 45 of "Cry, Cry, Cry" propped up on an old-fashioned display stand. I told Johnny that we had just cut a version of this song of his. He promptly snatched up the disc and signed it -- "To Elvis" at the top of the label and "Your friend, Johnny Cash" just under the title -- and handed it to me...

Needless to say, the minute I got it home, I had the record frame and hung it on the wall. A few months later, June was visiting London again and I happened to drop in at the Carter/Lowe household. During her visits June could sometimes be found "improving" on the housecleaning of this rather rock and roll abode...On this occasion, she stopped her labors to say that she was mad at "Johnny Cash," as she always seemed to call him. Apparently, the Sun 45 had been a gift to June, long before their romance...Naturally I offered to return the memento, but June said I should keep it as it was now dedicated to me.

Elvis Covers Part II: Indoor Fireworks

Nick Lowe: Indoor Fireworks

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In the early days, Elvis Costello covered Nick Lowe ("What's So Funny About Peace Love and Understanding"). Nick Lowe was the bigger name. By the time Lowe's Rose of England came out in 1985, the tables had turned. Lowe recorded his first Costello cover on that album, "Indoor Fireworks."

Lowe and Costello have collaborated for decades, beginning with Lowe serving as producer for Costello's first five albums. Earlier this year, while promoting his latest CD, That Old Magic, Lowe appeared on Marc Maron's "WTF" podcast. He spoke of his relationship with Costello with affection and a dollop of good humor.

Maron: Did you find Elvis Costello?

Lowe: No, not really. He used to come and see our group, Brinsley Schwarz, especially when we played in the northwest toward Liverpool....We always used to notice him at the gigs....[I] thought "Well, he turns up all the time." So I went and said hello to him. A few years later he went into Stiff records...and I was sort of the house producer...

I thought his songs were too complicated, too many words, too many chords. When I was doing [My Aim Is True], I was sort of in charge. He did what I said, I was the producer. It didn't take very long for slowly the scales to tip, until I found myself tugging the forelock and saying, "Um, Mr. Costello what do you got in mind for today, sir?"...

Elvis's stuff was always very sophisticated. As I said, it was chord-y. But if you corralled it, it was fantastic. He's written some sensational songs....I can't really remember what I did [as Elvis's producer]. He kept on asking me back, and I would always turn up and say, "Oh yeah, very nice."

Maron: ...Would you put him in the same arena as Bob Dylan?

Lowe: Well...he certainly puts himself in the same arena as Bob Dylan. Don't get me wrong. I'm very fond of him. We get along great. I always feel with him, as I describe it, as rather like a slightly disapproving elder brother. He works so hard, and whenever I see him, he always comes up come up to me and says something like..."Oh yeah, well Bobby DeNiro and I went out with so and so." And, I find myself saying, "Well, Robert DeNiro. He hasn't really made a good film for quite a long time, now has he?" I find myself slagging off whatever he says. But I really am ever so fond of him. He's a great fellow.

Elvis Covers Part II: Oliver's Army

Bill Janovitz: Oliver's Army

[download from Janovitz's blog]

A number of years back, I located a copy of Almost Beating, a Bill Janovitz piece he played with Crown Victoria, one of several groups he has been involved in. It's a song that I have moved from one music playing device to another - just love the drive of the guitar and vocals. Although this song isnt the subject of this post, here's a link to a streamed version of the song which I first found on the now-changed music.download.com website many years back

Being physically distant from places where I might have the chance to see him play live, I periodically go searching online for more Janovitz. I hadn't previously noticed Janovitz's own blog, "Part Time Manof Rock", but in digging for Elvis Costello covers, I was elated to see that not only has Janovitz covered Costello, but he also writes specifically about it in his blog about the covers he has done.

About Oliver's Army, Janovitz says what I myself felt about his work: the lyrics are important, but "the music always has to hit me first." Costello is well known for his lyrics-writing abilities: Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic notes both Costello's writing skills as well as his ability "to re-invent the past in his own image" - the Buddy Holly appearance brought to the 80s.

Elvis Covers Part II: Watching the Detectives

The Henry Girls: Watching the Detectives

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“Watching the Detectives,” Elvis Costello’s 1977 first hit single in the U.K. (reaching #15), was also his first single to credit his backing band, The Attractions. The song appeared at #354 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. I’ve always liked hearing it as the theme song when I tune into the show called “History Detectives” on PBS. But it’s actually a cynical statement about a girlfriend who is investing more in her relationship with the television. As the chorus declares:

She is watching the detectives,
"Ooh, he's so cute,"
She is watching the detectives,
When they shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot.
They beat him up until the teardrops start,
But he can't be wounded 'cause he's got no heart.

“Watching the Detectives” is Costello’s favorite song from the first five years of his career. He once said that he’d written the song after staying up for 36 hours, and then listening all night to The Clash’s first album.

For a cover of the song, I’ve chosen one from The Henry Girls’ new album called “December Moon.” From County Donegal, The Henry Girls (Karen, Lorna and Joleen McLaughlin) personalize their music with crystalline vocals, lilting melodies and eclectic influences. Karen plays fiddle, viola, guitar, banjo and even some ukulele. Joleen is a harper, but she also adds a little mandolin and piano to the mix. Lorna’s instrumental contributions are more understated, with some piano, accordion and chimes on a few tracks. All three women have music degrees, teach regularly, and have toured for years.

This cover of Elvis Costello’s “Watching the Detectives” is a good choice for these musicians who appreciate the English singer-songwriter’s literate lyrics and eclecticism. The girls have Celtic roots so they downplay any punk rock style in favor of a more relaxed, albeit sophisticated, acoustic folk arrangement. Besides their own originals, this cover by The Henry Girls is a good selection for airplay. The Henry Girls are touring the U.S. this summer of 2012. Here are some of their planned stops:

August 10, Live on the Levee, West Virginia
August 15, Chicago Old Town School of Folk Music
August 16 – 19, Milwaukee Irish Fest

I wonder if they like old detective shows and if they're anything like Costello’s lead-off lyrics: “Nice girls, not one with a defect. Cellophane shrink-wrapped, so correct …”?

Elvis Covers Part II: Veronica

Dust Poets: Veronica

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Why this, when there's so much broken beauty in the songs of Elvis Costello?

Because my own personal journey through the work of this incredible artist began with the 1989 release of Spike, which included it - a co-write with Paul McCartney that's awfully upbeat for a song about the inner life of the aging invalid.

Because Entertainment Weekly voted it as one of Costello's top ten greatest tunes. Really.

And because it's awesome. I mean, how often do you find an "eclectic chamber folk ensemble" that can transform an already underrated sociopolitical poke into an exceptional acoustic polka?

If The Dust Poets don't tour as much as they could, it's because their members are spread out across the various provinces of Canada; they even went on hiatus for most of last year, though they seem to be gearing up for a few north of the border tour dates, and a few September showcases in the NY / New England region. But see 'em if you can, because seeing them together is a revelation. The rest of their work - which includes songs nominally about cows and magicians, but actually about fairness and just desserts - is equally irreverent, and equally recommended.

Elvis Covers Part II: Shipbuilding

Robert Wyatt: Shipbuilding
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When I heard that this week’s theme would be covers of Elvis Costello songs, two ideas jumped into my head. The first was a song that I have listened to many, many times, which I heard on the radio, played on the radio, saw on MTV and which is fun and rocks. The other was a song that I rarely listened to, never hear on the radio, probably never played on the radio, and is a slow, kind of depressing ballad. Of course, I chose the second song to write about.

“Shipbuilding” is a brilliant anti-war song written about the Falklands War of 1982. The one between the UK and Argentina over a few small islands in the South Atlantic which lasted 74 days and caused all sorts of patriotic fervor to rise up in both countries. Ending with the UK regaining control over the islands (in other words, nothing changed), it led to the death of 649 Argentine military personnel, 255 British military personnel and three Falkland Islanders. As dumb as most wars are, this was amongst the dumber ones, certainly of the modern era.

The tune was written not by Costello, but by Clive Langer, best known as a producer, but he couldn’t come up with good lyrics. He played it for Costello, at a party hosted by Nick Lowe, and Elvis came up with a set of lyrics that he once described as the best he’d ever written. Which, considering the body of his work, is pretty impressive. Although clearly anti-war, the song does recognize a contradiction—the war helped to bring back prosperity to depressed shipyards and provide jobs to their workers. Thus, the first line—“Is it worth it?”

The song was written for Robert Wyatt, a musician who is lionized in the UK, pretty much unknown here, and who was politically to the left of the left-wing Costello. Wyatt was best known as a drummer and major force in the Canterbury scene (which I have previously written about in my Gong post). He was probably most famous as a member of Soft Machine, but after leaving that band in 1971, he released solo albums and formed a band called Matching Mole (which is a pun based on the French translation of “Soft Machine”). Unfortunately, in 1973 Wyatt got drunk at a party, fell out of a fourth floor window and became a paraplegic. To give you a sense of his place in the British music scene at the time, Pink Floyd played two benefit concerts to raise money for his care, supported by Soft Machine.

Wyatt’s injury didn’t end his musical career, and he continued to drum, obviously without using his feet, sing and play other instruments on solo records and with others. Some of his collaborators include Mike Oldfield, David Gilmour and Nick Mason of Pink Floyd, Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music, and, on “Shipbuilding,” Elvis Costello. The musicians on this version of the song include Steve Nieve, of The Attractions, and Mark Bedford, of Madness. The spareness and simplicity of the arrangement, and Wyatt’s reedy but empathetic vocals give the song a power that continues to haunt.

Costello’s version, released after Wyatt’s on the Punch the Clock album, produced by Langer and his producing partner Alan Winstanley, is also quite good, if maybe a bit over produced, and features a beautiful trumpet solo by Chet Baker, but I agree with the consensus that Wyatt’s version is the better one.

Coincidently, the other song that I was considering writing about is one where I like the cover better than the Costello version (and Nick Lowe plays on it). And if no one else posts it, I will try to do so before the end of the week.

Elvis Covers, Part I: Love Me Tender

Beth Nielsen Chapman: Love Me Tender

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Like so many of The King's greatest hits, Love Me Tender is a many-covered thing, a gem in the collections of crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet, an R&B charter in the hands of Percy Sledge, a slight and subtle soundtrack whisper in the sultry tones of Norah Jones, a piano bar swan song from the waning days of Scatman John. (Not all covers are so successful, of course; though Willie Nelson's more recent live versions of the song are as heartfelt and poignant as you might imagine, his studio version, recorded for 1985 frat-boy film Porky's Revenge, oozes with orchestral smarm.)

Which is to say: I've heard this song done soaringly, and with broken wisdom; with disdain, and with tenderness. So have you, I warrant. But sometimes, simplest is best. And so as we approach the end of our thematic journey, we turn to one of our favorite lullaby collections for this Beth Nielsen Chapman gem, soothing as a mother's arms. So are great love songs transformed, in service to our parental dreams.

Elvis Covers Part 1 : Kissin' Cousins

The Saints : Kissin' Cousins

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Bob Geldorf said "Rock music in the seventies was changed by three bands - The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and The Saints".

Blasting out of Australia with loud guitars and a snarling vocalist named Chris Bailey, The Saints learned their chops by playing sped up raucous versions of tunes by Connie Francis, Del Shannon and Ike and Tina Turner.  In September of 1976, they put out a self-pressed single, "(I'm) Stranded",  before either the Pistols or The Clash. A reviewer from Sounds called the tune the "single of this and every week" and they promptly landed a three record deal with EMI.

Elvis fans from back in the day when they called themselves Kid Galahad and The Eternals, the lads decided to record one of the King's cheesiest tunes for their debut album."Kissin' Cousins",  a celebration of incest made somehow more palatable by the line "She's a distant cousin/But she's not too distant with me", gets the full punk treatment. The Saints had a long career and were inducted in the Australian versions of its Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

Elvis Covers Part I: Heartbreak Hotel

Doc Watson: Heartbreak Hotel

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We speak so much and so well of Arthel "Doc" Watson's ethnomusical prowess with the fiddle tunes of hill and holler, it's easy to forget he fed his early ear on radio, and got his start as a barroom player in a country and western swing band.

But Watson never forgot his other roots. Although a number of his earliest recordings mine Appalachia almost exclusively, his overall body of work - over fifty LPs in all - is peppered with here-and-there coverage of contemporary songs, their tunes and tenor popping through the surface of tradition like errant wildflowers in a field of wheat.

Docabilly, his late career tribute to his early influences, is an extreme case, and quite produced in places, as it should be - Doc's trip down memory lane is paved with smooth studio versions that lean heavily on brushed drums, bluegrass pickin' and slippery slide guitars even as their settings veer from true-blue blues to high-concept country. At its worst, this gives Docabilly a bit of a "novelty album" feel, and it's tempting to argue from a purist's perspective that Doc fails to give this song the gravity it deserves, given its narrative origin in the true tale of a man who jumped out of a hotel window. But there's something tender about the way the aging cowboy baritone takes on these mid-century rock and country hits from Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash, The Everly Brothers, and The King himself - he loves these tunes, and you can hear it.

Elvis Covers Part 1 : All Shook Up

Suzi Quatro : All Shook Up

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In 1973 Suzi Quatro was one of America's most successful exports to the UK. Her debut album is full of heavy glam beats and thick as molasses guitar chords but its biggest attraction is the wailing voice of the young woman in a leather cat suit. Quatro arrived at her concerts on the back of a motorcycle, played the bass, sang about sex and eventually made the unforgettable announcement that she wasn't wearing any underwear under that catsuit.
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Among the cuts on the debut album is the single "Can The Can", which went #1 in the UK, Japan and Australia, a UK#3 single called "48 Crash" and "All Shook Up" , the Elvis Presley tune that topped the charts for eight weeks in 1957. The album made less than a dent in the US but, impressed by her version of "All Shook Up",  Elvis himself invited Quatro to Graceland. She declined.

Elvis Covers Part I: Blue Suede Shoes

Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes

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Here's a cover of a cover: Carl Perkins redoing "Blue Suede Shoes," which was an Elvis Presley cover of an original...by Carl Perkins.

"Blue Suede Shoes" was the opening track on Elvis's 1956 RCA debut record, which, despite its reputation as the record that launched commercial rock and roll, is actually mostly a collection of cover songs. Legend has it that Elvis never intended to release "Blue Suede Shoes" as a single. But, things don't always turn out the way they're planned.

As Carl Perkins could attest. Sun Record founder Sam Phillips was convinced Perkins was going to be as big as Elvis. Though Perkins wasn't as photogenic (he was already balding at age 23), he could sing the same type of blues-infused rockabilly as Presley, and could write and play lead guitar too.

"Blue Suede Shoes" is Perkins masterwork. Inspired by a conversation with his buddy Johnny Cash about the fancy footwear U.S. soldiers in Germany wore when they went into town, "Blue Suede Shoes" was released as a single by Sun on the first day of 1956. With Elvis sold to RCA, Sun was in need of a big hit and Perkins provided it. The song soared to the top of the country charts, and became a pop and R&B hit too, ultimately selling a million records.

In March 1956, with his career in rapid ascent, Perkins was summoned to New York to appear on the influential Ed Sullivan and Perry Como TV shows. En route, the fellow driving Perkins and his brother Jay (who was in Perkins' band) to New York fell asleep at the wheel. The brothers were seriously injured. (Jay eventually died from his injuries.) Carl spent months convalescing. Legend has it that a reluctant Elvis allowed "Blue Suede Shoes" to be released as a single to help out Perkins financially. Elvis's take did not fare as well as Perkins original, reaching only number 20 on the charts. But, due to Perkins's prolonged absence and Evlis's performance of the song on TV and in the movie GI Blues, "Blue Suede Shoes" became an Elvis song.

By the time Perkins was back on his feet, his career momentum was lost. Despite accolades from Elvis and the Beatles, Perkins never came close to matching the success of "Blue Suede Shoes." Perhaps in an attempt to reclaim his best-known song, Perkins re-recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" dozens of times. This take is produced by Dave Edmunds from the soundtrack to Porky's Revenge -- perhaps the greatest soundtrack to a rotten movie ever.

Elvis Covers Part I: (You’re the) Devil in Disguise

Freddy Fender: (You’re the) Devil in Disguise

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Freddy Fender: No Seas Cruel (Don’t Be Cruel)

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Do any of you speak Spanish? I studied the language in high school, but I must’ve goofed off a little too much in that class. If you do speak it well, check out the 24 songs sung in Spanish on Freddy Fender’s album “Canciones de Mi Barrio.” Fender was born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Tx. on June 4, 1937. In 1959, he took “Freddy Fender” as his rockabilly stage name. “Fender” came from the brand of his electric guitar, and “Freddy” just sounded good for a first name.

Recorded between 1959-64 for a small Texas label (Ideal), 24 of his earliest Tejano rock recordings are compiled on this album. Subtitled “The Roots of Tejano Rock,” the Arhoolie label reissued “Canciones de Mi Barrio” in 1993. It unfortunately doesn’t include his version (recorded in 1957) of “No Seas Cruel” (a Spanish version of “Don’t Be Cruel”), but that song is available on two other recent reissues on Master Classics Records.

Freddy Fender was obviously influenced greatly by Elvis, and his versions of “(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” and "No Seas Cruel" are unique. I’ve always enjoyed his strong, clear voice. Freddy Fender did a lot to connect and bring rock ‘n roll, country, pop and Tex-Mex to Hispanic audiences. And I might’ve even learned more Spanish if my high school teacher had used his music in class.

Elvis Covers Part I: Hard-Headed Woman

Wanda Jackson: Hard-Headed Woman
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 King of Rock 'n' Roll, eh?  Well, I guess we get the King we deserve.  As a society we surge purposefully toward the middle of the road, never truly comfortable with the truly sexy or dangerous, preferring instead the chintzy allure of the ersatz.  Don't get me wrong: Elvis was really something for a while, but John Lennon's estimation of his date of death, or at least the death of his relevance was pretty-well on the money.  It's telling that the first image that comes to mind when his name comes up is that of the tragic, jump-suited fat man, not the lithe, prowling young rebel who made our grandmothers come over all unnecessary.  It's more telling still that the booming trade in Elvis impersonators home in on that era - it's a lazy shorthand, of course, but one that drunk people will understand while they're committing to something regrettable with someone they barely know in a chintzy chapel somewhere in Reno tonight.

It could have been so different, of course.  Rock 'n' Roll is, in its purest form, a spicy gumbo of sex, rebellion and attitude, and as such far more primal and important than we probably deserve.  But if we did deserve it, our King may well have been a Queen.  Wanda Jackson had - hell, still has - the looks, the sass and the howl, and unlike Mr Presley, she never let the army or Colonel Tom Parker knock the attitude out of her.  Elvis cover?  No.  This is way more than that.  If the seldom-achieved point of a cover version is to surpass the original then Ms Jackson delivers where few others have managed.  She's the original, you see.    

Elvis Covers Part I: Suspicious Minds & Always on My Mind

Waylon Jennings & Jessi Colter: Suspicious Minds

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Me First and the Gimme Gimmes: [Always] On My Mind

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Why didn't Elvis record more Mark James tunes? Some of the most successful songs from the latter half of the King's career came from Gray's pen -- "Suspicious Minds," "Always on My Mind," "Raised on Rock" and "Moody Blue" (the title track from the last album Elvis recorded before he died). Born Francis Zambon, James was childhood friends with singer B.J. Thomas, who scored a big hit with James's "Hooked on a Feeling." James became a staff writer for Chips Moman, who brought him to Elvis's attention during the recording of The Memphis Records, which Moman produced.

Here are covers of James's two best-known Presley tracks. Waylon Jennings and Jessi Colter's take on "Suspicious Minds" sticks pretty close to Elvis's original. It was originally released in 1969, in a bid to establish Waylon and Jessi as a groovier version of Johnny and June. The song made a bigger splash when it was re-released in 1976, as part of The Outlaws compilation, which became the first country record to go platinum.

The obvious cover of "Always on My Mind" is Willie Nelson's take, which is one of the biggest records of the 1980s, and one of the few redos of an Elvis Presley song that outsold the original. After a couple of weeks of posting obvious choices, I'll go with a lesser known and more adventurous version by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. The tongue-in-cheek punk supergroup specializes in breakneck covers of ballads and pop standards. (Their version of "I Am a Rock" is brilliant.) "On My Mind" (for some reason, the word "Always" has been dropped) is from Me First and the Gimme Gimmes Ruin Jonny's Bar Mitzvah, recorded at a 2004 bar mitzvah party.

Elvis Covers Part I: Viva Las Vegas

Dead Kennedys: Viva Las Vegas
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In 1980, I was a college student and disc jockey at WPRB. Punk and new wave music were still pretty new, and we got an album called Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables, by a band called Dead Kennedys. Even a liberal Democrat like me found that amusing—a band willing to make fun of sainted American politicians. As a college student, what is more attractive than a band willing to thumb its nose at convention and say fuck you to the establishment? It was almost embarrassing to mention the name on the air, but in some ways it was liberating.

I loved the Dead Kennedys first because of their name. But there was much more to enjoy. The music was fast, loud and intense, but still melodic and even catchy. The vocalist had a crazy voice and called himself “Jello Biafra,” again making light of a sacred cow, the horrific famine that ravaged Biafra during its failed attempt to secede from Nigeria. Then there were the songs—“Holiday in Cambodia”. “Kill the Poor”. “Let’s Lynch the Landlord”. “Chemical Warfare”. “California Über Alles”. Clearly a band that was willing to be controversial but with their tongue firmly in their cheeks.

And as if to prove that they weren’t taking themselves all that seriously, a cover of “Viva Las Vegas”. The Grascals’ version of this song posted by Joe Ross magnifies the country aspects of the Elvis version. The DK’s version enhances and glorifies the rockabilly and rock and roll aspects of the original, but which, as Allmusic notes, was probably designed to be “ironic and campy”.

This version is not the studio version, but a great live version that I first heard on a compilation I received as part of my subscription to Mojo Magazine, but is originally from a live album called Live at the Deaf Club, recorded in 1979, but not officially released until 2004.

Elvis Covers Part I: Can't Help Falling In Love

Eels: Can't Help Falling In Love

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Nell Robinson: Can't Help Falling In Love

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It's not just that the Elvis songbook is so deeply embedded in our culture, though it is. It's that the songs he made famous echo through the canon of American music like a grace note, their strand woven into our very psyche. Great performers like E. A. Presley influence generations, their nuance and narrative lingering in us as individuals and collectively; it is because of this, in no small part, that I am a coverblogger.

Case in point: like many children of that infamous hairspray era the 80's, my introduction to this song was through the pouty pop of Canadian crooner Corey Hart, whose Top 40 hit was but a b-side footnote to the nocturnal eyewear of his biggest; later that year, I would revel in the upbeat celtic mood of Lick The Tins as they took the song to the streets in John Hughes vehicle Some Kind Of Wonderful, which premiered in my own little town.

Since then, of course, I've collected dozens upon dozens of covers of Elvis' nth most popular Greatest Hit, from the regaaepop version UB40 released in the early nineties to several sparse and stunning versions done in the last few years. Many are excellent, especially those which have taught me to recognize the strength under the syrup: as tender and brokenly self-effacing as Mark E of the Eels plays it in concert, as sweet and gentle as Nell Robinson's old-timey lullaby. Also worth digging up, for comparison's sake: Ingrid Michaelson's swoony piano cover, Howe Gelb's shattered, breathy bassgrowl, an utterly dreadful thing from Bono, and a gift for hardcore folk fans: Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger, with a story of the first time they played this song together.

Elvis Covers Part I: Viva Las Vegas

The Grascals: Viva Las Vegas

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After a couple listens to The Grascals’ debut CD back in 2005, I was convinced that the album would be among my top ten favorites for that year. Besides offering great music, I heard a cohesive and collaborative band built around six talented friends who shared common goals. At that time, you couldn’t find much better musicians with both expert bluegrass and country sensibilities than The Grascals’ Terry Eldredge (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Mattingly (fiddle), David Talbot (banjo, vocals), Jamie Johnson (guitar, vocals), Danny Roberts (mandolin) and Terry Smith (bass). Dolly Parton invited The Grascals to open all concerts on her Hello, I'm Dolly tour in the fall of 2004, as well as to join other musicians backing up Dolly each evening.

Well, it wasn’t long before many folks were noticing the band. The Grascals won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s (IBMA) Emerging Artist Award in 2005. Then, they went on to win the IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year Awards for both 2006 and 2007! Others agree that the entertaining group is made up of discriminating, well-rounded and resourceful performers with plenty of showmanship. You may not be that into bluegrass or country, but you’ll find The Grascals to be enjoyable. Since 2005, Mattingly and Talbot have left the band, and their replacements are every bit as good if not better -- fiddler Jeremy Abshire and banjo-player Kristin Scott Benson.

Whether playing traditional or contemporary material, The Grascals simply have good taste when it comes to arrangements and musicianship. Their eclectic material appeals to many tastes. And these high rollers aren't afraid to gamble a little or take a few risks. “Viva Las Vegas” closed their debut album and included special guest vocalist Dolly Parton and some of Bob Mater’s drumming. While I’ve never caught them live in concert, I understand that guitarist Jamie Johnson even does Elvis Presley impersonations. Like the song “Viva Las Vegas” states, I think they “shoot a seven with every shot.”

Elvis Covers Part I: Money Honey

Ry Cooder: Money Honey
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For what it's worth, I was brought up equating the subject of our postings this week (The King) with his gyrations: Elvis the Pelvis. As someone who claims Ry Cooder as a great influence, I learned this week how little I really know (one of the ongoing personal benefits I am reaping by joining SMM). I'll take comfort in the quote attributed to Socrates that "wisdom is knowing how little we know."

Money Honey was written by Jesse Stone back in '53 when he was working with/for Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records. The song has been covered by Eddie Cochran, The Jackson 5, The Coasters and Clyde McPhatter (with the Drifters). There's a Bob Dylan version, too, apparently recorded in 1994. Lady Gaga also does a tune of the same name, but it isn't this song. And then there's this version:

Ry has covered other Elvis hits: Little Sister (on Bop Til You Drop -1979), All Shook Up (Get Rhythm -1987), and Blue Suede Shoes (The Slide Area -1982). On his 1971 second album, Into the Purple Valley, he covered Money Honey, a song Elvis did back in 1955. (It's also included on a Cooder "best of" CD called Why Don't You Try Me ..")

The Elvis version is classic late-50s: the guitar is elemental electric (kinda raw); the production is sparse, but the King is in the house with a great song. I confess I never collected Elvis, but I happen to have a copy of the Drifters' version which isn't too far off the mark of the Elvis version. I would like to think that Cooder was partially inspired by the Elvis version and certainly thank him for bringing it to life for me.

National Celebrations: Born On The 4th Of July

Tom Paxton: Born On The 4th Of July

[purchase]

If the first person narrative of this song sounds familiar, it's because singer-songwriter Tom Paxton based his anti-war anthem on the same autobiography that Oliver Stone transformed into the 1989 Tom Cruise vehicle of the same name. And yet I've always thought the song is more coherent, more cohesive, than the film, in part because the pacing and plot of the life story of Vietnam vet turned activist Ron Kovic so closely parallel the structure of the political folk ballad. As such, in its era, the song made for an especially effective political litmus test: indeed, whether you see this song as patriotic, or instead interpret it as a threat to patriotism, continues to be a strong predictor of voting habits and party affiliation in modern western culture.