Cover Songs: Volume 7
Click on streaming service of your choice to listen to the playlist as you read along. Note that only the YouTube version has all the songs discussed in this playlist.
This is the seventh installment of an ongoing series exploring the art of the cover song. In the first volume I outlined various types of cover songs (Straight-up; Modernization; Tempo Change; Genre Change; Reinvention) which provides the framework for my analysis. Reading the introduction of that first volume will help before continuing here.
“Summertime Blues” \ Eddie Cochran (1958) & T. Rex (1970)
Such is the quality and undeniable appeal of this song, one of rock’s earliest and most classic tunes, that it has been covered many times by a wide variety of acts spanning genres and generations, both obscure and by some of the biggest names going.
The Playlist
Summertime Blues \ Eddie Cochran (1968) & T. Rex (1970)
Day Tripper \ The Beatles (1965) & Daniel Ash (1991)
Song to the Siren \ Tim Buckley (1970) & This Mortal Coil (1983) & Sinéad O’Connor (2010)
Ageless Beauty \ Stars (2004) & The Most Serene Republic (2007)
It’s My Party \ Leslie Gore (1963) & Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin (1981) – YouTube playlist only
Ghost Rider \ Suicide (1977) & Anna Calvi (2014)
Pablo Picasso \ The Modern Lovers (1976) & David Bowie (2003)
Never Tear Us Apart \ INXS (1987) & Tom Jones & Natalie Imbruglia (1999)
Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin) \ Sly and the Family Stone (1969) & Magazine (1980)
Eddie Cochran was from Minnesota but grew up in California after his family moved when he was fourteen. He dropped out of high school to pursue a music career and started releasing music in 1954 with Hank Cochran as the Cochran Brothers, even though they weren’t related. In 1956 he started releasing solo music and by 1958 he’d released nine singles and one album, with only the song, “Sittin’ in the Balcony,” having achieved notable success by reaching the top twenty.
Marc Bolan
Cochran’s legacy as a pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll was established with “Summertime Blues,” his eighth solo single and only hit to reach the top ten. Written with his manager, Jerry Capehart, its rockabilly style and edgy tone were influential to legions of artists who exploded over the following years. Its repeating, guitar-strummed rhythm helped forge a blueprint for rock and pop music, creating an indelible hook that has drawn generations of fans and cover versions.
T. Rex, led by the flamboyant Marc Bolan, was one of the most enduring, successful, and ground-breaking acts of the 1970s glam era. Their version of “Summertime Blues” came just as the band was transitioning from its original prog rock incarnation, Tyrannosaurus Rex. The cover was the B-side to their first single as T. Rex, “Ride a White Swan,” issued in October 1970 and which, by reaching #2 in the UK singles chart, began an incredible run of ten consecutive top ten UK singles (including four #1s).
Most artists have approached “Summertime Blues” by tapping into the song’s inherent energy, which in 1958 was difficult to capture in the studio, but for later musicians was an obvious path given the song’s easy architecture on which to build. Two top ten versions of the song in this vein had been achieved by Blue Cheer in 1968 and by The Who in the summer of 1970. Indeed, T. Rex’s live versions of the song tended in that manner; but the studio version went the other way, hewing closer to Cochran’s original and thereby setting it apart from most others.
Marc Bolan had a unique, lilting vocal style, and in T. Rex’s stripped-down version, riding on an uncommon bongo rhythm, his vocal changed up from the original rockabilly style. Glam was known for its drama, and this was an early version of where T. Rex was taking its emerging sound, also emphasized by a brief, raw electric guitar interlude to give a hint to the song’s innate menace. Therefore, this cover had elements of modernization, a genre change, and a reinvention, but by building it off a straight-up take, set it apart from the better known versions of “Summertime Blues.”
“Day Tripper” \ The Beatles (1965) & Daniel Ash (1991)
Among the vast riches of music provided by The Beatles, it is easy to lose track of many of their great songs. Of course, the frequency with which other artists cover those songs can help remind us of all those musical gems.
“Day Tripper” was a non-album release, part of a double A-side single (the first of its kind in the UK) with “We Can Work It Out” which went to #1 in the UK, US, Canada, and many other countries. It was also included in the North American album, Yesterday and Today, released in 1966. Its musical importance was as the leading edge of the band’s transition from their early, pop-rock style into a sophisticated, album-oriented band, as well as the start of their psychedelic period. It’s tempting to also refer to that stage as ground-breaking, but there really wasn’t a period of The Beatles career when they weren’t at the leading edge of rock and pop’s evolution.
In the back half of 1965 The Beatles were, as always, riding high, this time on the success of their latest film and album, Help! The LP had shown signs of an evolving, more refined style in their compositions with the likes of “Yesterday” and “Ticket to Ride.” Over the fall they began recording their landmark LP, Rubber Soul, which would be released in December and would establish the new paradigm of the album as a unified work. It also furthered their turn into more complex and elegant song writing with seminal tracks like, “Drive My Car,” “Norwegian Wood,” “Nowhere Man,” and “In My Life.”
Recorded during those sessions, “Day Tripper”/”We Can Work It Out” was released on the same day as Rubber Soul, but as a non-album single was the first example audiences heard of the new sound on the radio until the album made its way into people’s homes (though album track, “Michelle,” was released in some countries as a single at the same time, but not in the UK or North America). “Day Tripper” was a sharp track that bridged “Ticket to Ride” to “Drive My Car.” This trio of songs, largely driven by John Lennon, still held firmly to The Beatles’ usual pop mode, but had intriguing sounds that shifted the tone to the edge of the safety zone for mass appeal. “Day Tripper” had the band’s undeniable harmonies and hooks, but thornier guitars and sophisticated transitions that elevated the craftmanship past the usual chart-topping tunes. Paired with the smooth pop of McCartney’s, “We Can Work It Out,” the single helped bring the band’s fans into the space in which Rubber Soul could be embraced.
Daniel Ash’s cover of “Day Tripper” appeared on his first solo album, 1991’s Coming Down. After his work with Bauhaus, Tones on Tail, and Love and Rockets, it was his chance to explore new sounds and styles. This was most evident in the song, “Walk this Way,” which was built on the Latin rhythm of Tito Puente’s “Oye Como Va,” popularized by Santana in 1970. Ash’s album also came out as modern rock fans were embracing dance music in the forms of acid house and the retro-psychedelic vibe of the Madchester scene. Ash dabbled in these sounds and employed a subdued, psychedelic feel to his cover of “Day Tripper.” Mixing electronic beats, dark synth lines, a psychedelic guitar on the original song’s main riff, and a hushed vocal accented with a female backing vocal from Belgian-Egyptian-British singer, Natacha Atlas, the song took on a moody, sinister, spacey feel. It was a creative tempo change mixed with some reinvention that held the key elements of the original’s essence while exploring more of its psychedelic hints. It was also Ash keeping hold to his goth roots while also exploring the contemporary sounds of modern rock in imaginative ways.
“Song to the Siren” \ Tim Buckley (1970) & This Mortal Coil (1983) & Sinead O’Connor (2010)
It’s possible there are many familiar with one of these three versions of “Song to the Siren” without being familiar with the others, given they were released by such disparate artists in differing styles and in different eras. However, such is the influence and following of these artists that it’s as likely that many modern rock fans are well acquainted with all these artists and these renditions.
Tim Buckley was an artist that explored many musical styles before his passing from a drug overdose in 1975 at just age twenty-eight. Unfortunately, his son, singer Jeff Buckley, would similarly see his life cut short at age thirty when he drowned in 1997. In 1970, Tim released his sixth album, Starsailor, which continued his progression away from folk and traditional pop song structures into more free-form and experimental compositions that incorporated jazz with this traditional folk style. However, “Song to the Siren” was a song written earlier with his partner Larry Beckett and during his more conventional folk period, and thus was a more accessible track on the LP. It became his best-known track, in particular because of the later cover versions. Buckley’s emotive delivery over sparse electric guitar and moody background effects made for an affecting song. The lyrics had interesting, unconventional turns that caught the ear beautifully, even if the song lacked an easy-to-follow structure. Indeed, it was the formless, gliding style of the song that gave it much of its charm.
This Mortal Coil was a project from influential UK label, 4AD, and was guided by its founder and leader, Ivo Watts-Russell. Working with producer John Fryer, the pair pulled together 4AD artists to perform covers of songs, mostly from the 1970s, as well as some original compositions. The collective’s first release was the 1984 album, It’ll End in Tears, and the song from it that caught the most attention was the cover of “Song to the Siren,” which reached #3 in the UK Indie chart. It was performed by Robin Guthrie and Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins. Their version was mostly a straight-up cover, but in replacing Buckley’s solo male vocal with Fraser’s typically echoey, resonant female vocal, the song was transformed. It was a rare opportunity to hear her sing actual lyrics, an approach not typical for Cocteau Twins songs. Guthrie’s sparse guitar and the light synth background effects captured the same mood of the original. Again, the song’s unusual structure was the star, giving This Mortal Coil’s version an otherworldly, ephemeral feel. It was one of the most charming and creative tracks of the ‘80s new wave and indie music scene and re-popularized the career of Tim Buckley.
Sinéad O'Connor has had a tumultuous career, filled with higher highs and lower lows than most of her peers in the modern rock world. Attention has fallen more on her personal struggles in recent years rather than her music, which she has continued to issue quite regularly and usually with quality results. Whatever other issues she has confronted, her voice has remained strong and pure.
In 2010, Sinéad contributed a song to a compilation album, Music of Ireland: Welcome Home. I’m uncertain how “Song to the Siren” fit with the theme of the album other than O’Connor being Irish, but regardless it was an inspired choice given the complimentary approach that Sinéad could give to the version by This Mortal Coil. However, unlike the original and its well-known cover, she broadened the song through fuller instrumentation. A light, jazzy beat, backing vocals, symphonic keyboards, and of course O’Connor’s soaring vocal gave the song a sweeping, epic feel in complete contrast to the prior versions. While melancholy or reflection might have been apt descriptions of the other renditions, Sinéad brought an uplifting sense of hope and wonder to the song. Her version also lost some of the song’s quiet charm and the melting power of its phrasing due to the increased tempo and melodic feel, but by giving it greater form and depth of sound, it provided the necessary foundation for the expanded vocal. This version had a tempo change along with some reinvention and a dash of genre change.
“Ageless Beauty” \ Stars (2004) & The Most Serene Republic (2007)
The Canadian band, Stars, is part of a roster of remarkable acts from Toronto label, Arts & Crafts, founded in part by Kevin Drew, whose own band, Broken Social Scene, has been a cornerstone for the label. Though the band members all hail from Toronto, Stars have worked out of Montreal after settling there in the early 2000s after a stint in New York. After two albums that failed to make a mark, the band gained a foothold with the stunning 2004 LP, Set Yourself on Fire. Though it didn’t chart, even in Canada, it gained the band an international modern rock audience that provided a launch pad for greater success on subsequent releases.
“Ageless Beauty” was the album’s first single, a tune that balanced driving guitars, a relentless pace, and wall-of-sound production with singer Amy Millan’s transcendent vocals. It was alternative, it was pop, it was shoegazey, and wholly infectious, like much of the rest of the album. It established Stars as part of a triumphant wave of Canadian acts in that decade such as Broken Social Scene, Hidden Cameras, New Pornographers, Feist, Death from Above 1979, The Dears, The Stills, and Metric. There was a collective element among many of these acts, having performed with and for one another through their formative years and even into their breakout releases.
Thus, it was not surprising when in 2007 this collective produced a remix of the album, Set Yourself on Fire. Issued by Arts & Crafts, the LP, Do You Trust Your Friends?, was almost as engaging as the original thanks to the inventive takes on it by Stars’ fellow Canadian artists.
The Most Serene Republic was the band that took on, “Ageless Beauty.” They were a band formed in the suburbs of Toronto and were an Arts & Crafts artist. They had released an album and an EP over 2005-06 and were getting ready to release a second LP, Population, when their version of “Ageless Beauty” appeared. As driving and large as the Stars’ version had been, The Most Serene Republic’s version was as laid back and open in its architecture. Keeping the song’s core, lovely melody in the vocal (Millan’s original track was used), their version was built on jaunty rhythms of acoustic guitar and piano. Remix or cover? When a song is reinvented to this extent, even if using the same vocal, in my mind it’s a cover. The new treatment showed the strength of the original song’s architecture and offered a wonderfully different, refreshing take on it.
“It’s My Party” \ Lesley Gore (1963) & Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin (1981) – YouTube playlist only
As the past volumes of cover songs have revealed, the 1980s delighted in issuing intriguing, contemporary updates on 1960s pop songs. This cover might rival Soft Cell’s cover of “Tainted Love” as among the most famous of that trend.
“It’s My Party” was American singer Lesley Gore’s biggest and best-known song. It was a #1 hit in 1963 and was also the first hit for its producer, Quincy Jones. As was often the case in the early ‘60s, the song was produced from a song writing firm, Aaron Schroeder, with credits going to a collection of its staff writers. Seymour Gottlieb was acknowledged as the originator of the lyrics, having written the song about his daughter’s Sweet Sixteen. Gore was only a high school junior in New Jersey when recordings she’d made with her vocal coach were picked up by the president of Mercury records and then given to Quincy, the label’s head of A&R. “It’s My Party” was the first song Gore recorded and released. Typically short and to the point like most other early ‘60s songs, Gore’s vocal rode shotgun, enhanced with double tracking, over a light arrangement of piano, drums, and horns. The recording was rushed to market ahead of a potential version by Phil Spector and The Crystals. It sold over one million copies and its #1 status launched Gore to a career that made her one of the leading voices of ‘60s pop.
If you’re like me, you probably thought the Dave Stewart who recorded the synth-pop version of “It’s My Party” in August 1981 was the multi-faceted, multi-talented half of the duo, Eurythmics, who were about to get started with the release of their debut LP that October after breaking away from the band, Tourists. Well, it was not. This recording was made by Dave Stewart, a journeyman keyboardist who had been making his way through prog rock bands since the late 1960s and had most recently been played with King Crimson and Yes drummer Bill Bruford in his band, Bruford. After that act split in 1980 Stewart briefly formed a trio, Rapid Eye Movement (and no, not the same as the American band, R.E.M., who were three years away from their debut), before changing tack and composing synth-pop versions of Motown classics.
Stewart’s first release, “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” accompanied on vocals by Colin Blunstone from The Zombies, reached the top twenty in the UK. His next release was “It’s My Party,” this time bringing on friend and ex-fellow band member from his ‘70s days, Barbara Gaskin. She had started her career with the band, Spirogyra, back in 1969. Stewart and Gaskin’s version of “It’s My Party” matched Gore’s performance by reaching #1, though this time in the UK (where the original peaked at #9) as opposed to the US (where this new version only got to #72).
Stewart and Gaskin leaned into the lament of the song’s lyrics, mixing brooding synths and piercing electronic beats behind Gaskin’s vocal, which leveraged some of the feel of Gore’s rendition while inserting a spoken interlude and some enhanced effects to pair it better with the musical tone. Often disjointed, with sharp turns through the first half, the song settled in the back half into the same jaunty rhythms of the original, restoring the original pop vibe. This new version offered a well-done genre change and scored itself a hit by keeping all the infectious qualities of the original. And yes, that is a cameo in the video by fellow synth pioneer, Thomas Dolby, though he didn’t play on the recording.
Stewart and Gaskin have continued performing together, releasing six albums from 1986 up to their most recent in 2018. Stewart has also done extensive work with other artists as well as television themes and has written several instructional books on reading and writing music. Gaskin has also worked with other artists, most notably as a backing vocalist on Jane Wiedlin’s (The Go-Go’s) 1991 solo LP, Tangled.
“Ghost Rider” \ Suicide (1977) & Anna Calvi (2014)
Suicide was the duo of Martin Rev (keyboards) and Alan Vega (vocals) who had been active in the avant garde, glam, and punk scenes of New York. Never fitting cleanly into any of those, the duo’s stark, electronic sound carved a path through the music world that was appreciated by peers and some critics, but never found a sustained audience. Though there would be a couple more albums over the years, the band’s legacy was cemented with their debut, self-titled album released in the momentous year of 1977. Though many weren’t sure what to make of it on its arrival, over time many of the tracks on the LP have been covered numerous times by a wide variety or artists, revealing its highly influential status on the modern rock world.
“Ghost Rider” has been the track probably covered the most from the album. It was the LP’s first track and most accessible. It melded the duo’s anxious energy with a garage rock vibe, with its steady electro-rhythm punctuated by Vega’s yelps. The song was based on the Marvel comic book character. Clocking in at a brief two-and-a-half minutes with a sudden ending, it embodied the punk ethos of the time.
After releasing her first two albums, in 2014 British singer and guitar virtuoso Anna Calvi released an EP of five cover songs, Strange Weather. I loved Calvi’s approach to the covers as she put her drama-filled, guitar-driven stamp on each of the tracks. In the centre of the track listing was her cover of “Ghost Rider.” She basically did a straight-up cover, mimicking Vega’s stuttered vocal delivery over a pulsating drum and bass line. However, the caustic keyboard effects of the original were replaced by Anna’s piercing, crashing guitar interludes. It was a perfect marriage of her dramatic sound laid over the tense foundation of the original. It was an inspired reinvention that made it hers.
“Pablo Picasso” \ The Modern Lovers (1972/’76) & David Bowie (2003)
Much like Suicide, The Modern Lovers were a band that had existed for many years before they were able to release music. Both acts were good examples of how the proto-punk sounds of the early ‘70s helped launch the punk and modern rock explosion of 1976 and 1977. Centred on singer and guitarist Jonathan Richman, the Boston-based band built up a repertoire of original songs through 1971-72, playing in Boston and New York along with Suicide and The New York Dolls. This line-up, which included future drummer of The Cars, David Robinson, and future Talking Heads guitarist\keyboardist, Jerry Harrison, recorded demos in 1972 and 1973 with John Cale from the Velvet Underground, that included their best-known track, “Roadrunner,” as well as “Pablo Picasso” and several others.
Richman disbanded the group in 1974 and pursued a solo career, releasing a couple singles (including “Roadrunner”) before reconstituting The Modern Lovers with a new line-up. They released an album in July 1976, Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers. Two months later, in August, there was also the release by Richman’s label, Beserkley, of the album, The Modern Lovers, which was remixes from the 1972 recordings. It was on this LP that “Pablo Picasso” first became available.
Similar in style to “Roadrunner,” the even-tempo and sardonic delivery of “Pablo Picasso” marked Richman’s unique brand of rock. More insouciant than “Roadrunner,” the song was akin to punk in the way the music of the band Television’s was, imbued with a rebellious attitude but crafted in a more traditional rock vibe, marked with guitar and piano accents. The lyrics sarcastically acknowledged how the famous, such as Picasso, could approach women in ways that most others could not – he “never got called an asshole.”
David Bowie’s work in the 2000s has been regrettably overlooked. His last four albums preceding his death, Heathen (2002), Reality (2003), The Next Day (2013), and ★ (2016) received the usual attention upon their release given his enormous stature in the rock world, but musically have been passed over in favour of his early, formative works. Yet, after spending most of his career molding his music through the trends of each era, his last works were his most original and free of a defining formula. Mixing rock, R&B, jazz, and electronica, Bowie brought all his influences to bear on albums that were more engaging, high quality, and as flawless as anything he’d done since the 1970s.
If Bowie’s inspirations were evolving and transparent to the music around him, his regular embrace of covers was also a defining feature of his career. From his album of covers in 1973, Pin-Ups, on to his massive ‘80s hits like “China Girl,” (1983) and much of the Tonight album (1984), along with his many collaborations (e.g. John Lennon, Brian Eno, Iggy Pop, Queen, Tina Turner, Mick Jagger, and Trent Reznor), Bowie regularly paid homage to artists old and new on his releases.
Cover songs featured strongly on the albums, Heathen, with three, and Reality, which had two (the Japanese release added a third as a bonus track). They were part of a planned album of covers, Pin-Ups 2, which never happened. Bowie’s cover of “Pablo Picasso” was the second track on Reality. Though the album was his first to lean markedly into the jazz sounds that would feature strongly on his last two albums, his cover of Jonathan Richman’s song was pure modern rock. Bowie’s cover was a re-invention, bearing little resemblance to the original but keeping the attitude to go along with the lyrics. It was big, with searing guitar, breaks, whereas the original had none, fast paced, and had an Arabian styled riff that opened the track and was repeated on the breaks. Bowie also added a new verse which opened the song and was repeated over the outro. It was a great cover, taking a solid, intriguing song and turning it into something completely new which fit seamlessly into the modern styles that David Bowie was exploring on the album.
“Never Tear Us Apart” \ INXS (1987) & Tom Jones & Natalie Imbruglia (1999)
“Never Tear Us Apart” was a fantastic song, showing a flare for the dramatic and the smooth, flamboyant power-ballads of the ‘80s that was a bit of a departure for the huge Australian band, INXS. The song was on the band’s 1987 album, Kick. The LP was the peak of the band’s international success and the single was its fourth consecutive US top ten single (released the fall of ’88), a feat the song didn’t achieve in its homeland.
An interesting dynamic of the past thirty years has been non-rock artists either covering rock songs or pairing with modern artists on albums of duets. Usually these were crooners of past eras in the twilight of their careers. One of the first was Frank Sinatra’s, Duets and Duets II, released in 1993 and 1994 respectively. They didn’t venture too far from Sinatra’s own style, pairing with some of his contemporaries (e.g. Tony Bennett or Liza Minnelli) and pop and R&B singers that could comfortably live in the type of songs Sinatra had sung throughout his career. Two exceptions were Bono from U2, who sang “Cole Porter’s, “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” and Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders, who sang the Guys and Dolls tune, “Luck Be A Lady” with ol’ Blue Eyes. Tony Bennett has released no less than four such albums starting with 2001’s, Playin’ with My Friends: Bennett Sings the Blues, as well as a collaboration LP with Lady Gaga. Johnny Cash also revived his career in the 1990s and early 2000s doing cover versions of several modern rock songs, not the least of which from Soundgarden and Nine Inch Nails.
In 1999, Welsh singer Tom Jones made his turn into this trend with Reload, a collection of seventeen cover songs each sung by Jones and a contemporary artist. There were more than a few interesting takes – “Mama Told Me Not to Come” with Stereophonics and “Burning Down the House” with The Cardigans, for example – along with the expected cringers, such as “Lust for Life” with The Pretenders. Near the end of the album was his take on “Never Tear Us Apart,” accompanied with Australian singer, actress, and model, Natalie Imbruglia, who had achieved international stardom two years earlier with her debut single, “Torn,” and the album, Left of the Middle.
“Never Tear Us Apart” was a song seemingly made for Tom Jones. Through the 1990s, like many of his ilk, his reputation had made the turn among modern music fans from being very uncool to being embraced as a swashbuckling icon of the 1960s. The dramatic, sweeping turns of “Never Tear Us Apart” were perfect for Jones’ booming, baritone delivery, leavened nicely by the sweet, emotive style of Imbruglia. The music itself was a straight-up cover, leaning into the backing string arrangements but leavened with the sultry guitar sound of the original. It was the duo’s vocal interplay that gave the song a new vibe, taking it a new level of drama.
“Thank You (Falletinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” \ Sly & The Family Stone (1969) & Magazine (1980)
Genre changes are always a fun and intriguing area of cover tunes, and this was a great one. It wasn’t a radical cover, but the idea of one of the earliest and most intriguing post-punk bands delving into a classic funk song made for an inspired listen.
Sly & The Family Stone were pioneers of the psychedelic soul sound, bridging the worlds of rock with soul and funk. The band was formed in 1966 in San Francisco when brothers Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart) and Freddie Stewart (who would also adopt the ‘Stone’ name) combined their bands, Sly & the Stoners and Freddie and the Stone Souls. Their sister, Vaetta Stewart (adopting the name, Vet Stone), joined as part of a female trio of vocalists dubbed, Little Sister. At first calling themselves Sly Brothers and Sisters they quickly changed it to Sly and the Family Stone. In 1968, sister Rose Stewart (also becoming Rose Stone) also joined the band.
Success came first with the 1967 single, “Dance to the Music,” which reached the top ten in the US and the UK. They landed their first #1 in 1968 with the fantastic, “Everyday People,” which was the first single off their breakout album, Stand!, released in May 1969. The band then released two further, non-album singles in 1969, “Hot Fun in the Summertime” and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin),” which were buoyed by the band’s triumphant appearance at the Woodstock Festival that summer, with the first reaching #2 in the US and the second delivering their next #1 success. Though the songs were planned as part of their next album, the LP was abandoned in favour of issuing a Greatest Hits album in 1970 that collected their album and non-album singles to date.
“Thank You” captured the band at their creative and commercial peak. Mixing soul, R&B, jazz, and the percussive rhythms of funk, the band’s harmonies rode over an infectious groove. Whether it was smart guitar or bass lines or the horn accents, the song had more than enough to grab the ear of a wide array of music fans. It was the foundation on which disco would ascend several years later.
After the punk explosion of 1976 and 1977, inspired bands ranged out in their sounds, diverging from the aggressive, 3-chord power of punk and exploring darker, rhythmic soundscapes. Ex-Buzzcocks vocalist, Howard Devoto, created the band Magazine in Manchester along with guitarist John McGeoch, bassist Barry Adamson, keyboardist Bob Dickinson, and drummer Martin Jackson. The band’s brand of smartly crafted, moody songs found a solid audience, as their four albums released between 1978 and 1981 all reached the top forty in the UK. The singles wouldn’t chart as well, with only the first, “Shot by Both Sides,” making an appearance just outside the top forty in the UK.
Magazine’s third LP, The Correct Use of Soap, was released in May 1980 and included the cover of “Thank You (Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Agin),” which was also released as the LP’s second single after the fantastic, “A Song from Under the Floorboards.” The line-up had changed by then, with Dave Formula on keyboards and John Doyle on drums. The album was helmed by legendary Manchester producer, Martin Hannett.
The cover of “Thank You” gained the band some attention in the US, with the song charting up to #42 on the US Dance chart. The idea of Magazine being a ‘dance’ band seemed a bit off, and thus the intrigue of their cover of a funk classic. Slowing it down and evening out the rhythm, the song had a plodding feel, propelled by a bassline that tied it back to the song’s origins. Keeping the song’s fabulous, melodic chorus, it was surrounded by caustic guitar and keyboards, sharp sax accents, and Devoto’s understated vocals which gave the song a sinister feel. A backing vocal from Laura Teresa also brought a small feel of the original into play. As a cover, it was a genre change and a reinvention, feeling like a Magazine song while also paying proper homage to Sly and the Family Stone’s creation – just what a great cover should achieve.
