Tune du Jour: “Simmer Down” – The Wailers with the Skatalites
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Interskalactic vs. Mighty Mighty Bosstones vs. The Specials
VOTE, COMMENT, then MOW THE LAWN
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The Original
The Wailers with the Skatalites:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Interskalactic vs. Mighty Mighty Bosstones vs. The Specials
Interskalactic:
Mighty Mighty Bosstones:
The Specials:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Cools song and 3 excellent covers. I enjoyed them all. I’m going with the M.M. Bosstones because the slower tempo results in a more soulful rendition, IMO. Interskalactic gets extra credit for the one of the best names ever for a ska band. And just for the record, the picture of the Specials in the video snapshot is the classic 1979-1980 configuration of the band. But this cover of Simmer Down is from the reconstituted-but-still-very-good configuration of the band in the mid-to-late 1990s, which only had 4 of the original 7 members.
I still have a pair of vinyl albums by The Specials that I’ve had since college. I was preparing to vote for them partly due to bias in their favor. Then Cuspid ruined my plan by pointing out that this version was from the nineties and with substantial changes to the original lineup. I was forced to re-listen to the two finalists, Specials and Bosstones. I still voted Specials, but the process was more stressful than it should have been.
All three versions were very good, although I have to admit that I’m starting to get really bored with ska, and I was ready to pull my hair (what little I have left) out after listening to all three versions. I give this one to The Specials, because hey, they’re The Specials.
Parroting the consensus all three versions are really, really good. All three performed in a similar musical style with little separation among the versions. In the end I went with The Specials, but only by a nose.
I voted for the Specials, thought their vocals beat the horns on the other two, and was sounded brighter and “fuller” than the others.