Tune du Jour: “Janie Jones” – The Clash
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: The Farrell Brothers vs. Neurotic Outsiders vs. Todos Tus Muertos

Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
“He who cannot put his thoughts on ice should not enter into the heat of dispute.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
The Original
The Clash:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
The Farrell Brothers vs. Neurotic Outsiders vs. Todos Tus Muertos
The Farrell Brothers:
Neurotic Outsiders:
Todos Tus Muertos:
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?!!?
Can’t remember I was able to listen to 3 covers in less than 6 minutes!
It’s a good thing I like this song because all 3 covers sounded nearly alike, and all sounded nearly like the original. If I had to choose one I guess I’d go with the Neurotic Outsiders. But that’s a little unfair since the band is really an alias for established punk/new wave/rock musicians, including original Sex Pistol Steve Jones, who had as much of an influence on the Clash sound as any of their other contemporaries.
Well as Dougy said all three versions are similar and excellent. NO very nearly got the vote based on the video alone. Man those were the days … But my vote went to Todos Tus Muertos. Perhaps the alternating English and Spanish riffs was differentiation enough to put them over the top.
All three versions are good.
The Farrell Brothers sounded so much like the original, it may have cost them a couple of points with the judges
Todos Tus Muertos had an interesting idea using Spanish.
I voted Neurotic Outsiders ’cause I like the power, the muscle they employed.
In other news, I heard The Clash’s version last week at a Five Guys burger place.
Listening to The Farrell Brothers first I like their take and it works well with the stand up bass and the high melodic background vocal is a nice touch but then following with Todos Tus Muertos it becomes obvious that the former version stripped away the momentous power of the song. What I love about this song is not the lyrics or musicianship or vocals but that it makes me want to jump up out of my seat and seek out Tom Brady and beat the living shit out of him! Neurotic Outsiders lost a bit of momentum with the time delay studio effects and weaker vocals but still a good version.
Wow… the very first song off the very first Clash album. I bought that album in 1977, and still have it, and holding it in my hands still gives me a thrill. I’m surprised Dubbs didn’t throw in a wacky acoustic version, or a Gregorian monk version, to shake things up. I liked all three, but the brute force of the Neurotic Outsiders version gets my vote.