Tune du Jour: “Straight to You” – Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Adalitavs. Emm Gryner vs. Dee Madden
Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
“A man doesn’t know what happiness is until he’s married. By then it’s too late.”
Frank Sinatra
The Original
If I’m ever crazy enough to get married again this will be my wedding song.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds:
I decided to include this cover just as a frame of reference of what could happen when some muttonhead gets it in his head to cover a great song. I will warn you, this is ugly to the point of profanity. (I shudder to think of what the Caveman might do if he ever got his claws into this character.)
Josh Groben:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Adalita vs. Emm Gryner vs. Dee Madden
Adalita:
Emm Gryner:
Dee Madden:
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?!!?
cover me impressed 
Adalita going away …
“Stop Dragging My Heart Around” is far from one of my favorite Tom Petty songs. Yet I caught a video of J Mascis and Adalita knocking it out that was close to brilliant. I don’t know anything about Adalita but I might be in love with her.
I just found and listen to the Adalita/ J Mascis duet. It is very good. As one of the comments says, Adalta sounds a little more like Patti Smith than Stevie Nicks. But that’s fine with me. Mascis does pretty well also, and sounds exactly like Petty when singing solo. But when he harmonizes with Adalita he sings in a low register rather than an octave higher, as Petty does. And since that’s my favorite pat of the original Nicks/Petty version, I’m a little disappointed with the cover.
By the way, this song was actually initially released as a Stevie Nicks song, and appeared on her first solo album with Tom Petty as guest vocalist. It never appeared on a Petty album until a compilation was issued 20 years later, which is a little odd because all the Heartbreakers play on it, and Tom Petty wrote the song!
Doug, I think you had already graduated when Tom Petty returned to G-ville for his first concert as a “star”. He played the O’Connell Center with Stevie Nicks as a special guest. Not surprisingly he was enthusiastic and played for a long time. It was a great show. And for some reason I can remember that Joe Ely opened for him. Don’t remember much of Joe, only that he was the opening act.
From what I found online, Petty first played the O’Connell Center on October 1981. I graduated in May 1982. So I was definitely still at UF, although I don’t specifically remember this concert But I can say now that I regret not going to the concert. I never disliked Petty. I even had a few of his early albums when I was still in Gainesville. But I wasn’t really a fan when I was in school. Yet for reasons I don’t really understand my appreciation and admiration for Petty has steadily increased over the years. I now have about half his albums on CD and the other half on mp3. So at this point I appreciate him and his music more now than ever.
I really liked Emm Gryner version, although I had never heard of her before this. Her presentation kind of reminds me of Tori Amos. Adalita sounded a little too dramatic for my tastes. And the Dee Madden video is not available in my country. So I have no idea what they sound like.
Also, I will concur with Dubbsy that Josh Groben deserves to be kicked in the balls for what he does to this song.
This is one of the Caveman’s great songs. Adalita belts it out nicely, and she gets my vote, although Emm Gryner does a very nice job as well. Now… the other day, Cuspid described a song on here (I forget which) as possibly the worst cover version he’s ever heard. He clearly hasn’t heard Dee Madden’s version in this episode of CMI. Imagine a pimply-faced 13 year old at his bar-mitzvah trying to impress his friends with how cool he is by playing this on acoustic guitar, and you get Dee Madden.
I was at that Petty show, with Stevie Nicks and Joe Ely. Not sure if I was with Richie or not. Was I? Were we? Answer me, dammit!
No I took a date to that show (and I am sure it was not you). She actually dumped me at the concert. I tell ya, the leaving was the hardest part …
The warning for Josh Groban was warranted. I could only take about 45 seconds. I had never heard of any of these performers but I looked them up. I voted Adalita. I also enjoyed the collaboration with J. Mascis on The Petty/Nicks cover. She also leads a group of Aussie musicians on a nine minute plus version of Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry from a Cave tribute show. I thought Emm Gryner’s version started out very well but retreated into MOR pop after a bit. There is a darkness in Cave’s music which just doesn’t work for me when it is removed.