Tune du Jour: “Punky Reggae Party” – Bob Marley
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Katchafire vs. Picaretas Reggae vs. The Rough Kutz
Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
Read in the Sunday papers …
A Georgia state legislator introduced a bill to ban “human animal hybrids” that might result from combining genetic material. “We don’t want to laboratorily [sic] create a werewolf,” Republican Tom Kirby said. “But if they exist, that’s fine.”
The Original
Bob Marley:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Katchafire vs. Picaretas Reggae vs. The Rough Kutz
Katchafire:
Picaretas Reggae:
The Rough Kutz:
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 
Honestly, I can’t think of a much better way to start my day – 15 minutes of one of my favorite Marley songs + 3 fantastic covers. I challenge anyone who listens to these to deny that by the end of the 3rd version you’re not absolutely jammin’ in your seat. And besides, how can you not like a song hip enough in 1977 to name drop the Damned, the Jam, and the Clash?!
I’d give all three of these cover 10 out of 10. Each one is extremely well executed, and captures the feel of the original despite the very different instrumentation in each. Each is totally worthy of praise.
So for lack of any other more worthy tie-breaker, I’m going with the Rough Kutz because at the 1:28 mark of their video there is a guy in shot that I’d swear was Dubbsy himself. He’s smoking a cigarette, wearing glasses and a Leeds United t-shirt and scratching himself. Of course, even though Dubbsy does scratch himself in public quite a bit, we know that he’s a West Ham United fan who wouldn’t be caught dead in a Leeds United shirt. So therefore I am forced to conclude that the fellow in the Rough Kutz video is not Dubbsy. But I’m just so grateful to him right now for such a superb CMI selection today that I’m casting my vote in his honor.
WEST HAM AND ALL ELSE BE DAMNED!!!
Agree with Cuspid here. Three very good cover versions of a very good song. I like the real heavy bass of Picaretas Reggae, but I probably liked their vocals the least. That definitely is Winston in the Rough Kutz video. They were great, and were a close second, but I picked Katchafire. I really felt they caught the real spirit of the song. It was both a great cover and a nice homage. The simplicity of two guys playing the song together brought out the beauty of the song, I thought. Kudos to them.
Three good covers of and old Marley classic. I looked up each act and discovered the first one is from New Zealand, the second from The Canary Islands, the third from England.
They say don’t judge a book…I took one look at the first act: guys in T-shirts, backwards baseball cap, scruffy beard. Then a few seconds in I was very impressed, both vocals and use of guitar for percussion. I ultimately voted for them.
I made the same mistake with the second band. I took a look at their picture and somehow didn’t expect much, but they were also good.
Third band was really polished and professional and almost got the vote. They seem like they’d be great live. Good stuff!
Listening to these covers had me scrambling for Allmusic to check out Marley’s discography, and found a couple interesting quotes. In the review of the “Natty Dread” album, the first sentence reads:
“Natty Dread is Bob Marley’s finest album, the ultimate reggae recording of all time.”
Natty Dread is indeed a fine album. But it’s not the ultimate reggae recording of all time. In fact, there are at least 3 of Marley’s albums that I think are even better.
Well it’s a rarity to hear such praise of all contestant’s entries. But well deserved. Katchafire’s stripped down version is fantastic. Picaretas Reggae’s version was almost two perfect, kinda like Beatlemania. Yet they almost got my vote ’cause i liked their background vocalist trio. I gave the vote to the Rough Kutz because they paid reverence to the song while also making it their own. I’m also in debt for their turning me on to my first ciggie.