Tune du Jour: “Let’s Get Together” – Dino Valenti
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Indigo Girls vs. The Staple Singers vs. The Wonder Stuff
Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!
S
S
“How come when Kanye acts like an idiot he gets a gold record, but when I act like an idiot, I get a police record?”
Lindsay Lohan
S
S
The Original
Dino Valenti:
S
The Most Popular
The Youngbloods:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
S
Indigo Girls vs. The Staple Singers vs. The Wonder Stuff
Indigo Girls:
The Staple Singers:
The Wonder Stuff:
S
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 
I’m back! And on my first day back from Amsterdam after three weeks, I’m greeted by a CMI featuring one of my all time fave songs. I had never heard the original by Dino Valenti, oddly enough. And “oddly” describes the singing style in that original version. But I like it. Nice mellow acoustic playing, and the message is delivered pretty passionately. As for the covers, well, The Indigo Girls give it a nice go, although a little too wholesome. I absolutely hated the Staple Singers version. Torture. I ended up giving it to The Wonder Stuff. Their version is a little sing-songy, but it preserves the melody that I like so much. But all three versions don’t come anywhere near the Youngbloods version, which was a desert island disc choice of mine. For me, it completely embodies the Haight-Ashbury peace and love flower power sound that I’ve always loved.
I usually like and respect The Staple Singers, and although their version retains the original lyrics, they completely re-do the arrangement, getting rid of the beautiful melody I liked so much in the original. They’re usually great at what they do, but this arrangement of this song falls short.
Indigo Girls are so professional in their approach, and sing so well with such great harmonies, I expected they’d get the vote.
Surprise vote today goes to The Wonder Stuff, although I had never heard of them. I’m not claiming they’re more talented or better technical singers than their opponents today, but I did enjoy their version most today, and that’s what the competition is all about.
The Wonder Stuff really brought the house. A big thumping bass line, strings at one point, thick production. A real Daydream Believer wet dream. Indigo Girls sang it so well with great harmonies and shimmering guitar solo in a more straight organic version. Maybe I should have picked them. I went with The Staple Singers and their funky reinvention. This album also apparently contained A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and People get Ready.