Posts Tagged ‘Rod Stewart’

Tom Waits: “Downtown Train”

Posted: June 20, 2016 in THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Tags: , , , , ,
6
Tune du Jour: “Downtown Train” – Tom Waits
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Mary Chapin Carpenter vs. Rocking Chairs vs. Patty Smyth
VOTE, COMMENT, then CHASE THOSE FACTORY GIRLS (UNDERNEATH THE BOARDWALK)
CoverMeImpressed.com     CoverMeImpressed.com     CoverMeImpressed.com
Broc 3 - Cover Me Impressed

Everybody’s Dressin’ Funny … Cover Me Impressed!

From Waits’ sublime masterpiece, Rain Dogs, Downtown Train beautifully captures the romance, hopes and desires, insecurity and confusion, and, at times, overcrowded-loneliness of a New York City weekend. 

As Bill Janovitz of AllMusic puts it: “The verses of Downtown Train are chock-full with more concrete and evocative images than all of the contemporary Top 40 pop hits combined; images like ‘another yellow moon has punched a hole in the nighttime,’ ‘The downtown trains are full/With all those Brooklyn girls/They try so hard to break out of their little worlds,’ and ‘you wave your hands and they scatter like crows’ ring of Ira Gershwin and Cole Porter.”

One rock critic observed “a Lou-Reedish guitar lead pervading the song” but, personally, I think Downtown Train has much more of a Springsteen-esque feel to it. Although, whether Waits was influenced by Springsteen or vice versa is difficult to say. 

 

The Original

 

Tom Waits:

That’s former World Middleweight Boxing Champion, Jake LaMotta, in the video. 

 

TheMost Popular

 

Rod Stewart:

Rod Stewart recorded a lousy cover version of Downtown Train that became a #3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late 1989, and was also a number-one single on the album rock and adult contemporary charts. Strangely enough, Stewart’s lackluster debasing of Downtown Train went to number-one in Canada – a country where people generally make intelligent choices – and made the top ten on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. And if all that wasn’t putrefying enough, Stewart also received a Grammy nomination for the song in the category Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. When asked to comment on Stewart’s version of Downtown Train, world renowned scholar and preeminent expert on cover songs, R.J. Dubbengoth IV, vomited profusely.

 

THE CLASH of Cover Tunes

 

Mary Chapin Carpenter vs. Rocking Chairs vs. Patty Smyth
Mary Chapin Carpenter:

Rocking Chairs:

Patty Smyth:

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.

Battle of the Mega-Medleys: Circle Jerks vs. Eugene Chadbourne and the Red Clay Ramblers vs. Soul Asylum

Posted: April 15, 2016 in THE CLASH of Cover Medleys
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
4
Pots-Pourris du Jour: “Golden Shower of Hits”  / “Medley in C”  / “James at 16”
THE CLASH of Cover Medleys: Circle Jerks vs. Eugene Chadbourne and the Red Clay Ramblers vs. Soul Asylum
VOTE, COMMENT, then TURN THE BEAT AROUND
CoverMeImpressed.com     CoverMeImpressed.com     CoverMeImpressed.com

 

Official Cover Me Impressed Medley Definitions:

 

For our purposes we will rely on medley standards as outlined at the 2012 Institute of Chartered Music Listeners Music-Medley Symposium, which identified and defined the following categories of

Broccoli For Miles And Miles And Miles And Miles And Miles ... Oh Yeah!

Broccoli For Miles
And Miles And Miles
And Miles And Miles …
Oh Yeah!

Music Medleys:

The Meager-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from two independent songs.

The Mini-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from three independent songs.

The Medial-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from four independent songs.

The Mega-Medley – a musical composition comprised of parts from five or more independent songs.

 

THE CLASH of Cover Medleys

 

Circle Jerks vs. Eugene Chadbourne and the Red Clay Ramblers  vs. Soul Asylum
Circle Jerks:  Golden Shower of Hits

“Along Comes Mary” (The Association) / “(They Long to be) Close to You” (The Carpenters) / “Afternoon Delight” (Starland Vocal Band) / “(You’re) Having My Baby” (Paul Anka) / “Love Will Keep Us Together” (Captain & Tennille) / “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” (Tammy Wynette)

Eugene Chadbourne and the Red Clay Ramblers:  Medley in C

“Always on My Mind” (Willie Nelson) / “Whiter Shade of Pale” (Procol Harem) / “San Francisco Nights” (The Animals) / “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” (Louis Armstrong) / “Imagine” (John Lennon) / “TV Party” (Black Flag) / “Misty” (Johnny Mathis) / “Dang Me” (Roger Miller) / “England Swings” (Roger Miller) / “I Started a Joke” (Bee Gees) / “To Sir With Love” (Lulu) / “Waltz Across Texas” (Ernest Tubb) / “The Shah Sleeps in Lee Harvey’s Grave” (Butthole Surfers)

Soul Asylum:  James at 16

“The Cross” (Prince) / “For What it’s Worth” (Buffalo Springfield) / “I’m Waiting for My Man” (The Velvet Underground) / “Birth, School, Work, Death” (The Godfathers) / “Damaged Goods” (Gang of Four) / “Play that Funky Music” (Wild Cherry) / “Free For All” (Ted Nugent) / “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops, Upside Your Head)” (The Gap Band) / “Body Slam” (Bootsy Collins) / “Stayin’ Alive” (Bee Gees) / “Wishing Well” (Terence Trent D’Arby) / “Get Down Tonight” (KC & the Sunshine Band) / “Peaceful Easy Family” (The Eagles)

SPACE

Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which medley of cover songs prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?

 

Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.