Weird Cover Versions

"Love So Right" The Lettermen (Bee Gees cover) 1977

 

Sammy Davis, Jr. - The Gambler (Kenny Rogers)
Odd pairing, Sammy doing Country/Western & it is weird; yet, somehow, it also works!


This does not work at all:
Beastie Boys - Big Shot (Billy Joel)
Beastie Boys – Big shot (live)

 

Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
Metal version of alt./new wave classic.
Works just right on Luther Season 2 soundtrack.

 

Weird Cover Versions

This is so weird... but I love it!

(Our Love) Don't Throw It All Away - ['Cover Version by Ramon Ladrido']

 

"Ace Of Spades" by Lemmy [Stevie Riks] and George Formby [Stevie Riks]

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Stevie Riks is an extremely talented musician and impersonator.

Here is my favorite by him impersonating Leo Sayer:

 

Dread Zeppelin are great.

Here is something truly Dreadful:

 

It looks like Torte Elvis lost some weight!

 

1.David Thomas & two pale boys / Surfs Up (2001)...Pere Ubu founder & leader serves up the weirdness on this excellent cover the Beach Boys dirge

2.David Thomas & two pale boys (live) Surfer Girl (1997)...taken from the box set "Monster" from a live bonus titled "Meadville" that is full of stellar weird covers & some of rock's most bizarre music

3 & 4 Bryan Ferry / "A Hard Rains Gonna Fall" & "Sympathy For The Devil" (1974)...from his 1974 debut solo "These Foolish Things" Ferry does his best Dracula has risen from the grave vocals & with the 1970s strangest Pop production all the bathos just adds to the commitment BF pours into this record of covers...

Favorite moment is when Bryan begins his sinister laugh at the coda of "Sympathy For The Devil"

5.Roky Erickson / Heroin (1986)...the original version found on the Pink Dust import record is Lou Reeds junkie tale pumped up with the furiosity & intensity of premeir live MC5, a smoker indeed!

Favorite moment is when Roky brilliantly embellishes "I am her hero & she is my heroin(e)" one of rock's most transcendent moments no doubt

6.New York Dolls / Stranded In The Jungle (1974)...marvelous Rock archaeology & 50s Doo-Wop fueled with NYC Glam dressed in its finest Proto-punk attire, just as weird then as now

 

Veggie Boy wrote the following as part of a post:

I like his "Teach Yourself..." series of videos. My favorite is:

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That whole tribute album (Surprise Your Pig: a Tribute to R.E.M.) is wonderfully strange, alternating between sincere renditions (Jawbox's "Low" is particularly great), bands taking the piss, and truly strange versions.

The one that sticks with me is Vic Chestnutt's version of "It's the End of the World as We Know It," which consisted of (if I remember correctly) a bunch of tape loops that barely resembled the original song. Years later, Chesnutt performed a version of "Everybody Hurts" at an R.E.M. tribute show that was not only reverent, but incredibly beautiful. So, he could mock the band (who were friends of his) and pay them a sincere, stunning tribute.

 

"The Winner Takes It All" by Lonzo & Oscar

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Fantastic post Mothmanica.
This has got everything going on . Firstly , great song choice (I’ve got a blue vinyl 12” of Andy Gibbs’ version) ,the chap is TOTALLY in the zone when he’s performing the song . I love The carefully placed remote control, the blue sofa , the dog who sticks it out for the entire song and the 80’s style wind machine working the curtains. His mic work is casual yet professional and with him singing seated throughout the song is the icing on the cake for me . Added to the fact that it wouldn’t look out of place in Lynch’s Blue Velvet ,makes it for me one of my fave covers/videos.

Bravo.

 

Is it weird or is it just Lou?

 

Definitely one of my favourites...



'Bohemian Rhapsody' - Fuzzbox (a.k.a. We've Got a Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use It!!)

 

The german Schlager duo Cindy & Bert did a cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" in 1970, entitled "Der Hund von Baskerville" (The Hound of the Baskervilles). Believe me, it's very weird:

 

This comes to my attention every year or so. Each time, I can't stop myself from watching it yet again.

 

PJ Proby did a few of these (Tainted Love, Anarchy in the UK, etc) in the mid 1980s, basically for beer money i think!

 

Sudden Infant - Human Fly (Cramps cover)

 

XTC fans might be either intrigued or appalled by this "poppy" cover of "Roads Girdle The Globe" by Dave Stewart (the UK keyboard guy, not the Eurythmics one) and Barbara Gaskin from the mid-80's. Personally, I like it and think it is a clever brightening of the sour tone of the original. Andy probably hates it, though:

 

Arabic version of Free's All Right Now from 1971

 

Same group, Fadoul, doing their version of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag