Rock Evolution – The History of Rock & Roll - 1985 - (page 203)

[threespires]

Is the same song by the same artists even a cover version? My comment was just throwing a couple of songs in for the best cover version discussion.

Sorry, i completely misunderstood!

 

[BimboBob]

True but they were done by different artists whereas No Regrets was basically the same release from the 60s. I know Scott Walker became (imo deservedly) fashionable again but I thought that was in the 80s? Wonder if there was a film or something that brought it back to life in the way that TikTok does for songs now?

Preferred Midge Ure's version.

 

[threespires]

Preferred Midge Ure's version.

Nooooo. I hope you're taking the piss here? I like Ure and stuck with Ultravox for a fair while post John Foxx but, after a promising first few bars, the synths on that cover are ponderous tosh and Ure's voice copes but not much more. The video however is brilliantly of it's time and Midge's hair and tash never looked better.

 

[BimboBob]

Nooooo. I hope you're taking the piss here? I like Ure and stuck with Ultravox for a fair while post John Foxx but, after a promising first few bars, the synths on that cover are ponderous tosh and Ure's voice copes but not much more. The video however is brilliantly of it's time and Midge's hair and tash never looked better.

It feels a bit quicker than Walkers effort. Which is a good thing. I like the synths. A great song to sing along to in the car at full volume.

 

[threespires]

It feels a bit quicker than Walkers effort. Which is a good thing. I like the synths. A great song to sing along to in the car at full volume.

Cause I'm a saddo I've just sat and listened to them both and Ure's version actually has the marginally slower tempo, possibly the bright synths make it sound a bit more up beat?

Anyway can agree about it's car singing quality.

 

[OB1]

I'm guessing our respective top three would be very different as I would have Kate's cover of Rocket Man in mine as well as joe.

I’ve posted my top three so no guessing required: they are v. different.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Not sure Kotter ever made it to our shores unlike the very popular Happy Days.

And that's exactly why I chose that song. I saw last night that it never charted in the UK, it was Travolta's first gig (before SNF even!), and was irreverent and a strong memory for me. The overall supporting cast of students was also top notch of all unknowns to balance out Kaplan, the original focal point and initial show anchor. Those WBK lunchboxes were a thing too!

I suppose it's not surprising it ultimately jumped the shark, given that at the height of it's popularity the Fonz had already battled a would be alien abductor, who would of course go on to become a much loved superstar.

You are alluding to the same event that I did, but that is 2 years away from now on the airing calendar. First the garbage cans jump in '75, then the shark in '77, and then the next level from where comedy all changed to another dimension.

 

[BimboBob]

Cause I'm a saddo I've just sat and listened to them both and Ure's version actually has the marginally slower tempo, possibly the bright synths make it sound a bit more up beat?

Anyway can agree about it's car singing quality.

I think it's the singing that sounds more up beat in Ure's version. Quicker maybe?

 

[mrbelfry]

Respect by Aretha Franklin didn't quite change the original as much as Hendrix did with Watchtower but it's much more well known than the original. A tier or two down is Tainted Love by Soft Cell

 

[threespires]

I think it's the singing that sounds more up beat in Ure's version. Quicker maybe?

Well pitch definitely impacts the brains perception of tempo so quite possibly, brain can get scrambled in the same way it does for visual illusions. There was a cool (for saddos) psychoacoustics webpage from one of the universities that had a number of auditory illusions on it but I can't remember whose it was.

 

[BimboBob]

Respect by Aretha Franklin didn't quite change the original as much as Hendrix did with Watchtower but it's much more well known than the original. A tier or two down is Tainted Love by Soft Cell

Glen Campbell was on guitar on the original and the re-release in the 70's was produced by Marc Bolan.

 

[mrbelfry]

Glen Campbell was on guitar on the original and the re-release in the 70's was produced by Marc Bolan.

For Respect?

 

[BimboBob]

For Respect?

Tainted Love. Jones was dating Bolan in the 70's.

 

[OB1]

Tainted Love. Jones was dating Bolan in the 70's.

Jones killed Bolan.

 

[threespires]

Jones killed Bolan.

Sadly in the 70s drink driving was a common occurrence, as was not wearing seatbelts and zero safety features in a Mini. At least times have changed for the better in that sense.

 

[BimboBob]

Jones killed Bolan.

Indeed. Although she had a belt on, he didn't. She was in hospital when they found out that his fans had ransacked their house. She then legged it back to the US before the court case.

 

[OB1]

I am going to quote myself for my third pick. Rainbow: A Light in the Black

I can vividly recall the first time I saw Ritchie Blackmore play guitar; it was at the Free Trade Hall on 5 September 1976.

From the moment Blackmore started to play I was transfixed by the mesmeric movement of his elegant fingers on the fretboard of his white Fender Stratocaster. I had seen some fine axe men by this time but nothing like the Man in Black. Before us was a genuine grade A axe hero. I’ve seen plenty of great guitar slingers (from Angus to Young) but Blackmore is quite simply the most exciting musician I have ever witnessed. He had an aura about him that was almost mystical and technical chops of the highest order. He could play faster than a highway star but was never a shredder: like all the best guitarists it was what he played rather than the speed he played it at. But it was also the sense of danger that you got from his gigs: you never knew what mood Der Mann in Schwarz would be in. Every show involved some improvisation – no two were exactly alike.

It was musical love at first sight.

They didn’t play my chosen track but the musical pyrotechnics of A Light in the Black are a set of superb musicians showing off while Dio wails like a demented Hobbit. The multi-coloured mayhem has Jimmy Bain’s bass galloping like a wild horse and Cozy Powell’s drums hurtling along like a herd of stampeding buffalo.

Tony Carey produces one of the greatest synth solos ever, locks in with Blackmore, before the man in black responds with some face melting fret board dynamics. It’s searing, sizzling, breath-taking stuff.

 

[OB1]

Rainbow was only the second best gig I saw in 1976: the best was my first Kiss concert, a riotous affair at the Free Trade Hall, people were coming out of the stalls covered in blood - ok, fake blood coutesty of blood spitting, fire breathing bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons.

After the gig we waited backstage to see if we could get autographs and see the band sans make-up. A towering Gene Simmons appeared and said a big howdy but his bodyguard kept everyone at bay. We only realised Peter Criss had gone by when he disappeared onto the tour bus. Paul Stanley, instantly recognisable by his hair, did sign my programme, which I still have.

Kiss were promoting their new album Destroyer, which I reviewed and eulogised about producer Bob Ezrin and I’ll quote myself again for pick 4.

Ezrin’s influence is immediately evident on the finest album opener ever. Detroit Rock City is a cautionary tale of the dangers of slinging gravel under the influence of rock and roll. It sets off with an extended introduction and crashes out with a coda of cinematic audio effects. All this is wrapped around a classic riff driven piledriver with a distinctive Shaft like bass figure and depth charge drums. The guitar solo is a Flamenco inspired affair written by the producer.

 

[RobMCFC]

All this talk of the Free Trade Hall reminds me that my only visit there was in 1976 at a Junior Blues rally. I probably would have forgotten all about it except for the one moment that I can still remember: Tony Book walking out on stage holding the league cup aloft to the cheers of the crowd.

 

[Mancitydoogle]

Rainbow was only the second best gig I saw in 1976: the best was my first Kiss concert, a riotous affair at the Free Trade Hall, people were coming out of the stalls covered in blood - ok, fake blood coutesty of blood spitting, fire breathing bassist and vocalist Gene Simmons.

After the gig we waited backstage to see if we could get autographs and see the band sans make-up. A towering Gene Simmons appeared and said a big howdy but his bodyguard kept everyone at bay. We only realised Peter Criss had gone by when he disappeared onto the tour bus. Paul Stanley, instantly recognisable by his hair, did sign my programme, which I still have.

Kiss were promoting their new album Destroyer, which I reviewed and eulogised about producer Bob Ezrin and I’ll quote myself again for pick 4.

Ezrin’s influence is immediately evident on the finest album opener ever. Detroit Rock City is a cautionary tale of the dangers of slinging gravel under the influence of rock and roll. It sets off with an extended introduction and crashes out with a coda of cinematic audio effects. All this is wrapped around a classic riff driven piledriver with a distinctive Shaft like bass figure and depth charge drums. The guitar solo is a Flamenco inspired affair written by the produce

I was at that gig too, I remember being near the front and feeling the heat off the fire cannons.Great spectacle not so sure about the music.You and I must’ve been to a high number of the same gigs back then.