It’s ok. I was totally going to jump in with Jimmi and SRV of exactly those songs, but only held back on account of the ‘previously good’ bit.
Haven’t read the whole thread but it wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Devo’s amazing “cover” of Johnny Rivers’ “Secret Agent Man” (admittedly a pretty good tune in its own right).
I put the word cover in quotes because Devo takes a catchy pop tune and transforms it into that + sociopolitical commentary with totally different lyrics for the verses.
I absolutely adore Neil Young’s original but this version of Like A Hurricane is still my favorite.
I really enjoyed that. Thanks.
Looks like I need to check out more of this Roxy Music.
Of course I’ve heard of them. They’re from my era, even, and I’ve really liked what I’ve heard on the radio, but I guess I was into other stuff, and never took the time. I need to rectify that.
Might you (or anyone else) be able too suggest a good album to start with? Not a Best Of, but an actual album. Preferably one that’s available in CD format. Best Of’s are fine, but I prefer a snapshot of a band from a specific time period, where I can get a feel for what they were trying to get across with that particular album, and listen to it from beginning to end. Hard to explain. I wouldn’t be talking about a concept album (but those are great if they did one), but rather I just want a good solid album to listen to.
My favourite Roxy Music album is Avalon and I think it serves well as an introduction to the band, You can then go back and listen to their older stuff.
Roxy is so great. But before recommending something to you, let’s talk about the different versions of Roxy.
The original version of Roxy Music had both Bryan Ferry (Ferry, the frontman and songwriter is the constant) and Brian Eno, who you HAVE to have heard of as a producer at least. Eno played synths, which in this case in early Roxy were like oscillators and burping, squiggling electronic doodads.
But…early Roxy also had other stuff going for it. Phil Manzanera’s an incredible guitarist. On early Roxy songs, his guitar has this wall-of-sound quality to it that just fills all space. Lots of those songs sound like a jet engine going off because his guitar is just loud and everywhere, without being heavy metal, if that makes sense. Paul Thompson had a really original sound too, for the time. When most drummers were really influenced by Keith Moon and Ginger Baker’s skittering, jazzy styles and fills, Thompson sounds like he’s playing with mallets pounding on metal tubs. It’s a sound that would get appropriated in future years for disco, punk, and new wave. Andy Mackay’s sax was also a big part of the Roxy sound. Long before David Bowie made the sax an essential glam rock instrument, Mackay’s blatting, skronking sound invented that style, acting as a perfect complement to Phil Manzanera’s guitar.
Oh, and over the years, Roxy went through bassists like crazy. Future Asia/King Crimson bassist John Wetton played with them and is probably best known.
So anyway. Early Roxy sat somewhere between inventing the glam rock of David Bowie’s Spiders from Mars period, prog rock, and proto-new wave. This is easily my favorite Roxy period. Pick an album from this era, they’re great: the self-titled debut is very good, but then they hit peak Roxy Music: For Your Pleasure, Stranded, Country Life, and Siren complete a five album run that’s about as strong a five album run as any band in rock and roll has ever had.
So…if I have to pick just one, and not a greatest hits, go with For Your Pleasure. That second album was the last record with Brian Eno. He and Ferry were clashing often about production and songwriting and Bryan Ferry’s jealousy that more young English girls were mailing their undergarments to Eno than to him.
Even then, though, I’m thinking of all the great Roxy songs you’ll miss if that’s the only Roxy album you ever hear! If you ever do use a source like Spotify or Apple Music or something, here’s your essential Roxy Mark I-IA playlist:
“Virginia Plain”
“Re-make/Re-model”
“Ladytron”
“Do The Strand”
“Editions Of You”
“In Every Home A Heartache”
“Beauty Queen”
“Street Life”
“A Song For Europe”
“Mother Of Pearl”
“The Thrill Of It All”
“All I Want Is You”
“Out Of The Blue”
“Prairie Rose”
“Love Is The Drug”
“Pyjamarama”
“Both Ends Burning”
The Siren album gave Roxy its biggest international hit single in “Love Is The Drug”, and Ferry used that to put the band on hiatus for a few years to retool. The Roxy Music that came after is kiiinda not so good. Ferry was less interested in making interesting records and more interested in making hits. Hey, maybe Roxy Mark II is someone’s favorite, but at their best they sound a band imitating David Bowie’s “Thin White Duke” period. At their worst, they sound like a bad mix of Steely Dan’s worst disco dabblings.
And so then there’s the last proper version of Roxy Music. One album only, Avalon, from 1982. It may not be your style. It may not be every guy’s style. But holy shit. There must be something like 500 million to 1 billion babies who were conceived to Avalon. Seriously, Avalon is like the all-time greatest “deal closer” ever recorded, and album that is stunning in its power to put women of a certain age and temperament in the mood. It is an audio aphrodisiac in every sense of the word. Avalon sold a gajillion copies, and Ferry decided he was done splitting royalties with a band and pretty much left for a solo career after that.
That didn’t preclude Roxy from doing occasional reunion shows and tours. The best of these is Roxy at the Apollo, from 2001 or so. I think that version of “Like A Hurricane” is from a little before that show, but it’s almost the same lineup, with Manzanera, Mackay, and Ferry joined by all star musicians. The Apollo show is available on DVD and Blu-Ray and there are videos all over Youtube lifted from it.
What triggercut (which I just realized is the name of a Pavement song) said.
Honestly I would just start with one of the greatest hits collections and work back towards For Your Pleasure, Siren, Country Life, Avalon, and the Live EP released in 1983 that includes Like A Hurricane. I bought the EP when it came out on vinyl (I’m old) so I’m not sure if it’s still available on physical media or not.
The Chapin Sisters (relatives, but not daughters, of Harry “Cats in the Cradle” Chapin) sing how regrettable it is to roll off a cliff.
Way better than that Mouseketeer posing on a scramjet.
Then there’s the Holmes Brothers proving that individuals’ souls are greater than a collective soul.
I so so so agree with this. Love the band, and rank this up there as one of their best songs.
While not really a cover than ‘transcends’ the original, I do love this:
Wow. Thanks triggercut for the great write-up!
Also thanks Ephriam and abidingdude for the recommendations.
Cowboy Junkie’s cover of Townes Van Zandt’s To Live is To Fly. While I love the original version (and Zandt) these days I never would have given him a change or appreciated this song without this cover.
Also see their cover of Sweet Jane if you somehow missed it. It’s not really transcendent though, just more of an equally great side step.
Awesome thread.
Speaking of Sweet Jane, my introduction to the song was a cover that this two-woman band here in Portland called Big Blue Marble used to do in concert (probably more than 20 years ago now–which seems crazy to me). Huge crowd-pleaser, though they had some great original tunes as well. Is that link to the original version?
Edit: Hmm never mind, I guess it was a different song with the same title.
So you better be careful covering a Nick Drake song, because frankly…what the hell are you doing, covering Nick Drake songs? The dead-far-too-soon Drake’s gorgeous arrangements and delicate voice are so evocative that his songs belong uniquely to him and in his time and place. You can hear the sad melancholy in his voice, even on his brighter songs. Like “Fly” for instance:
So when Swedish rock band The Soundtrack Of Our Lives decided to cover “Fly”, well, you can be skeptical that they were either going to paint a great song by numbers, or just make something fairly pointless. But…that didn’t happen. Dig:
The original is tremendous. The cover here is maybe even more glorious and transcendent, a shining example of how to make a cover version that sounds uniquely like your band while doing nothing but reverent homage to the original.
Oh, I think this one transcends the original!
While we’re on the subject of Roxy Music, These Foolish Things, Ferry’s first solo album still remains, for my money, the best covers album ever.
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His Sympathy for the Devil makes the original sound like a children’s song, and he also recorded what may be the best Leslie Gore cover of all time.
It’s just a personal favorite of what he does so very well, but of all of Clapton’s endless covers of old blues tunes, I love what he did with Robert Johnson’s Milkcow’s Calf Blues.
The original:
Clapton’s version:
Clapton is god!
Don’t forget the King!
Greil Marcus has a great analysis of Elvis’ version (and the creation of rock and roll) in his book Mystery Train
I wouldn’t say surpass, but I always enjoyed the Japanese cover of Country Roads in Ghibli’s Whisper of the Heart