Monday, April 12, 2010

It's Covered: Hall & Oates

You're right, today's "It's Covered" is a bit of a departure from the norm. Sort of like your latest love interest. Boo yah!

While we normally discuss a single cover song, right now i'm going to wax rhapsodic about a band that's seemingly being covered by everyone. That's right, it appears that 2010 is the Year of the HallenOates. And i'm not the only one noticing, as our good friend at Berkeley Place recently has opined the same.

In the past few months alone, the world has been given full Darryl Hall and John Oates tribute albums by such indie stalwarts as The Bird and the Bee and such, um, freakazoids as Koot Hoomi. Now, B&B's CD is wonderfully named (Interpreting the Masters, Vol. 1) and is pretty much a straight cover affair, doing little to add to the originals. That being said, these faithful versions definitely are listenable. KH, on the other hand, takes an entirely different track. With their The Dark Side of Hall & Oates, in addition to sporting one of the best album covers of the year, the band "have chosen to re-imagine the music as it might exist in an alternate universe--replete with off-kilter harmonies, psychedelic swirl, minor-key digressions, and the occasional spot of Tuvan throat-singing; all recorded with cheap instruments on an old-school Tascam 488 analog tape recorder." Quite frankly, if that's not enough to spark your interest, well, you, sir/madam, are a fool.

Then i started thinking about it and quickly realized i had cover versions of various other H&O tracks from all over the place. Looking for a Quebecois version by an all 80s gypsy jazz cover band? Got it. How about a reinterpretation of the De La Soul track sampling the hell out of one of their biggest hits? You know we do, buddy. Hell, i'll even through in the original, just 'cuz i'm that type of guy. (Yes, the pudding is delicious, and a gajillion non-refundable LET Bonus Points (tm) to whoever gets that reference, good for nothing but white suburban street cred.) You know, i'm even going to throw the remix out there, too. Lords of Light, i am good to you people. i also had that Nina Simone track prior to BP's posting, but since i've already taken the trouble to link you over there, it would seem like cheating to do it here, too. We still need to fill your female fix, you say? Joan Osborne to the rescue, kids. How about an acoustic-y, bongo-y take from an album with a cover featuring large, albeit poorly covered, boobs? Uh hunh. Thanks, Ginger Rose. Too much blue eyed soul? Brian McKnight has our back. i don't really have a set-up for Mike Oldfield, but i do have the cover.

Quite frankly, that's enough for now, as i's got shit to do.
Ed. Note and Correction: It was brought to my attention by one of our readers, the possibly honorable Brett, that "Family Man" was written by Mike Oldfield, NOT the HallenOates Beast, so while it's still technically covered, i had it reversed. So, yeah, there you have it. While it's not exactly incriminating pictures of an ex-gf, the gesture still is appreciated. Doesn't sharing make us all feel good?




mp3: Say No Go (De La Soul from Three Feet High and Rising)


mp3: Sara Smile (Joan Osborne from Breakfast in Bed)

mp3: Kiss On My List (Ginger Rose from You'll Love It In the Morning)

mp3: I Can't Go for That (Brian McKnight from Brian McKnight)

7 comments:

Brett Alan said...

Nice, eclectic batch of stuff. For the record, though, the Oldfield isn't a cover--it's the original, and H&O were covering him. FWIW.

Terrible Chris said...

Holy Crapagawea, that is sloppy of me, but i freely admit, i did not know that.

As one, we are UNSTOPPABLE, we mighty score of LETers! Or i need to wait longer between taking the meds and addressing the masses.

Your call.

Regardless, thanks for the heads up.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE anything Hall & Oats and i LOVE this album cover! Awsome!

Terrible Chris said...

And we love your love.

So that works out nicely.

ekko said...

Well done.

Terrible Chris said...

i should hope so.

i learned it from watching you, Dad!

Antmusic said...

Great info...

I am a HUGE Hall & Oates (Hauling Oats?) fan, and of course I purcahsed the Bird and the Bee's album and the Dark Side album. Both kick lots of butt and I love them.

Oh, and let me add a "Fa Ha ha ha" reference for my street cred becaume my Mama said to knock it out.