Cover versions

 In today's blog post I thought I'd share a few of my favourite versions of tracks covered by artists in the punk, post-punk and new wave genre. In no particular order

Let's start with Generation X and their cover version of Johnny Kidd and the Pirates Shakin' All Over which appeared on the b-side of 1979's Valley of the Dolls single. A simply great cover version, showing Generation X's rock roots rather than their punk sensibilities. Their first two albums still get regular airtime at mine, with the self-titled 1978 debut just pipping the 1979 Ian Hunter produced Valley of the Dolls album.

I was aware of Captain Beefheart, from John Peel I'm guessing, but I never really listened to him until relatively recently, and certainly no more than 10 years ago. I was delighted to find however that the post-punk band, Magazine, formed by Howard Devoto after leaving the Buzzcocks, had covered his I Love You You Big Dummy on the b-side of their 1978 single Give Me Everything.

I struggled to choose just one Clash cover version, so have listed a few of them. From the reggae of Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves from the Clash's 1977 debut album, Toots and the Maytal's Pressure Drop released as the b-side of English Civil War and Eddie Grant's Police on My Back, which appeared on 1980's triple album Sandinista, to the rockier covers of Vince Taylor's Brand New Cadillac, from the 1979 double album London Calling and Sonny Curtis' I Fought the Law, they are all, to my mind anyway, simply wonderful. But ah, I almost forgot the cover / interpretations of Willie William's masterpiece Armagideon Time, which appeared as the b-side of the London Calling single, which is another gem in the Clash's cover repertoire.

And finally, for a bit of fun, I've chosen the Dickies cover version of Banana Splits (The Tra La La Song), mainly because as a kid I loved the Banana Splits TV show, but also because The Dickies do a mean cover version.

Other worthy contenders would be

The Jam - So Sad About Us (originally by The Who)

The Damned - Looking At You (originally by MC5)

A Certain Ratio - Shack Up

Siouxsie and the Banshees - Helter Skelter (originally by The Beatles)

Skids - All The Young Dudes (originally by David Bowie, and then Mott The Hoople)

Check out my previous blog post about my short(ish) love affair with Manchester's Factory records label and my regret in having sold some of them many years ago for less than a pint of beer.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man, c.1979

The next album I have chosen to review is a new wave / power pop masterpiece from way back in 1979. Following the demise of the Motors, Bram Tchaikovsky (aka Peter Bramall) set about creating his own band, confusingly also called Bram Tchaikovsky. I had heard a few of their songs, most likely on the John Peel radio show or something similar back in the late 1970's but never owned any of their records. This was all put right a few weeks ago when I was lucky enough to find a copy of Strange Man, Changed Man in a second hand record shop.

Bram Tchaikovsky - Strange Man, Changed Man

Side one opens with the title track, Strange Man, Changed Man, which opens with a beautiful, punky guitar riff, joined later by drums and bass, and then finally the vocals as the song builds into a fine example of later 1970's power pop. It merges almost seamlessly into Lonely Dancer which continues along the same lines. Track 3, Robber, is another strong track with tinges of the Beatles' Dr Robert, in fact you can almost replace Robber for Robert. The next track, Bloodline, starts with an almost heavy metal riff, but of course nothing wrong with that at all, and it's still overlaid with wonderful, power pop / new wave style vocals. The final track on side one, Turn on the Light, ends the side well although a little less power pop and more country rock oriented.

Side two kicks off with Girl of my Dreams. with the opening line of "Judy was an American girl". I'm not sure what it is about the use of the name Judy in songs but in me in conjures up a dream of America that I had growing up as a kid, long before I ever visited, that was also of course bolstered by a healthy does of US 1970's television programmes. I was also reminded of Judy is a Punk by The Ramones, and "Judy's in the bedroom, inventing situations" from Found a Job by Talking Heads, and Judy Says by The Vibrators, although the latter being British rather than American kind of spoils the thread here. Track two, Nobody Knows features a mean and dirty bass sound that would not be out of place on an early Stranglers track. Oddly, the next track Lady from the USA, did not actually evoke any teenage imaginings of the US for me, probably as it's more of a country rock ballad. It's not a bad song but seems a little out of place here. Track four is what I can only describe as a Status Quo cover version of I'm a Believer and sadly reduces a quite wonderful song to monotonous, repetitive chords. Track five, Sarah Smiles, returns with another perfect slice of power pop, before veering downhill again into the final track, Turn On the Light, which seems to be another Quo inspired riff.

Overall though, apart from a couple of blips on the second side, a fantastic album which would sit well in anyone's new wave, power pop collection.