{"id":403,"date":"2004-06-08T09:52:29","date_gmt":"2004-06-08T13:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp\/2004\/06\/fevers_progress_plus_cover_poe\/"},"modified":"2004-06-08T09:52:29","modified_gmt":"2004-06-08T13:52:29","slug":"fevers_progress_plus_cover_poe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/2004\/06\/fevers_progress_plus_cover_poe\/","title":{"rendered":"FEVER’S PROGRESS: Plus Cover Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Missing the Point<\/A>“


\nNo. 3 on Austin’s Book People<\/A> New and Noteworthy page.


\nKeep track<\/A>.
\n


\nART OF COVERS<\/B>
\n


\nEver since David Byrne’s BELEZA TROPICALE (1989) compilation, I’ve followed Bahia’s Caetano Veloso, even wrote up his Knopf autobiography for Boston Review, a piece that never ran. One of the first things I admired was his taste in covers: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” sung with a delicate irony, on his eponymous Nonesuch release in 1986 (still my favorite Veloso CD). His new release is all covers, A FOREIGN SOUND (Nonesuch), a mixed bag, but a keeper for song choices alone (Richard Rodgers’s “I Must Have Done Something Good,” Kurt Cobain’s “Come As You Are”). It got me thinking about the cover genre in more detail. Here’s a couple lists I threw together for kicks, and more on Veloso soon.


\nCOVER ALBUMS<\/B>

\nA single act covering a variety of songwriters. Must reveal new things about the originals, with points awarded for obscure revelations, arrangements, genre insights, and fresh angles on original recording\/performer(s) AND interpreter. That is, a cover becomes poetry when it casts light in all directions. Omitted from this category are GENRE EXERCISES, like Rondstadt’s Nelson Riddle affair, WHAT’S NEW, where an artist attempts a complete stylistic crossover. Exceptions prove the rule:

<\/p>\n

    \nThe Band MOONDOG MATINEE (1973)

    \nThe Beatles BEATLES AT THE BEEB (1962-66) (the great     apprenticeship<\/A>)

    \nYo La Tengo FAKEBOOK (1989)

    \nDwight Yoakam UNDER THE COVERS (1997)

    \nTodd Rundgren FAITHFUL (1976) (half covers, so good they count double)

    \nHINDU LOVE GODS (Warren Zevon w\/REM) (1990)

    \nJohn Lennon ROCK’N’ROLL (1973)

    \nPaul McCartney RUN DEVIL RUN (1999) (nearly all covers, with originals blending right in)

    \nJohn Fogerty BLUE RIDGE RANGERS (1973)

    \nWillie Nelson TO LEFTY FROM WILLIE (1977)<\/ol>\n



    \n

    \nBubbling Under:
    <\/p>\n

      Joan Jett THE HIT LIST (1990)

      \nWillie Nelson STARDUST (1978) [produced by Booker T. Washington]

      \nHarry Nilsson A TOUCH OF SCHMILSSON IN THE NIGHT (1973) (included here precisely because it’s more than a GENRE EXERCIZE: he sings these standards, and reveals original lyrics to “Makin’ Whoopee,” as rock’n’roll.)
      \nEverything But the Girl ACOUSTIC (1992, fleshed out with originals)

      \nDavid Bowie PINUPS (1973)

      \nGuns ‘N’ Roses THE SPAGHETTI INCIDENT? (1994)

      \nJoan Osborne RIGHTEOUS LOVE (2000)

      \nMichael McDonald MOTOWN (2003)

      \nLeon Russell HANK WILSON’S BACK (1973)

      \nBeach Boys PARTY! (1965)<\/ol>\n



      \nACTS WITH COVER ALBUMS STILL IN THEM<\/B>:

      <\/p>\n

        \nNeil Young

        \nBruce Springsteen

        \nBonnie Raitt (please oh please)

        \nBob Dylan

        \nChrissie Hynde

        \nNRBQ<\/ol>\n




        \nTRIBUTE ALBUMS<\/B>

        \nSingle act dedicated to single composer\/act, far fewer success stories. Must convey a sense of how the material shape(s)(d) the interpreter(s).

        <\/p>\n

          The Byrds BYRDS PLAY DYLAN (NA)

          \nCoulson Dean McGuinness and Flint LO AND BEHOLD! (Sire) (all Dylan)

          \nBottle Rockets SONG OF SAHM (all Doug Sahm)

          \nPine Valley Cosmonauts THE MAJESTY OF BOB WILLS (Bloodshot)<\/ol>\n



          \n

          \nSONGWRITERS DESERVING OF MORE COVERS<\/B>:

          <\/p>\n

            \nRosanne Cash

            \nElvis Costello

            \nLeonard Cohen

            \nJoni Mitchell

            \nLucinda Williams<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            “Missing the Point“ No. 3 on Austin’s Book People New and Noteworthy page. Keep track. ART OF COVERS Ever since David Byrne’s BELEZA TROPICALE (1989) compilation, I’ve followed Bahia’s Caetano Veloso, even wrote up his Knopf autobiography for Boston Review, a piece that never ran. One of the first things I admired was his taste […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-403","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-main","7":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/riley\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}