I was twelve years old when I bought my first LP, Cosmo's Factory by Creedence Clearwater Revival. Like other Creedence LPs, there were covers as filler, four on this LP. Creedence was good at choosing covers and even better at putting the Creedence stamp on them. Being my first LP, it was the first time I heard any of the covers. So I didn't know "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" at all. Being twelve, I was not yet into doing the cover version backward crawl. It was was a few years before I heard any of the Motown versions.
There were three Motown versions. The Temptations were the first to record it but Gladys Knight and the Pips' version was the first to be released. After those two were released, Marvin Gaye's came out and kicked ass, becoming the version most people think of. Anyway, Creedence's version is eleven minutes long, and it has the sound of a long Creedence song, their sustained notes swamp thing going on. I like it but that's because I've heard it so much it's ingrained in my skull. When it comes to doing the song in a band's unique style and sound, the Slits totally made it their own. Shit, their version came out just nine years after Creedence's.
Gladys Knight and the Pips - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
Marvin Gaye - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
Creedence Clearwater Revival - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
The Slits - I Heard It Through the Grapevine mp3 at Internet Archive
4 comments:
I'm a little younger than you (not enormously), so by the time I heard Marvin Gaye's and CCR's versions of Grapevine, neither of them were new. I have to confess that when I first heard the Creedence version, I hated it. It went on forever, and it didn't sound like the Motown versions, and it also didn't sound like the poppier Creedence songs I liked (Looking Out My Back Door, Proud Mary, Bad Moon Rising etc). I've long since come to appreciate the long Creedence jams, including that one. In fact, Cosmo's Factory is just an incredible album start to finish. But for me, nothing beats the Marvin Gaye version of Grapevine.
Marc
Marc, If I would have heard Gaye's first and then heard Creedence's version I wouldn't have given Creedence's version the time of day. But that being my first LP, I devoured every note. Shit, when your introduction is the seven minute "Ramble Tamble" you kinda go long jam numb.
I have a friend who's convinced that whatever version of a song you hear first is going to be your favorite. If that were always true, I'd prefer Linda Ronstadt's covers to Chuck Berry and Everly Brothers and Roy Orbison originals - which I do not. But he's not crazy to think that.
What I do find is that the best cover versions are by bands that also write their own songs. My favorite Creedence cover, hands down, is I Put a Spell on You. It's just an entirely different animal from the Screamin' Jay Hawkins version.
Marc
They did so many covers. Hell, their first single was a cover ("Susie Q"). I like their ripped version of "Good Golly Miss Molly".
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