AW FUCK.

Just a few days ago I had decided to revisit the Detroit Cobras after not listening to them for a couple years. I happened on a live video of "As Long As I Have You". That voice of Rachel Nagy's had far more range that I remembered. In the video she sounds at times like Chrissie Hynde with added gravel, but on the choruses when she really ramps it up she hits Janis Joplin territory. After watching the video I got to thinking about the Detroit Cobras, how they've been dissed over the years because they do all covers. What? Everyone does covers. If it's a good song who cares? Oh, I know, all those singer-songwriter types that can't conceive of someone else getting the publishing royalties. The bands with grand schemes to be huge, rock stars with money flowing in from multiple streams. Beside them, who really could give a shit who wrote a song? If it's good, it's good. Especially in the hands of band like the Detroit Cobras who always sound exactly like the Detroit Cobras, thanks in no small part to Nagy's voice. They have a steady swagger that says "I'm a lifer", the no shits given attitude. Let the others chase fame, tell us how it is.

Okay, so I'm going off. Within a few hours I'm thinking that the Detroit Cobras are the greatest party band ever. I really did re-examine them for an inordinate amount of time, even for me. I got to thinking about them too much so, shit, let's round up some shit for a post. Yeah. If you know, you know. When I did a search for an image I ran right smack dab into it. Rachel Nagy died in January. Fuck. There will be no replacing her. Rest in peace rocker lady.

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Listen:

The Detroit Cobras - Stupidity mp3 at PogoGo
The Detroit Cobras - Putty in Your Hands mp3 at T.S.McClellan
The Detroit Cobras - Can't Do Without You mp3 at Andre Cilliers
The Detroit Cobras - Last Night mp3 at Andre Cilliers
The Detroit Cobras - Insane Asylum (streaming) at YouTube
Video:
The Detroit Cobras - Stay Down at YouTube 2020, their last video
The Detroit Cobras - Right Around the Corner at YouTube In their element on a party boat.
Many more videos at YouTube

NOT UNLIKE MY DINNER

There's a lot of songs  about hot dogs. Once you've thought of a couple, the more you find, the more you find it harder to stop looking. I stopped at three because I ain't got all night. Easy as it is to find hot dog songs, it's hard to find any photos of someone looking cool with a hot dog, particularly celebrities. Seriously, try to find one. They all look like doofuses. I looked for a half hour and the only one I could come up with was of Dave Brubeck with a hot dog in his hand at the Newport Jazz Festival, back in the day whenever that was. Problem is, that same photo's been posted here a bunch of times. Plus tonight is about hot dog songs, and Brubeck may have eaten them but as far as I know he didn't play songs about them. So, you get a photo of gut bomb mecca Pinks and hot dog tunage from Corky Jones (a young Buck Owens), Hasil Adkins, and the Detroit Cobras.

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Listen:
Corky Jones - Hot Dog mp3 at Rocky-52
Hasil Adkins - No More Hot Dogs mp3 at David Garlitz
The Detroit Cobras - Hot Dog mp3 at Internet Archive
Because he looked cool with a hot dog:
Dave Brubeck: Deep Cool

THE PARTY BAND

I was poking around the old posts at Soul Garage and there was a post from 2011 with a song by Irma and the Fascinators. It seemed familiar but I don't think I've posted it before. Here's where it went sideways tonight. I listened to the song "Lost Love" and after a couple lines Irma's voice sounded kind of like that singer in the Detroit Cobras. So, yeah, no. The singers don't sound all that much alike. But it was too late, the damage was done, I was off to Detroit Cobraland where it's always a party.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:
Irma and the Fascinators - Lost Love mp3 at Soul Garage
The Detroit Cobras - Stupidity mp3 at Pogo Pop
The Detroit Cobras - Shout Bama Lama mp3 at ATumblr (?)
The Detroit Cobras - Hot Dog mp3 at Internet Archive

THE COVER BAND

When was the last time you thought of the Detroit Cobras? I know, huh? They were lumped in with all the other bands back when Detroit was gonna take over the world.  Seems like just yesterday, it was their turn to be "the next Seattle" Remember? The Gories, White Stripes, Von Bondies, etc. Boy, that sure fizzled.

The Detroit Cobras were essentially a cover band. Their trick was obscure covers. Catchy obscure covers. Catchy enough that, by the time you heard the original, the association in your head was already locked on the Detroit Cobras' version. They had a revolving lineup, the constants being an guy from the Oblivians and the singer, who had a nice voice that might have been more effective if it wasn't so prominent in the mix. That's my gripe. Not that they did nearly all covers, and not that they didn't do them well, because they did do them well. Every time I hear them all I can think of is the "in the right hands..." potential. But they did come to party, I'll give them that.

~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~

Listen:

The Detroit Cobras - Putty (In Your Hands) mp3 at TS McClellan (?)
The Detroit Cobras - (If You Don't Think) You Better Change mp3 at Recidivism
The Detroit Cobras - Can't Do Without You mp3 at Andre Cilliers (?)
The Detroit Cobras - Stupidity mp3 at Pogo Pop

The Detroit Cobras - Eleven more at The Vinyl Villain Note: When you click on a song title, it'll take you to Box.net. Click on the blue "Download" button in the top right to download.

PARTY TIME

The Detroit Cobras checklist probably went something like this: "Guitar, bass and drums?" "Check." "Singer?" "Check." "Cool covers?" "Check." "Obscure covers?" "Check." "Originals?...Originals??" "Uhh, we'll get to those." They never really got to that point, where they created a band identity by writing their own material. Their band identity is all about reworking covers to make them sound like Detroit Cobras songs. And while some people may dismiss them as a cover band, others will counter that they're a damn fine cover band. One thing is certain, they are damn fine cover picker-outers. I ran into a blog last night that is great in concept, if only it were updated more frequently. It's called, simply, "Detroit Cobras Covers", and they post the original versions of songs the Detroit Cobras have covered. (There's a couple songs from there below.)

One note: The "Right Around the Corner" video below is from a concert cruise in NY. I gotta say, with the intimacy of the band (being stageless), and the probable abundance of libations, it seems like the perfect way to see them; and I bet original material was the last thing on anyone's mind.

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Detroit Cobras - Hot Dog mp3 at Bloodshot Records
Detroit Cobras - Heartbeat mp3 at Cows Are Just Food
Detroit Cobras - On a Monday mp3 at Catfish Vegas
Detroit Cobras - Right Around the Corner mp3 at Hejven.se
Detroit Cobras - Last Night mp3 at Ryan's Smashing Life
Detroit Cobras - Insane Asylum mp3 at Cover Me
A few that the Detroit Cobras have covered:
Koko Taylor w/Willie Dixon - Insane Asylum mp3 at Beware of the Blog
Ruby Johnson -Weak Spot mp3 (via Box.net) at Detroit Cobras Covers
The Olympics - Secret Agent mp3 (via Box.net) at Detroit Cobras Covers
Video:
The Detroit Cobras - Right Around the Corner (live) at YouTube
The Detroit Cobras - Cha Cha Twist (live) at YouTube