LOOK WHAT THEY DONE TO MY SONG MA

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, probably around the late sixties. Prior to that, early rock 'n' roll bands covered older songs, but it was basically just different ways of interpreting them. But as soon as big amps started showing up, rather than interpreting songs in a different way, it seems it was all about destroying the songs. Not necessarily with bad intent, just a louder, more amplified way. And a lot of people first heard old blues or jazz songs through whoever the guitar hero of the day was, which could be said to be a good thing. There were some musicians that kind of straddled the line, that really thought they were being reverent (Johnny Winter, a blues guy at heart, comes to mind). But somewhere in there, it got loud, really loud, the covers often unrecognizable, which may have been the whole point. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't.

It hit me recently when someone posted the Who's version of Mose Allison's "Young Man Blues", which is just about the most stark example of obliterating the original that there is. Given that Allison was so laid back in his delivery, it wouldn't take much, a standard rock 'n' roll band could have done it, but the Who completely destroyed it. Yeah, Clapton, suck on that.

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Listen:
Willie Dixon - Spoonful mp3 at Le Melletron
Cream - Spoonful (streaming) at YouTube
Willie Dixon - I Just Want To Make Love to You (streaming) at YouTube
Foghat - I Just Want To Make Love to You mp3 at Internet Archive
Mississippi Fred McDowell - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl mp3 at Keep the Coffee Coming
Ten Years After - Good Morning Little Schoolgirl (live) (streaming) at YouTube
Mose Allison - Young Man Blues mp3 at Blog Noblat (?)
The Who - Young Man Blues (live) mp3 at ATumblr (?)

SONGS LIVE AT LEEDS TAUGHT US

Here's three covers that my brothers and I, along with countless others our age, first heard on the Who's 1970 LP, Live at Leeds. We had no idea what the originals were like, but the Who's versions were loud, and not just in volume. They were just fucking bombastic. 

Not long after that LP, my brothers and I started hearing "Summertime Blues", the original by Eddie Cochran, on the oldies station. Okay, not all that big of a departure. Both were rock 'n' roll, the Who's just turned up a bit. When we finally heard Johnny Kidd's "Shakin' All Over" it was the same, rock 'n' roll with a volume deficit. It would be decades before I ever heard Mose Allison's original "Young Man Blues". The difference is extreme. The Who's is a whole different monster. They should have renamed it "Pissed Off Young Man Blues."

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Listen:
Eddie Cochran - Summertime Blues mp3 at Rocky 52
Johnny Kidd and the Pirates - Shakin' All Over mp3 at ATumblr (?)
Mose Allison - Young Man Blues mp3 at Blogoblat (?)
The Who - Shakin' All Over (streaming) at YouTube Live at Leeds 1970
Video:
The Who - Summertime Blues (live, Monterey 1967) at YouTube
The Who - Young Man Blues (live, Tanglewood 1970) at YouTube

THE DUDE YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU KNEW

Man. I've got to call a moratorium on death coverage. Shit week is working overtime, stretching it to day eight with the death of Mose Allison, a jazz blues singer/pianist whose songs you've undoubtedly heard whether you know it or not. Here's three covers of his songs that you may know. My bet is that a lot of you have never heard the original versions. If you haven't, you'll be surprised to hear how laid back they are. You may think you prefer the covers, but after you listen to enough Allison, you'll cave in, to some degree, to his unassuming delivery.

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Listen:
The Yardbirds - I'm Not Talkin' mp3 at Yardbirds.us (?)
Mose Allison - I'm Not Talkin' (streaming) at YouTube
The Who - Young Man Blues mp3 at a.tumblr.com/tumblr (?)
Mose Allison - Young Man (streaming) at YouTube
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - Parchman Farm mp3 at Scissor Soft
Mose Allison - Parchman Farm (streaming) at YouTube
Visit:
Mose Allison, a Fount of Jazz and Blues, Dies at 89 at NY Times

THAT'S RIGHT, COOL.

Mose Allison might not be a familiar name to anyone who doesn't backtrack covers to check out the original versions. That said, any of you non-backtrackers that are into the Who or the Yardbirds would do well to check out the trio of songs posted at Funky Sixteen Corners. Included are the original versions of "I'm Not Talkin'" (covered by the Yardbirds) and "Young Man Blues" (covered by the Who) along with Allison's cover of Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son". Allison's originals may seem tame in comparison, but trust me on this, your cornucopia is big enough. Just for giggles, there's another Allison cover down there, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers' version of his "Parchman Farm".

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

Listen:
Mose Allison - I'm Not Talkin', Young Man Blues, Seventh Son at Funky Sixteen Corners Go there to get them
The Yardbirds - I'm Not Talkin' mp3 at Yardbirds.us (?)
The Who - Young Man Blues mp3 at a.tumblr.com/tumblr (?)
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - Parchman Farm mp3 at Scissor Soft