Everything Flows: Drop

Cover version of the month #82

Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions cover The Jesus & Mary Chain

The Jesus & Mary Chain released Automatic, their 3rd album, back in 1989. The CD version added a couple of bonus songs; Drop and Sunray, on top of the 10 songs available on the LP version.

Drop is a beautiful song that the band would go on to rerecord for the Stoned & Dethroned album sessions and this version came out on the Sometimes Always CD single.

Sometimes Always, a duet with the divine Hope Sandoval, is one of my very favourite songs, so there is some synergy in the fact that a b-side of that song was the opening track on Bavarian Fruit Bread, her 2001 debut album as Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions.

Good God, I could listen to Hope Sandoval sing the phone book and feel moved. Hope's dreamy voice hypnotises me. Glockenspiel is sprinkled over a raw acoustic guitar and very gentle percussion and Sandoval comes in with vocals set to stun.

The way you drop

Is like a stone

Making out you're flying

But you've just been thrown

Drop is a beautiful song and Hope Sandoval adds dreamy qualities to make it almost lullaby like.

The original Mary Chain version is only 2-minutes long. Sublimely raw, Jim Reid's vocals have that elegantly wasted quality that he delivers so well over just a couple of chords, understated strings, light percussion and a Velvets-y lead guitar on top. Classic Mary Chain. The lyrics are imaginative, druggy, provocative and have a religious reference in the kiss off line.

I should have guessed

When I took that pill

Do I love her still?

Well, did Jesus kill?

I love the original, I mean, it's pretty perfect. But I also love the version from the Stoned and Dethroned era. It's a little more country blues, a little more groovy, sounding like the Mary Chain could well have taken a trip to Memphis with their Primal Scream buddies around that time.

In short, Drop is a brilliant song, check out the links to the recordings below. All 3 are added to my Cool Cover Versions playlist. AND as a bonus check the live version from Creations Undrugged show at the Royal Albert Hall from 1994!

Drop JAMC original version

Drop JAMC Re-recorded version

Drop live at The Royal Albert Hall JAMC w/ Hope Sandoval

Drop Hope Sandoval and the Warm Inventions

All previous cover version of the month blogs are listed below. To listen, search for Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist, featuring all of the songs below, on Spotify or CLICK HERE

Previous covers of the month

1. You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'

2. Going Back To My Roots

3. Nirvana play The Vaselines

4. Slip Inside This House

5. Top 10 covers by Teenage Fanclub

6. Only Love Can Break Your Heart

7. Time For Livin'

8. Sound and Vision

9. All Along The Watchtower

10. I Am The Walrus

11. Guiding Star