Cover version of the month #111
Death in Vegas w/ Paul Weller cover Gene Clark w/ The Gosdin Brothers
Gene Clark departed The Byrds in 1966 after a whirlwind period of recording, releasing, and touring. In just a few years, the band had blazed a trail—three albums, a string of hits (including two number-one singles), and pioneering sounds that reshaped the landscape of guitar music. From the chiming 12-string perfection of Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn, Turn, Turn to the psychedelic folk-jazz brilliance of Eight Miles High, The Byrds (pardon the pun) were in full flight.
Clark was at the heart of it all, including penning the pure adrenaline rush of I’ll Feel a Whole Lot Better—one of favourite songs by The Byrds. Gene, as well as writing songs, playing guitar and singing, was effortlessly cool with a tambourine in hand.
The Byrds had soared, but what goes up must come down. With a lineup brimming with talent and strong-willed songwriters, creative tensions were inevitable. Clashes ensued, departures followed. Clark was the first to leave, with David Crosby not far behind.
Clark didn't hang around, releasing his debut album Gene Clark With The Gosdin Brothers (later reissued as Echoes) in January 1967. Clark wrote 8 songs and co-wrote another couple.
One of those songs was So You Say You Lost Your Baby, 2-minutes 7 seconds of utter bliss. In that short time there is driving rhythms, beautiful orchestration, a dreamy melancholic melody and emotional vocals, mixed effortlessly with stunning harmonies.
Riding in on an electric guitar riff that sends tingles down your spine, So You Say You Lost Your Baby is performed, arranged and produced absolutely perfectly. Strings float in behind Gene Clark as he begins to sing;
Well you're smolderin' with fly words
Catch the moment on the run
The Gosdin Brothers harmonise effortlessly;
And you stand inside your wind stilts
Watch the sentence act begun
There's a brief pause before a gorgeous little lift in the strings after the second verse and chorus, Clark and the Gosdin Brothers sound sublime together, the beat drives things to conclusion
So you say you lost you're baby
Do you know that you're the one?
Almost 40-years down the line, Death in Vegas, Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes, were forging a reputation for fantastic taste in music, production and ambition. Psychedelia was in their hearts; taste, knowledge and appreciation of great songs from 60's, mixed and matched with passion for electronic music and all the possibilities it brought.
2003's Scorpio Rising album saw them collaborate with Liam Gallagher on a sprawling title track, Hope Sandoval on the heart melting Killing Smile, Dot Allison on the dreamy wonder Diving Horses and Paul Weller on their version of So You Say You Lost Your Baby.
That Death in Vegas stay very true to Clark's original is testament to the band and Weller's love and affection for the song. The main difference is probably the fact that Weller is singing on his own with no harmonies. Death in Vegas also play a little with the aforementioned string lift after the second verse and chorus. Weller's voice, as I witnessed first hand at the Barrowland last November, is exceptionally strong, perfect for this slice of psychedelic pop.
Noel Gallagher was so taken with the album that he approached Death in Vegas to produce Don't Believe The Truth. The sessions collapsed after 3-4 weeks with Gallagher reflecting that Fearless and Holmes were trying to polish a turd. An honest assessment. If the songs had been up with Gallagher's best then it is tantalising to think of the string arrangements and effects that DiV could have introduced. But that's potentially another blog for another time.
The Gene Clark original and the cover by Death in Vegas and Paul Weller of So You Say You Lost Your Baby are added to my Everything Flows Cool Cover Versions playlist on Spotify which also features all of the songs listed below. Search for the title or CLICK HERE
Previous covers of the month blogs
No comments:
Post a Comment