YOU ARE HERE: zharth.net / Zharth's Music Log / Week 67 (Beatles Covers)
(Originally finalized on March 19, 2024)
Preface: I wrote an introduction for this theme, and it ended up being pretty much a copy of what I wrote over 16 years ago(!), for my last Beatles theme on this music log - just with slightly softer language (because with age comes perspective). Suffice to say, I recognize the Beatles' talent and influence, but they're not my favorite band in the world. What makes this theme interesting, is that we'll be hearing Beatles songs, interpreted by other bands! But not the popular ones you've already heard a thousand times before (so, apologies if you were expecting Joe Cocker or Aerosmith) - these are covers you might find a little surprising. And that's what makes it interesting!
Monday: Spooky Tooth - I Am The Walrus [The Last Puff, 1970]
Comments: We'll start with Spooky Tooth's version of I Am The Walrus, since it was the impetus for this theme. When I heard it on The Watchmen TV series (great placement!) - an unfamiliar version of a familiar song by an obscure band that I nevertheless recognized - it was thrilling! And it led me on an in-depth search for other more and less obscure Beatles covers, through which I uncovered quite a few unexpected gems.
Tuesday: Eric Burdon & War - A Day In The Life [Love Is All Around, 1976]
Comments: From the man who not only fronted British band the Animals (surely you've heard House of the Rising Sun?) and California band War (I know you've heard the song Low Rider), but is also alleged to be the "eggman" referenced in the Beatles' song I Am The Walrus, comes this 11-minute long cover of one of the Beatles' more complex tunes, A Day In The Life.
Wednesday: Zoot - Eleanor Rigby [single, 1970]
Comments: During my search, I came across several versions of Eleanor Rigby (it was one of the better represented songs among the covers I explored). I almost picked Bloodrock's version for this theme, since it follows the precedent set by Spooky Tooth (an obscure band that I nevertheless recognize). I could say much the same for Vanilla Fudge's version. I also found an interesting version by a band called Rare Earth (it starts out kinda chanty, but ends with rockin' guitar). But my favorite of them all was this version by the Australian band that introduced the world to Rick Springfield. It's got a straightforward, hard rocking edge that I really like.
Thursday: Journey - It's All Too Much [Look Into The Future, 1976]
Comments: I searched out a lot of new music for this theme, but most surprising were the Beatles covers I discovered hiding in the metaphorical backyard of my own album collection! For example, this cover of a George Harrison-penned tune that was recorded for Journey's sophomore album - back when they were still a jazz rock fusion band, before they hired vocalist Steve Perry and went full-on '80s pop ballad fluff. I had no idea this was even a Beatles song!
Friday: Deep Purple - Help! [Shades of Deep Purple, 1968]
Comments: Unsurprisingly, it was not unusual for rock bands getting started in the late '60s to feature a Beatles cover or two, before crystallizing their own sound. Take Help! from Deep Purple's 1968 debut album, which uses the Beatles tune as a backbone, and features much of the virtuosic guitar and keyboard that the band would become known for (they wouldn't recruit vocalist Ian Gillan for a few more albums). On their sophomore album, The Book of Taliesyn, they also covered We Can Work It Out, which is more of the same.
Saturday: Yes - Every Little Thing [Yes, 1969]
Comments: Given that the Beatles started out as a boy band (I know, they evolved a lot before their dissolution, but they started out producing two and a half minute bubblegum pop radio hits), I'm surprised at the instrumental caliber of the bands I'm finding that have covered the Beatles. This time it's progressive rock progenitors, Yes, from their debut album, putting their own spin on Lennon and McCartney's Every Little Thing.
Sunday: Eddie Hazel - I Want You (She's So Heavy) [Game, Dames, and Guitar Thangs, 1977]
Comments: And we'll finish off the theme with an extended guitar solo! Covering one of the few Beatles songs I really like (it was featured on my last Beatles theme), by the guitarist who played for George Clinton's pioneering funk rock group Funkadelic (and is featured on the guitar opus Maggot Brain), this is Eddie Hazel with I Want You (She's So Heavy).
Honorable Mentions: This is another case where there are just way too many options out there to list them all - even if we just stick to the good ones! But this time, I will name a few, because I had more than 7 songs that I really wanted to include on this theme, and I just couldn't fit them all. Among those that were ultimately cut is Whitesnake's version of Day Tripper (a song that Jimi Hendrix also covered, among many others), as well as Pat Benatar's version of Helter Skelter (also performed satisfactorily by Motley Crue), which is one of the other Beatles songs I really like. Also worth hearing are the dulcet tones of John Denver singing Let It Be, if you don't mind a softer, acoustic number. And it doesn't stop there! But I'm going to end this theme before it gets out of control.