DOPPLENAMER Vol. 1 & 2 - Like Dopplegangers--But With Songs!

DOPPLENAMER Volumes 1 & 2

I came up with DOPPLENAMER to describe songs that share their title with an earlier (often much better) song.  

Casual visitors to the blog know that I love cover versions.  Local radio was behind the times in my home town, so when I was a teenager, I'd often buy albums without knowing much about the contents.  I'd look for names I knew like producer Mike Chapman to improve my chances of finding something worth listening to.

In the case of a two-way tie, if I had to decide which album I was going to buy, and which one I'd put back, I usually bought the LP that had a cover song that I liked on it.  I figured that I liked at least one song on it.  And if the band and I agreed on one song’s merits, I figured I was more likely to enjoy the songs that the band wrote--we were simpatico.

On occasion, I’ve been swayed by a dopplenamer because I failed to read the fine print.  One that comes to mind is THE RUMOUR album with their original song Tired Of Waiting on it.  Did it not occur to them that people would assume it was a cover of THE KINKS' classic track?  Or is that what they were hoping for?

That track may not wind up on a future volume—because it’s not a great song—but it’s a world-class dopplenamer.  

That’s the challenge with the some concepts—after all a successful compilation should warrant repeated listenings.  The World’s Worst Covers isn’t likely to get played twice (but that didn’t stop me from compiling that series--I just haven’t shared it!)  

So here are tunes that aren't exactly original as far as the song title is concerned, that are actually great songs.  Maybe it's not a bad thing that you can't copyright a title.

Volume 1 features great songs, in their own right, that share a name with another (often better-known) song.  

Carlene Carter's Every Little Thing and Laura Brannigan's Gloria bear no resemblance to the songs by The Beatles & Them--nor does Joe Grushecky's I Can't Control Myself have anything to do with The Troggs' catalogue.  

Styx's massive hit Lady may have gone unnoticed by The Little River Band, & who knows; Bowie's Ashes To Ashes may have escaped the notice of Faith No More.  Talk Talk seem to have named themselves after the song by The Music Machine, but (if that's the case) that didn't stop them from recording a dopplenamer--as did The Psychedelic Furs:

Volume 2's Breakdown by The Alan Parsons Project may not make me forget that Tom Petty has a song with the same name, but it pulls me in anyway.  So does Blondie’s Call Me, Romeo Void’s Wrap It Up, and so on.  And Volume 2 has a pretty good flow, if I can be permitted to say so.

Don't be the last person on your block to have the first two volumes of Dopplenamers (anywhere), compliments of JOKONKY.