Weird Al LIVE Covers Vol. 1 - The Sixties
It’s been said that THE WHO was THE WORLD’S GREATEST COVER BAND, because Pete Townsend’s demos were so thorough that he basically walked in & played the other guys a finished version of his latest song, and they learned their part. They’re such good demos that three volumes of them SCOOP, ANOTHER SCOOP, & SCOOP 3 were commercially released. As much as I love THE WHO, they were playing songs tailor-made for their strengths.
For me, the title of THE WORLD’S GREATEST COVER BAND would have to go to WEIRD AL’s band, because they capably reproduce nearly every style of music live, night after night. And they kick ass!
So I present to you the FIRST volume of live performances by the band without an official name. They’re sometimes jokingly referred to as The Innocuous Silhouettes, or The Boys In The Band (TBITB). They even put out a song called "Al's Band".
I give you the core group of JIM “KIMO”WEST, STEVE JAY, JON “BERMUDA” SCHWARTZ, & RUBEN VALTIERRA (the newest member who’s been aboard since 1991). These guys get my vote for THE WORLD’S GREATEST COVER BAND!
Here’s some tasty Weird Al Trivia: Guitar legend Rick Derringer produced Al's first six albums through 1989's UHF Soundtrack, when Al himself took over the production duties starting with 1992's Off The Deep End. Rick got the Stinky treatment here: IN THE MIX Rick Derringer
This is one of several compilations, with a special surprise that’s available nowhere else bringing it all home!
If a search for “WEIRD AL” brought you here, & this is your first visit to JON-KY, all we ask for obsessively compiling & sharing the most obscure music by our favorite artists is a thank you, or EVEN BETTER, that you join the conversation… so we ask a question.
ReplyDeleteWho gets your vote for THE WORLD’S GREATEST COVER BAND?
If you agree with me, please share your second choice. But one per customer, please. Like when a bowl of candy is left on a front porch on Halloween, please leave some for the next visitor.
Here’s the link for:
Weird Al Covers LIVE Vol. 1 - The Sixties
https://pixeldrain.com/u/gJCbD6M9
Elvis.
ReplyDeleteNo two seconds needed. Most cover bands do not take a cover to the next level, Elvis and his band did just that, almost without exception.
Elvis is king, but there's another king whose band always took their covers to a LOWER level, and that's King Uszniewicz And His Uszniewicztones!
DeleteNOW you're talkin'! I love that stuff.
DeleteCub Koda put a photo of his DAD on the cover as (the fictional) KING USZNIEWICZ, which was actually his father's last name. I believe his dad took his wife's last name, Koda, to spare everybody in the family from writing that out, & from having to teach people how to pronounce it a few times a day!
Elvis certainly did make his name, & his fortune covering other people's songs. I wasn't expecting to get Elvis as a response, Richard! Well done.
ReplyDeleteJerry Lee Lewis mainly played covers as well I thought, can't recall he wrote any songs himself. Thanks for Weird Al's Band!
ReplyDeleteTrue that! I think he wrote two songs, if he can be believed (but he never let the truth get in the way of a good story).
DeleteI gots to Ac-Cen-Tchu-Ate the Positive - NRBQ gets my vote!
ReplyDeleteNRBQ is hard to beat!
ReplyDeleteSince Will took NRBQ, I'll go with Yo La Tengo. Willing to try just about anything on their WFMU fundraisers, and "Fakebook" is one of my favorite cover albums.
ReplyDeleteOnce again, we agree wholeheartedly on FAKEBOOK, Jon! Now I've gotta give that a listen!
DeleteJonder, you beat me to it. I was going to nominate Yo La Tengo. Years and years ago, I pledged to their live covers fundraiser for WFMU one year, $50 for "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" by Pere Ubu, and they played it! In a medley with "Bus Stop" by The Hollies, no less. This was in... 1997 or 1998, maybe?
ReplyDeleteFakebook is a phenomenal record. That was my introduction to the songs of John Cale, Daniel Johnston, The Scene is Now, and The Kinks' "Oklahoma, U.S.A."
How wonderful! Who else woulda thunk to put "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" and "Bus Stop" together? For $50 (in 1990's money, no less), you deserve to have Yo La Tengo. I concede the nomination!
Delete"Fakebook" was the album that made me realize that Georgia Hubley is YLT's secret weapon. That version of "The Summer"...
AND the record ends with an NRBQ cover!
I'm glad to hear that you're in the FAKEBOOK club with Jon & I.
ReplyDeleteDAVID BOWIE's Pinups turned a generation onto a lot of great artists, and I feel Fakebook did the same--for a different generation.
Their version of SPEEDING MOTORCYCLE on FAKEBOOK is amazing, but not as amazing as when they backed DANIEL JOHNSTON on WFMU while he phoned in his vocals! They smashed the concept that "phoning it in" is supposed to be synonymous with something being half-hearted or unsatisfying:
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bRvi8Zmmys
Stinky - I'm assuming Al's version of "Aqualung" is intentionally 10 seconds long. That is hilarious, if so.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's intentional, James. I feel Al is funnier than most stand-ups!
ReplyDeleteSo, Neil Young plays in Al's band? He's on the far left in the photo.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah, he does, Psychfan. I thought everyone knew that! :)
Delete