Tears Of A Clown

Paulie & his bass player, Brian

Multi-instrumentalist Brian Ray has had a pretty sweet gig for the last several years. I mean, would you want to play guitar, bass and sing harmonies in Paul McCartney's touring band? Yes, I said you get to play bass in Macca's band. Just learn your parts well, smile a lot and don't pooch it up.

Brian Ray had a fairly decent resume before getting a break with Paul. In the early 1970's, not long out of high school, he was introduced to R&B legend Etta James at a rehearsal at the world-famous Troubadour in Los Angeles, just as James was on the brink of a career comeback. That brief introduction would eventually lead to Ray's 14 year stint as Etta James' musical director and guitarist.

Prior to joining Paul McCartney's band in 2002, Ray was working on tour in France. Abe Laboriel Jr., a drummer who had worked with Brian previously, mentioned that McCartney was in search of a guitarist who could easily switch between bass and guitar. After meeting with McCartney's producer for the album "Driving Rain", David Kahne, Ray joined Paul McCartney for the half-time ceremonies at the NFL's Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. Nothing like a low key first gig with a new band.

After decades of performing, writing and recording with others, Brian Ray released his first solo album, "Mondo Magneto", in October of 2006 through his own record label, Whooray Records. The digital single, "Tears Of A Clown", a raucous cover of the Smokey Robinson classic, was only available for a short time on iTunes, then withdrawn. It is not included on the "Mondo Magneto" album and remains unavailable. I am delighted to present this rockin' rarity here for your enjoyment!

This is what a quality cover version is all about, my friends. There's a couple of passing sections that pay tribute to other rock classics as well. See if you can identify them. Crank this one up good 'n loud! 

Brian Ray's two solo albums are still available at Amazon. Go get 'em.

When I Come Around

This song, from the 1994 album "Dookie", was one of a few that got Green Day some breakthrough recognition & radio airplay. Many claim that the main riff is little more than a slightly modified lift from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". You can listen & decide for yourself.

Most professional songwriters say that they know a song works when it sounds good being sung by one voice accompanied by one instrument, preferably an acoustic one. I am pleased to demonstrate that not only is there a good song under the chunking guitars, but there's a rather good one. Funny what a different arrangement will do.

I found this tribute album in a bargain bin, used, for 99 cents. So I figure it's worth a buck for a good laugh. The very idea of doing up Green Day songs in a bluegrass format might be blasphemous to some; I thought it would just be funny. Wrong on both. This is good. This works. Know why? They're good songs and some obvious work went into the arrangements.

Here's Honeywagon playing "When I Come Around". Try not to smile when the chorus harmonies kick in. Didn't know you liked bluegrass, did ya?

By the way, you do know what a honeywagon is, don't you?

And, if you are so inclined, you can get some Green Day and this amazing tribute album at Amazon!

Hound Dog

Elvis & friend. Elvis is on the right.

Might as well start things off with a song made famous by The King. I'm sure you've heard his version a thousand times. Guess what? Yep, it's a cover.

Bet you haven't heard the original version recently either.

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton's big hit came from the young songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. The song was "Hound Dog", which she recorded in 1953 with the Johnny Otis band. Big Mama Thornton always claimed to have written the song herself (a claim which may actually hold some validity) and her ferocious rendition of it, complete with Big Mama’s trademark growl and a nasty guitar line by Pete Lewis, held the #1 spot in the Billboard rhythm and blues charts for nine weeks.

As Elvis himself said, "They played it like that in the shanties and juke joints and nobody paid it no mind until I goosed it up." Get your blue suede shoes on & check this out.

Big Mama Thornton. All 6 foot & 350+ lbs. of her.

You can get yourself a big hunka Elvis and Big Mama Thornton at Amazon!

Hello There, Ladies & Gentlemen!

Welcome to my newest blog adventure, Kool Kovers! I'll be sharing with you some of my favorite cover version recordings of great songs from the entire history of Rock & Roll, along with some personal stories related to them.

As a founding principle, if you enjoy music, you are welcome here, regardless of musical knowledge or experience. If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that the Internet does not need another pompous music snob on a soapbox, preaching to other like-minded music snobs. That is NOT what this blog is about! The perspective of my writing will never be "What?! You've never heard of this?". That is both arrogant and insulting. You will find that I will make every attempt to write as if the reader may not yet be familiar with the music or artist being discussed. Not at all condescending, but welcoming, conspiring and informative. My intention is more like "Hey, here's some really cool music that I think you might enjoy", or as John Lennon sang, "I'd love to turn you on". Because music can provide powerful landmarks in our lives, I'll also be sharing some of my own life experience, as it relates to the subject at hand. That way, I can tell you a personal story instead just listing historical facts. Whether the artist or music at hand has been popular for some time, or is relatively obscure, I believe that music is supposed to be entertainment, and entertainment is all about FUN! So, you are all welcome to join in the fun!

So, what's a "cover version" mean? The long answer can be found here. Essentially, it's the same as a remake. A really good cover will have plenty of respect for the original idea of the song, but will also sound very much like the musician performing the cover. Often, simply changing the arrangement and/or the instrumentation is enough to produce a unique and interesting version of a song. However, some artists love the original version so much, that they'll do what amounts to a complete reproduction, with little to distinguish the two recordings. So, skill points for mimicry, but that's about all. In the end, most cover versions, the great, the 'meh' and even the awful, are, in the artists' view, a labor of love. And, if I recall, love is all we need!

Thanks for checking in & we'll see ya soon! Are ya ready to rock?

Cheers,
Bill

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