FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z
Posted on February 17th, 2009 by ekko
Am I the biggest Fleetwood Mac fan ever? Definitely not. I’m pretty much a Rumours and Greatest Hits guy, although I can get into Tusk now and then. Still, everyone’s gotta recognize that Rumours is one of the greatest rock albums ever, and most of their hits are solid. Plus, lotsa indie folks have covered them. So, they get an A to Z.
Their most covered song, by far, is “Dreams.” In this A to Z, I’m gonna rate the Dreams covers against the original, which rates an A+ as a pop song. I’ll rate the other songs, too. Just ’cause its fun to rate shit.
A is for Sunny Side of Heaven-Animal Liberation Orchestra. Leave it to the always interesting ALO to pick and esoteric tune to cover. Original: B-/Cover: B-.
C is for The Chain, a solid tune off Rumours. I’m giving the original a B+. The first cover I’m offering is by the Pat McGee Band. Pat adds a little bit of country flavor, but otherwise this is a pretty standard version. Cover: B-.
D is for Think About Me-The Decemberists. Not familiar with the original, not a fan of this band. Giving the whole package a C. They also did Dreams, and did a much better job on it. B for that one.
F is for Dreams-Fleet Foxes. I have to say that I’m not a huge fan of this band, despite all the hype, and the sound quality here isn’t great. C+.
G is for Go Your Own Way-Death Cab for Cutie and The Decembrists. A pretty good rendition, especially since it’s clearly just an impromptu sing-a-long. Between this version and The Meat Puppets one, below, I’m getting a sense that this is a more complex song than it appears at first. And sadly, my version of this song is cut off. Original: A-/Cover: C+.
H is for The Chain-Ari Hest. Cover: B-.
K is for Dreams-Kevin Kinney. Cover: C+.
L is for Little Lies-Ari Hest. I am emphatically not a fan of this song, but I do like what Ari does with it. Original: C+/Cover: B-.
M is for Oh Well-Monks of Doom. This song sounds like it shouldn’t be hard to cover, but MOD really leave their own impression on it. Original: B+/Cover: B.
M is also for Go Your Own Way-The Meat Puppets. I love my Puppets, but this one is strained. They sound like they can’t get it together to cover this, the Bill Clinton fight song. Cover: C-.
N is for Dreams-The New Pornographers. They take that dream-like guitar cry at the beginning and turn it into a cat’s meow. They also giggle throughout, making it sound like they’re making fun of the song. Still, it’s pretty well done. I’m giving this version a B. N is also for Walk a Thin Line-New Pornographers. I don’t know the original, but I dig this one. I’ll give it a B-.
O is for another cover of Oh Well-Rockets. It adds an ’80s Skynyrd-style guitar solo and some good piano work. I’m giving this cover a B+.
P is for Dreams-Sandro Perri and Friends. Incredibly slow–almost dirge-like. C.
R is for Rhiannon/Illusions-Georgia Avenue. . A dreamlike, slowed down version of Rhiannon. I dig it when upbeat pop songs are slowed down. This reminds me of The Afghan Whigs’ cover of “Come See About Me.” Original: B-/Cover: B-.
Q is for Oh Well-Quasi. Cover: C+.
S is for Landslide-Smashing Pumpkins (acoustic version). I love this song, even when The Dixie Chicks do it. And Corgan’s voice is perfectly suited for it. Original: A+/Cover: A+.
T is for The Chain-Throwback. This is an interesting, laid back, kinda jazzy version. Cover: B.
V is for Vampire Weekend’s cover of “Everywhere.” One of the lamer FM hits, from later in their career, it’s bounce is perfect for the unashamedly happy Vampire Weekend. Original: B-; Cover: A-.
W is for Dreams-Whiskeytown. One of my favorite versions of this song, it stays true to the original but adds country flavor and Ryan’s great vocals. An A+ cover.
X is for \\XIP FILE!// All the songs that aren’t direct links to the archive. Dig it.
Y is for Dreams-Yo La Tengo. Take the basic melody but make it hard rock. Great interpretation. A-.
Z is for Oh Well-Zach Ernst. Zach does a fair job. B-.
Comment By: FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z « The Shit Show: because life is too short to listen to shitty music
February 17th, 2009 at 8:51 am
[...] 2009/02/15messi FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z 2009/02/17, 1:50 pm Filed under: Covers FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z: [...]
Comment By: spike7
February 17th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
a rather obvious one that you missed is ‘Black Magic Woman’ that was covered by Santana. Corrs also covered ‘Dreams’
Comment By: ekko
February 17th, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I didn’t miss those. They are not by artists independent of major labels.
Comment By: peter
February 17th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
thanks!
Comment By: Shit Show
February 18th, 2009 at 10:16 am
@ekko
ok, so here’s the deal. i posted this entry to my blog @ theshitshow.wordpress.com via http://theshitshow.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/fleetwood-mac-covers-a-to-z/#comment-50
you wrote…
re: “I put a lot of work into what I do, and when someone just takes it and puts it up, I get upset. “…..i gave your blog credit – it’s not like i tried to claim authorship of your testosterone-deficient post.
wait…let me just ask, are you retarded? this is what the internet is for. digital is for sharing, dummy.
re: “Obviously, I can’t stop you, but it is the polite blogger thing not to leech links. “….UMMMM, did I mention nearly every link you posted in this entry are via ARCHIVE.org and NOT YOUR BLOG.
which brings me to the next step… your blog is in my RSS feeds.
i post to my blog what i like.
if you don’t want me posting content from your blog, i’ll just delete you from my feeds.
re: “Although I appreciate you putting my post up, I would appreciate it more if you did not take my links.”
well, if you don’t want your links shared then go private and stop whining like a little bitch.
<3,
The Shit Show
Comment By: Felix
February 18th, 2009 at 10:32 am
You stole this from The Shit Show: http://theshitshow.wordpress.com/2009/02/17/fleetwood-mac-covers-a-to-z/
Comment By: ekko
February 18th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
Well, Felix, now you can see that that is not true. Apparently I am a whining bitch for not wanting someone to repost my work, wholesale. By the way, Felix, it does say at the bottom of the shit show post that it is “via berkeley place”, so it should be clear that I didn’t steal the post. I don’t steal other blogger’s hard work, regardless of where they host their mp3s.
As for you, Mr. Shit Show, I was polite and nice. The internet is no excuse for being an asshole. I don’t claim exclusive control over my content, I was just saying that what you do is kinda uncool. I’m sure most bloggers would agree with me. If speaking in a civil tone is “whining”, then I wish more people would whine.
As for you, you’re just a rude punk. You’re probably the kind of telephone tough guy who’d say anything about anyone except to their face.
Comment By: Berkeley Place » WHY ARE PEOPLE SO RUDE ON THE INTERNET?
February 18th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
[...] irritated right now and so I’m going to jump on that bandwagon. A few days ago, I posted a Fleetwood Mac A to Z post, which I spent several hours writing. Some blog titled “The Shit Show” reproduced not [...]
Comment By: Agnes
February 19th, 2009 at 2:17 am
Could his blog name be any more apt?
A shit show indeed.
Comment By: Stu
February 19th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Someone is spending too much time on 4chan, and not enough time producing his own writing.
I’ll lump his blog in with all the other 12-year-olds on wordpress.com.
Comment By: Stuart Kaufman
February 19th, 2009 at 6:39 pm
There is a wonderful album of covers of everything on the Tusk album (also called Tusk) by Camper Van Beethoven.
Comment By: Ralph Alston
September 26th, 2010 at 4:39 pm
If you gaze deep enough you will see music; the sensitivity of nature being everywhere music.
Comment By: whitesmoke software
October 16th, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Reading this blog it is amazing what idiots will add to a article, Really what is the point? Give the owner a break and stop adding so much garbage.
Comment By: Fleetwood covers | Audodo
May 28th, 2011 at 4:02 am
[...] Berkeley Place » Blog Archive » FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to ZComment By: FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z « The Shit Show: because life is too short to listen to shitty music … [...] 2009/02/15messi FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z 2009/02/17, 1:50 pm Filed under: Covers FLEETWOOD MAC COVERS A to Z: [...] [...]