Remeber how awesome I was when I posted Prince Covers A to Z?  Of course you do.  Many of you took off work that day to bask in my awesomeness.  Well, SPIN Magazine is trying to get high off some of my fumes, posting a complete (and free!) album of Purple Rain covers.  Well, not exactly free.  You gotta buy SPIN Magazine to get the download code.  But it’s worth it.  Check out the tracklisting . . . And one sample tune courtesy of lil’ ol’ me.
1. “Let’s Go Crazy” RIVERBOAT GAMBLERS
2. “Take Me With U” SHARON JONES & THE DAP-KINGS
3. “The Beautiful Ones” FOL CHEN
4. “Computer Blue” OF MONTREAL
5. “Darling Nikki” CHAIRLIFT
6. “When Doves Cry” THE TWILIGHT SINGERS
7. “I Would Die 4 U” MARIACHI EL BRONX
8. “Baby I’m a Star” CRAIG WEDREN
9. “Purple Rain” LAVENDER DIAMOND

Okay, so this is a follow up to my review of Prince’s new double-release, Lotus Flower etc., a very strong album set.  Doing an A to Z of Prince covers is like herding cats: There’s only a few I’m reallly gonna get.  There’s a whole universe of his stuff.  What I’ve tried to do here is post only indie songs, and a wide variety of both the song covered and the genre of the cover, showing how his brilliant songwriting crosses barriers.  Z will be for zip, so don’t have a heart attack that not all songs are individually linked.

This is NOT Prince.

Prince: Great musician, or the Greatest Musician of Our Generation?

A is for When Doves Cry-The Afghan Whigs.

B is for The Beautiful Ones-Besnard Snakes. I love this kinda-creepy version of a just-mediocre Prince original.

C is “c”ouldn’t find a C that was really up to par, so I’m going with a second “B.”  But before you start bitching, know that it is Clash related.  So, maybe “C is for Clash Related”!  1999-Big Audio Dynamite

D is for When Doves Cry-Ani Difranco.  The angry folk version.  Really hot.

E is for If I Was Your Girlfriend-eels.

E is also for Manic Monday-Ephemera.  If you thought this was a Bangles original, you need to go back to school.  He actually wrote it for Vanity 6, one of his original girl groups from the ’80s.  I really like this version because it’s slightly slower and focuses almost exclusively on the vocals, which truly drive this song.

This is NOT Prince, either.

F should be for the Foo Fighters’ take on Darling Nikki, but it was released on a major label. Someday, maybe Dave’ll do the Radiohead thing.  He seems so perfectly disposed to be independent.

G is for Kiss by Garaj Mahal.  A bluegrass Prince cover!

H is for Rasberry Beret-Hindu Love Gods.  Re-released on Rhino’s independent label, “Encore,” this band was basically Warren Zevon fronting R.E.M.  A truly amazing album, eponymous, which all of you should run out and get right now.  Destroy anyone in your way.  In fact, I don’t usually sponsor a link to a store–I think you all should populate brick-and-mortar facilities–but for this record, I’m making an exception.  Go buy it right now.  Serioussly.

I is for I Feel For You-Izbella.  A Prince original that was done better by Chaka Kahn.  It’s strange how the only people who can do Prince songs better than Prince are females.  First Chaka on this one, then Sinead on “Nothing Compares 2 U.”  Of course, those ladies are such extraordinary vocalists, I’d listen to them sing the phone book.  (Not really.)

J is for Purple Rain-Jarflys.

K is for Love Bizarre-Keller Williams.  My absolute favorite Sheila E tune.

L is for Little Red Corvette-Pete Thurston.

M is for I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man-My Morning Jacket.  One of the best Prince covers ever.  Hands down.

N is for Starfish and Coffee-Matt Nathanson.  This is definitely my favorite of Prince’s lesser-known songs.  It’s sweet, sexy, cool.  Off his Sign O’ The Times record, his second best release.

O is for Of Montreal–two covers: Rasberry Beret and Baby I’m a Star.  Such a fun live band.

P is for Pac!  Pac’s Life-Tupac.

R is for When Doves Cry-Damien Rice.  An amazing acoustic version that will break your heard.

S is for the S part of Tegan and Sara, and their brilliant cover of When U Were Mine, which actually trumps Cyndi Lauper’s, which actually trumped Prince’s own version.

T is for All the Critics Love U In New York-TR3.  A live version that I included for two reasons: It’s so bizarre, and it’s a song that rarely gets the props it deserves.  Jazzy as hell.

And this is NOT Prince Harry.

U is for unable to find a good U, so here’s another B:When Doves Cry-Be Good Tanyas.

V is for very near the end, which is where we’re getting.

W is for Alex Westerberg.   I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man-The Replacements.  The 1980s indie/garage rock version.

X is this spot, to remind you to Digg, Stumble, and do whatever else to this post.  Come on, guys, don’t I deserve as much hits as MOKB?  (Answer me yes or don’t answer at all.  And clap if you believe in fairies.)

Y and Z are for Your Zipfile. Here it is.  Dig it.

Today’s review is something unusual, and not just because it’s a twofer.  It’s because I’m taking a risk by reviewing two albums that were not submitted to me, I found them on my own, and that carry with them the specter of possible litigation.

First, I’m taking a risk by reviewing Passion Pit.  The album is being released in the U.S. on Frenchkiss records, an indie label, but I’ve read that Columbia Records is handling the band’s UK promotion.  That makes it not indie.  But I’m making an exception to my indie-only rule for two reasons: It’s indie in the U.S., and it’s a really great record.

Second, I’m reviewing a Prince album.  Prince has gone independent, selling his latest (3-disc!) album on his own via his own website and at Target, but that doesn’t stop him employing Web Sheriff.  In fact, he may be the only guy who has sued more folks over music rights than the RIAA.  So why would why I give him time on my site?  One reason is: He’s the Artist.  He created the music, so I get his being possessive of it.  But more importantly, he’s one of the greatest musicians of our time, LotusFlow3r is a project worthy of bearing his name, and he’s finally released something independently, so a review fits with my purpose here on this site to promote only those artists who aren’t backed by big money publicity machines.

But legal issues aside, there’s another reason to review these albums together: They’re two sides of the same coin.  Prince, regardless of his Religious bent or his pure musical intentions, makes dance music.  It’s what he’s always done, in one form or another.  But, let’s be honest, most clubs and kids are dancing to funk and instrument-driven R&B anymore.  They’re listening to synth-and-sample driven beats that focus more on the hook and the vocals than on a groovy guitar solo or a winding sax lick.  It’s just a fact.  Prince is old, and Passion Pit are new.

Now, I’m not in any way trying to suggest that “Manners,” the brainchild of 21-year-old Michael Angelakos, approaches the musical brilliance of any of Prince’s best works (which include, let’s remember, Sign O’ the Times, Dirty Mind, The Symbol Album, and one of the greatest records of all time, Purple Rain).  But Passion Pit’s debut does rate up there in terms of quality with some of Prince’s more mediocre works (such as Come or Crystal Ball).  It’s fresh and sunny, taking familiar sounds and themes (it’s regularly compared to Brian Wilson’s Pet Sounds) to new heights, it’s catchy as hell, and it’s almost impossible to avoid dancing while it’s playing.  That’s not very different from the young Minnesotan upstart who basically smoothed out James Brown’s rough edges and sprinkled in ‘80s androgyny.  Plus, Angelakos is already known for being a studio perfectionist.  Thus, the similarities continue.  By the way, “The
Reeling” has a synth beginning that reminds of some song I can’t quite put my finger on, but I know I’ve heard it before and it’s driving me insane.  Any help out there?

As for Prince, his new one is a triple(!) album and is being sold by Target (it’s a steal—three records for $11.98) or through his impenetrably complicated and self-indulgent website.  Actually, it’s not really a triple album.  It’s two Prince albums (LOtUSFLOW3R and MPLSoUND) and the decent-but-not-great “Elixir,” the debut album release of Bria Valente.  Still, either one of the Prince records is worth twelve bucks, so even if you never give Valente a chance, you’re still ahead of the game here.  It’s amazing that after 25 years, Prince is still releasing stuff worth listening to.  Some of the stuff here has already been released, but usually in different forms as demos, live tracks, etc., and when you’ve got a double album there’s bound to be some filler.  But the good news is, there’s not a lot of it.  There’s the ‘60s groove of “Feel Better, Feel Good, Feel Wonderful” and “There’ll Never Be Another Like Me,” a nice Latin rhythm on “Love Like Jazz,” playful blues on “Colonized Mind,” and good old classic rock and roll guitar work on one of the greatest cuts here, “4Ever.”  On “Chocolate Box,” Prince manages to make dirty funk without profanity or even the suggestion of something untoward.  He does seem, literally, to be saying that he’s “got a box of chocolates that will knock the socks off” the girls.  It’s innocent, fun, and funky as hell.  But the track that will probably get the most written about it is the cover of “Crimson and Clover.”  Although it’s not unusual for Mr. Nelson to do covers in his live act, to my knowledge he’s never recorded one before.  And even if he has, he’s certainly far better known for being covered himself.  The awesome thing about this cover of the ‘60s garagepsych cover is it’s seamless melding of “Wild Thing.”  It reminds me of the great song, “Stairway to Gilligan’s Island,” in which the lyrics to the one song were sung to the tune of the other.  That’s almost what’s done here, except that Prince jumps from one song back to the other and through the last one so completely, so fluidly, and so often that both songs cease to exist, and only one remains.  Plus, the guitar solo sizzles.  “LotusFlow3r” is definitely the better of the two albums here, but both are pretty cool and it’s hard not to see them as parts of the same record (kinda like GnR’s Use Your Illusion 1&2).

So, you get two recommendations here: Prince’s Lotusflow3r and Passion Pit’s Manners.  Buy ‘em both and get ready for an enjoyable afternoon.  But you’ll have to take my word for it because there’s no way in hell I’ll post a song by either artist.  And you probably won’t see me write again about guys when I don’t feel like I can (safely) offer you a sample.  This is a one-shot, so enjoy it.

To soothe you, though, why not dig some Prince covers?

Prince covers, A to Z: Coming tomorrow.

The Reeling-Passion Pit (Mike Snow’s remix).

We’re continuing this celebration of 2008 covers from the Archive. Here’s part one.

J is for Staple it together > whole lotta love-Jack Johnson (Led Zeppelin cover) I’m not a huge surfer music fan, but I think JJ is generous to provide his material, and his covers are cool, laid back funk.

K is for Karma Police-Citizen Cope (Radiohead cover).

L is for Freebird (Lynyrd Skynyrd)-Hayes Carll.

L is also for Lips Like Sugar (Echo and the Bunnymen)-Smashing Pumpkins

L is also for Purple Rain-Lingo Live (Prince Cover). Yeah, it’s a little cliche. But Prince is always cool.

M is for Roses are Free-Moon Taxi (Ween Cover)

N is for the great band behind Grace. Pain in my Heart (Otis Redding Cover)-Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. N is also for No Sugar Tonight-Keller Williams (Guess Who). I love this song. This version is kinda weird, but it’s cool.

O is for Ophelia-Animal Liberation Orchestra (Band Cover). ALO are so cool. Every time I check out a show of theirs, I’m never disappointed. I mean, who’s doing Band covers these days?

P is for Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun-Smashing Pumpkins (Pink Floyd). SP are the biggest name in the archive, by far, and they have an open taping policy. Awesome. Too bad their last album sucked. But I dig ‘em so much, they’re the only band on here this many times. And there’s more Pumpkins to come!

P is also for Peace Like a River (Paul Simon)-Spoon.

Q is for Fat Bottom Girls-Hayseed Dixie (Queen).

R is for Sympathy For The Devil-G Love and Special Sauce (Rolling Stones). This song always makes me think of my Senior year in High School, when I first heard it on a bus to Canada, where later a couple kids from our school would burn down a pizza parlor and our school would be barred from ever going back . . .

R is also for Communications Breakdown-Rose Hill Drive (Led Zep) In my opinion, these guys do the best Zep covers in the universe.

S is for a Standard at Speahead Shows, including the theme to Sesame Street and a Song by Sublime. What I Got/Sesame Street-Spearhead (Sublime).

S is also for See You Later, for part 3–the final part!