Robot Cast #4

The return of the podcast. I bribed @chump_change into talking cover songs with me while I recorded the conversation. It's slightly less than an hour long, so give it a spin if you're so inclined.

Robot Cast #4 by Robot_Hero on Mixcloud

This party sucks

Al Green has the right idea. Sing it, man...

Al Green > Gotta Find A New World

We got the feelin' now!

Cover tunes are weird. I mean, you either love them or hate them. In the case of, let's say, Michael Bolton doing Sittin' On The Dock of The Bay (just because it's an easy target), you're left scratching your head, wondering why, in the name of all that is good, was he allowed to do that song. Who actually said, "Yeah Mike, this is a great choice for a cover. You will completely own this song." And if he came up with it on his own, why didn't anybody try to talk him out of it? It just sounds so soulless and over-produced. It's music for people who don't like music. Okay, so that is one example of a bad cover.

A good cover might be The Clash (yeah, I'm still in Clash mode, sorry) doing the Bobby Fuller Four's I Fought The Law. It's a good choice because that song totally encapsulates what the Clash were all about and it's also a catchy pop tune. It was played so well and got enough airplay, that people often mistake it for a Clash original.

In any case, I came across this track recently and was a little bit hesitant to check it out. I don't know a lot about Al Green, but I do know he's an amazing singer. Add a classic Beatles tune to that equation and I wasn't sure what to expect, but....it's pretty awesome. I especially like the horns, and the beginning of the song where he says "We got the feelin' now!" Hell fucking yeah, we do. In my mind, this is every bit as good as the original, and I love the Beatles. Who's the man? Al Green is the man. You can find this track on his Green Is Blues album, if you like it.

Al Green > I Want To Hold Your Hand