Saturday, November 12, 2011

Songs Covered by WSP - Spotify Playlist


I have seen/heard Panic live over 100 times, dating back to February 1993.  They have some great songs of their own, but it is always a treat to hear them cover their favorites by other artists.  Part of the attraction to them for me has always been their accessibility.  I have seen them in lots of small venues and I even ran into D.S. at a Dead show in Atlanta once.  Listening to the original versions of these songs, their faves, adds to the feeling that they are as much old friends as one of my favorite rock bands.  The songs they have covered over the years have also turned me onto many of my now favorite artists (including JJ Cale, The Meters, and Vic Chesnutt).     

Since I signed on to Spotify, I have thought of all kinds of reasons to create playlists.  It is not a perfect tool, but I like the idea of a place to share music with friends in a mostly open and mostly free/inexpensive way.  After hearing Panic cover "Just Kissed My Baby" in Cincinnati last month, I went to Spotify to listen to some different Meters albums than the ones I own.  This set me on a path to hear original versions of other covers too.  I started with some others they covered in Cincy, "None of Us Are Free" and "Four Cornered Room".  I couldn't stop.  I added them to the playlist as I thought of them and only mixed them up a little for an easier listen.  You have to have Spotify to listen, but it is easy and free to sign up and you won't be sorry you did.

I'm not sure if there's a difference between these links, but one of them should work for you.
Four Cornered Room

Four Cornered Room

56 Tracks, 4 hours

This playlist is not meant to be comprehensive.  It is a great listen.  Here are some of the gems that show up

Four Cornered Room - War
Slippin' Into Darkness - War


It Ain't No Use - The Meters
Just Kissed My Baby - The Meters


Walk On - Neil Young
Vampire Blues - Neil Young


Papa Legba - Talking Heads (Pops Staples vocal version from film as well)
City of Dreams - Talking Heads
Heaven - Talking Heads (from Fear of Music)








Here are some of my personal favorites.....
Shouldn't Have Took More Than You Gave - Traffic
Down On The Farm - Little Feat
Dirty Business - New Riders of the Purple Sage (featuring an extended jam with Jerry on pedal steel)
Maggot Brain - Funkadelic
Time is Free - Johnson / Hammer (cover of a cover by Col. Bruce & ARU)
Protein Drink / Sewing Machine - brute
She Caught the Katy - Taj Mahal

Songs you thought were theirs;
Send Your Mind - Van Morrison
Travelin Light - J.J. Cale
Blight - Vic Chesnutt

And it's great to find the originals of a few that I've never heard, like
Weak Brain, Narrow Mind - Willie Dixon
Bowlegged Woman - Hot Tuna
Stop Breaking Down - Sonny Boy Williamson (I love the Stones version)
None of Us Are Free - Solomon Burke
And especially "Flat Foot Flewzy - NRBQ!

One last note: "Don't Be Denied" is a great Neil Young song from a legendary unreleased and until now unspotified album called "Time Fades Away".  This album also includes "Last Dance", another Panic cover which I love.  On the playlist, I reluctantly included a version of "DBD" by Nils Lofgren.  It's not the original and it's not great, but definitely one of my favorite songs so I kept it.

Also, there were a few others that I really wanted to add which I couldn't find on Spotify (mostly "Knockin' Around the Zoo" - James Taylor).