Songs The Fall Taught Us

This post courtesy of Listener Thomas G.

Johnny Paycheck - Cocaine Train
Merle Haggard - White Line Fever
Lonnie Irving - Pinball Machine
Leadbelly - The Bourgeois Blues
Dean Martin - Houston
Luke The Drifter - Just Waitin'
Tommy Blake - F-Olding Money
Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - The Legend Of Xanadu
Nancy Sinatra - The City Never Sleeps At Night
R. Dean Taylor - There's A Ghost In My House
Gene Vincent  - Rollin' Danny
The Kinks - Victoria
The Sonics - Strychnine
Hank Mizell - Jungle Rock  
The Monks - Oh, How To Do Now 
The Searchers - Popcorn Double Feature
The Other Half  - Mr. Pharmacist
The Groundhogs  - Junkman
Lou Reed - Kill Your Sons
The Move - I Can Hear The Grass Grow
Gene Pitney  - Last Chance To Turn Around
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin' Stones
The Saints - This Perfect Day
Iggy Pop - African Man
Mother's Of Invention  - I'm Not Satisfied
Deep Purple - Black Night
Henry Cow - War
Mr. Bloe - Groovin' With Mr. Bloe
Bob McFadden & Dor - The Mummy
The Idle Race -The Birthday
Richard Berry - Louie, Louie
Lee Perry - Kimble
Sir Gibbs - People Grudgeful
Steve Bent - I'm Going To Spain
Sister Sledge - Lost In Music
The Fall - A Day In The Life 

More after the jump!

From Thomas:

I've been thinking about the Fall lately. That's nothing new, but I've been obsessed with them more than usual, probably for two reasons: I just paid a weekend visit to a friend who promises when his baby is born in June that his first order of business will be to play her their entire catalog in chronological order (shhhh - don't tell his wife) and second, I finally got around to reading Mark E Smith's memoir "Renegade" (said friend thrust a copy in my hand upon meeting up). It reads more like a drunken bar rant than a life recalled (the world according to MES) and not surprisingly much of the time he's interested in making sure you know he's the Fall and not, say, Karl Burns or Craig Scanlon. One of my favorite moments is when he writes, "A lot of people say I'd be a really good dad. But I'm the sort who'd forget about the child. I'd be at the pub engrossed in a conversation when I should be at home because the baby's in front of the fire slowly getting roasted." I'd bet a paycheck that a lot of people have never told Mark he'd make a really good dad, maybe not even one. In the course of a week various Fall songs kept running through my head and I realized a lot of them were covers. I wondered what it'd look and sound like to compile them in one place. Upon doing so, and listening to them repeated times, I realized that this collection of 45 songs says almost as much about MES as his book does. Eclectic, eccentric, and rarely obvious, they are a fascinating insight into a very original mind. Starting with Gene Vincent's "Rollin' Danny" on This Nation's Saving Grace, MES has included a cover on nearly every album released since then. Then there are the Peel sessions, b-sides, tribute albums, and the live covers. As for "A Day In the Life," the Fall version is posted here because it's probably the best known song they've covered, while their cover is also one of the most obscure songs in their catalog.

Comments

[DJ ManRich]

I too have been on one of my bi-annual Fall kicks lately.
I have never thought about compiling all their covers,
Quite a Herculean task, that.
Thanks so much!

[Brian Turner]

Awesome. That Steve Bent original was on one of those Dr Demento Worst records comps. Don't forget the Fall also covered the Monks' "Shut Up".

[fatty jubbo]

and another one by R. Dean Taylor - Gotta See Jane ...covered on Are You Are Missing Winner

[Debbie D]

Thanks for the suggestions, but our blog rules require posting only one song per artist.

[DefChef]

Whaddaya know...this blog just posted a remarkably similar comp on May 4th...great minds thinking alike?

http://doctorfuckwit.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/songs-the-fall-covered/#comments

[Debbie D]

WOW! Thanks for the great link, DefChef. Listener Thomas actually sent me the songs for this post 2 months ago, but I didn't have time to post it until now!

[Listener Greg G.]

Is there another band anywhere in the world that's recorded covers of TWO R. Dean Taylor tracks??

[Mitsos]

Great list.

One to add:
Hank Williams: "Waitin' "

[Listener Thomas G]

By my final count there were 45 covers ... but then a friend reminded me of two I'd missed (what a jerk! off the top of his head no less!) so by my final final count there are something like 47, but that might even miss one or two. Only one person really knows (if he really knows!).

And really, I can't recommend "Renegade" enough - even I was a little late to it and now I have no idea what the hold up was.

Mistos - Waitin is up there! Also, they've covered 3 Monks songs.

[Listener Thomas G]

Also ... who else can you name that has covered the Groundhogs TWICE? "Stange Town" is the one not posted here.

[Mitsos]

Ooopss... Yes - Luke The Drifter... :-) My bad!

[GR Kelly]

One more: Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's "Legend of Xanadu", for the 1992 NME charity compilation 'Ruby Trax'.

[Listener Thomas G]

It's there, GR.

[Mitsos]

Been listening to the compilation.
Great job!

[martin Clabburn]

This is probably the definitive list :-
http://www.visi.com/fall/discog/covers.html

Also The Fall 'reuse' alot of obscure riffs/chord progressions

[brooos]

There is that live cover of "Jet Boy" from the boxed set 1976-2007 as well

[paul]

haha when did the fall cover "the mummy"? amazing

[carrie nation]

also White Lightnin' by George Jones...

[Listener Thomas G]

"I'm a Mummy" is on Levitate.

[Jim Baker]

Can't forget --- the bridge from Valeri by The Monkees appears on This Nation's Saving Grace as "Barmy." And, of course, "Bremen Nacht" on The Frenz Experiment borrows the main riff from Spinal Tap's "Tonight We're Gonna Rock Tonight."

Thank you for making my weekend a Fall weekend. :-) Sweet.

[METROKEN]

HIGGLE DY PIGGLE DY on monks compilation tribute album.

lst recording by the 'TLC' band

[METROKEN]

HUNGRY FREAKS DADDY by frank zappa!

[Daniel]

I've never heard that Beatles cover before, it nearly had me in tears after a gigantic smile the likes of which I haven't cracked in a long time. Incredible.

[m m o]

lost in music

[EFK]

for so long i have been trying to get Sir Gibbs People Grudgeful! thank you sooooo much, plus all the other stuff will be an excellent treat as well!