OFF: Favorite Twisted Covers

[Paul Mather]

On Fri, 26 Mar 1999 DASLUD at AOL.COM wrote:

=> >>>he also did a reasonably faithful "i am the walrus" on the the same tour,
=> and was still whipping out "whipping post"....except for maybe "ring of fire"
=> i'd call these covers less "twisted" than "zappafied"

True, although Frank's solo on "Whipping Post" can be considered
"twisted" compared to the original. :-)  I also have a version of
"Whipping Post" from 1981 which is a "twisted" reggae version,
resplendant with faux rasta vocals and modified lyrics ("good lord I
think I look like a spliff, man").  (It is followed by the most
scorching version of "Clowns on Velvet" I've ever had the pleasure to
hear.)

Speaking of "I am the Walrus," the "most twisted cover" award on the
1988 tour surely must go to "The Texas Medley" consisting of "Norwegian
Jim > Loisiana Hooker With Herpes > Texas Motel" which is a medley of
"Norwegian Wood," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," and "Strawberry
Fields Forever" set to "Swaggartified" lyrics (see "Lonesome Cowboy Jim"
from _The Best Band You Never Saw In Your Life_ for similar treatment of
one of Zappa's own songs).  That cover is hilarious, and a must-hear. (I
heard official release of it was blocked by Michael Jackson, who owns
the rights to the Beatles catalogue.  Dunno if that's a true story or
not, though.)

Other twisted cover nominations off the top of my head:

Laibach: "Geburt Einer Nation" (chilling take on Queen's "One Vision"),
and the _Sympathy for the Devil_ and _Let it Be_ albums.
Mekong Delta: "The Hut of Baba Yaga," and "Night on a Bare Mountain"
(Mussorgsky inna prog-thrash style).

Of course, Hawkwind do a pretty twisted cover of "Gimme Shelter," but
I'm not sure that's intentional... ;-)

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"Actual testimony from... Ed Meese!"
        --- Frank Zappa, "Texas Motel"