Time for another A to Z!
The MPs were one of Kurt Cobain’s favorite bands, and their live shows were punctuated by punk versions of songs that spanned all decades. I’m focusing on the covers here, because you can’t find them anywhere, but I’ve included a few live versions of originals that I am particularly fond of–usually because these live versions are very different from the album versions.
Overall, these tracks show the band’s versatility, and their skill as musicians–something often overlooked in punk bands.
A zipfile at the end has all the tracks. A few highlights are uploaded, for your pleasure and sampling.
Enjoy.
A is for Astronomy Domine (Pink Floyd). It took all my strength to resist including this in my recent tribute of Floyd covers.
B is for Bach! Jesu, The Joy of Man’s Desiring.
C is for Creedence! Suzy Q (Creedence Clearwater Revival).
D is for the Dead! The Meat Puppet’s take on “Scarlet Begonias,” one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs, is bizarre. Jerry Garcia is an obvious musical influence on the band, so this is a tribute, of sorts. It actually sounds like a mash up of the Dead’s “Space” with the lyrics of “Begonias.” Wonderfully, incredibly odd. I’m also throwing in their cover of Franklin’s Tower.
E is for Easy Rider! Magic Carpet Ride (Steppenwolf). As noisy as punk gets. Awesome.
F is for Foghat’s “I Just Wanna Make Love To You.”
G is for Green River. More CCR! ‘Cause you can never have enough.
H is for Hissing, Pissing Pussies.
I is for I Wanna Be Your Dog (Iggy Pop).
J is for Just Got Paid (ZZ Top).
K is for Kris. Help Me Make It Through the Night (Kris Kristofferson).
L is for Led Zep!
Rock and Roll (Led Zeppelin). If The Muppets covered Zep, it might sound like this.
Communication Breakdown (Led Zeppelin). Chaos.
M is for Munchkin Land. Lollipop Guild (Wizard of Oz)
N is for Not Fade Away (Buddy Holly). A regular Grateful Dead builder, this is a really hot version.
O is for a couple oldies:
Good golly Miss Molly-Little Richard
Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On (Jerry Lee Lewis). They keep the country feel of the song, and add some finger-style guitar in the style of Jerry Garcia. Love this version.
P is for Presley. Love Me Tender (Presley). In the style of Sid Vicious covering Frank Sinatra.
Q is for No Quarter (Led Zep).
R is for Rubberneckin’ (Elvis Presley).
S is for Sloop John B (Beach Boys). This version almost sounds like satire, doesn’t it?
T is for Tom! Walzing Matilda (Tom Waits). Curt Kirkwood solo. This isn’t really a good version, but his take
U is for Up on the Sun.
V is for Van Morrison’s Baby What You Want.
W is for White Sportscoat. Check out the guitarwork here. Truly inspired, but low-key. It’s also for What a Good Year for the Roses (Elvis costello).
X is for zip file. Because I had a better Z.
Y is for Neil Young’s When You Dance. I don’t hear too many covers of this tune. Wish the quality was better.
Z is not for Zipfile! (See X for that.) Z is for Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers (ZZ Top).
