I really can't believe...(Sunday Under Covers)
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...that no one has posted this cover on MOG at some point. As a young man of 16, I was searching for my musical identity. That is - my rock n' roll identity. My friends were heavily into the Beatles and the Stones - but, for me, The Beatles were inaccesible, the Stones were sloppy and darkly non-understandable.
This was '72, The Beatles weren't even a band, and the Stones were so darkly drug infected that I couldn't relate. But, the desire to rock burned strong, and into my lap fell Mott the Hoople's new recording.
Fostered by my latest idols Bowie and Ronson, this collection of contemporary rock was pristine-perfect. You could hear every bluesy note, you could understand every lyrical line, and you could feel every drumbeat. This was it, and has been for 35+ years.
I had no knowlwdge of The Velvet Underground back then, though I knew this was a cover from what I read. Didn't matter, the song was already defined for me. I would say that, in the pantheon of rock music, I have probably listened to this song - this cover - more than any song my ears have ever come across. I learned to play and sing in simultaneous counter-punctual unison from this cover. Maybe someday, I'll show you that, for now, here's the source material. Enjoy!!
Locating MOG account...
Comments (10)
Love Mott, love Ian, love that whole scene.
I hear ya scotty
Cheers. I've only actually heard Dylan's version before this.
/shame
Dylan did a version of this? And I haven't heard it? Enlighten me, Anna. Are you sure you're not thinking about the original, sung by its composer, V.U. avatar Lou Reed, or perhaps Reed's solo album version of the song? BTW, scot, I've always thought that Mick Ralphs' playing on this - the licks, the solo on the coda - was as lyrical as rock guitar gets.
I was just coming here to correct my mistake! First time I heard this song was in the Natural Born Killers ost, and I got confused with the Dylan song in there, sorry! I meant the Cowboy Junkies cover.
/even more shame
Wasn't posted because we were waiting for you to do it. I knew you would eventually...One of my faves, of course.
ah, yes, the whole scene inrum, the whole scene indeed...
no sweat Anna! I like that Cowboy Junkies version too, brings a whole different junked up mood to the song. I was tempted to to photoshop your avatar and put a hand over each eye!
"lyrical" - Mike, couldn't have said it better. I would say Mick's solo work, on this song in particular, has made him a favorite guitarist for many a year.
Thanks for your patience T, how ya doin'??
My musical story parallels your closely. I went through a lot of bands in the late '60, early '70's, many of whom I still love to this day– but it wasn't until I heard Ian Hunter's voice that I found MY 'musical voice'. Mott The Hoople's cover of Sweet Jane will always be, for me, the definitive version of this song. I was, frankly, let down when I heard Lou Reed's original shortly after. Though not reliant on covers as some might think, Mott had a way of making a song their own. Sweet Jane and All The Young Dudes in particular would never have had the iconic, spine-tingling feel that this band brought to the table. I don't mean to dis Lou Reed or David Bowie-(He's practically the patron saint of MTH!) it's just that for the first four records of their life, Mott were the bastard stepchild of a label that didn't know what to do with them. It took a massive talent like Bowie to see the gold in front of everyone's eyes. Ian Hunter's phrasing of Sweet Jane is spot-on and Mick Ralph's guitar remakes this song into something completely new and exciting. Ralph's was never blazing fast, which is why I'm sure he gets left off a lot of so-called 'Best Guitar Player' lists. He just had impeccable taste. Thank you for posting, Scot– Didn't start off to rant, I just did.
no problem greg, ranting and rolling is what we do best around here! Thanks for chiming in, and welcome to MOG!!
Mott The Hoople... Billy Corrigan (Smashing Pumpkins) referred to them in some liner notes, with disdain for some reason of which I can't remember now, as Matt The Nipple. I can't read Mott The Hoople without laughing out loud at that reference.
my mom, bless her, always referred to them as "Martha Hoople"!