The first tribute album I remember buying was The Bridge: A Tribute To Neil Young. It featured a bunch of what at the time were underground bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies, The Flaming Lips, and Nick Cave doing Neil Young songs. It was before Young was known as "The Godfather of Grunge". The point was to get across the idea that Young was an inspiration to that scene at a time when people hadn't realized it yet. It worked just because Young is a great songwriter whose songs lend themselves well to reinterpretation and they were played by good bands who genuinely loved them. Sometimes tribute albums work because they show the diversity of the group of artists the subject of the tribute inspired. As a Metal fan I actually think that Sabbath tribute does a good job of that. Those bands all do straightforward covers but sound like themselves. That can fall like on it's face though if the group of bands involved isn't impressive. Kiss My Ass is a good example of that. Sometimes covers albums are a bigger band trying to say thank you to lesser known bands that inspired them. Metallica's Garage Days is an example of that. Those can be great if you're a fan and you do get turned onto to a band you didn't know. That was the idea behind The Spaghetti Incident? along with in the 90s when Grunge was popular trying to sell the audience on the idea that GnR had Punk roots to. It didn't work because GnR were a hot mess at the time and played the songs badly. Other times covers albums work if it's the band just trying to have a little fun playing and recording songs they like and give the fans something to tide themselves over before they move onto a more ambitious project. Garage Days is also an example of that. In that case it works because the fun the band was having comes across to the listener.
Honestly, The Bridge, along with a few choice artist covers by Annie Lennox and others, are the main reasons I enjoy Neil's solo work. He's a great songwriter when he's not being preachy to the point of proselytizing. I just also think he's a shit singer and middling guitarist at best (though, to his credit, he did manage to churn out some killer solos over the years). Which is a pretty big factor in enjoying someone's work for me personally, being a music enthusiast with functional eardrums and a strong preference for those who put in the effort to become skilled at core elements of their profession. Fortunately for him, bull-headed cockiness and drive often produces results beyond what ability would usually afford. Snarkiness and personal distaste for his attitude and worldview aside, the man has put out some fantastic songs in his career, and has had an undeniable influence on the industry and also the craft of songwriting itself. So I'm thankful that The Bridge in particular was released and I got my hands on it, because otherwise I would've missed out on all the impressive and genuinely great work the guy has done just because I think he's a dick and not a very good musician.
That and the Radiodread (OK Computer cover) too I didn't care much of their Sgt Pepper or Thriller versions but Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is not bad. But Radiodread and Dub Side are my favorite from them
Nativity in Black comes to mind as a suprising exception to the usual disasters. The best ones, I think, are where a bunch of diverse and stylistically far removed from the source material acts make the material their own.
Thanks Robert, you hit the nail on the head. I've been trying to organize my records & CDs and realized I have more cover & tribute albums than I care to admit. Some good, most are novelties at best.
Best cover I've ever heard is Aynsley Dunbar's "Warning" on Black Sabbath's debut album. It took me about 45 years to even realise it is a cover, even though it was always listed as 'Warning (Dunbar)' on the record!!
Just found your channel this week and have really enjoyed it. I have to admit, my favorite covers album is much reviled by even fans of Duran Duran... 1995's Thank You. I think hearing people say they hate it makes me love it even more. White Lines was the anthem of that summer for us. After almost two decades of losing track of them, their new release last October had me rediscovering their whole catalog. That new album had covers as well and I think their distinctive style and Le Bon's voice really makes their cover songs unique for me, not just retreads of what was done before. Keep up the great content!
For the most part I'm in total agreement. I did like Lennon's tribute Rock and Roll album. The only tribute album that really caught my eye was the tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. But that was a concert. So I don't know if that counts. You just know after Stevie died people in the music world were going to do something.
There are a countless number of great covers. There are also some very good tribute albums. Punk bands doing Carpenters covers is one that comes to mind.
I agree with almost everything you said here. The exception to this, in my opinion, is album of covers by The Langley Schools Music Project. There's something beautiful about the simple arrangements and of the songs they chose to cover. Anyway, great video as always.
I really like that album too, I haven't listened to it in a long time, but I believe all the songs were sung acapella, if I remember correctly. (Nope, deidn't remember correctly; somewhat rudimentary musical accompaniment).
I mostly agree with you but I have a few exceptions. Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon did some cover albums - two that I know of, both great: What's Next to the Moon (AC/DC covers) and Tiny Cities (Modest Mouse covers). I also found a cool collection of Beatles covers recently called Then and Now: Australia Salutes the Beatles. Some clunkers but actually a lot of cool covers I'd never heard. The first thing I thought of when you started the video was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - they put out an album after the soundtrack called "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions Featuring Seu Jorge." It's all David Bowie covers on acoustic guitar in Portuguese.
Like Robert says, about 8% of "cover songs" are good. Al Green's "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is a masterful reinterpretatkion of a really good Bee Gees song, but I don't think I'd like to listen to an entire album of covers OR a tribute album; most are done badly.
I get your point. I used to work in a record store in the early 90s and these cover/tribute albums seemed to be put out on a weekly basis (after the unplugged onslaught had died down). Most of them were really bad. One cover album I do like is Booker T. & the MG‘s „McLemore Avenue“, otherwise I can‘t really think of more off the top of my head. Greetings from Switzerland, Nick
Rita Lee from Os Mutantes, an amazing brasilian musician, did in her late years this horrible Beatles cover album that EVERYBODY praised called "Bossa'n'Beatles", and it was really terrible. And not only that, it started a trend here in south america of doing "bossa nova" (actually kind of chill out soulless shit) versions of EVERYTHING ever released and it never ever worked, and it went into ridiculous stuff. And that sold a lot of records and went on for like eight years. It was torture.
The only cover I've ever enjoyed was Jimi Hendrix doing "All Along the Watchtower. I absolutely dislike tribute albums, covers (and covers albums) and add to that comp albums. Thanks for our thoughts, Robert.
I was going to mention Hendrix and Watchtower but you beat me to it. It was way better than the original, IMO. The other one I liked was the Stones version of Harlem Shuffle.
I love listening to Candid by Whitney from 2020, in its entirety. I only knew one of the ten tracks they’d covered, so it effectively sounded like an album of new material to me.
Most cover albums i would avoid. However i do have a soft spot for the Elton John : Two Rooms " one. Even like Phil Collins on that!, and i'm not a fan. Also bands like Heart doing Zeppelin. Great video Robert.
I was mooching around on Spotify the other night and came across Steve Howe from Yes doing a note for note rendition of Goodbye Blue Sky off The Wall, with some guy doing a David Gilmour impression.
Agreed, Robert. Glad to say I've never bought a cover album. I've heard cover albums referred to as 'Expensive Karaoke' for the artists who record them. One possible exception for me was a cover version of The Who's 'Tommy', featuring various artists (NOT the movie soundtrack!) that was released about 1975 or so. As I remember, it wasn't bad, If you like 'Tommy', that is. As far as individual songs go, I think John Lennon really made The Isley Brothers' 'Twist And Shout' his own.
Great topic. I just made a count of how many tribute albums I have. The answer is five. They are indeed a cash grab that was fashionable from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. Record labels could grab ten available cover recordings and put them on the same album and all that´s left to do is design a cheap album cover. Job done. Once tribute albums fizzled out, along came the covers albums. Bands began doing karaoke in the studio, knocking out ten covers in a week, and there´s your stopgap album, your Beatles For Sale exercise to buy you some time before having to actually come up with something (hopefully) worthwhile for your starving fanbase. That trend was, thankfully, equally shortlived.
The one cover album I have absolutely loved is “Gotta Serve Somebody”, an album of African American gospel artists singing songs from Bob Dylan’s first two “born again” albums. The songs sound fresh as these gospel artists sing them within the context of the genre Dylan was writing in, and many of the covers carry the power of a spiritual tent revival that Bob himself couldn’t carry. I really love Helen Baylor’s rendition of “What Can I Do For You?” which contains a fabulous Billy Preston organ solo!
i agree with you for the most part, a lot of tribute albums are just cash grabs, but with examples like weezer and the spaghetti incident, i feel like they less serve a purpose for providing different original covers, and more just for fans of those bands to see what it would sound like if they did popular songs that aren't theirs. also "live frogs" by Les Claypool flying frog brigade has gotta one of my favorite cover albums of all time (even tho its not fully covers)
I don't know if it qualifies as a cover or tribute album, but I have had a lot of fun making friends guess who is singing the different songs on In My Life with multiple artists arranged by George Martin. Granted, I'm having a hard time finding the point of that album, other than the look on peoples faces when I reveal who is singing I Am The Walrus. What is really pissing me off left and right, is that apparently Sean Connery would have preferred to sing In My Life in stead of this spoken word thing that's going on, but George Martin said he thought it would ruin the "Sean Connery feel" if he were to sing it. I would have loved to hear Sean Connery sing. I'm not sure why, but I would.
Great points. There are some cover albums that I enjoy. My favorite is Jimmy Barnes Soul Deep. Sensational recording and turned me on to many great artists. Thank you for this video Robert.
I like your take on these. You are spot on for most time these are done. Usually there is one decent song. I have some from Dead Kennedys, Tool and the Ramones. And they are dismal except for one song. There are some that I do enjoy. I do like the GnR one. It’s the only album I have from them on vinyl or CD. I really like the Saturday Morning Cartoon cover album. It’s a fun take on nostalgia for me. One of my favorites is by a soul singer named Rec (pronounced Reese) who did an EP called Fried Mac. The fact that it’s an EP helps it a lot. Just four songs. She does some great takes on Flletwood Mac tunes. Her version of “The Chain” is off the hook. If you get the opportunity, you might be pleasantly surprised… but don’t hold me to it.
Elvis Costellos country covers album almost blue from 1981 is awesome! Also the Rise Above West Memphis 3 covers album is great, where else can you get Lemmy singing a black flag song! And it was for a good cause too. Poison idea has a great covers album too. The Damned did a really good 60s garage covers album in 1984 under the pseudonym Naz Nomad & the nightmares which I love. There’s a band from the 90s called the Moog cookbook that did really great Moog covers albums, one is of classic rock songs and the others are of hits of the time so they do a weezer song and smells like teen spirit, really really fun albums. Also if we’re getting technical alot cramps albums are basically just covers albums
I got into Led Zeppelin by the encomium CD. One of my favorites is Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling Stones, but I'm a Stones fan 😌 And We're A Happy Family tribute album of the Ramones, not that bad 👌
Generally agree Robert. A couple of left field ones I really enjoyed - Glen Campbell Live at The Troubadour had some great covers and Covered Mirror by an Australian band called Unitopia 👍
I'm a big pop punk fan an enjoy that type of music so when pop punk band do covers. I enjoy the cover songs and i will search out an find the original song. I have found so many great 1980s songs that i love now only because I heard a cover of it. I love cover songs
70's and 80's, we had no way of finding the originals unless you got lucky at a record shop in a 2nd hand store. I spent years hunting down a slipped disc/failure of an album I half remembered from my childhood, now that that turned out to be well worth it hunt as I think it is a true lost classic. However it goes back to the idea of a recently blown up artists thanking their influences with a nice fat royalty check. These days however, it is usually a label cash grab or even a throw away cover mount disc for a magazine.
An interesting tribute album is “We’re a Happy Family - a Tribute to the Ramones” that was overlooked by Johnny Ramone. Major bands in their prime took part in the effort of making it and each band did their own thing
In Australia one of the well subscribed national radio stations (JJJ) put out a comp every year of different artists covers of whatever they chose to do live on air over the course of the year, stick em all on an album with mixed results. Usually there's at least a gem or two when some artist or group does sonething interesting with the original. Those albums have generated many a thread of 'Covers that are better than the original version' lists. Oh, also the series so cleverly titled, eh hem; Like A Version.
I see a pattern with people liking Beatles' songs covered by other artists. For me, I think the reason is that they're more interesting and not played to death.
You know, I got to thinking. There was one covers album that did have a point. Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell, released in 1989 was a charity album by Make A Difference Foundation. All proceeds were split between MADF and the Russian equivalent to help fight youth drug and alcohol abuse. All the covers were of artists or bands that had a member who died because of drug or alcohol abuse. Ozzy doing "Purple Haze", Scorpions doing "I Can't Explain", Cinderella with "Move Over", etc.
I enjoy the Tapestry tribute cd from time to time. Imo, Elvis and Linda R. are will be the best interpreters of a song writers composition. And they do it THEIR way. Both my favs. Thx. Robert. Go Cards.
Another great topic. I agree with some points (Pin Ups) and disagree with others (Lennon’s Rock and Roll). I recently bought a copy of the Hendrix tribute album ‘Stone Free’ but only for the last two tracks - Pat Metheny’s ‘Third Stone from the Sun’ and the McCready/Ament/Cameron/Cornell collaboration on ‘Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)’. The other songs on the album range from meh to WTAF - P.M. Dawn anyone? I would recommend the Blind Willie Johnson tribute album ‘God Don’t Never Change’ with great songs by the likes of Sinead O’Connor and Tom Waits (it is acceptable as it comes under your Blues exception). Keep up the good work. 🏴
I agree with you for the most part. Two recent ones that I bought, and liked, was Beth Hart’s “A Tribute to Led Zeppelin” and Tedeschi Trucks, “Layla Revisited”. I think that probably has more to do with me liking Beth Hart and Tedeschi Trucks though. You can still say why not listen to Led Zeppelin or the Derek and the Dominoes album. But I found these much better than listening to multiple bands covering a single artist.
That Neil Young tribute benefit album for “The Bridge” school that his son with disabilities attended is good front to back in my opinion… some obscure bands doing some solid renditions of his tunes from throughout his career a good deep dive into his catalog done with an air of experimentation Note:Bongwater, Sonic Youth, Psychic TV, Nick Cave , Pixies
Curiosity got the best of me so I looked it up and I was stunned to see that Gregg Bissonette was the drummer on that hot for teacher track, who was diamond Dave’s drummer for his first couple solo albums. But I’ll tell you the worst tribute album I ever heard was a kiss tribute album called kiss of death: a sikk tribute to kiss. Death metal bands doing kiss and i think I’d rather hear the Van Halen one on repeat before ever listening to that kiss one again 😂
A few great classic covers that do something interesting I can think of are Patti Smith - Gloria, Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter and Devo - (I Can't Get Me No) Satisfaction
As you said the point is to make money. This is what you get when narrow minded record company executives are tasked with coming up with :new releases". I don't buy them and I have never heard one of these that didn't suck. I will add that classical covers of some albums, like The Dark Side of the Moon etc, and The Dub Side of the Moon are a decent listen. But they are really different interpretations rather than tributes. Of course if you want to talk cover songs Hendrix covering Dylan's All Along the Watchtower is pure gold.
I like "Something Else- A tribute to the Kinks", put out by Mojo magazine. A different band covers each song of the album, with a bonus track cover of "This Time Tomorrow" All of the versions have their own takes on the songs.
Great tribute albums : The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered ; Sing A Song For You (Tribute To Tim Buckley) Great Bob Dylan cover album : I'm not there Great Beatles cover album : Let it be by Laibach Thanks for the video ! Great subject, should be covered more
I was remembering back in the ‘60s and 70s, when there were celebrity songwriters, guys like Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach would do cover albums of the hits they wrote for other people: The self congratulatory tribute album. Yes, instead of the smooth crooning and guitar genius of Glen Campbell or the elegant pop stylings of Dionne Warwick and Marilyn McCoo, you could rather listen to Jimmy and Burt groan their way through ‘Wichita Lineman’, ‘Walk on By’, and ‘One Less Bell’ as if in the piano lounge from heck.
Well played, Robert! Back in 1991 a bunch of artists released an Elton John tribute album called "Two Rooms." First of all, most of the bands were either uninteresting or past their prime. I mean, Wilson Philips doing "Daniel" and Joe Cocker doing "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word?" Seriously? Secondly, to Robert Fithen's point, there was nothing outstanding about any of the tracks. Just a rehash of what Elton did previously. Ironically, n the "Two Rooms" video, Bernie Taupin said that he and Elton wanted bands to do something totally different and creative with their songs. If I were Bernie, I would have been gravely disappointed. The only thing that I give this tribute album credit for was re-familiarizing me with classic Elton John. Other than that, this tribute album was a total waste of time.
Beat the Retreat: A Tribute to Richard Thompson from the mid-90s (on Capitol) is harder to find but is top notch all the way through, with Dinosaur Jr, David Byrne, Los Lobos, REM, etc. It’s not on streaming. Snap it up if you run across it. It’s the exception that proves your rule.
Hey I had the led zepp and kiss ones on cassette enjoyed on drives but you missed my fave I have on vinyl, Jack Jones Breadwinners classic if you find David gates and bread to "edgy" this is the mellow versions
I am not a Weezer fan but I have to admit I have the "Teal " album and I... sigh... love it. Mainly because it's filled with songs I love, from bands I would never own an album of. So it's like a mix tape to me. EDIT: I just go to the end of the video...I'm so sorry I said Weezer. 😅
With these there are sometimes standout tracks to me but I can't think of many covers albums where I think "Wow, every track on that was great!" One that comes close for me is Henry Rollins' benefit CD of Black Flag covers with guest singers to support the West Memphis 3, Lemmy singing Thirsty and Miserable being the big standout. The 1972 symphonic version of Tommy has a pretty impressive array of guest singers and impressive packaging but some of the arrangements are a bit overwrought. I also like covers that transform the original. Yes' second album had a really good Buffalo Springfield cover and there's Yes archival releases that have alternate versions without the orchestra. I like tribute bands that recreate past eras of a band like The Musical Box, I wish more cover bands would put that much thought into it.
There was a cover album to raise mony for the ill stones pianist Ian Stewart. Love the apocalyptic version of ABBAs Gimme Gimme Gimme by the Leather Nun. Greil Marcus wrote about Bowies Pin Ups: I mean, who else could sing "Here Comes The Night" like a raving queen and make it sound right?
The best examples I can think of is Pin-Ups and the Black Sabbath tribute - Nativity in Black. The worst example I've ever owned was a ska tribute to metal. Listening to that killed off my inner child.
Great stuff. Your vocal version of Hot For Teacher would make a great cover. 2 excellent covers of already excellent songs are Pixies Head On by Jesus and Mary Chain and Camper Van Beethoven’s Pictures of Matchstick Men by Status Quo. Rock On!
i like the cover CDs that ship with Mojo and Classic Rock magazines. They are free with the issue and often very good. there's one with an African cover of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir . The Dio cover album has a fantastic cover of Last in Line by Tenacious D!
What about Siouxsie and the Banshees' Through The Looking Glass? Covers on there are great and even the original artists have praised them. Her version of The Passenger is better than the original, I dare say.
And they really chose more obscure stuff, so definitely not going for sales based on recognizable names. BTW, the Depeche Mode tribute album isn't that bad (I like about 50%), it has a MM performance on it.
Stars on 45 and Jive Bunny have a lot to answer for lol. Seriously though like you said if you make a cover your own, then sometimes that can be even better than the original at least I think so. Thankfully there are no tribute albums in my collection- I think/hope !
Yes, most tribute albums...not so good. However, there are quite a few good ones. The Ramones - Acid Eaters. Laibach's cover of the Let It Be album (minus the title song), Lounge-A-Palooza (worth it for the Steve & Eydie cover of Black Hole Sun), and The Moog Cookbook (cheesy synth covers of rock classics), and of course The Mike Flowers Pops' album A Groovy Place.
Robert, and how about albums where the original singer does a cover album of their famous songs as duets with other famous singers? I don't think I have heard one that I can stand.
Kiss My Ass, tribute to Kiss, was really good, The Spaghetti Incident, that was good too, or Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood... or William Shatner doing anything. C'mon Robert! This is all good.🎷
The only tribute album I liked was one called The Soul Of Lennon & McCartney (1995), a compilation of tracks from the 60s to the 80s. Some gems on there such as Wilson Pickett doing Hey Jude and Al Green doing Get Back.
Hi Robert I agree with you on these cover albums usually suck. I however have a couple of exceptions Under Cover by Alan Jackson is a great one. A newer example is Edgar Winter, Brother Johnny. Edgar was sometimes member of Johnnys band and brought in friends and former band members of Johnnys and Edgars and covered many of Johnnys songs that were often covers themselves I only heard it once but I am going to get a copy.
Funny video and I agree that these are all 🤑 grabs from the record industry...although you say I understand why these are made....but I don't know why people would get these...yet you showed each of these from your own personal collection...😂😂😂
Wow, where to begin. So I totally agree with you on cover/tribute/benefit albums. I'll say it, they are a total cashgrab. I only own two covers albums. The Monster Magnet one, which is great. And the NIB album, which had potential, but they squandered the opportunity. So many good stonerrock bands around that literally abuse the Sabbath template, that could have been used. But instead they used a lot of nu-metal garbage bands. A lot of the bands happened to be on the Ozzfest tour, hmmmm. Cover songs are a little bit of a better thing. Some can be really good, but still most are garbage. Bands doing cover songs as a b-side to a single, seem like a cool place to do one. Like Iron Maiden doing Cross Eyed Mary, or zeppelin's hey hey what can i do. Live covers can also be good, like boc doing kick out the jams. Also Judas Priest had a run of good cover songs on their early albums. I have always had a serious dislike for cover bands. Not into them at all. With one exception, El Monstero. If you haven't seen them, I recommend it. Anyway, cool video. Cheers. P.S. check out Clutch covering Fortunate Son. It is really good.
@@RobertFithen Yes . But Zep didnt give the original writers the credits. And some they even claimed like Babe Im gonna leave you, Dazed and Confused and Black Mountain Side. All three no blues standards. The story behind Black Mountain Side which Page stolen from folkie, Bert Jansch after Jansch teached Page fingerpickin on acoustic guitar. Dazed and Confused he stolen from Jake Holmes after seeing him performing this song as support act for the yarbirds.
The first tribute album I remember buying was The Bridge: A Tribute To Neil Young. It featured a bunch of what at the time were underground bands like Sonic Youth, The Pixies, The Flaming Lips, and Nick Cave doing Neil Young songs. It was before Young was known as "The Godfather of Grunge". The point was to get across the idea that Young was an inspiration to that scene at a time when people hadn't realized it yet. It worked just because Young is a great songwriter whose songs lend themselves well to reinterpretation and they were played by good bands who genuinely loved them.
Sometimes tribute albums work because they show the diversity of the group of artists the subject of the tribute inspired. As a Metal fan I actually think that Sabbath tribute does a good job of that. Those bands all do straightforward covers but sound like themselves. That can fall like on it's face though if the group of bands involved isn't impressive. Kiss My Ass is a good example of that.
Sometimes covers albums are a bigger band trying to say thank you to lesser known bands that inspired them. Metallica's Garage Days is an example of that. Those can be great if you're a fan and you do get turned onto to a band you didn't know. That was the idea behind The Spaghetti Incident? along with in the 90s when Grunge was popular trying to sell the audience on the idea that GnR had Punk roots to. It didn't work because GnR were a hot mess at the time and played the songs badly.
Other times covers albums work if it's the band just trying to have a little fun playing and recording songs they like and give the fans something to tide themselves over before they move onto a more ambitious project. Garage Days is also an example of that. In that case it works because the fun the band was having comes across to the listener.
Honestly, The Bridge, along with a few choice artist covers by Annie Lennox and others, are the main reasons I enjoy Neil's solo work. He's a great songwriter when he's not being preachy to the point of proselytizing. I just also think he's a shit singer and middling guitarist at best (though, to his credit, he did manage to churn out some killer solos over the years). Which is a pretty big factor in enjoying someone's work for me personally, being a music enthusiast with functional eardrums and a strong preference for those who put in the effort to become skilled at core elements of their profession. Fortunately for him, bull-headed cockiness and drive often produces results beyond what ability would usually afford.
Snarkiness and personal distaste for his attitude and worldview aside, the man has put out some fantastic songs in his career, and has had an undeniable influence on the industry and also the craft of songwriting itself. So I'm thankful that The Bridge in particular was released and I got my hands on it, because otherwise I would've missed out on all the impressive and genuinely great work the guy has done just because I think he's a dick and not a very good musician.
Sid vicious covering my way,now there is a classic.
yessss
And you could almost hear Frank Sinatra rolling in his grave.
Sid Vicious was a punk in the original meaning of the word.
The video is unsurpassed
An awful comedy record. And I don’t even like the original
A vote for Easy Star All Stars' glorious "Dub Side Of The Moon". Genuinely well done reggaefication of the PF classic.
That and the Radiodread (OK Computer cover) too
I didn't care much of their Sgt Pepper or Thriller versions but Bowie - The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars is not bad.
But Radiodread and Dub Side are my favorite from them
Just came here to say this. Fuck yeah Dub Side.
Nativity in Black comes to mind as a suprising exception to the usual disasters. The best ones, I think, are where a bunch of diverse and stylistically far removed from the source material acts make the material their own.
David Bowie - Sorrow is actually one of my favourites. I never knew the original until more recently.
Thanks Robert, you hit the nail on the head. I've been trying to organize my records & CDs and realized I have more cover & tribute albums than I care to admit. Some good, most are novelties at best.
Best cover I've ever heard is Aynsley Dunbar's "Warning" on Black Sabbath's debut album. It took me about 45 years to even realise it is a cover, even though it was always listed as 'Warning (Dunbar)' on the record!!
Just found your channel this week and have really enjoyed it.
I have to admit, my favorite covers album is much reviled by even fans of Duran Duran... 1995's Thank You. I think hearing people say they hate it makes me love it even more. White Lines was the anthem of that summer for us. After almost two decades of losing track of them, their new release last October had me rediscovering their whole catalog. That new album had covers as well and I think their distinctive style and Le Bon's voice really makes their cover songs unique for me, not just retreads of what was done before.
Keep up the great content!
For the most part I'm in total agreement. I did like Lennon's tribute Rock and Roll album. The only tribute album that really caught my eye was the tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan. But that was a concert. So I don't know if that counts.
You just know after Stevie died people in the music world were going to do something.
There are a countless number of great covers. There are also some very good tribute albums. Punk bands doing Carpenters covers is one that comes to mind.
I still laugh at Circle Jerks "Golden Shower of Hits".
@@RekkidTalk It was good how they tied all those songs into a single narrative.
One of the ones I enjoy is Under the Covers vol 1-3, by Matthew Sweet and Susanah Hoffs.
I always loved Saturday Morning (Cartoons’ Greatest Hits). If for no other reason, it introduced me to bands I came to love.
it has Hong Kong Phooey covered by Sublime!
I'm having a beer watching this after work and you started TAKING LIKE THAT 😂😂😂😂😂😂 the beer did FLY 😂🍺🍺👍🏻
I agree with almost everything you said here. The exception to this, in my opinion, is album of covers by The Langley Schools Music Project. There's something beautiful about the simple arrangements and of the songs they chose to cover.
Anyway, great video as always.
I really like that album too, I haven't listened to it in a long time, but I believe all the songs were sung acapella, if I remember correctly. (Nope, deidn't remember correctly; somewhat rudimentary musical accompaniment).
I mostly agree with you but I have a few exceptions. Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon did some cover albums - two that I know of, both great: What's Next to the Moon (AC/DC covers) and Tiny Cities (Modest Mouse covers). I also found a cool collection of Beatles covers recently called Then and Now: Australia Salutes the Beatles. Some clunkers but actually a lot of cool covers I'd never heard. The first thing I thought of when you started the video was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - they put out an album after the soundtrack called "The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions Featuring Seu Jorge." It's all David Bowie covers on acoustic guitar in Portuguese.
I Want To Hold Your Hand-Al Green. Unbelievably great. I think it was unreleased until not long ago
Like Robert says, about 8% of "cover songs" are good. Al Green's "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart" is a masterful reinterpretatkion of a really good Bee Gees song, but I don't think I'd like to listen to an entire album of covers OR a tribute album; most are done badly.
Vanilla Fudge did great covers...
There actually on tour without original bassist Tim Bogert.
I get your point. I used to work in a record store in the early 90s and these cover/tribute albums seemed to be put out on a weekly basis (after the unplugged onslaught had died down). Most of them were really bad. One cover album I do like is Booker T. & the MG‘s „McLemore Avenue“, otherwise I can‘t really think of more off the top of my head. Greetings from Switzerland, Nick
Rita Lee from Os Mutantes, an amazing brasilian musician, did in her late years this horrible Beatles cover album that EVERYBODY praised called "Bossa'n'Beatles", and it was really terrible. And not only that, it started a trend here in south america of doing "bossa nova" (actually kind of chill out soulless shit) versions of EVERYTHING ever released and it never ever worked, and it went into ridiculous stuff. And that sold a lot of records and went on for like eight years. It was torture.
The VCs resident angry man and I am here for it…you say what I’m thinking...do not ever change…
While I agree for the most part, Willie Nelson Stardust is one exception for me.
Willie can cover almost anything and make it work. About the only time he utterly failed was his attempt at a reggae album (which is kinda ironic).
@@stephenrostkoski837 "Ironic" because of his love of ganja? lol.
@@MickSupper Yep. And Willie's unique phrasing is usually great, but not when you have to be at least close to the beat singing reggae.
'Pancho Villa and Lefty.'
The only cover I've ever enjoyed was Jimi Hendrix doing "All Along the Watchtower. I absolutely dislike tribute albums, covers (and covers albums) and add to that comp albums. Thanks for our thoughts, Robert.
I was going to mention Hendrix and Watchtower but you beat me to it. It was way better than the original, IMO. The other one I liked was the Stones version of Harlem Shuffle.
"In A Metal Mood" by Pat Boone. Icky.
I love listening to Candid by Whitney from 2020, in its entirety. I only knew one of the ten tracks they’d covered, so it effectively sounded like an album of new material to me.
Most cover albums i would avoid. However i do have a soft spot for the Elton John : Two Rooms " one.
Even like Phil Collins on that!, and i'm not a fan.
Also bands like Heart doing Zeppelin. Great video Robert.
‘Kicking against the pricks’ by Nick Cave is fantastic!
The Bridge: A Tribute to Neil Young. Computer Age, Winterlong, Helpless are all amazing
I was mooching around on Spotify the other night and came across Steve Howe from Yes doing a note for note rendition of Goodbye Blue Sky off The Wall, with some guy doing a David Gilmour impression.
Was it at least, live? That would be somewhat of an excuse.
No it was an extremely well manicured studio version that sounded nearly exactly like the original.
Juliana Hatfield Sings ELO is one of my favorite albums released last year.
Agreed, Robert. Glad to say I've never bought a cover album. I've heard cover albums referred to as 'Expensive Karaoke' for the artists who record them. One possible exception for me was a cover version of The Who's 'Tommy', featuring various artists (NOT the movie soundtrack!) that was released about 1975 or so. As I remember, it wasn't bad, If you like 'Tommy', that is. As far as individual songs go, I think John Lennon really made The Isley Brothers' 'Twist And Shout' his own.
Great topic. I just made a count of how many tribute albums I have. The answer is five. They are indeed a cash grab that was fashionable from the mid-90s to the early 2000s. Record labels could grab ten available cover recordings and put them on the same album and all that´s left to do is design a cheap album cover. Job done.
Once tribute albums fizzled out, along came the covers albums. Bands began doing karaoke in the studio, knocking out ten covers in a week, and there´s your stopgap album, your Beatles For Sale exercise to buy you some time before having to actually come up with something (hopefully) worthwhile for your starving fanbase. That trend was, thankfully, equally shortlived.
The one cover album I have absolutely loved is “Gotta Serve Somebody”, an album of African American gospel artists singing songs from Bob Dylan’s first two “born again” albums. The songs sound fresh as these gospel artists sing them within the context of the genre Dylan was writing in, and many of the covers carry the power of a spiritual tent revival that Bob himself couldn’t carry. I really love Helen Baylor’s rendition of “What Can I Do For You?” which contains a fabulous Billy Preston organ solo!
i agree with you for the most part, a lot of tribute albums are just cash grabs, but with examples like weezer and the spaghetti incident, i feel like they less serve a purpose for providing different original covers, and more just for fans of those bands to see what it would sound like if they did popular songs that aren't theirs.
also "live frogs" by Les Claypool flying frog brigade has gotta one of my favorite cover albums of all time (even tho its not fully covers)
What about duet albums?
I don't know if it qualifies as a cover or tribute album, but I have had a lot of fun making friends guess who is singing the different songs on In My Life with multiple artists arranged by George Martin. Granted, I'm having a hard time finding the point of that album, other than the look on peoples faces when I reveal who is singing I Am The Walrus. What is really pissing me off left and right, is that apparently Sean Connery would have preferred to sing In My Life in stead of this spoken word thing that's going on, but George Martin said he thought it would ruin the "Sean Connery feel" if he were to sing it. I would have loved to hear Sean Connery sing. I'm not sure why, but I would.
Great points. There are some cover albums that I enjoy. My favorite is Jimmy Barnes Soul Deep. Sensational recording and turned me on to many great artists. Thank you for this video Robert.
I like your take on these. You are spot on for most time these are done. Usually there is one decent song. I have some from Dead Kennedys, Tool and the Ramones. And they are dismal except for one song.
There are some that I do enjoy. I do like the GnR one. It’s the only album I have from them on vinyl or CD. I really like the Saturday Morning Cartoon cover album. It’s a fun take on nostalgia for me.
One of my favorites is by a soul singer named Rec (pronounced Reese) who did an EP called Fried Mac. The fact that it’s an EP helps it a lot. Just four songs. She does some great takes on Flletwood Mac tunes. Her version of “The Chain” is off the hook. If you get the opportunity, you might be pleasantly surprised… but don’t hold me to it.
Elvis Costellos country covers album almost blue from 1981 is awesome! Also the Rise Above West Memphis 3 covers album is great, where else can you get Lemmy singing a black flag song! And it was for a good cause too. Poison idea has a great covers album too. The Damned did a really good 60s garage covers album in 1984 under the pseudonym Naz Nomad & the nightmares which I love. There’s a band from the 90s called the Moog cookbook that did really great Moog covers albums, one is of classic rock songs and the others are of hits of the time so they do a weezer song and smells like teen spirit, really really fun albums. Also if we’re getting technical alot cramps albums are basically just covers albums
I already forgot about that Moog Cookbook album, it was a big hit at our parties in the late nineties.
So good. Keep them coming
the I AM SAM soundtrack is basically a beatles tribute record and is pretty good.
I got into Led Zeppelin by the encomium CD.
One of my favorites is Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling Stones, but I'm a Stones fan 😌
And We're A Happy Family tribute album of the Ramones, not that bad 👌
I was surprised how good the Ramones tribute album was.
What about the 3 Garage Days albums by Shitallica?
Their versions of "Turn The Page" and "Whiskey In the Jar" I could do without. I don't remember the rest.
Generally agree Robert. A couple of left field ones I really enjoyed - Glen Campbell Live at The Troubadour had some great covers and Covered Mirror by an Australian band called Unitopia 👍
The midrange loss from phase cancellation when using both pickups on an electric bass I've likened to -rying -o -alk wi-hou- using your -ongue.
I'm a big pop punk fan an enjoy that type of music so when pop punk band do covers. I enjoy the cover songs and i will search out an find the original song. I have found so many great 1980s songs that i love now only because I heard a cover of it. I love cover songs
Mark lanegan's Carry Home is a great Cover album. Does a great cover of Buck Owens and a few others.
70's and 80's, we had no way of finding the originals unless you got lucky at a record shop in a 2nd hand store. I spent years hunting down a slipped disc/failure of an album I half remembered from my childhood, now that that turned out to be well worth it hunt as I think it is a true lost classic. However it goes back to the idea of a recently blown up artists thanking their influences with a nice fat royalty check. These days however, it is usually a label cash grab or even a throw away cover mount disc for a magazine.
What a fantastic video have a wonderful weekend ❤❤❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊😊
An interesting tribute album is “We’re a Happy Family - a Tribute to the Ramones” that was overlooked by Johnny Ramone. Major bands in their prime took part in the effort of making it and each band did their own thing
Always fantastic
In Australia one of the well subscribed national radio stations (JJJ) put out a comp every year of different artists covers of whatever they chose to do live on air over the course of the year, stick em all on an album with mixed results. Usually there's at least a gem or two when some artist or group does sonething interesting with the original. Those albums have generated many a thread of 'Covers that are better than the original version' lists. Oh, also the series so cleverly titled, eh hem; Like A Version.
I've seen some of those here in the US
What about Booker T doing Abbey Road?
I see a pattern with people liking Beatles' songs covered by other artists. For me, I think the reason is that they're more interesting and not played to death.
You know, I got to thinking. There was one covers album that did have a point. Stairway To Heaven / Highway To Hell, released in 1989 was a charity album by Make A Difference Foundation. All proceeds were split between MADF and the Russian equivalent to help fight youth drug and alcohol abuse.
All the covers were of artists or bands that had a member who died because of drug or alcohol abuse. Ozzy doing "Purple Haze", Scorpions doing "I Can't Explain", Cinderella with "Move Over", etc.
I enjoy the Tapestry tribute cd from time to time. Imo, Elvis and Linda R. are will be the best interpreters of a song writers composition. And they do it THEIR way. Both my favs. Thx. Robert. Go Cards.
I enjoyed Encomium for the moment in time, but it did indeed make me go out and buy a bunch of Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin - once described as the greatest cover band in the world.
C’mon, my Chipmunks sing the Beatles is a classic and was my allowed entry point to them in 1964. Two words of insanity Dread Zeppelin.
i agree with the thought that most cover albums suck, but there are exceptions. For example, Nilsson Sings Newman is pretty incredible.
Another great topic. I agree with some points (Pin Ups) and disagree with others (Lennon’s Rock and Roll). I recently bought a copy of the Hendrix tribute album ‘Stone Free’ but only for the last two tracks - Pat Metheny’s ‘Third Stone from the Sun’ and the McCready/Ament/Cameron/Cornell collaboration on ‘Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)’. The other songs on the album range from meh to WTAF - P.M. Dawn anyone? I would recommend the Blind Willie Johnson tribute album ‘God Don’t Never Change’ with great songs by the likes of Sinead O’Connor and Tom Waits (it is acceptable as it comes under your Blues exception).
Keep up the good work.
🏴
I agree with you for the most part. Two recent ones that I bought, and liked, was Beth Hart’s “A Tribute to Led Zeppelin” and Tedeschi Trucks, “Layla Revisited”. I think that probably has more to do with me liking Beth Hart and Tedeschi Trucks though. You can still say why not listen to Led Zeppelin or the Derek and the Dominoes album. But I found these much better than listening to multiple bands covering a single artist.
That Neil Young tribute benefit album for “The Bridge” school that his son with disabilities attended is good front to back in my opinion… some obscure bands doing some solid renditions of his tunes from throughout his career a good deep dive into his catalog done with an air of experimentation
Note:Bongwater, Sonic Youth, Psychic TV, Nick Cave , Pixies
Curiosity got the best of me so I looked it up and I was stunned to see that Gregg Bissonette was the drummer on that hot for teacher track, who was diamond Dave’s drummer for his first couple solo albums.
But I’ll tell you the worst tribute album I ever heard was a kiss tribute album called kiss of death: a sikk tribute to kiss. Death metal bands doing kiss and i think I’d rather hear the Van Halen one on repeat before ever listening to that kiss one again 😂
A few great classic covers that do something interesting I can think of are Patti Smith - Gloria, Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter and Devo - (I Can't Get Me No) Satisfaction
And of course none of those are from tribute albums. Much more thought out.
As you said the point is to make money. This is what you get when narrow minded record company executives are tasked with coming up with :new releases". I don't buy them and I have never heard one of these that didn't suck.
I will add that classical covers of some albums, like The Dark Side of the Moon etc, and The Dub Side of the Moon are a decent listen. But they are really different interpretations rather than tributes.
Of course if you want to talk cover songs Hendrix covering Dylan's All Along the Watchtower is pure gold.
I like "Something Else- A tribute to the Kinks", put out by Mojo magazine. A different band covers each song of the album, with a bonus track cover of "This Time Tomorrow" All of the versions have their own takes on the songs.
No mention of the Everly Brothers’ “Songs Our Daddy Taught Us” album?
Agree with you 99%
I actually like Spaghetti In. And Pin Ups. With pin ups that was the first time I had heard those songs.
Might have to hear that Van Halen tribute album just out of curiosity.
Great tribute albums : The Late Great Daniel Johnston: Discovered Covered ; Sing A Song For You (Tribute To Tim Buckley)
Great Bob Dylan cover album : I'm not there
Great Beatles cover album : Let it be by Laibach
Thanks for the video ! Great subject, should be covered more
I was remembering back in the ‘60s and 70s, when there were celebrity songwriters, guys like Jimmy Webb and Burt Bacharach would do cover albums of the hits they wrote for other people: The self congratulatory tribute album. Yes, instead of the smooth crooning and guitar genius of Glen Campbell or the elegant pop stylings of Dionne Warwick and Marilyn McCoo, you could rather listen to Jimmy and Burt groan their way through ‘Wichita Lineman’, ‘Walk on By’, and ‘One Less Bell’ as if in the piano lounge from heck.
Well played, Robert! Back in 1991 a bunch of artists released an Elton John tribute album called "Two Rooms." First of all, most of the bands were either uninteresting or past their prime. I mean, Wilson Philips doing "Daniel" and Joe Cocker doing "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word?" Seriously? Secondly, to Robert Fithen's point, there was nothing outstanding about any of the tracks. Just a rehash of what Elton did previously. Ironically, n the "Two Rooms" video, Bernie Taupin said that he and Elton wanted bands to do something totally different and creative with their songs. If I were Bernie, I would have been gravely disappointed. The only thing that I give this tribute album credit for was re-familiarizing me with classic Elton John. Other than that, this tribute album was a total waste of time.
Beat the Retreat: A Tribute to Richard Thompson from the mid-90s (on Capitol) is harder to find but is top notch all the way through, with Dinosaur Jr, David Byrne, Los Lobos, REM, etc. It’s not on streaming. Snap it up if you run across it. It’s the exception that proves your rule.
Hey I had the led zepp and kiss ones on cassette enjoyed on drives but you missed my fave I have on vinyl, Jack Jones Breadwinners classic if you find David gates and bread to "edgy" this is the mellow versions
There is a Motley Crue album covered by country artist. Yes, imagine Kickstart My Heart sung by Rascal Flatts.
I am not a Weezer fan but I have to admit I have the "Teal " album and I... sigh... love it. Mainly because it's filled with songs I love, from bands I would never own an album of. So it's like a mix tape to me. EDIT: I just go to the end of the video...I'm so sorry I said Weezer. 😅
With these there are sometimes standout tracks to me but I can't think of many covers albums where I think "Wow, every track on that was great!" One that comes close for me is Henry Rollins' benefit CD of Black Flag covers with guest singers to support the West Memphis 3, Lemmy singing Thirsty and Miserable being the big standout. The 1972 symphonic version of Tommy has a pretty impressive array of guest singers and impressive packaging but some of the arrangements are a bit overwrought. I also like covers that transform the original. Yes' second album had a really good Buffalo Springfield cover and there's Yes archival releases that have alternate versions without the orchestra. I like tribute bands that recreate past eras of a band like The Musical Box, I wish more cover bands would put that much thought into it.
Only ones I can think of is Nativity in Black II Black Sabbath tribute, and Muddy Waters Blues Paul Rodgers.
Try Todd Rundgren "Faithful" album.
There was a cover album to raise mony for the ill stones pianist Ian Stewart.
Love the apocalyptic version of ABBAs Gimme Gimme Gimme by the Leather Nun.
Greil Marcus wrote about Bowies Pin Ups: I mean, who else could sing "Here Comes The Night" like a raving queen and make it sound right?
The best examples I can think of is Pin-Ups and the Black Sabbath tribute - Nativity in Black.
The worst example I've ever owned was a ska tribute to metal. Listening to that killed off my inner child.
I enjoyed "I'm Your Fan" with Leonard Cohen songs. I also enjoyed, I Wanna Be Kate with Kate Bush songs.
Manfred Mann covering Springsteen’s ‘Blinded By The Light’ and ‘Spirits in the Night’ are the definitive versions, IMO.
Great stuff. Your vocal version of Hot For Teacher would make a great cover. 2 excellent covers of already excellent songs are Pixies Head On by Jesus and Mary Chain and Camper Van Beethoven’s Pictures of Matchstick Men by Status Quo. Rock On!
Tom Petty and the boys did great covers as well as RUSH's cover album is pretty good. Just my take. I agree with ya on tribute albums.
i like the cover CDs that ship with Mojo and Classic Rock magazines. They are free with the issue and often very good. there's one with an African cover of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir . The Dio cover album has a fantastic cover of Last in Line by Tenacious D!
and The Craft (1993) soundtrack has wonderful covers on it of Smiths, Peter Gabriel and the Cars that fit into the movie very well.
They need them so people know what songs the cover bands are playing.
Joe Cocker is the only one who made a career out of making covers better than the original
What about Siouxsie and the Banshees' Through The Looking Glass? Covers on there are great and even the original artists have praised them. Her version of The Passenger is better than the original, I dare say.
Monster Magnets Cover Album A Better Dystopia is total killer!!!
And they really chose more obscure stuff, so definitely not going for sales based on recognizable names.
BTW, the Depeche Mode tribute album isn't that bad (I like about 50%), it has a MM performance on it.
Yes, this cover album is great. But I'm very biased when it comes to monster magnet.
Devo Satisfaction, best cover ever
Stars on 45 and Jive Bunny have a lot to answer for lol. Seriously though like you said if you make a cover your own, then sometimes that can be even better than the original at least I think so. Thankfully there are no tribute albums in my collection- I think/hope !
Jive Bunny ? They releasd isn't bad although they had to rerecord some as they couldn't clear the original which was fair enough.
Yes, most tribute albums...not so good. However, there are quite a few good ones. The Ramones - Acid Eaters. Laibach's cover of the Let It Be album (minus the title song), Lounge-A-Palooza (worth it for the Steve & Eydie cover of Black Hole Sun), and The Moog Cookbook (cheesy synth covers of rock classics), and of course The Mike Flowers Pops' album A Groovy Place.
Robert, and how about albums where the original singer does a cover album of their famous songs as duets with other famous singers? I don't think I have heard one that I can stand.
Kiss My Ass, tribute to Kiss, was really good, The Spaghetti Incident, that was good too, or Pat Boone's In a Metal Mood... or William Shatner doing anything. C'mon Robert! This is all good.🎷
The only tribute album I liked was one called The Soul Of Lennon & McCartney (1995), a compilation of tracks from the 60s to the 80s. Some gems on there such as Wilson Pickett doing Hey Jude and Al Green doing Get Back.
I like the Elliott Smith cover album Seth Avett and Jessica Lea mayfield did but that’s all I can think of
Hi Robert I agree with you on these cover albums usually suck. I however have a couple of exceptions Under Cover by Alan Jackson is a great one. A newer example is Edgar Winter, Brother Johnny. Edgar was sometimes member of Johnnys band and brought in friends and former band members of Johnnys and Edgars and covered many of Johnnys songs that were often covers themselves I only heard it once but I am going to get a copy.
Funny video and I agree that these are all 🤑 grabs from the record industry...although you say I understand why these are made....but I don't know why people would get these...yet you showed each of these from your own personal collection...😂😂😂
Wow, where to begin. So I totally agree with you on cover/tribute/benefit albums. I'll say it, they are a total cashgrab. I only own two covers albums. The Monster Magnet one, which is great. And the NIB album, which had potential, but they squandered the opportunity. So many good stonerrock bands around that literally abuse the Sabbath template, that could have been used. But instead they used a lot of nu-metal garbage bands. A lot of the bands happened to be on the Ozzfest tour, hmmmm.
Cover songs are a little bit of a better thing. Some can be really good, but still most are garbage. Bands doing cover songs as a b-side to a single, seem like a cool place to do one. Like Iron Maiden doing Cross Eyed Mary, or zeppelin's hey hey what can i do. Live covers can also be good, like boc doing kick out the jams. Also Judas Priest had a run of good cover songs on their early albums.
I have always had a serious dislike for cover bands. Not into them at all. With one exception, El Monstero. If you haven't seen them, I recommend it.
Anyway, cool video.
Cheers.
P.S. check out Clutch covering Fortunate Son. It is really good.
Joe Cocker “With a little help from my friends “ was one of the few good ones .
Led Zeppelin's first is an great cover album!🤓
Just like the debuts from the Rolling Stones and Canned Heat, blues covers are a different breed just because they've been covered so many times.
@@RobertFithen Yes . But Zep didnt give the original writers the credits. And some they even claimed like Babe Im gonna leave you, Dazed and Confused and Black Mountain Side. All three no blues standards. The story behind Black Mountain Side which Page stolen from folkie, Bert Jansch after Jansch teached Page fingerpickin on acoustic guitar. Dazed and Confused he stolen from Jake Holmes after seeing him performing this song as support act for the yarbirds.
@@B.B.Amsterdam I briefly mentioned that in the video. "Yeah, no one wrote these songs, they're just standards so give the money to us!" lol