Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:36 am
I would love to hear Brad play either of those songs. I think he'd be a natural for 'Crazy Fingers' a-la 1976 style as well.
Me too. As a matter of fact, I'm gonna add those to my "if the Slip ever play at my birthday party, here's the cover I might ask for" list.Brad Barr (The Slip):
"New Speedway Boogie," cause it's a badass song; or "Stella Blue," because it makes my throat tingle.
i like that answer a lot.
But the undisputed #1 entry at the top of that list would have to be "Unbroken Chain."
Not long after I discovered the Slip I was listening to Unbroken Chain and it felt so much like BAM, and not just because they would so obviously KILL the middle passage. The whole tone and feeling of the song from beginning to end, musically and lyrically, just feels like the Slip to me.
But to return to Brad's choices for just a moment: Not only are those great tunes in and of themselves, but they're smart choices as covers because they're not as idiosyncratically Dead as others. You can be onstage playing New Speedway Boogie without having Jerry's ghost hanging over you. At least not to the same extent as with "Dark Star", "Scarlet Begonias", or "Bird Song."
Now Stella Blue is a different story. That's one of the most Jerry of Jerry Tunes, no doubt about it. But it's also already been established as THE Jerry tribute tune (see Kimock's instrumental version, etc). So you can play that tune and be playing/singing about Jerry instead of trying to BE Jerry.
If you know what I mean.
hoby
I might still be able to pull it off, but the 28th would've been a lot easier since I'll be in MA during the week anyway.