BROADCAST #39
AIR DATE: 09-25-07

Fanatics! Hello from sunny West Palm Beach Florida! The shows are going well so far and I am glad to be on the road again. Thank you very much for all the kind letters about the Jimi Hendrix broadcast from last week. I am so glad we have so many Hendrix Fanatics out there. Kind of a drag that they moved the release date of the Miles Davis box set up a week but today was the day and hopefully the thing is in the stores. I didn’t get a chance to go to a record store today but hopefully I’ll catch up with that one soon. I can’t wait. I am sure Engineer X is all over this one as I write this. There’s a really cool Sun Ra set that’s out that warrants the check out, it’s the Lost Reel series and #4 has just been released, it’s called Dance Of The Living Image. I have not heard it yet, it’s on eBay but not in the stores yet as far as I can tell. I will check that one out as soon as I can. I have been listening to the series out here and it’s treating me very well. What else? Oh yeah, this is our covers broadcast #3 for the year. I am already working on #4 which we’ll turn loose on 12-18-07. I think this one is one of the best all covers broadcasts we’ve ever put together and I hope you liked it. I am out on this tour for a little while and Engineer X and I have prepared some really good broadcasts for the weeks ahead and I hope that you will get a chance to check them out as we put a lot of time into them and think there’s some good music to be heard there. Also, we have had the new Fanatic! book on sale here on the road and thanks for all the kind letters you have written about it, I am glad it’s finding some good homes so far. Ok Fanatics, thanks for listening and get ready for the 10-02-07 broadcast that will be all DC area bands as I will be in the DC area that night. Teen Idles, Head-Roc, Void, Government Issue and a ton of others, it’s a great show, please tune in if you can and whatever you do, STAY FANATIC!!! --Henry

Henry e-mail address: Henryontheradio@AOL.com

For you Fanatics who can’t live without hearing this show again or if the original broadcast time is too hard on your sleep cycle here’s the re-broadcast schedule: USA: Fridays: 0200 – 0400 hrs. PST / UK: Fridays: 1000 hrs. – 1200 hrs. / Continental Europe: Fridays 1100 hrs. – 1300 hrs. / Australia: Fridays 2100 hrs. – 2300 hrs.

Joey Ramone – 1969: From Joey’s solo album, Don't Worry About Me. We have discussed this before: most should do themselves a favor and not cover Stooges or Hendrix material. That being said, if Joey Ramone is the one who is doing the cover, we at least have to give it a listen. Like a lot of people, I listened to this record with a bit of a lump in my throat as it only reminded me that the big man was no longer with us. So, just because it’s Joey, doesn’t mean that it’s going to be great but in my Fanatic opinion, Joey’s version is good, it’s really good. He had probably been digging the song since the band put it out so it’s not like he didn’t have the hang of it. Also, Joey’s was such a truly singular voice, that he carries this off with ease. I am very thankful for the times we got to hang out.

The Weirdos - Jungle Rock: From the Weird World: V2 CD. Easily one of the best bands from the SoCal Punk scene. What’s there not to like about The Weirdos? Here, the band takes on the Hank Mizell number and does it right justice. You have heard the Hank version as well as The Fall’s version on our show before, you might remember them. The two Weirdos comp. CDs are an easy way to check out all their great songs. John Denney, what a singer, and his brother Dix, a monster songwriter and guitar player.

The Horrors – Jack The Ripper: From the Strange House album. Sounds like the band put their Birthday Party / Nick The Stripper glasses on for this cover of this Screaming Lord Sutch song. The Screaming One was a peripheral figure in Britain, from making albums to interfering with elections with his Monster Raving Loony Party, he was more a personality than anything else but was much loved by many in England. I have heard some of his music over the years and it never really did anything for me. He hanged himself in June of 1999. It’s cool that The Horrors covered the song, it definitely notches up the good Lord’s cool factor.

J Mascis And The Fog - Leaving On A Jetplane: I got this from the Waistin CD single, which is off the More Light album. It’s interesting that this song was written by John Denver, who died on 10-12-97 when he crashed a plane he was flying, 30 years after he wrote the song. I think J does a great job on this. I have not heard a cover he’s done that I didn’t like. I think the Peter, Paul And Mary version is great but I like J’s better, the guitars are so good.

Iggy Pop - Louie Louie: In the video press kit for the American Caesar album that this track comes from, Iggy says that record company (Virgin) told him “Hit or die.” So he recorded Louie Louie, reckoning, “Louie Louie is a hit, right?” Well, certainly! The bulk of the album was recorded at Lanois’ old studio in New Orleans and this particular track was recorded later at Bearsvillle and the sonic difference is considerable. I did a little bit of singing on this album and it was a real blast working with the King Of Rock and Roll.

Doctor Mix And The Remix - Brand New Cadillac: From the Wall Of Noise CD on Acute. Some of you Fanatics might remember that on our last covers broadcast in June that we played The Clash doing a version of this Vince Taylor hit from 1958. Doctor Mix is Metal Urbain member Eric Debris after Metal Urbain broke up. I first heard this band when Ian got a single of the band’s No Fun single, that has two different versions of the song, both great. Doctor Mix put out the Wall Of Sound album and the Psychedelic Desert 12” and some singles. All these tracks have been collected on this CD put out by the very cool Acute label. Wall Of Sound features a version of Sister Ray!

DEVO - Secret Agent Man: From the band’s Duty Now For The Future album, their 2nd for Warner Bros. Do I go to this DEVO album a lot or what?! What can I say, it’s an amazing album and they do great justice to this P.F. Sloan / Steve. Barri number. DEVO did a number of covers and did them well. DEVO is one of those bands you can count on to do something different so this is a perfect track for our broadcast tonight. If you had to get just one DEVO album, in my opinion, it should be this one.

Die Cheerleader - Dancing Barefoot: As far as I know, the only way to get this song is on the Barb Wire soundtrack CD. The band has a cameo in the film. I have heard more Die Cheerleader than I have Patti Smith. I never saw the film. It stars Pamela Anderson who I have met a couple of times, she’s very cool. Anyway, if you find yourself liking this song, you can probably find the CD on Amazon.com. It came out many years ago back when we were all fab.

The Melvins - Goin' Blind: From the Cobain produced Houdini album. I believe we heard Dinosaur Jr. do a version of this song months ago. I love this version. The original version is by Kiss and it can be found on Hotter Than Hell. This is a great Melvins album.

Ozzy Osbourne - 21st Century Schizoid Man: From the Prince Of Darkness box set. When Ozzy came to be on the IFC show, his press agent gave me a copy of this. I was really hoping for the Ozzmosis demos Ozzy once played me to be on this thing but they weren’t. This King Crimson cover is pretty cool though. Like many of you Fanatics, I am a major King Crimson fan and this is arguably one of their hardest hitting songs. My favorite version resides on the Earthbound live album. That one will blow up your stereo. This is pretty cool though. I have always liked Ozzy’s voice since I heard it many years ago but there’s something very interesting that happens when his voice is processed like on many of his solo albums, it gets a very scary tone and it makes this track very interesting. Good choice, Ozzy!

The Rezillos - Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight: From the Can't Stand The Rezillos album. That’s one hell of a song title, don’t you think? This was a Fleetwood Mac song, circa 1969. It’s a b-side and they performed the song under the name Earl Vince And The Valiants. Have you ever heard this version? It’s great. It’s about half the speed and has genuine menace where the Rezillos version is more playful. I will get the original one on for you soon.

Lydia Lunch & Rowland S Howard - Some Velvet Morning: I remember when I first heard this song in 1984. Lydia played it for me and I taped it and took it on tour. Back then, I had saved some money and bought an Aiwa walkman. It took a long time to hustle up the money but it was so worth having headphones to put on and getting some space inside the van. I always thought it was really great that Lydia and Rowland covered this song, which was originally written by Lee Hazelwood and famously performed by Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra and had chart success as a single, hitting #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February of 1968. This Lunch/Howard version is well done. Lydia has done some great work. I have not heard all of it. I got this track off her Honeymoon In Red CD where it resides as an extra track.

Eater - Sweet Jane: From The Album, Singles + CD. I know you know this but in case there is someone who doesn’t know, this is a Lou Reed / Velvet Underground song. One of Lou’s better riffs. You can find the VU version on the Loaded album, and there’s other version Lou did over the years on live albums. My favorite is on the Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal live album. I have tried and have ever been able to get to the Loaded album. I have tried over the years and it’s just not up my alley. Eater, the great Punk band from England, did a couple of covers, the Marc Bolan classic, Jeepster, was another.

The Cramps – Strychnine: From the Songs The Lord Taught Us album from 1980. I have written about this one before so I won’t burden you again. This great Sonics song has been done by a lot of bands. I remember this one being a favorite cover song back in the DC scene. The Fall do a bang-up version of it as well. My favorite version is the original, the vocal is amazing but Lux’s voice is perfect for this song and The Cramps have a way of making any song they do completely their own.

Unrest - So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star: From the Fuck Pussy Galore (And All Her Friends) album. My word, what a strong title! Unrest, a great band, too bad it took us so long to finally play them. Hold on a sec. Oh, ok. Here, for the 100th time, is another track by Unrest! This is a cover of the Byrds classic that has been covered by others but I like you so I’m not going to put you through the Roxette version. Unrest’s Mark Robinson has a label, many of the releases from which, have brought me much joy in my declining years. Don’t get left out, check in: http://www.teenbeat.net/

The New York Dolls - Stranded In The Jungle: From the Too Much Too Soon album. I like this album a lot but not as much as the first one and the new one. Perhaps the title was right. The band sounds strained and restrained on this one, compared to the debut album, which is a classic and would be damn near impossible to top anyway. I looked through all the indexes of the songs we’ve played on our show and I can’t believe we have not played either the Jayhawks or Cadets version. The Jayhawks did it first and The Cadets did a version, both in 1956. Both versions are great. Hell, I’ll play them both before the year is done. That will make up for lost time. The Dolls version is good too. The Dolls did several covers.

The Clash - Police On My Back: From the band’s follow-up to London Calling, the 3LP Sandinista! album. This was the first song I heard from this album, I heard it on the radio. I didn’t know it was actually an Eddy Grant song until a few years ago. Eddy Grant is perhaps best known in America for his song Electric Avenue from his Killer On The Rampage album. Eddy released this song in 1968 when he was in a UK band called The Equals. I’ve never heard the original.

Class Of '99 - Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2): I’ve never been much on the Pink Floyd. I can listen to some of the really early stuff but as much as I like the producer of The Wall, Bob Ezrin, who’s one of the more generous mega-producers in the world, I cannot stand the album at all. I have sat through it and to me it’s an unendurable journey. So why then, are we listening to a Pink Floyd song? Because of who is playing on the track. Immediately recognizable is the voice of Layne Staley of Alice In Chains and Mad Season but then if you check out the other alumni of the Class Of ’99, you’ll see that this is a mega band that was assembled to play this song for The Faculty soundtrack. Besides Layne, you’ve got Tom Morrello on guitar, Stephen Perkins on drums, Martyn LeNoble of Porno For Pyros on bass and Matt Serletic on keyboards. This was the only Layne vocal I had not yet heard. There is a good chance that other Layne vocals exist on demos and whatever else but besides my Alice In Chains and Mad Season albums and bootlegs, I have not been able to source anything else. This cover doesn’t seem to stray too far from its boring original but considering who is playing, it’s perfect for our show tonight.

David Bowie - White Light/White Heat: From the Bowie At The Beeb CD. The “Beeb” is of course the BBC. I remember several years ago, hearing that Bowie was doing this song on tour and I wanted to hear it. I eventually caught up to a live version but only heard the studio version when this CD set came out. I am not sure if it was officially released before. White Light/White Heat is a Velvet Underground track, the title track of their 2nd album, my personal favorite VU album, it’s also their most chaotic and the band’s last one with John Cale. I saw Bowie perform Laurie Anderson’s O Superman in 1997, it’s cool that he covers songs. I’m sure his cover of Iggy’s China Girl wasn’t the worst thing that ever happened to Iggy’s bank account.

The Fall - Higgle-Dy, Piggle-Dy: I’ve been saving this one for a long time. It’s from the Silver Monk Time 2CD set. It’s a tribute to The Monks, who are very much the band’s band so there was no shortage of people showing up to play their music. As many of you Fanatics know, The Fall has covered more than one Monks song. They covered I Hate You on their 1990 Extricate album, calling it Black Monk Theme Part I and they also covered Oh How To Do Now, calling it Black Monk Theme Part II and released as a b-side. There are so many cool people showing up on this Silver Monk Time, it’s really worth checking out even if you have never heard The Monks before. If you ever had the slightest interest in The Fall and needed some information, you could very well find your answers here: http://www.visi.com/fall/

Nick Cave - Mack The Knife: There were so many easy options to get Nick Cave on tonight’s broadcast. He and his band, The Bad Seeds did an entire album of covers called Kicking Against The Pricks, he did a version of Rye Whisky that can be found on his B-Sides & Rarities box set, there’s other covers that are also easily found so I thought we had better make this as interesting as possible so I utilized the September Songs: The Music Of Kurt Weill CD that features this great version of Nick and company performing this great song. Pretty cool, right?!

Jeffrey Lee Pierce - Pasties And A G-String: From the Step Right Up: Tom Waits Tribute CD. This might be one of the last things Jeffrey recorded before he died in March of 1996. This is an interesting compilation with tracks from The Violent Femmes and Alex Chilton and many others. I think you could probably do a Waits cover CD a year as there are many musicians who would like a crack at one of his songs. I always thought The Ramones version of I Don’t Want To Grow Up was great. The original versionof Pasties can be found on the Small Change album.

Fred Wesley And The JB’s – Backstabbers: From the Food For Funk CD. I first heard this when I found it on a 7” for a quarter. The previous owner or owners had enjoyed it to the point to where it was more crackle and pop than song but I liked it anyway. The single was released in 1972 on the People label and the b-side was The JB Shout. Years later, I managed to find it on CD which allowed me to listen with a bit more exactitude. Fred Wesley was the trombone player of The JB’s, the mighty band of James Brown. When you hear JB yell for Fred, that’s who he’s talking about. The JB’s doing an O’Jays cover? You know you’re going to love it! We have played this song before on our show but I thought it was the song to play right before tonight’s next selection.

The Very Things - There’s A Ghost In My House: The Very Things, who were in a previous life, our good friends, The Cravats, do a cover of this Holland-Dozier-Holland-Taylor song, originally sung by R. Dean Taylor and released on the Motown label. This song has also been covered by The Fall, no doubt we’ll get to that at some point. This song can be found on The Very Things very good and appropriately titled Motortown album.