Sunday, November 06, 2005

Out of 5

This week's mix over on Out of 5 is called They Got It Right the First Time. The idea is to spotlight great original versions of tunes that gained fame via their inferior covers.

The last few weeks haven't been too hot for Out of 5 but this is a pretty good mix of tunes. I had never heard neither Gloria Jones' version "Tainted Love" nor Tom T. Hall's "Harper Valley PTA". Some of the tunes, are completely new to me. I had never heard the original or cover of Shuggie Otis' "Strawberry Letter 23" and Jimmy Smith's "Root Down (And Get It)" but they are both good tunes and worth having.

I'm trying to think of another tune that would fit their theme. However, I'm tired as all hell and my mind is grinding really slow. My first thought was Rev. Gary Davis' "If I Had My Way" which became well known as "Sampson and Deliah" by The Grateful Dead. However, The Dead's version is good too and I think another bluesman wrote "If I Had My Way". I also thought of Pavement's "Box Elder" since The Wedding Present had a bigger hit with it. However, in the end, I think, in the US, more people are familiar with the tune via Pavement.

As usual, the mix is available as a downloadable zip file. All ten mp3 files are in the zip file and the file will be available for the next week.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Weird that "Tainted Love" is on there. A friend and I were in a Denny's (I know, I know...it was about 2 a.m. and options were non-existant) and her version came on. I had no idea Soft Cell didn't have the original version.

Look for this on Made/Remade soon along with Soft Cell's and Marilyn Manson's versions.

Unknown said...

I meant to include that we were at the Denny's about a week or two ago.

Flatlander said...

I've never heard Manson's take on it. Looking forward to it.

-jace said...

I wish I had known that you hadn't heard the Gloria Jones track, otherwise I would have thrown that on the Northern Soul comp I made you. I always play the hell out of that one. It really clogs up the dance floor.