Tune du Jour: “Baba O’Riley” – The Who
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Dropkick Murphys vs. The Gaslight Anthem vs. Waco Brothers
Broccoli For Miles
And Miles And Miles
And Miles And Miles …
Oh Yeah!
“You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty”
Jessica Mitford
The Original
The Who:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Dropkick Murphys vs. The Gaslight Anthem vs. Waco Brothers
Dropkick Murphys:
The Gaslight Anthem:
Waco Brothers:
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On?!!?
cover me impressed 
Tough call here. Three very good versions. I’m going to go with The Gaslight Anthem because I particularly liked how they used a driving guitar sound in place of the keyboard from the very beginning of the song. I also think the singer did a very good job of channeling Roger Daltry without sounding patronizing. Unlike the original, the version maximizes the intensity from the beginning and maintains it until the end. Very nicely done.
I did not care for the vocals on DropKick Murphy’s version and I was not too enthused with the Waco Brother’s countrified cover. The Gaslight Anthem, on the other hand, produced a fine tribute and rendition.
Dropkick Murphys instrumentation is okay, but the “singer’s” voice sounds like so much hoarse shouting.
Gaslight Anthem was decent, but they stayed too close to the original.
I voted Waco Brothers partly because they at least made some changes to the original, partly ’cause I’m already a fan of theirs.
The Murphys vocalist doesn’t have the range to sing this well. The Gaslight did a great job and I am a big fan of theirs. I like that Brian Fallon had another band member sing the bridge as Pete Townshend does on the original. I voted for The Waco Brothers. I think their arrangement was a good fit for combining their style and still delivering the song. I saw The Wacos in Chicago a couple of years ago and although it is not evident at all on this song, Jon Langford(former Mekons) frequently reminds me of Joe Strummer.