Tune du Jour: “I’ll Feel A Whole Lot Better” – The Byrds
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Dinosaur Jr. vs. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers vs. The Flamin’ Groovies
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The Original
The Byrds:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Dinosaur Jr. vs. Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers vs. The Flamin’ Groovies
Dinosaur Jr.:
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers:
The Flamin’ Groovies:
SPACE
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!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Usually love Mascis’ efforts but this one is a little too weird. Feels a bit irreverent to a great song.
Not surprisingly, Petty delivers an excellent cover of a song that was made for his style of music.
I have been very impressed with every Flamin’ Groovies cover that I have heard and this one is no exception.
Close between Petty and the Groovies but, ultimately, my vote goes to the late great Tom Petty.
Tom Petty worshipped The Byrds (among other great 60’s era groups) and this only seemed to increase after The Heartbreakers left Florida for Southern California. They have done many fabulous covers of The Byrds’ but with this lineup I’m going to go with the Flamin’ Groovies just because I think they really nailed. The Dinosaur Jr. version is a bit too fast for my taste but I do really like their “call and response” feature on the vocal track.
All good versions even if two are very faithful to the original. Invoke Arnie’s Law. I have too many Flamin’ Groovies discs, largely because they were on small labels, material overlapped, cheap recordings. Like The Stooges catalog it sounds like they didn’t pay the studio bill. This one is better. It comes from a high point in their second incarnation. I accidentally voted for it. My fingers were faster than my brain. The Heartbreakers version sounds better especially the bass and I prefer the lead vocals by Petty. It sounds like Dinosaur Jr likely added the special guest non-vocalist afterward to create some schtick. The guitar solo is worth enough to save everything for me.
The Dinosaur Jr. version is from a Byrds tribute disc from ’89. Strong wall of sound with a humorous guest vocalist in the foreground.
The Flamin’ Groovies were a great underrated band in late sixties and seventies. Not every deep album cut is a winner, but put their ten or twelve best songs in one place and you’ve got a heck of an album. Great version that almost got my vote.
Had to go with Petty, who seems to have been influenced by The Byrds. The last few times I saw Roger McGuinn perform solo, he’d cover “American Girl” saying facetiously that when he first heard it, he thought it was him.
It’s no secret that Petty was a major Byrds fan, and his version, though extremely faithful to the original, got my vote. I like Dino Jr, and what little I’ve heard by the Flaming Groovies, I’ve liked (especially their classic, iconic Shake Some Action). But Petty nails this one.
Petty and company all the way.
no tricks or gimmicks and as clean a cover of a classic as you’re gonna find, like McGuinn handing off that Rickenbacker to TP on the last leg of an 880 relay, and no one’s gonna catch him