Tune du Jour: “She Cracked – The Modern Lovers
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Echo and The Bunnymen vs. Siouxsie and The Banshees vs. Velvet Crush vs. The Hangmen
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By Pete’s Request …
The Original
The Modern Lovers:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Surprising the number of covers there are for this song. It is Jonathan’s most covered song. These four were handpicked by Pete.
Echo and The Bunnymen vs. Siouxsie and The Banshees vs. Velvet Crush vs. The Hangmen
Echo and The Bunnymen:
Siouxsie and The Banshees:
Velvet Crush:
The Hangmen:
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 
All 4 covers are basically the same. So, it’s just a question of whose voice do you like the most. I go with Jimmy McCulloch.
Velvet Crush: Urgent. Taut. A revved engine. Got out of the gate fast, locked in and never looked back.
Siouxsie: The Cher of Gothpunk. Is that a compliment? I don’t think soooooo
Echo & Bunnymen: Ever wonder what Jim Morrison fronting The Velvet Underground would sound like? Richman was obsessed with The Velvets and used that triphammer guitar pummeling here. I love this version and had trouble deciding.
Hangmen: More punk in the overall sound. Raw in a Stooges way. The snotty attitude in the song amped up. Reminds me of Australian bands from the 80s like Celibate Rifles, Radio Birdman, New Christs and Lime Spiders. At 2:04 not a wasted second.
I voted Hangmen over Echo by a last second jumper in OT
Wow. Real tough call. First off, the album that bore this song, The Modern Lovers, is in my top ten favorite albums of all time. Right up there with Horses and Marquee Moon, and this song is definitely a standout from that disc.
I love Siouxsie and the Banshees, but I don’t like her quavering voice in this one. Velvet Crush’s version was terrific, and I loved it. Then I heard The Hangmen, and it, too, was fabulous.
In the end, I gave it to Echo & the Bunnymen. Another band I truly love. In fact, their album Heaven Up Here is also on that top ten fave albums of all time. Echo have a history of great live cover versions (like Run, Run, Run by the Velvets). I love Ian McCulloch’s voice (although it sounds a little different here), and I like sound quality of this recording, and I also like how he threw in his own lyrics and didn’t follow the words note for note. I’d not heard them cover this song, and now I’m glad I did.
Velvet Crush
You guys know Jonathan Richman better than I. I have this Modern Lovers CD and knew it was from 1976. I didn’t know this song was recorded in ’72, and is even older than that. I already considered this as proto-punk.
I don’t know Velvet Crush or The Hangmen, but both were good.
I voted Echo & the Bunnymen. When I saw the list of contenders, I expected they’d prevail and they did. Good clear and powerful sound for a live recording.