Tune du Jour: “1952 Vincent Black Lightning” – Richard Thompson
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Dick Gaughan vs. Jack & Amanda Palmer vs. Mary Lou Lord vs. Sean Rowe
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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This is one of those songs that I sit back and think: “How the hell can someone write such a perfect ballad?”
The Original
Richard Thompson:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Dick Gaughan vs. Jack & Amanda Palmer vs. Mary Lou Lord vs. Sean Rowe
Dick Gaughan:
Jack & Amanda Palmer:
Mary Lou Lord:
Sean Rowe:
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 
I’ve always liked Thompson’s voice, and he has a rich musical pedigree, but I don’t know much about his music other than liking the stuff I’ve heard. All four covers are decent. I was pretty sure I was going to vote for Mary Lou Lord after hearing her spare, sweet-voiced version, but then I heard Sean Rowe’s gritty belt-it-out version and I had to choose him. Seeing the passion with which he performs it, on that video, sealed the deal.
Phenomenal song and four very fine covers!
Gaughan’s Scottish accent lends itself well to this tune.
The Palmers definitely win the award for best video but I much prefer guitar over piano for this song. Again, kudos to Amanda for choosing a great song to cover and delivering it with such aplomb.
Love that Mary Lou performed this on a street corner and leaving in the “See you later” to a passing fan at the beginning was very cool.
But Sean Rowe’s literally vicious guitar licks won the day for me. Add to that the fact that he looks like he could squeeze the life out of a man with one hand made it seem imperative to give him my vote!
the Sean Rowe version is great musically, but I feel like Mary Lou Lord just tells the story better. There’s a real tragic quality to her presentation that makes you think she could be Red Molly.
Well I meant to vote for Mary Lou Lord at least to quell her hatred for me but I accidentally hit the Dick Gaughan button because I wanted to hear his effort a second time. Kerry and I are fans of his. I have a dozen of his albums, Kerry perhaps more but although his version is decent it still falls short as do all of these covers to my ears. I don’t know Sean Rowe. He reminds me of a black bear that used to ride on the back of Lemmy’s chopper. The bear’s guitar skills were rudimentary but the earnestness of his vocals was unforgettable. Sean went on too long. Mary Lou does a pretty good job but her twee voice buckles under the Shakespearean heft of this great song. I like Amanda Palmer but her brother Jack’s singing was very off-putting to me. It transported me to a world where rock and roll never happened and English dancehall music and crooners ruled. Steve and Eydie were playing The Sphere in Vegas.
I’m no Richard Thompson scholar, but this has been my favorite song of his by a wide margin, since I first heard it in the nineties.
I didn’t care for the offering by the Palmers. Piano and vocals are meh. They’re a distant fourth place today.
Mary Lou Lord was good as usual, but not enough for the vote.
I’ve never heard of Sean Rowe, but that was good, although his version ran somewhat too long.
Had to go with my boy Dick Gaughan, who is one of my favorite artists. One of his greatest superpowers is his songwriting, although today he’s playing a cover. I have just about everything he’s released, and I was fortunate enough to have seen him perform a handful of times when I lived in the Bay Area. He, of course, gets today’s vote.