Tune du Jour: “Can’t Get It Out of My Head” – Electric Light Orchestra
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Juliana Hatfield vs. Velvet Revolver vs. Fountains of Wayne
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
CoverMeImpressed.blog CoverMeImpressed.blog CoverMeImpressed.blog
This one is by request from Jonah.
The Original
Electric Light Orchestra:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Juliana Hatfield vs. Velvet Revolver vs. Fountains of Wayne
Julianna Hatfield:
Velvet Revolver:
Fountains of Wayne:
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 
Yes, we all know that Jeff Lynne’s entire creative DNA is about 60% Lennon/McCartney and 40% Leonard Bernstein, but it’s borderline creepy how much Lynne channels Lennon here. The cellos and violins are pure George Martin. Those minor key verses and the dreamy, nasal vocals, the slight reverb… I might as well be listening to Across the Universe. If John had lived long enough and had gotten into overdubbing cellos, this would have been his single.
Juliana Hatfield gave it the “sensitive indie” treatment. All sincerity, no voltage. Not bad. Velvet Revolver, a supergroup made up of members of groups I dislike, did what I expected, i.e. prove to the world that they can drain the nuance out of anything.
Fountains of Wayne may have surpassed Puddles the Clown in terms of taking up valuable Cover Me Impressed real estate, but I’m going to have to give it to them. Sometimes you just can’t improve on the original, especially when the original already sounds like a lost track from Abbey Road.
I agree this song channels a lot of Beatles vibes, but I still love how timeless and catchy it feels.
While Fountains of Wayne is probably the best cover (RIP Adam Schlesinger), I also would submit another version, by the band Telekinesis, as part of an “Indie Lullabies” compilation, that is a bit more stripped down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2-sFGvHy3A
I liked hearing this when it was on the radio back in the ’70s. Nothing else on the radio sounded like it at the time. I never bought an ELO album until about 10 years ago. But their music always interested me.
All 3 cover here are excellent. I’m going with FoW because if you told me that that was a cover by John Lennon I might believe you. The first verse and chorus sounds 99% like him.
Juliana Hatfield delivers a fine cover of this song. Such a beautiful voice.
Velvet Revolver … Surprisingly I really liked their heavy metal version of the song, a genre of music that I typically do not care for.
You have already read of my adulation for Fountains of Wayne. Simply perfect sound and they deliver a fantastic cover of this song … Adam Schlesinger … R.I.P.
The Fountains got my vote.
Early ELO. Jeff Lynne created hazy psych sound with a lazy vocal somewhat reminiscent of ‘67-‘68 era John Lennon. There isn’t much to the lyric but the mood is really nice. Juliana Hatfield is warm and tuneful. Smooth peanut butter with maybe a few marshmallows and dandelions. Least interesting arrangement yet the longest cut. Velvet Revolver- you get the strong band without the swaying screeching weasel. Crunchy peanut butter. Rock opening with nice transition with echo effects and I voted for them mainly for the guitar solo but I may have picked the band because FOW came through with a somewhat similar take that was very satisfying. When The Bee Gees first moved to London and began writing Beatles inspired music in the mid sixties the had a sound that I heard an echo of early in this version then heard a restrained Cobain towards the end.
All covers were good. I voted FoW. I agree with the reviewers who made Beatles comparisons.