Tune du Jour: “Walk On By” – Dione Warwick
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: The Stranglers vs. Isaac Hayes vs. Cockeyed Ghost
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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One of a few Burt Bacharach gems that Dione Warwick performed expertly.
The Original
Dione Warwick:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
The Stranglers vs. Isaac Hayes vs. Cockeyed Ghost
The Stranglers:
Isaac Hayes:
There’s a twelve-minute version of this song on his lp, which is probably the preferred version, but I chose to offer this edited version instead.
Cockeyed Ghost:
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 
The Strangler’s cover is too long and at times just plain annoying.
Albeit interesting, even Isaac Hayes’ edited version is likewise too long and ponderous.
Cockeyed Ghosts’ take is just fantastic!
The Stranglers were one of those bands whose albums I’d see while shopping for LPs years ago. I don’t think I ever heard any of their material, either from radio, or music videos later on. I didn’t know anyone who had their records, or recommended them to me, so I was left wondering.
They ran through the Bacharach version in about ninety seconds, and I wondered what they were gonna do for the final five minutes. I listened twice, but I don’t plan to revisit.
The Isaac Hayes version featured production that now seems quite dated. I won’t deduct points because I love the style from that era. I also played it twice, and I’ll now check out the longer album version.
Never heard of Cockeyed Ghost, but they failed to wow me.
I think it was Fahey that sent me a video of the 12 minute version by Isaac Hayes. What a unique vision of glorious excess! I would have voted for that one but that porterhouse had been trimmed down to a hamburger here and no better than third place. The Stranglers? I think this may be a track from an unreleased session with Rod Argent and Bill Wyman jamming in studio B while Keith Richards was overdubbing Wyman’s contributions to a Stones record with his own playing. So weird that I liked it. Cockeyed Ghost? You had me at buzzing amplifier! Rare to have such affection for a song but also at least that much contempt. They may have driven the song into a brick wall but they walked away from the wreckage. Winner.
I’m a huge Stranglers fan. I bought their first album when it came out, and most of the early singles, all of which I still have tucked away. When their third album, Black and White, was released, I grabbed the U.S. version on funky black-and-white swirly vinyl. My friend Neil, who was considerably better funded than I was, sprang for the import. His came on standard black vinyl, but it included a bonus 45 on white vinyl. “Walk On By” was on that 45.
Isaac Hayes’s version is a bit too long and meandering for me. Cockeyed Ghost do a wild, raw take that almost got my vote. But I’ve got a soft spot for the Stranglers’ version, and nostalgia won out.
It’s funny, the Stranglers have been compared to The Doors for years because of that distinctive keyboard sound that defines so much of their music, and this extended version really does echo “Light My Fire” in one specific way: the endless jamming at the end. The Doors’ label eventually put out a shorter, radio-friendly edit. If only the Stranglers had done the same. Sigh. Still, they got my vote.
was going to go with our ol stand by’s,
cockeyed ghost, but that Stranglers version was Pure!