"A crowd of people turned away.
But I just had to look,
Having read the book."
Cult bands
covering classic albums. It seems MOJO magazine glues one of these to their
covers every month now – most recently ‘Pet Sounds’ and ‘Yellow Submarine’. But back
in 1988, the NME’s ‘Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father’ was the first of its kind. (Or was
it? Perhaps not. Let me know if I’m wrong.)
Released to
celebrate 21 years of the original ‘Sgt Pepper’s’ album and to raise some cash
for the charity Childline, this tribute is probably most remembered for its
chart-topping cover of ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’ by Wet Wet Wet.
Now here’s a
revelation for you: I’ve never really cared for Wet Wet Wet. Shocked?
Well, here’s another: I’ve never much liked The Beatles either. Beyond one or
two songs. The rest just sound like nursery rhymes to me. So the appeal of this
album was primarily The Fall’s cover of ‘A Day In The Life’. Every second a marvel.
I’d never heard it before, so this became the definitive version for me. (Yes,
I’m quite sure that’s some kind of sacrilege and I’ve lost all you Beatles fans
from today.) Cracking covers by the Weddoes, Bragg, Sonics and Frank Sidebottom
were all bonuses.
Although the shine
of novelty has lost its luster, I still find these cover albums inordinately compelling.
I’m really hoping MOJO is now working on a tribute to The Thompson Twins’ ‘Quick
Step & Side Kick’.
Spotify linkys:
