Cover Wars: Heart Of Gold (Neil Young)
There have been a number of legendary singer/songwriters that have covered Neil Young’s Heart of Gold over the years such as Johnny Cash and Willie Nelson, but it’s pretty safe to say we’ll never see Bob Dylan taking a pass at it. In a 1985 interview with Spin Magazine Dylan explained his annoyance with Heart of Gold…
The only time it bothered me that someone sounded like me was when I was living in Phoenix, Arizona, in about ’72 and the big song at the time was “Heart of Gold.” I used to hate it when it came on the radio. I always liked Neil Young, but it bothered me every time I listened to “Heart of Gold.” I think it was up at number one for a long time, and I’d say, “Shit, that’s me. If it sounds like me, it should as well be me.”
Honestly, I don’t hear it all that much. Does Bob Dylan have a trademark on acoustic guitar and harmonica or something? Anyways, we have a diverse set of covers this week, some from the world of soul music while others are more straight ahead. Have a listen and don’t forget to vote for your favorite.
The Contestants:
While not officially released on an album, The Bad Plus have a fantastic arrangement of Heart of Gold that they play live. Audio Source: 7-26-2009
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READ ON for more covers of Heart of Gold…
This cover from Boney M. has an a capella intro, keyboard arpeggios, synthesizers, some harmonica, really just a lot going on in this 1978 recording from their album Nightflight to Venus.
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Currently available exclusively through Daptone Records, Charles Bradley backed by the Menahan Street Band has released this digital single as a follow-up to their killer 2011 release No Time For Dreaming. Charles Bradley & The Menahan Street Band have a few California shows coming up, be sure to check it out.
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Live video of Bradley & Menahan Street Band:
Another video, this time Bradley and Thomas Brenneck:
On a night when Dave Matthews was playing his own show at Radio City Music Hall, he ducked over to join Jimmy Buffett and The Coral Reefer Band to add vocals to their arrangement featuring accordions, slide guitar, and of course steel drums.
Interestingly enough, when Young recorded this song in 1971, James Taylor and Linda Ronstadt were able to stop by to sing backup vocals because they were in Nashville to record for Johnny Cash’s television program. Many years later, Cash released this cover and it was released on the box-set Unearthed.
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Stereophonics lead singer Kelly Jones has a great voice for this cover.
Only the Red Headed Stranger, Willie Nelson, could give this tune a sort of happy-shuffle feel and not have it sound ridiculous. Audio Source: One Hell Of a Ride.
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Checking in on last week, The Allman Brothers Band has emerged as the first winner of the 2011-2012 Cover Wars with their cover of Layla.
Charles Bradley is the fucking man.