In 1990, my music listening habits ran the "gamut" from hard rock to thrash. If it didn't have a loud guitar, I wasn't interested. Classic rock radio was also a fairly new concept as. So, I suppose, I can be forgiven if I didn't know this tune was a cover when I first heard it, even if the original band included a few rock heavyweights.
It's one of those cases where I had listened to the House of Lords version so many times before I ever heard the original, that it's kind of become "the" version of the song for me. OK, OK, don't hurl those rotten tomatoes yet, Winwood and Clapton fans (I'll give you opportunities later). I also like the original, but more often than not, I find myself pulling up this one when I want to hear the song -- and it's really the only House of Lords song that I ever listen to.
I was initially drawn to that main acoustic guitar lick. It always had an almost mystical quality to my ears, and I still love it. Then there's the whole melancholy and weary tone of the song that just seems to perfectly fit the subject matter. Regardless of which version you prefer, the song itself is a beautifully and perfectly written piece.
James Christian's vocals are fantastic on the track, perfectly fitting, in my mind, and no offense to that dude named Clapton, but I really love Michael Guy's guitar solo on this version.
The House of Lords cover remains very faithful to the original, though it's perhaps a bit more sparkly, for lack of a better word, and a little less psychedelic. I think even the most hardcore fans of the original would have to agree that it's an outstanding cover.
No comments:
Post a Comment