All My CDs, pt 74: Dishcover the Riddle

Dishcover the Riddle - Elvis Manson

There are a few unexpected drawbacks to growing up with a musician as a parent. One is that if there is a song my father has covered or parodied, his version is almost certain to be more familiar to me than the original, to the point where the original will sound at least vaguely wrong to me. Dishcover the Riddle, recorded in 2000 when I was a preteen, is an album of covers, mostly of songs that became popular in the 70s. (I’m just now realizing this would mean they were on the radio during Elvis Manson’s own teen years.) To me, the covers are the definitive versions, and I like them quite a lot more than the originals.

Thunder Road is an interesting example of what I’m talking about here. I’ve never been too fond of Bruce Sprinsteen, to be honest. His voice and singing style grates on me; he sounds almost drunk to me. The cover here is sung in a more straightforward style, but still with just enough twang to make it sound as wistful as the lyrics suggest. I could say the same about Taxi; that and Thunder Road might be my two favorite songs on the album.

Most of them are done in a style that differs from the original significantly. Some of the choices made are a bit weird when you think about it, such as singing Jackson Browne’s love song Nightengale like a robot who’s just had five cups of espresso. Somehow the frenetic energy is very suitable for the lyrics’ unrelenting optimism.

And in a counterpoint: I enjoyed the cover of Southern Cross when I was a kid, and I guess I still do, but after repeated exposures I think I’d actually say that the original by Crosby, Stills & Nash is better. But ironically, I may never have come to love the original if not for this introduction. Covers are weird. Sometimes they pay tribute to the original, sometimes they overshadow the original, and sometimes they just serve as a cultural stepping stone.

Not much I particularly have to say about other songs. Kudos goes to John Entwistle and Elvis Manson for making domestic violence sound like a fun-filled romp in My Wife. And as a kid, the casual reference to Satan in Houses of the Holy always kind of thrilled me. And after fifteen years, I still have not dishcovered the riddle.

Next: Naked Dinner