I love it when bands do cover songs. Well hold on. Let me rephrase that: I love it when bands do cover songs and do it RIGHT. And that’s done either by making it an improvement on the original and/or by “making it their own”. And while Pat Todd and the Rankoutsiders have a slew of originals that are just as good (or better!) than anything they cover, when they do cover something, they do it right. The majority of the songs they do as covers, I don’t even recognize, because they usually go deep and they know how to put their own stamp on things to make it their own.
When they told me they were doing a tribute 10″ to Johnny Thunders and David Johansen, I was all in. And sticking to their formula, they went deep to put their own stamp on some obscure songs, three by Thunders, and three by Johansen. While two of the 3 Thunders songs are fairly deep, I didn’t even know any of the Johansen numbers, as they were all from his solo albums.
So let’s go through them:
Side One: The Thunders Side
“Dead Or Alive” is a full on rocker. You know this. This isn’t really that obscure. In fact, if you were going to pick a song by Johnny Thunders that you would expect a band like Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders to cover, this would be at the top of the list. And they do it perfectly.
“Disappointed In You” is a fairly deep cut, but not so deep that it hasn’t been covered before by others, like Michael Monroe. Their version is more like the original than Monroe’s version. A fairly upbeat acoustic number, but recorded better than the original.
“Short Lives” is off the Que Sera Sera album, which is a fine album. It’s not really a track I would expect the Rankoutsiders to cover, but once you hear it, you realize why they did it. It has a bounce, a groove, some great solos. The original is a little soft. Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders toughen it up a little while keeping the spirit of the song.
Side Two: The David Johansen Side
“Wreckless Crazy” starts off the David Johansen side and is such a great song. This is a perfect example of how a band can take a song and make it their own. I guess it really does show the influence that Johansen had on them, because this would fit along any of their originals on any of their albums. Classic Pat Todd & The Rankoutsiders.
They also know how to get to the meat of a song and they do that with “Melody”. The original is a keyboard heavy pop song. Again, they turn this into one of their own, keeping the spirit of the song, but also beefing it up quite a bit and making it a more of a rock song.
“The Rope” is a full on loud rockin’ song with a great groove, handclaps, and a dark sense of humor. I think this was a b-side to one of his singles off his first solo album.
The production on this EP is great. Excellent, in fact. It’s loud, rough, with some great guitar separation in the speakers and a great mix. Excellent job! Excellent tribute!
This is fairly limited, but you can get a copy (at least digitally) here: https://heavymedicationrecords.bandcamp.com/album/after-the-dolls-e-p or when the band comes to your town.
🎸🎸🎸🎸🎸
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