261. MILK COW BLUES (Kokomo Arnold) - I would guess this is the oldest song in our repertoire. Robert Johnson covered this. I first heard it on a Kinks record and then later heard Elvis' version. We toyed with it for awhile and then put it on the backburner. Then it got pressed into service when we had to do a gig without Cathi and were pretty sure we could whip this into something serviceable in a short period of time. Like the Kinks, we don't use any of the lyrics that have anything to do with cows. When I was a kid, and their's was the only version of this song I knew, I was very confused as to why it had the title it did.
*** A LIE TAKES A LIE (song #85) - The DVD of the live Helen Wheels tribute concert put out by the Brain Surgeons and featuring members of Blue Oyster Cult, The Dictators, and Alice Cooper also features Static Cling's performance of this song from the "Helen Wheels & The Skeleton Crew" record - but by the time we performed at this concert Ron had re-written the ending guitar solo section of the song. That's what is preserved here for posterity and it is a much stronger piece for it.
262. (DO THE) APATHY (Draheim) - Here's another one I forgot from the Chicago days. It was a regular in our set back then but strangely absent from "Love Songs from the Snake Brain". It was our attempt to create a dance craze number!!! And it is such an easy dance to do...basically, ya' just don't care. (My only song with parantheses in the title.)
***Just remembered this - a "tip of the hat" to Mic Fambro regarding LAST TWIST OF THE KNIFE (song #20). My guitar lead was really cranked and barely under control. There are some periodic squeels and squawks of feedback throughout. I wanted to try to get these errant sounds out &/or re-do the lead. Mic talked me out of it. Thank you.
263. HIE SCEPTRE & HIS CROWN (Draheim, Static Cling) - A new original about the king. Loungey and spooky. Chris Isaak would be proud.
264. LEMONJELLO & COOL-WHIP (Bob Birmingham, Static Cling) - This is kind of a reggae song of Bob's that everybody else hated until we started playing it. Now we love it. Bob's songs sometimes have that effect on us. To be quite honest, besides the very obvious reggae feel, there's also some hints of the Clash, the Ramones, Cher, Frank Zappa and Christina Agueilerra (sp?). You probably think I'm kidding. If so you don't know Bob.
265. I CAN SEE FOR MILES (Pete Townshend) - Whether you play covers or not every musician has that certain handful of tunes that they have always wanted to play. This one has always been on my list. Bob's too.
266. SET ME FREE (Ray Davies) - I slipped another Kinks song in. We were working on it kinda slow & mellow, like the original, and everybody liked it. Then they didn't and we were going to drop it. Then we gave it one last shot - a little harder and faster with an almost Jeff Beck-like lead - and that was the keeper.
267. NOWHERE TO RUN (Holland, Dozier, Holland) - Why don't more rock bands cover this Martha & the Vandellas gem ???? We of course rock it up with your standard extended bar-band guitar solos - and Alan is just smokin' on all this Motown stuff !!! We morph from this into FORTUNE TELLER (straighter & less punk than we used to do it) and hope to eventually morph from that into YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON.
268. COLD SWEAT (James Brown) - It was absolutely criminal to not be covering some of the heavier funk JB stuff with Alan in the band - so we're starting with this. Bob's debut as lead vocalist also.
269. YOU KEEP ME HANGIN' ON (Holland, Dozier, Holland) - Debuted this on May 25,2007. Alan plays some really beautiful arpegiated bass during the outro - and there ain't nothin' I can do about it !
270. NOAH'S DOVE (traditional) - This is the kind of cover I am most proud of. It's definitely from left field, a traditional folk song (sometimes known as "Dink's Song") toatlly dependent on a strong and unique arrangement to make it fly (no pun intended). It's a showcase for Cathi's vocals that really challenges the rest of us to maintain a very gradual build in dynamics under her (without the help of a bombastic lead guitar break). I've loved this song since I first heard Dylan do it. The Big Three version (featuring Cass Elliot) was a minor early-60's hit as "Nora's Dove".