Rhino’s Got You Covered: Danny Gatton, Too Much Joy, Formerly Anthrax, and Randy Crawford
It’s Wednesday, so it must be time to take another dip into the Rhino catalog and trot out a new quartet of cover songs that you may or may not have heard before. Let’s get started, shall we?
• Danny Gatton, “The Simpsons” (1991): Yes, it’s the TV theme song that you think it is, and it’s an awesome version of it, too. The late Mr. Gatton was a guitar god, and his absence from this plane of existence has in no way lessened the impressiveness of his skills as a string-slinger, so if you dig this, then you should definitely explore some of the other work in his back catalog...and if you’re really lucky, then maybe we’ll finally add his cover of Rhinoceros’s “Apricot Brandy” to the digital catalog, because it’s freaking mindblowing...
• Too Much Joy, “That’s a Lie” (Remix) (1988): This isn’t quite as amazing an L.L. Cool J cover as Luka Bloom’s take on “I Need Love,” but it gets major bonus points for the video, which includes – among other LOL moments – a hilarious guest appearance by L.L. himself.
• Formerly Anthrax, “Moondance” (1970): First they were called The National Debt, then after lead singer/ guitarist / flautist Jerry McCann left the band, they changed their name to Anthrax and recorded an instrumental album for Elektra in 1969...except that Jac Holzman, president of the label, thought it was too uncommercial to release. He did, however, concede that the addition of vocals might change his mind, so they asked McCann if he’d rejoin the band, which he did, and they switched things up accordingly on the album, at which point Elektra was all, like, “Yeah, but about that band name...” And since they couldn’t be Anthrax anymore, they changed their name to Formerly Anthrax. None of this, of course, has anything to do with their Van Morrison cover, but we just thought it was an interesting story. You’re welcome.
• Randy Crawford, “Captain of Her Heart” (1997): The original version of this song by Double was a mellow jazz-pop tune in its own right, and Crawford keeps the tempo pretty much intact while delivering a lovely vocal performance.
