IWDG :: In a Lonely Place (AW/RW 2020) — Andrew Weatherall tribute (Rotters Golf Club)

There’s something for everyone in this collection and not just for arguing about the merit’s of music and cover songs. A good listen for a long drive or even a night in.

A good listen for a long drive or even a night in

For musicians and music lovers alike, cover songs are as popular a hill to die on as they are to create. Opinions on them vary from some being better than the originals to some ears while others are blasphemy and a sacrilege unto all humanity. Cover songs immediately beg heavy and somewhat unjust scrutiny. Does the cover hew as close as we’d like to the original? Did they create a new perspective on the original? Is it—and this is the most contentious of questions asked in dissecting a cover version—better than the original (e.g. Bauhaus’ “Ziggy Stardust” vs. Bowie’s original).

So why do we cover a song then? Speaking as a musician (and one who has covered many Joy Division songs) I suspect it’s because we’re compelled to and thus there are as many covers of iconic songs as there are grains of sand on the beaches of Ibiza and Goa. The song first resonates with us, then speaks to us then comes to embody and entire mansion in our mind. We hear the songs and neurons fire in our brains so we must hear them again and again. Then we are compelled to pick up and instrument and learn the song technically to whatever degree we see fit. We play it for ourselves or others making us a conduit for the original artist so that we and our audience can perhaps summon a similar spirit to what we felt when we heard the song. Or, we just want to do something weird with it. Needless to say the results vary.

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Joy Division/New Order covers are among the most notoriously difficult to both pursue and evaluate. When such an iconic band releases a song that goes on to have such lasting effect 40 years after their dissolution it’s no surprise that people want to cover it again and again. I myself as a musician have several covers of Joy Division songs—some of which are online if you care to find them though I don’t want the attention on them as they are in fact weak and wack.

We can all agree that Joy Division despite being an evergreen band that has influenced millions are also very much a product of their time and place. A mixture of punk and pub rock, Northern Soul, psychedelia, glam and krautrock plus four lads and one mad producer gave us this music that retains its power and impact over the decades despite thousands of listens.

The late great Andy Weatherall released a cover of New Order’s “In A Lonely Place.” That song itself is barely a New Order song as it was originally recorded by Ian Curtis and the vocals had to be scrapped so Bernard Sumner could record them while retaining Curtis’ lyrics. The song is so iconic that any cover will invariably be judged with harsh scrutiny. The EP contains Weatherall’s stab at this classic as well as three remixes.

Ironically it’s the remixes that stand out more than the original. Weatherall’s track solidly evokes the dark atmosphere of the original while adding an unheard dub element to it which gives an added groove to the seven minute affair. David Holmes Rework mix is maybe the closest in feel to the original while also adding more complexity to the atmosphere and a nice take on the iconic drumbeat Stephen Morris laid out in the original; even Holmes’ own voice is eerily reminiscent of Ian Curtis’s. Keith Tenniswood’s monumental thirteen minute remix unpacks, annotates, examines and catalogues every aspect of the Weatherall track and the original while pushing the dub factor to the ever popular eleven on the massive scale. Hardway Bros’ Axis Dub mix adds more middle eastern flavor to the dub take on the track while steering it into an almost electro route.

There’s something for everyone in this collection and not just for arguing about the merit’s of music and cover songs. A good listen for a long drive or even a night in.

The profits from this release are to be shared equally between Andrew’s partner Lizzie and Thrombosis UK.

In A Lonely Place is available on Rotters Golf Club. [Listen or buy here]