This week we’re taking a look at two different covers of “White Riot”, originally by The Clash: The first by Dropkick Murphys, and the second by Audioslave. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the song, take note: After first listen, many people have thought the song advocates a race war. In fact, it is about class economics and race – lyricist Joe Strummer was trying to appeal to white youths to find a worthy cause to riot, as he felt blacks in the UK already had. Its message is exemplified in the lines “Are you taking over / Or are you taking orders? / Are you going backwards / Or are you going forwards?”

First, let’s look at Dropkick Murphys

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Now, Audioslave

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The Audioslave rendering is, in my opinion, actually better from a purely musical standpoint, even though I don’t like Chris Cornell’s vocals here. I like the Dropkick Murphys version a lot, and I think it’s much closer to the original – but in the end, what’s the point of doing a cover if you’re just going to do it the same? I’m giving this one to Audioslave – what do you think?

Although this probably goes without saying, I do just want to say I’d rather hear Joe Strummer on this any day.

Cover to Cover is our weekly comparison of two versions of the same song. Sometimes it’s two covers, sometimes it’s one cover and the original.

This week, we’re taking a look at the Gnarls Barkley hit “Crazy“. This song was covered by so many people during the first few months after its release, we could probably feature a new version every week for a year. I had intended to compare Nelly Furtado’s popular, yet underwhelming version to one of my favorite interpretations, done by soulful singer Ray Lamontagne. But in my search for the songs on YouTube, I came across a different version that I felt compelled to share instead.

So, here’s Ray Lamontagne:

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And here’s Randy George’s “Crazy Theremin Jam”

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The simplicity of Ray Lamontagne’s version really shows how great the lyrics are, and it really gave me a much greater appreciation of the song. He also puts so much feeling into his performance, I don’t even mind the fact that I just had to stare at one picture the whole time.

Randy George’s version, while much more similar to the original, is cool for the obvious reason: The theremin! Not only is his theremin playing excellent, but it’s run through a filter that makes it sound very similar to a human voice. The theremin was the first electronic musical instrument, developed in 1918, and it has never quite caught on as a mainstream instrument. Maybe Randy George can help change that.

All that being said, I still prefer Ray Lamontagne’s version – but Randy George has definitely made a new fan.