Recently I've grown interested in tracing the versions of a particular song on down the line of the people who have done it. It struck me that we might start threads on such individual songs here from time to time where we collect all the versions here in one thread so we can see them all at once, have a listen, and then discuss what worked, what didn't, what was great, what wasn't, and get inspired. Since I love RL Burnside and since Adam has recently done up a version of "Goin' Down South", so I figured we might start with it! Here we go:
RL Burnside: (The original)
RL and Lyrics Born: (Hip-Hop remix)
Adam's version: (Solo Harmonica and Footdrums!)
North Mississippi Allstars: (Hill Country Blues)
The Juke Joint Duo: (Juke Joint Style!)
The Black Keys: (Alt-Rock Blues)
Johnny Hayes: (Solo Acoustic)
The Possums: (Rock)
Delta Moon: (adult contemporary)
Skull and Bones Band: (misfits-like punk)
If you know of any other versions, post 'em up!
Personally, I like the Original, the Black Key's version, and Adam's the best... Let the discussion begin!
This is fascinating stuff, Isaac! I moved to try my hand at the song after hearing a version that actually isn't in the videos above: a recording I got from iTunes. A photographer also uses it in the following video:
This is fascinating stuff, Isaac! I was moved to try my hand at the song after hearing a version that actually isn't in the videos above: a recording I got from iTunes. A photographer also uses it in the following video:
I'm humbled by finding that original version of RL playing the song at a house party. I'm still finding my way around the song.
Truth is, for most of the time I've been living in Oxford, Mississippi, I haven't liked the style of blues that is popular around here. It can be depressing. My wife and I joke about it. I call it "shoot me now" music: as in, Life is so bad, you might as well just shoot me now. I like something with a little more spirit of resistance. This music HAS the blues.
But as I began to explore the one-man band idea, I started looking around for new music; music that I might actually be able to pull off. I'm an uneven singer, to say the least. I can hear the blues pitches, and I can play them on harp. I just can't always hit them with my voice.
Anyway, I stumbled across "Goin' Down South" at that point, and it grabbed me hard. The song falls into the "deceptively simple" category. The vocal line has a very limited range: about a half octave. It seems fairly simple. But there's a world of complexity buried in "simple."
The moment I started to play around with it, I realized that in a one-man setting, with no guitar behind the vocals, I'd need to alternate a vocal line with a harp line. That creates an interesting call-and-response dialogue. I also like striving to get that deep, dark blues feeling through the harp lines. The shoot-me-now feeling.
Last Edited by on Feb 25, 2010 3:51 PM
I love hearing different artists take on a song. The hip-hop version is really interesting.
My personal favorite song to listen to covers of is Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit'. I've seen covers by Tori Amos, Patty Smith, Paul Anka, Apocalytpica, Abigail, a DJ mix with Lady Gaga... Someone's even spliced Micheal Jackson's 'Billy Jean' together with it.
Ozark- How did I forget that one! But back on topic, I liked the hip-hop one and the first one. I watched a little of each one but only got through the whole thing on a couple. My interwebs are running slow. I didn't like the punk one, which is strange, because I usually like punk. I kind of like the Delta Moon one too. And the acoustic. I thought Jason's harp sounded a little low in the mix. I didn't care for the Black Keys version.
Hey, I was thinking a little about the lyrical content of the song. When he says "I'm goin' down south" he's both drawing a literal connection about northern black emigre's going back down to the south to visit families there, but I think he's also using it as a metaphor for slipping into the blues. I'm going down south as in "I'm starting to get depressed". Especially because he follows that line with "Chilly, the wind gon' blow" (or something like that). I don;t particularly think of the South as "Chilly", certainly not compared to the North East and the Midwest, so he's probably using the "cold" as a metaphor for a "cold feeling". ie. the blues. ---------- ------------------ The magnificent YouTube channel of the internet user known as "isaacullah"
I love all the RL Burnside versions, he is the king of Hill Country blues in my book.
as for the shoot me now, I love music that drips with that kind of desperate emotion, sadder the better. I've always been drawn to minor tunes, in all genres and Hill Country Blues, just speaks to me. I guess I'm just a melancholy kind of guy.
Yeah, Given a choice, I'll likely pick "shoot me now" over "let's dance". Unless it's a party. Nothing clears a party faster than some deep blues. Let me tell you!
