All Other Music is Temporarily Suspended #5

Here’s the next batch of Prince cover-oddities.

First up, Sufjan Stevens, who for reasons best known to himself, decided to release this on one of his “Silver & Gold” Christmas albums. Go Figure.

Sufjan Stevens – Alphabet St.

And at the other end of the spectrum, originally released as an extra track on CD2 of their single “Come On”, which was lifted from their mostly acoustic “Stoned and Dethroned” album. But don’t let that lull you into a false sense of security; this is closer to how they sounded circa “Sidewalking”, in other words it is The Jesus & Mary Chain doing what The Jesus & Mary Chain do best: be noisy, sleazy and just a little bit glam, to a backdrop of a lot of feedback.

The Jesus & Mary Chain – Alphabet Street

And finally, as has become traditional in this mini-series, the original and greatest version:

Prince – Alphabet St.

More soon.

All Other Music is Temporarily Suspended #4

In case you’ve lost track of why I’m doing a weekend of Prince covers, it’s not just to mourn the passing of the Purple One, it’s also to show the diversity of the artistes that he inspired and influenced.

Hopefully, the next few posts demonstrate that point.

First up today, probably my favourite Prince song ever, first performed by all of the members of R.E.M., minus Michael Stipe, plus Warren Zevon:

Hindu Love Gods – Raspberry Beret

And if that’s a little too sixth-form garage band for you, then how about a new country version:

The Derailers – Raspberry Beret

I quite like that one, even if it is a bit The Mavericks “I Just Want To Dance The Night Away”.

But, of course, neither of them are a patch on the original:

Prince & The Revolution – Raspberry Beret

More soon.