The Covers: II – “Bargain.”

Welcome to my second post in a series focusing on cover tunes!

In the future, I will be including covers performed by The White Stripes, Volbeat, Duran Duran, Stone Temple Pilots, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Heart, Stevie Ray Vaughn, and a cover that is not exactly a cover, with guest vocalist Johnny Cash.. After that.. not sure.. I’ve got lots of ideas!

The song I selected for the first post was “Presence of the Lord,” written by Eric Clapton (but not sung by him), performed by a band he was in called Blind Faith, and covered by a band called Rez. I am featuring Rez again in this post. That band did only a few covers, and did them well.

Rez, originally called Resurrection Band, was a Christian hard rock and blues band that was brilliant, and very heavy, sometimes even brutal, even to the point of being difficult to listen to, both sonically and lyrically. Unlike some other Christian rock bands, such as Petra or Stryper, Rez never gained huge following. But they were amazing. Sometimes quite disturbing, but amazing.

The song.. I first heard the version by Rez, then later found out it was a cover, and listened to the version by The Who. The Who is one of my favorite classic rock bands, and I like pretty much all their hits, including this one.

“Bargain” – original recording by The Who, from their 1971 album, “Who’s Next?”

And the Rez version, from their album “Innocent Blood,” released in 1989:

Both are heavy. The Who sounds a bit more psychedelic. Also, it sounds to me like Pete Townshend sang the bridge.. but I could be wrong.

The Rez version.. heavier and crunchier guitars, more raw feel, raspier vocal style,  no vocalist change.. great cover!

Next post will feature The Who again, only this time playing a cover, and the post after that, Roger Daltrey in a solo recording, performing a cover of an Elton John song, and sounding better than Sir Elton, I think.

I plan on doing several posts each week. Keep checking back!

Thanks!