I agree with a lot of what Steve says here. This is one of my favorite Devo songs and I had no idea these covers existed! I like the Sonic Youth version best because I think it most captures the spirit of the original. The Soundgarden is just too slow and the Robert Palmer version is oddly noisy. Thanks for sharing these!
Wow - I'm a huge DEVO fan and hadn't heard any of these before! I loved all of these covers, and have only listened to each once, so picking a favorite is fully a first impression choice. And I go with....Yonic South! Maybe it's partly because I love wordplay as well as Sonic Youth, but I love what they do with the chorus. It also has a King Gizzard-like energy. That said, the Robert Palmer version is nuts in all the right cheesy-80s ways. I just read that Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme plays guitar on this, which makes total sense.
Hey Steve. Thanks for subscribing AND listening to the covers. And the wordplay was a big part of adding Yonic South to the playlist! I’ve got some fun songs planned for this series the next several Mondays!
You bet! I thought I was already subscribed! I always click your Notes and just now realize I wasn't! I'll have some suggestions for Multiple Mondays for sure -- that's right up my alley....in fact, I'm working on a piece now (probably will go up next week) that is kind of the inverse idea: a playlist comparison of songs with the same title but are different songs entirely.
Hard to beat the original, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Superchunk's take. Also was not expecting to enjoy Robert plamer's version as much as I did.
Oh Hell yeah. This might have been my overall favorite of these Multiple Version Mondays, as far as being solid from top to bottom. I dont know why I haven't been listening to Devo my entire life. I dont know why I havent been listening to Superchunk their entire life. I dont why that Soundgarden track is on Disc 3 of an obscure compilation set instead of a hit single. 18 year old me would have ate that all day every day.
To the countdown:
5) Yonic South.
This one is good. Its the most faithful to the original, for sure, but different enough not to sound like a tribute act. Their name 😜 . . . I cringe and laugh alternately.
This is a heavyweight division so I put them at 5 here. But this track is good; it gives me impetus to check out more of their stuff.
Score: 0.68 Devos. + 0.12 Sonic Youths = 0.80 total
4) Robert Palmer
An above replacement level Robert Palmer track which means its really good. Maybe all he had to do was not screw it up.
Score: 0.23 Devos + 0.68 Power Stations = 0.91 total
3) Superchunk.
I need to listen to these guys more. This one came closest IMHO to replicating the punky riff / funky groove combination of the original. Its also the most "Rahhhhhhhh" rockin out version. My inner Beavis approves.
TBQH this competition wasn't fair. Chris Cornell was my rock & roll spirit animal. No one else had a chance.
I love the slinky, grungy groove at the slower tempo. I love how Cornell changes the intonation of "want" to make it more longing amd wistful. It's a totally different vibe than any of the others. This tune oughta have been on the Singles soundtrack.
Of course. What a great song. It works in power- pop-punk form, in grunge form, in uber-produced 80s form. I could imagine a swagging rap version by LL Cool J. I could imagine a melancholy acoustic version.
Score: A maximum possible 1.0 Devos + 0.1 Yonic Souths + 0.1 Robert Palmers + 0.1 Superchunks + 0.1 Soundgardens + 0.6 bonus (judges doscretion) = 2.0 total a perfect score.
I agree with a lot of what Steve says here. This is one of my favorite Devo songs and I had no idea these covers existed! I like the Sonic Youth version best because I think it most captures the spirit of the original. The Soundgarden is just too slow and the Robert Palmer version is oddly noisy. Thanks for sharing these!
Thanks, Dan, Always appreciate your listens and your thoughts! And I’m a fan of killer covers, so hopefully I can keep on surprising you!
Wow - I'm a huge DEVO fan and hadn't heard any of these before! I loved all of these covers, and have only listened to each once, so picking a favorite is fully a first impression choice. And I go with....Yonic South! Maybe it's partly because I love wordplay as well as Sonic Youth, but I love what they do with the chorus. It also has a King Gizzard-like energy. That said, the Robert Palmer version is nuts in all the right cheesy-80s ways. I just read that Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme plays guitar on this, which makes total sense.
Hey Steve. Thanks for subscribing AND listening to the covers. And the wordplay was a big part of adding Yonic South to the playlist! I’ve got some fun songs planned for this series the next several Mondays!
You bet! I thought I was already subscribed! I always click your Notes and just now realize I wasn't! I'll have some suggestions for Multiple Mondays for sure -- that's right up my alley....in fact, I'm working on a piece now (probably will go up next week) that is kind of the inverse idea: a playlist comparison of songs with the same title but are different songs entirely.
That’s awesome. I have a few of those saved for “someday” sharing, but I have too many themes to keep up with already!
Hard to beat the original, but if I had to pick, I'd go with Superchunk's take. Also was not expecting to enjoy Robert plamer's version as much as I did.
Devo all the way....just saying
Thanks for sharing this, Mallie! I had no idea that Robert Palmer had recorded a version of this Devo classic. Personally, my favorite cover of Girl U Want is the dreamy version by eleventyseven. https://open.spotify.com/track/0ddXRvHKULiODGb0YJTlfv?si=2s3jw_40Td-fs8hrrNW8lA
Thanks for sharing with all of us, Lee!
I need to listen to these but I always loved Soundgarden’s version!!!
I was really surprised to find this one. Happily so!
Oh Hell yeah. This might have been my overall favorite of these Multiple Version Mondays, as far as being solid from top to bottom. I dont know why I haven't been listening to Devo my entire life. I dont know why I havent been listening to Superchunk their entire life. I dont why that Soundgarden track is on Disc 3 of an obscure compilation set instead of a hit single. 18 year old me would have ate that all day every day.
To the countdown:
5) Yonic South.
This one is good. Its the most faithful to the original, for sure, but different enough not to sound like a tribute act. Their name 😜 . . . I cringe and laugh alternately.
This is a heavyweight division so I put them at 5 here. But this track is good; it gives me impetus to check out more of their stuff.
Score: 0.68 Devos. + 0.12 Sonic Youths = 0.80 total
4) Robert Palmer
An above replacement level Robert Palmer track which means its really good. Maybe all he had to do was not screw it up.
Score: 0.23 Devos + 0.68 Power Stations = 0.91 total
3) Superchunk.
I need to listen to these guys more. This one came closest IMHO to replicating the punky riff / funky groove combination of the original. Its also the most "Rahhhhhhhh" rockin out version. My inner Beavis approves.
Score: 0.52 Devos + 0.68 Beavis Devil Horns = 1.20 total
2) Soundgarden
TBQH this competition wasn't fair. Chris Cornell was my rock & roll spirit animal. No one else had a chance.
I love the slinky, grungy groove at the slower tempo. I love how Cornell changes the intonation of "want" to make it more longing amd wistful. It's a totally different vibe than any of the others. This tune oughta have been on the Singles soundtrack.
Score: 0.16 Devos + 0.52 Soundgardens + 0.52 Audioslaves + 0.01 bonus (judges discretion) = 1.21 total
1) Devo.
Of course. What a great song. It works in power- pop-punk form, in grunge form, in uber-produced 80s form. I could imagine a swagging rap version by LL Cool J. I could imagine a melancholy acoustic version.
Score: A maximum possible 1.0 Devos + 0.1 Yonic Souths + 0.1 Robert Palmers + 0.1 Superchunks + 0.1 Soundgardens + 0.6 bonus (judges doscretion) = 2.0 total a perfect score.
Another awesome breakdown of the covers, as we've come to expect. Glad this one was so appreciated!
I always thought about making playlists like this! I'm glad you're doing them. Have you done Just Like Heaven already?
I have not. It's got so many covers that it's hard to select just five or six. It's a possibility.
I was all trigger fingered to have you listen to theirs but of course, you were already on top of it 👍
LOL. No worries!