Cover Wars: The Weight (The Band)

Artist: Diana Ross & The Supremes + The Temptations
Album: Join the Temptations / Together
The Skinny: “Diana Ross & The Supremes and The Temptations”, it is kind of a mouthful. But that is who came together for this record in 1969.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/diannaweight.mp3]

Artist: Grateful Dead
Album: 10-22-1990
The Skinny: Played by the Grateful Dead in the 1990’s, almost exclusively in the encore slot, featured different band members (including bassist Phil Lesh) taking a turn at lead vocal duties.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/gratefulweight.mp3]

Eerily, the video below is from Brent Mydland’s last show with the Grateful Dead before he died. The last line he sung solo into a microphone was, “I gotta go, but my friend can stick around”

Artist: Jackie DeShannon
Album: What The World Needs Now Is…Jackie DeShannon – The Definitive Collection
The Skinny: Released as a single in 1968 and now available on the collection above, DeShannon is joined by Barry White on backup vocals.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/jackieweight.mp3]

Singing along on TV:

Artist: Jim Weider’s ProJECT PERCoLAToR
Album: 1-20-2006
The Skinny: Robbie Robertson’s replacement in The Band in 1985, Jim Weider turns in this instrumental reggae interpretation here from 2006 backed by his ProJECT PERCoLAToR ensemble.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/weidersweight.mp3]

Live video from 2008:

Artist: Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White
Album: It Might Get Loud
The Skinny: This is the closing scene of the film It Might Get Loud featuring Jimmy Page, The Edge and Jack White.

Artist: King Curtis
Album: Instant Soul: The Legendary King Curtis
The Skinny: The second of this week’s contestants to include Duane Allman on guitar, this version and the Aretha Franklin cover both appear on the Duane Allman Anthology, a must-have for any music collector.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/kingweight.mp3]

Artist: Little Feat with Bela Fleck
Album: Join the Band
The Skinny: In addition to this guest appearance from Fleck, this appropriately named 2008 album from Little Feat is littered with high-profile sit-ins from Dave Matthews, Emmylous Harris and others.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/featweight.mp3]

Live video of Little Feat with John Kadlecik (Furthur, Dark Star Orchestra) on fiddle:

Artist: The Radiators
Album: 6-3-2005
The Skinny: It is no surprise that these road warriors (though now retired), showed up on a search of the Live Music Archive. A fantastic band.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/radsweight.mp3]

A live take from their farewell tour this past April:

Artist: Staple Singers
Album: Soul Folk in Action
The Skinny: Perhaps known more for joining The Band on the version found on The Last Waltz, The Staple Singers recorded their own fantastic studio rendition in 1968.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/staplesweight.mp3]

Artist: Travis
Album: Igby Goes Down
The Skinny: This version found on the soundtrack for Igby Goes Down has a laid-back tempo, and reminds my roommate Jon of, “a kid pensively walking around a city trying to figure his life out.”

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/travisweight.mp3]

As seen in the movie:

And a take from Live on Later with Jools Holland:

Artist: Weezer
Album: Weezer (Red Album Deluxe)
The Skinny: And last, but not necessarily least, in this massive 12-cover version of Cover Wars is a bonus track from Weezer’s Red Album.

[audio:https://glidemag.wpengine.com/hiddentrack/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/weezerweight.mp3]

Checking in on last week’s Walking The Cow Cover Wars, the solo rendition from Eddie Vedder has emerged victorious.