Covers Special - International Chris Knox

I expect that by now you're all up with the news that Chris Knox , an iconic kiwi artist with a 30 year career taking in solo material, The Enemy, The Tall Dwarfs and The Nothing, has suffered from a stroke. Rather than go over all the details here I recommend that you check out the blog that has been established to provide news and updates on his recovery - http://chrisknox.blogtown.co.nz/. The irony is that that blog could well be Knox's first official website.

Since forming The Enemy in Dunedin in 1977 Knox has earned a crust as a musician, cartoonist and critic. His stroke has meant he can't do any of those things at present so fans are being called on to support him by buying his music. It's hardly an imposition. Knox's last album, A Warm Gun, recorded with his band The Nothing is one of his finest albums. Buy it from his blog and you'll ensure maximum profits return directly to Knox.

Some of Knox's more talented fans, including David Kilgour, The Mint Chicks, Lou Barlow, Graeme Downs, Guided By Voices, The Mountain Goats, Jay Clarkson, Martin Phillips, Jay Reatard, Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Shane Carter, Pumice, Alec Bathgate, Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum, and Bill Callahan, are currently working on a fundraising album of Knox covers.

The list of contributors to that tribute album are an indication of the high regard with which he is held by musicians around the world. So it's no suprise that his songs have already been covered by many kiwi and international artists. This episode of Counting The Beat gathers some of those covers.

Perhaps the best known cover of a Knox song is Frente's 1993 version of the classic 'Not Given Lightly', which while going nowhere overseas certainly garnered the Australian band a lot of attention in New Zealand.

A couple of years earlier the Tall Dwarfs song 'Face of Fashion' was covered by Marshall Crenshaw, an American singer songwriter who got his break playing Knox favourite John Lennon in a Broadway show and playing Buddy Holly in the movie La Bamba.

In 1999 ethereal 4AD group Hopeless Blister covered another Tall Dwarfs song, ' Outer Skin'. The song originally appeared on the 1993 Tall Dwarfs album PolyPhoto, Duck-Shaped Pain and Gum.

Perhaps because of his iconic status Knox has been covered by relatively few New Zealand musicians. One group that has is The Hasslehoff Experiment (pictured) who in 2002 recorded a cover of The Tall Dwarfs 'Brain That Wouldn't Die' for the Flying Nun 21st anniversary album Under The Influence, an album that also featured Knox covering his Tall Dwarfs bandmate Alec Bathgate.

In just the last month two Knox songs appeared on a compilation released by German label Morr Music. The compilation, Not Given Lightly, is a collection of electro-acoustic covers of Flying Nun and eighties kiwi indie songs, including the title track and a cover of the Tall Dwarfs 'All My Hollowness To You' by It's A Musical.

Incidentally, this is only the second time ever that Counting The Beat has included music by non New Zealand artists. I've loaded a number of Knox clips on the video page. Also National Radio have a heap of material available to be streamed - Chris Knox interview and song - Interview about The Nothing - The Nothing live .

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Covering The Beat 3

This is the third in an occasional series that focuses on kiwi musicians covering kiwi songs (Links to downloads of the previous two are posted below).

Kicking things off is a version of The Clean's 'Fish' from the 1997 Flying Nun Clean tribute entitled God Save the Clean. Perhaps one of the least expected artists to appear on the album was Gray Bartlett, a country musician who was often on TV in the 70s and has since moved onto tour promotion and a 12 year foray into right wing local body politics. Now he's back on the road and back into the political sphere too. Bartlett recently launched an ill-informed attack on a variety of music funding initiatives which has certainly got people talking. The new Freeview TV show Media 7 ran a debate between Bartlett, NZ On Air chief Brendan Smythe and the Real Groove editor, Duncan Grieve, which is well worth watching. You can also hear Gray Bartlett perform live on National Radio here (stream).

I'm not sure if it was ever released anywhere else but on the Yellow Eye Records 3CD Dunedin music retrospective But I Can Write Songs Okay you will find a version of Look Blue Go Purple's 'I Don't Want You Anyway' performed by The Bats. The compilation itself is great, spanning 40
years of music from Dunedin. I'm not sure if it's still in print but it's worth picking up second hand or try your library.

From She's Lost, an internet only compilation of dark-alt/industrial/electro/experimental acts covering favourite NZ songs, comes The Fanatics with an electro version of The Gordons' post-punk guitar classic 'Adults and Children'.

Cut Off Your Hands have been playing Split Enz's 'Shark Attack' live for a while now but they have just leaked a studio recording of the song as a teaser for their forthcoming album. The track can be downloaded here. In 2006, under their former name, Shaky Hands, the band performed the song live on TV. The clip can be found on the video page.

Finally in this covers round up is a raucous take on the La De Da's' 1966 hit 'How Is the Air Up There?' from the Hasslehoff Experiment, a late nineties outfit about three years too early for the international boom in drums and guitar blues rock duos (pictured right). They were a phenomenal live act and the good news is that there are rumours floating around of a reunion.

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Previous Covering The Beat posts and podcasts here