Cocaine – J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton
Last week; we looked at Placebo’s very different, but faithful interpretation of Running Up That Hill by Kate Bush. This week we’re going to look at versions, whilst having differences, are also very similar. That’s not to diminish either one; we just need to look at them in a different context.
Versions are done for many reasons. Sometimes, it’s done out
of love and respect for someone else’s artistic work. Almost all bands start
out doing versions of other people’s songs, they learn by copying, by doing, continuing
that process even after writing your own music, is natural and organic. Then
there’s the business side of things. Covering a hit by a big artist has its own
built in marketing, as the public already have some “brand name awareness” of
the song. They essentially want to ride the tailcoats of the star’s fame.
In the case of Cocaine it’s just an example of
collaboration. We like to see music stars as existing in a vacuum, the myth of
one great musical genius working alone into the night. In reality, there are often groups of session
musicians, sound engineers, producers and songwriters working collectively. In
the old days, this was just part of the process; now “guest artists” featuring
on tracks is just part and parcel of the marketing. I can see the suits in
meetings, talking about “brand synergy” and “crossover markets.”
JJ Cale and Eric
Clapton had a close working relationship. Cocaine was actually the second JJ Cale
song covered by Clapton, the first being After Midnight in 1970. After the death of Cale in 2013, Clapton
confessed that Cale helped him with many difficulties: "I
went into that dark period in my life and was just absent, and about that time
some of JJ's early stuff was coming out. I definitely was trying to shake off
this guitar legend thing, which I thought was so plebeian. It was such a
pedestrian way of looking at things. I didn't want anything to do with that. I
didn't want anything to do with this heavy metal s--- that was going on. I
can't stand the noise. I wanted to kind of see the virtuosity, I wanted to get
back to fundamentals, and he was a fundamentalist for sure. And so he was my
beacon."
Before I begin to compare
the songs, I should just offload my baggage about Slowhand the Eric Clapton
album where Cocaine appears. In Ireland, where I am from, adult orientated rock
(AOR), dominated the radio in the eighties, and the singles from this album got
a lot of airplay. Teenage discos weren’t complete without a slow set including
Wonderful Tonight, and I have a lot of bitter sweet memories connected to that
song. That and the general overplay of the album on Irish radio means; I don’t
really like this album.
The original by JJ Cale was
released on from his 1976 album Troubadour. The song is built around two guitar
riffs, one of distorted power chords and another more disco style minor seventh
affair, plus a simple bass line all played by Cale in the studio. Steady
drumming drives the whole thing along. Cale is known for his laid back style when
it comes to music. The energy he’s channeling seems to come from the “The Dude”
in the film The Big Lebowski. There’s agreener herb to the feel of the track
than white powder, if you know what I mean. The lyrics offer an ambiguous view
of the drug, mentioning its use as a form of escape and hinting at its
addictive qualities. (In fact, at one stage in his career; Clapton, a recovered
addict stopped performing it live for that reason.)
A casual listen gives the
impression that this is almost a copy. Having listened to both tracks on a continuous
loop, I can testify that isn’t the case. The first thing that hits me is those
drums. The drummer, Jamie Oldaker gives the track a much more up tempo, energetic
feel to the whole track, making it more indicative of the drug the song talks
about. The production is superior as well, it sounds fuller and richer than the
original. Clapton makes the guitars more complex, adding frills and runs up and
down the song and expands the solos. Vocally
Cale and Clapton have a similar timbre.
The version boosted JJ Cale’s
record sales and show attendance, allowing him to get the kind of record deal
he wanted, one where he had creative freedom. Clapton and Cale would later collaborate
on the album The Road to Escondido in 2006.
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