Artist: Save Ferris
Year: 1997
Well, two for two, meaning this is another song I liked but from a band I didn't follow at all. For the most part, I wasn't much of a fan of the so-called third wave of ska, a little too '90s pop-punk for my taste, but having seen Dexys' title on the CD single back in the day was enough to get me to bite even without the benefit of hearing it beforehand.
Other than another cover, the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping," which appeared on a KROQ holiday sampler in 1998, I own nothing else by Save Ferris. The single of "Come on Eileen" I have is a special mix that differs from the version found on 'It Means Everything,' but since I have never heard their debut album, I couldn't tell you what said differences are. I just learned two interesting bits of trivia related to today's selection. One, the French version of the single includes an additional "Day Mix." So, Save Ferris has at least three versions of this song. Two, in 1996, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences gave Save Ferris a Grammy for best unsigned band, earning them a contract with Epic. I had no idea there was such a prize.
6 comments:
I am VERY familiar with both "It Means Everything" and the follow up "Modified" (Well. I'm very familiar with the former and I've listened to the latter a number of times and own a copy...) but I can't tell what was changed to make the the "night mix". I wonder if the "day mix" is way different and the "night mix" is what they used on the album.
Hey James. Thanks for chiming in. Without the benefit of hearing the album version, the only thing I know for sure is the running time of the Night Mix is shorter than the album version, but that's a far cry from the description of a "special mix" used on the cover of the single, eh? At any rate, I do really like this one. Those horns are tight, and Monique's voice impresses me.
I was working in a record shop throughout the 1990s, but I've not heard of Save Ferris either. I like the idea of this cover more than the execution, just a tad too slick for my taste.
Ok. There was one difference. The album version had an outro that the single didn't have which would account for the time. I had chalked that up to being the difference between a single and an album cut
I must admit to never having heard this before Brian. I really enjoyed it, loved her voice.
Mr. Swede, HOW DARE YOU! I'm kidding. I'm with you on the slick production. It would be interesting to know if this song was a live staple before Epic got their hands on them. There was an indie EP before the album, and some of the songs from that one were rerecorded for the Epic debut. I imagine an old SoCal fan that knew them from the beginning would argue they were better back then... We all have bands we feel that way about.
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