Monday, May 28, 2012

Cover Me Impressed: 'I'm Not Sayin''

In order to to salvage what little cool cred I may have, it would be easy to pass off the Primitives as little more than a guilty pleasure, but that would be dishonest. Fact is, I really dig them. Now, usually when I do one of these Cover Me Impressed posts, I provide mp3s of the original and the newer take (or two). In this case, however, I don't actually own the cover... at least not in the physical sense.

In case you missed it, a few weeks ago the Primitives released an entire album of covers, the well-received 'Echoes and Rhymes.' It's the band's first LP in 21 years, and I was mildly excited about it when, back in April, I saw the video for the single "Turn Off the Moon." So much so, in fact, I did something I almost never do. I bought the song from iTunes. I like owning records I can touch. What I didn't count on at that time was I would end up seeing another video for a song from the album I would like even more. The dilemma became whether I should buy the second song from iTunes, complete the entire album in download form or try and find the actual CD. Since the album is an import that would cost me $22.16, for now I have chosen to buy the second song for a buck. I hope you like it as much as I do and you find your own method of buying it.

The song, "I'm Not Sayin', is a Gordon Lightfoot composition made popular by Nico in 1965. Big fan. The song can be found on her 'The Classic Years' compilation. Obviously, this single CD barely scratches the surface of her fascinating career, but it includes some great songs from 'The Velvet Underground & Nico,' 'Chelsea Girl,' 'The Marble Index' and more. I consider all three of those records essential buys.

The Primitives made a curious choice when covering "I'm Not Sayin'." Guitarist Paul Court takes lead vocals. Don't worry. Tracy Tracy does show up later on the song, albeit in a supporting role. It totally works for me. Check out the video below. It's a great song, and the video has a cool Nico, circa 1960s, vibe.

Nico - I'm Not Sayin' (mp3)

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