10 Songs - 'Sweet Jane'
A few highlights (mostly) from the many and varied takes on 'Sweet Jane.'
The first Lou Reed album I bought was Rock and Roll Animal, a live one from the Seventies. It opens with an instrumental bit - dueling hotshot guitars and so on - that gives way to a pretty heavy version of 'Sweet Jane.' This was my benchmark version for a long time. When I finally heard the less rocking Velvet Underground stuff, it took me some time to adjust. But I eventually came around.
Once upon a time, I wrote an in-depth piece about the song. But I'll condense it to a few points. It's a great song, arguably one of the greatest rock and roll songs. It's probably Lou Reed's most popular song, after 'Walk on the Wild Side.' It's been covered a lot, but you could safely skip many of them.
Here are few versions worth noting. The first two are first on the list for a reason.
Michael Stanley - Growing up, I was aware of the Michael Stanley Band, but I still can't name a song by them. Stanley's cover of 'Sweet Jane' comes from his 2006 covers album, The Farrago Sessions. It blends the song with 'Wichi Tai To,' ‘a good old American Indian peyote chant,’ as he explains in the intro to the live version embedded here.
Two Nice Girls - I knew even less of Two Nice Girls before running across their version of 'Sweet Jane.' Wikipedia says they were "a self-styled ‘dyke rock’ band from Austin, Texas." Who also tried that blending trick, merging 'Sweet Jane" with Joan Armatrading's 'Love and Affection.' It's great.
Lou Reed - Just some guy and a guitar.
Velvet Underground - Every scrap of music the Velvet Underground ever recorded has now been released? Have I got that right? At one time I might have had the patience to comb through it all for 'Sweet Jane' takes. Nowadays I'll settle for the chipper version that appears on Loaded.
Cowboy Junkies - Probably the best known version of the song that's not by Lou Reed and or the Velvet Underground. It first appeared on The Trinity Sessions album in 1988 and got a boost when it appeared on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack in 1994. Dreamy. Laconic. And so on.
Chuck Prophet - "...all star bluegrass band featuring Chuck Prophet," who is perhaps best-known for a short stint with Green on Red. A good one, with the bluegrass elements pretty toned down.
Lou Reed (Rock and Roll Animal) - As mentioned, this one is a fairly rocking version of the song, with the basic chord progression upended.
Miley Cyrus - I don't know Miley's music, but "the Backyard Sessions are a series of music performances by American singer Miley Cyrus. The first sessions featured Cyrus performing cover versions of classic songs in an outdoor setting." Her version is not bad (but perhaps a bit overwrought) and owes much to the Cowboy Junkies.
David Duchovny - In which an actor with much money proceeds to hire musicians and others to assist him in forming a band so that he can act like a rock and roller. Or something like that. There are various versions floating around of their 'Sweet Jane' cover.
The Velvet Furs - 'Sweet Jane' (Singalong Version) - Go ahead. Sing along.
Check out Mott The Hoople’s version if you want to hear a take that can really hold its own. Guarantee it’s better than Miley Cyrus.
Rock and Roll Animal was the first Lou Reed album I bought, too. Likely from Salvation Army. That album cooks from start to finish.