The Worthy Of A Bigger Audience 2012 Awards (Part 3)

My favourite B side, cover version and remix featured on Worthy Of A Bigger Audience during 2012.

Over the last two weeks I’ve rounded off the year by choosing a favourite from each category (albums, movies, TV shows, etc) featured on Worthy Of A Bigger Audience during 2012.  As well as regular reviews, however, I occasionally feature music related posts such as Six Cover Versions Worth Checking Out, Six Remixes Worth Checking Out and Six B Sides Worth Checking Out, so to round things off completely here are my favourite cover version, remix and B side (or bonus track) featured on Worthy Of A Bigger Audience during 2012:

Lady With The Spinning Head can be found as
one of the bonus tracks on U2's One CD single.

B Sides (Bonus Tracks):

1) Never Want To See You Cry by The Verve (B side to Lucky Man)
2) Lady With The Spinning Head by U2 (B side to One)
3) For Where There Is Love, There Will Always Be Miracles by The Charlatans (B side to Up At The Lake)
4) Headset by Underworld (B side to Two Months Off)
5) Won’t Let You Down by Oasis (B side to Lyla)
6) Lull by Radiohead (B side to Karma Police)

All six of these tracks are brilliant B sides but the tune I love the most is probably Lady With The Spinning Head which as mentioned in my original post is immediately recognisable as an early version of The Fly.  The song has an infectious motivating energy which fills you with enthusiasm when you listen to it and it also provides an interesting insight into the U2 song writing process.

Winner – Lady With The Spinning Head by U2

Tori Amos' version of Smells Like Teen Spirit can be found as
one of the bonus tracks on the US edition of her Crucify EP.

Cover Versions:

1) Smells Like Teen Spirit by Tori Amos
2) Love Machine by The Arctic Monkeys
3) Sweet Child O’ Mine by Taken By Trees
4) Hyperballad by Bjork
5) Hung Up by The Enemy
6) A Little Respect by Wheatus

When the original version of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana was released and I heard it for the first time I can remember my mate and I looking at each other with an expression very similar to the way I would imagine people looked at each other when man first landed on the moon.  No words needed to be said because we could both tell what the other was thinking.  It felt like Nirvana had grabbed a hold of me with the power of music and given me a life changing shake.  It felt like a significant moment in musical history.

While Tori’s version isn’t quite in that league, it was nevertheless once again a bit of a ‘wow!’ moment hearing her piano version for the first time (albeit on a more subdued level), purely because it differs so radically from the original and yet still manages to be filled with so much emotion.  This time though, the emotion is beautiful and bleak, rather than the anger and aggression of the original.

Winner – Smells Like Teen Spirit by Tori Amos

A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) can be found
on Gary Numan's Exposure 'Best Of' collection.

Remixes:

1) Austere (The Naked And Famous Remix) by The Joy Formidable
2) Slave To The Wage (‘I Can’t Believe It’s A Remix’ Remix) by Placebo
3) A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) by Gary Numan
4) Elevation (Influx Remix) by U2
5) Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
6) Within You Without You / Tomorrow Never Knows (Love Remix) by The Beatles

This came down to a choice between A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) and Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix) which are both remixes which I’ve played constantly on repeat at one stage or another.  As I mentioned in my original review, The A-Trak Remix of Heads Will Roll works so well because it avoids making wholesale changes and thus manages to retain the excellence of the original version.  A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) was a tune I fell in love with immediately because it recaptures the brilliant synthesiser vibe of Gary’s early days, and I would strongly recommend that any fans of Gary’s earlier stuff who have lost touch with his music should check out this remix.

When it came to making my decision, nostalgia just won out and so A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) just edges my vote.

Winner – A Prayer For The Unborn (Grayed Up Remix) by Gary Numan


That's it for my round-up of 2012, which as I say was just a bit of self-indulgent fun.  You can find parts one and two of the Worthy Of A Bigger Audience 2012 Awards at the following links:
The Worthy Of A Bigger Audience 2012 Awards (Part 1)
The Worthy Of A Bigger Audience Awards 2012 (Part 2)

Follow Worthy Of A Bigger Audience on twitter:
@WoabaBlog


Other blogs:
Charles Fudgemuffin 
Author Quiz 
Tomorrow's Technology Today


Please note, all promotional images used on this blog remain the copyright of the respective publishers and are used in accordance with 'Fair Use' legislation for review purposes.