12 & 11. This Night Has Opened My Eyes/Back To The Old House
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3bCWRLS6Eo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbgdCzGfFt4 These songs share a heart and soul in two respects, Morrissey's obsession with '60s kitchen sink dramas and Marr's fondness for the Byrds' Roger McGuinn's folky 12 string leanings. There have been some very weird Smiths cover versions, (I'm thinking of TaTu's take on 'How Soon Is Now') but I would have loved to have seen someone of real stature take these two songs on. Sandie Shaw had a real go at 'Hand in Glove', but can you imagine Dusty Springfield covering 'Back to the Old House'? Listen to her singing Goffin and Kings' 'Going Back' and multiply that by 1000. As for a contender for 'This Night Has Opened My Eyes,' listen to it and imagine what the Arctic Monkeys could do with it. They sort of covered it on every song on 'Suck It and See', but why not be a real heavyweight and have a shot at the title? I might start an online petition.
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash