Feast your ears on some delightful match-ups. Listen to all four match-ups here, and vote by commenting below before 8pm (EST), Monday.
First, few can do as much with a cover as Johnny Cash. The Man in Black could make a phonebook sound interesting. But this time the roles are reversed, as Jack White and the Secret Sisters do their take on “Big River.” They’ll take on the Black Crowes, who do that old timey blues rocker, “Hard to Handle.”
How do you handle Paul Simon, the thoughtful folk-rocker? We’ll get two takes- one from fellow old timer Willie Nelson, playing “American Tune,” and another from G-Love, with “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover.”
This next match-up goes out to Catholic Nick, because it guarantees that at least one reggae song will survive to the second round. First, Eric Clapton does Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff,” which, surprisingly, is Clapton’s only single ever to top the charts in the U.S. It’ll face Toots’ take on Bob Dylan’s “Maggie’s Farm.”
The Beatles dominated the Living the Dream Music Tournament, and were completely absent from the Peoples Choice Tournament. Now they’re back, not covering songs (though they do have many covers on their early albums), but as the covered. A full eight artists take a stab at the masters, including rock legends U2, with “Helter Skelter” and Aerosmith, with “Come Together.”
Enjoy! Here are your easy pastables:
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes)
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson)
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert)
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith)
Living the Dream 
Is this another round of playins or did you cut some other songs? Thought we needed to to get down from 137 to 128?
Progenitor, that is a good question. Treat these like first round match-ups; we will have to do a second day of play-ins, most likely tomorrow.
Can’t believe we managed to pit family against family here…. may the best Small (me) win!
What’s a father and a husband to do?
can pictures from golf cart accidents be used in the event of a tie?
anyway to get one of those pictures up?
Big River (Jack White with the Special Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes)
6.5/5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson)
8/7.5
I love G-Love’s voice. And Willie. 50 Ways >>> American Tune
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert)
4.5/4
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith)
6/6.5
Big River is Jack with the Secret Sisters (not Special Sisters (although they are special, I suppose)).
Big River (Jack White with the Special Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes)
2/6
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson)
8/5
I love G-Love’s voice. And Willie. 50 Ways >>> American Tune
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert)
4.5/3.5
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith)
6/7
Scores for Adrock/Meghan
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 6.5/4
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 7.5/8.5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 8.5/6.5
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 3/5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 9/7.5
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 5.5/5
Helter Skelter (U2) 4.5/5
Come Together (Aerosmith) 7/6
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 4.5 to 4.0
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) 7.0 to 3.0
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 7.0 to 9.0
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) 4.5 to 6.0
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 2.5 to 5.0
The instrumentals in BR were intolerable; a thump and a scream/screech. Hard to Handle was at least tolerable
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) 7.5 to 4.5
50 was funky enough to add to my iPod until it got to the long instrumental; very unnecessary. Willie was Willie but not good enough here.
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 7.5 to 8.5
Not fair. 2 good songs and you make me choose between my son and my wife. NOT COOL !!!!!!
But in the end, I see my wife everyday and I am very much in the mood for light and fun tonight.
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) 5.0 to 6.5
Never a big US fan and certainly not this cover; very mediocre. Aerosmith may not have added much with their interpretation but, again, they’re more fun to listen to and I could listen to this track again.
Big River (Jack White with the Special Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) – 6/7
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) – 6.5/5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) – 5/6
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) – 4/5
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. 6
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 9
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. 6
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 8
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. 7
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 6.5
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. 5.8
Come Together (Aerosmith) 8
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 6 vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 7
I’d like the Black Crows to go on because their version of Hard to Handle is a pretty classic cover, but Big River’s got a nice loping groove to it.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 4 Good song, not very imaginative cover. The ending is different from the original, but I’m pretty sure they just cut and pasted the jam from the final two minutes of Free Bird.
vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) 5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 6
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 4
Helter Skelter (U2) 4
Come Together (Aerosmith) 4
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes): 5.5/7
The guitar in Big River is great. The vocals are not so great. Black Crowes version is a is like turning the original down from 11 to a reasonable volume. They do a good job.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson): 8.5/6
G-Love, you’re not my usual cup-o-tea, but that was really well done. Whomever nominated it, thank you. I was not expecting that. Love Willie’s scraggly voice, but that wasn’t necessarily his best effort. It still took me somewhere.
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert): 7/4.5
I love how high Clapton gets. Hibbert’s Maggie’s Farm is, just as, if not nicer than the original. It’s just not a song I particularly like.
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith): 5/7
Opening Riff isn’t as awesome as I’d hope in Helter Skelter. Sometimes, it sounds as though Bono is channeling John, and then others he sounds like himself. As for Come Together, while the instrumental part isn’t anything to write home about, something about the way Steven Tyler sounds I like. I like it a lot.
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) – 10
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) – 6 – I was hoping for the good ole GD version, never been a huge fan of the Crowes.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) – 5 – Great song, this version doesn’t do much for me.
American Tune (Willie Nelson) – 7.3 – Never heard this song before, nice song.
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) – 6.8 –
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) – 7.3
Clever matchup. Clapton’s voice sucks, there I said it. But this version sits in a nice groove, so can’t hate on it too much. I take Toots doing the rock thing over Clapton doing reggae.
Helter Skelter (U2) – 4.5
Come Together (Aerosmith) – 6
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) [4]
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) [7.25]
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) [6]
American Tune (Willie Nelson) [5]
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) [8]
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) [5]
Helter Skelter (U2) [5.2]
Come Together (Aerosmith) [6]
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 5
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 6
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 4
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 6.5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 8
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 6
Helter Skelter (U2) 4
Come Together (Aerosmith) 5
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) – 8.5
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) – 8
A shame one of these has to go.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) – A bit labored rhythmically (and I’m usually a big fan of the palmas). But nice vocal and the harmonica solo was a romp. – 7
American Tune (Willie Nelson) – I adore this song and Willie, but never heard this before, so let’s see………odd pronunciation (forsa-KON), but very sincere. Doesn’t really add much to Simon’s (or Bach’s) original.- 6
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) – 8
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) – 4
Helter Skelter (U2) – 6
Come Together (Aerosmith) – 6 – after the Earth, Wind, and Fire contribution, the least offensive song from that horrible BeeGees Sgt. Pepper movie soundtrack.
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 7.2
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 5.5
So I didn’t get to vote over the weekend, and am now wrestling with the same “how do I score these” questions as the rest of us. I love Big River, and I don’t mind this hard rocky version. Hard To Handle always seemed a bit forgettable to me, that hasn’t changed.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 6.2
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 7.6
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 6
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 4
I wanted to like Toots more than I did. I appreciate but don’t really love I Shot The Sheriff.
Helter Skelter (U2) 5
Come Together (Aerosmith) 6
“In 1987, U2 recorded the song in concert for their Rattle and Hum movie and album which was released the following year. Bono’s introduction to the song was, “This is a song Charles Manson stole from The Beatles. We’re stealing it back.” Neat.
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes)- 9.2: 7
Surprised more people aren’t into this Big River cover. Grabbed me on first listen. Like “asf”, I prefer the Dead’s version of Hard to Handle.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson)- 8.1: 8.1
Conclusion: Paul Simon is awesome.
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert)- 6.9 : 9.6
Shot the Sheriff is decent, but I really dug Toots here. Maggie’s Farm is President Obama’s favorite Dylan song, incidentally. He said (back in 2008) that it describes the life of a politician.
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith)- 6.5 : 8
After the first minute, Helter Skelter kind of loses energy. Steven Tyler definitely seems more comfortable than Bono with this cover. While Joe Perry is a great guitarist, I think he could have done more with this lick…
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 5.8
[definitely not my genre (e.g. bar-rock), but I “appreciate” this cover. Great tone on the guitar distortion.]
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 4
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 6.8
[Again, not my genre, but solid uptempo re-appropriation.]
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 8.6
[this got me, although it could do without the wind chimes.]
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 8.0
[easy scoring this round. I see harsher scoring in the future.]
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 8.5
[I know Clapton’s is “better,” but I’d rather hear Toots Hibbert)
Helter Skelter (U2) 4.5
Come Together (Aerosmith) 5.0
[Slightly better]
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) – 7.5
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) – 8
really digging the raw-ness of “big river”. but who doesn’t love the black crowes’ h2h? damn, tough call.
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) – 8.5
American Tune (Willie Nelson) – 6
i nominated (and am scoring) 50 ways more as a song i enjoy off an album i’ve really been digging than as a cover. avetts harmonizing with g love = pretty awesome. (any of you who enjoyed it should defnitely check out the rest of the album, it’s nothing like the “baby’s got sauce” stuff.) i’ve also been listening to darrell scott’s modern hymns album a whole bunch lately & he does a cover of “american tune”, and although i enjoy willie, i know it can be done better.
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) – 7
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) – 8
another toughy. i think ISTS has more going for it and would have more staying power, but maggie’s just made me feel good.
Helter Skelter (U2) – 5
Come Together (Aerosmith) – 7.5
u2 was quite unimpressive.
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) 3
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 8
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) 6
American Tune (Willie Nelson) 4
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) 4.5
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 5
Mama Adrock takes it!
Helter Skelter (U2) 2
Come Together (Aerosmith) 7
As stated previously, although I don’t explicitly compare these to the original, it’s going to be impossible not to separate it in my brain. As such, although I am not one of several U2 haters in the tournament (I’m looking at you DJ Roomba), Helter Skelter is one of my absolute favorite Beatles songs…and this version is some seriously weak sauce.
I hesitated to rate the U2 song low because I didn’t want to get called out on being a hater. But I guess I got called out anyway — so thanks for that!
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) = 7
vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) = 7.5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) = 8
vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) = 7
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) = 7
vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) = 5
Helter Skelter (U2) = 6
vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) = 8.5
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) – 5
vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) – 5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) – 7
vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) – 5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) – 5
vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) – 5
Helter Skelter (U2) – 4
vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) – 6.2
Not enough time to form coherent thoughts on the songs, so you’ll just have to live without the explainations. Moe went out for dinner, so Carolyn is filling in. Votes are from ChrisB and Carolyn, respectively:
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) =4,4
Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) = 6, 6.5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) = 6, 5.5
American Tune (Willie Nelson) = 4, 7
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) = 8, 7.5
Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) = 5, 4
Helter Skelter (U2) – e, 2.01
Come Together (Aerosmith) – 6, 4.5
OK, so time for one comment I guess. Bono, WTF mate? You make your hay in the 80’s being THE iconic band from Ireland and you do one of the crappiest covers of a song made popular by the most influential English bands? Quoth Carolyn, “Who is this, some guys garage band?” No, you don’t get 30 seconds of applause at the end.
Oh, and yes, that vote is e. I can’t justifiably give it a one, but anything more than 3 is just not happening.
Big River (Jack White with the Secret Sisters) vs. Hard to Handle (Black Crowes) 7/3.5
50 Ways to Leave Your Lover (G-Love) vs. American Tune (Willie Nelson) 6.5/5
I Shot the Sheriff (Eric Clapton) vs. Maggie’s Farm (Toots Hibbert) 4/6
Helter Skelter (U2) vs. Come Together (Aerosmith) 5/7.7
I think this probably exactly matches what my scores for the original would be…