Totally Covered: April 2013

Anyone who knows me knows that I am sucker for a good piccolo solo.

Best known for their song "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", Manfred Mann did an awful lot of Bob Dylan covers in the late 60's. This, a retitled, upbeat cover of Dylan's "Quinn the Eskimo", was their biggest hit of that era - I mean, it was no "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", but it was well interpreted. The song itself, as originally written, was lyrically fun, but performed more in a ragtime style. And it was really good - this version, which is more pop/rock/jazz, fits the song's lyrics just a little better.

The strangest part of this? Manfred Mann released their version in 1968, a year after Bob Dylan had recorded it as part of his Basement Tapes. Dylan did not release the song himself until 1970.

A little footnote here. Manfred Mann - the band - was named after their keyboard player. He went on to found another band - Manfred Mann's Earth Band. Guess what song they covered? The single, with a rock/disco feel, was released in 1978. It's not bad. It's just different.