brent johnson digs up another lost treasure, this week from The English Beat …
There are really only two reasons a band should release a cover song:
1. To re-arrange it into something that sounds different or new.
2. To introduce a forgotten tune to an audience that has never heard it.
The English Beat’s version of ‘Can’t Get Used To Losing You’ does both.
Fronted by singer/guitarist Dave Wakeling, the Beat were one of the leaders of the 2 Tone ska movement that hit Britain in the late 1970s. It’s doubtful many of their fans were familiar with ‘Losing You,’ a song with a catchy chorus and jerky beat that Andy Williams brought to the upper reaches of the charts in 1963.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5E9XUkoJH5I
The Beat re-imagined it with reggae guitar and a woozy saxophone break. Still, it sounds like they could have written it themselves — probably because the Beat’s music often featured more classic pop structure than their ska counterparts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjppcd-9ZFI
(For the record, both versions of the song are pretty great. Williams’ original actually seems experimental for a pre-Beatles singer beloved by my grandparents.)
The Beat had a string of wonderful hits in their native U.K. in the early ’80s and found some success in America. Their signature song, ‘Save It For Later,’ was a staple on the early days on MTV. When they broke up, the band splintered into two different groups: General Public and Fine Young Cannibals.
But Wakeling still tours with a version of the Beat. Pop-Break is set to interview him this week in advance of the band’s show at Maxwell’s in Hoboken, N.J., on Saturday night. For more info, visit Wakeling’s website.
