Cover of the Week 3 One Step up

Okay, here is the third installment of Cover of the Week. My voice was a bit hoarse from Buff Tom practice so I tried a number from the Boss. A great song that has too much ’80s goop on it on the record.

If you want to donate to a charity due to inspiration from this little project, be it because of a specific request or just in general, I have two in mind. One is the Foundation to Be Named Later. Many of you from around Boston may be familiar with the organization, started by Paul and Theo Epstein and the beneficiary of the Hot Stove Cool Music event. The other is the Global Fund of the UN, as inspired by the RED Campaign. I have a friend who is one of the main folks that run RED (along with Bono and Bobby Shriver), which raises money to fight AIDS in Africa through partnerships with private enterprise. RED participants include Apple, Starbucks, and Gap and purchases of certain RED products result in donations to the Global Fund. The RED Campaign has also started a promising new venture called (RED)WIRE, which is a new subscription-based delivery of music, film clips, all sorts of stuff from big successful artists as well as newer acts…it is explained better here: (RED)WIRE.

I have no formal relationship with either organization.

Another lame Photo Booth shot. I think this will have to be the end of the self-portraits. I’m gonna gave to come up with something more interesting for a visual element. But extra credit goes to the first person to recognize the painting on the wall.

16 thoughts on “Cover of the Week 3 One Step up”

  1. One of my favorites from the recent shows, glad to have a well recorded version of it.

    Recognized the painting right away, if the extra credit pushes my “Lord Protect My Child” request further up the queue:
    Artwork spoiler

  2. Thanks, KG (I assume it is the G-Man).

    Forgot to comment on the Dylan tune — a great one and Tedeschi’s version is great as well. Not sure if it would translate to guy alone in basement, but worth a shot. Very apropos to my post on The Road.

  3. Kind of amazing how much you sound like the Boss right there. Great job, never heard that tune before.

  4. Bill… you’re an amazingly talented artist. I have every CD of BT and your solo stuff and now these songs just add to an already incomparable catalogue of music.

    Bravo.

    Tom Neuerburg

  5. I appreciate your willingnes to put yourself out there and open the communication channels to your fans. I hold you in high esteem with the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Westerberg, Bob Mould, etc.
    However, with this blog….fans like me can talk to you…and you respond. How cool is that?I doubt that those artists I mentioned are doing that.
    I’ve been a fan for 18 years….seen you numorous times…and love your work. All of it! Thanks for providing this venue. (By the way, someone suggested you do Dylan’s “Lord Protect My Child”….I second the motion.

  6. Hi Bill. Am sitting in my friends’ home in Riverside RI, listening to another great reading. I love the multiple tracked guitars, very smooth and heartfelt version of the tune. I also agree with Bullseye Studio about your willingness to open communications with your fans – there can be no greater reward as a fan to have those who create the music they love make themselves accessible in such a way.

    I am happy to donate to either charity, and will do so when I return to Edmonton next week, guaranteed. Consider it a combination of inspiration and general support of what you are doing for us. Is there a suggested amount you would like us to consider donating? I’m happy to donate $25, if that works.

    Regarding requests, if there is a Buff Tom song I’d like to hear in acoustic, it would be For All To See, so please add that the to list if possible.

    BS mentioned Westerberg and Mould – two other musicians whose music has influenced me greatly. If you are a fan, I’d love to hear a cover from one of their catalogues. Otherwise, I am content to listen to whatever you choose to play for us.

    I have a question about sharing your Covers of the Week: someone here previously mentioned downloading and burning a CD of your CotW, so as to be able to listen to them in the car, on a CD player, etc. I’d like to do that as well when enough tunes are up to to so, but at that time would also want to burn maybe 5-7 extra copies to share with local friends who are also major BT fans. Would you object to that, Bill? If so, I would not do it, and I wanted to clear it with you first either way. I will honour your decision, but felt it critical to check with you first before doing anything like that.

    Thanks again for this great project.

    – Randy

  7. I will attempt to post a comment that will not be immediately deleted. I am not a fan of the boss mainly because of his whole shtick, but I do like some of his songs a lot and this is one of them. Nice guitar work and a nice version altogether.

  8. This is great. THANKS BILL. I usually listen to the Beach Boys when winter is setting in as you always need something to get you through the first few weeks but this will be a great replacement!

    If we’re talking about Grateful Dead songs how about ‘Ripple’?
    or:
    CSNY ‘Helpless’ (although I think this one would be difficult without the layers of backing vocals?) any Neil Young song will do I suppose.
    Gram Parson’s – Hickory Wind, Gene Clark ‘The Virgin’ ‘For a Spanish Guitar’ ‘Silver Raven’ The Band ‘The Weight’ ‘In a Station’ or how about a Stevie Wonder cover?

  9. Hi Bill.
    Wow, as an old fan of you and B.Tom I can really say thanks. You singin´The Boss and one of my favourites “One step…”. Shit, that´s great!

    You and B.Tom are two central figures in my own world of music (43 years of that), now my children is beginning to get a grip of that same feeling!

    Keep the good work streamin´!

    Thomas Bergh/Sweden (PS, saw you in my hometown, Malmoe, at KB for about ten years ago, can still smell the energy)

  10. Great version of a great song Bill. Nicely done. I agree with your brother about the whole “boss” thing. More than any other artist, there are things about his music I get and things I just don’t. He’s an artist who suffers from too much success in my book.

    Now, how ’bout doing your bro’s song “Beautiful” or another CWF tune as a cover? That Cold Water Flat album was one of my top 20 of the 90’s…f-ing great!

    By the way Bill, will you be leaving these songs up for a while, as my damn 5 month old pc crashed and is being repaired (I hope)?

  11. As a Bill J and Boss fan this is pretty sweet. (As sweet as you doing the Beatles covers on "Lost Songs of Lennon & McCartney." – I'm also a Beatles maniac.)

    The guitar work is especially nice on One Step Up. Great stuff thanks for doing!

  12. Beautiful version of a great song- I just donated $20 to the UN Global Fund per your suggestion. That whole album does have too much 80s goop on it, but is underrated nonetheless- “When You’re Alone”, “Tougher Than the Rest”, and “Walk Like a Man” are all great. Look forward to all the covers you choose, but I’ll throw out Waits’ “Ol’ 55” or “Cold, Cold, Ground”, Big Star’s “The Ballad of El Goodo” or “September Gurls”, or “Would Not Be Denied”.

  13. G’day Bill – love the covers and especially this one – keep on posting. Not sure if I am too late with the answer on this one but i am pretty positive the artwork on the wall is the cover art to the cd single of Taillights Fade?

  14. rich's bropther said

    Never was a huge Springsteen fan but that song always struck a chord………..
    Very sweet version Bill…….thoroughly enjoyed it!!!

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