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Big Country — Don't Fear The Reaper
Album: Ships
Avg rating:
4.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 39









Released: 1993
Length: 4:15
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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Comments (33)add comment
So, some common questions seem to be, why bother recording this and why bother playing it. I can answer the first one and speculate on the second. This song was recorded as a b-side in 1993, so it was never anything more than a band having fun in the studio and giving their fans an extra reason to buy a CD single. Judging it is anything more than that seems unnecessarily harsh. So why does BillG play it? He presumably feels, like I do, that it's a well recorded, enjoyable piece of rock music -- arguably better than the original, since he chose to play this instead -- and that it's perfectly suited for Halloween but not something he's compelled to play on any other day. I uploaded it specifically for last year's Halloween playlist and he hasn't played it since, and that seems about right to me. If nothing else, it gives certain listeners something to complain about, and a chance to resurrect the rotting corpse of that dead horse otherwise known as the cowbell joke. If you can't handle the annual appearance of four minutes of finely crafted rock music that doesn't ask you think too much, that's an issue you need to deal with (or not). For those who did enjoy it, it's available on a Big Country compilation of covers called, obviously enough, "Under Cover". In addition to some fun, non-challenging covers of songs by Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Joni Mitchell, there's some more unusual and/or intriguing covers like Roxy Music's "Prairie Rose", Fleetwood Mac's "Oh Well", a revved-up Celtic meets cowpunk version of Bruce Springsteen's "I'm On Fire", and even a musical interpretation of a poem by Robert Burns, "Killiekrankie".
Posted 18 years ago by JohnErle    [ Reply ]
I hate myself for humming along with this. Like "A Horse with No Name" or "Hotel California" there's no sense to the lyric, just a big sweeping epic sound to an empty rock riff. So why cover it and why play it? The exception is anything Neil Young does. Do you know why we like his songs? Great though..">(click here)
Posted 18 years ago by forbz    [ Reply ]
Guess I'm in a (growing?) minority - I like this version. And who says BC was a one hit wonder?
Posted 18 years ago by Leaf13    [ Reply ]
BoFiS wrote:
So a year later on Halloween we play the same cover...how about some Blue Oyster Cult next year?
I'm with you on that one.
Posted 18 years ago by jone_ston    [ Reply ]
I put this in my "good for a road trip" category. Any more thought than that and it comes up short.
Posted 18 years ago by MojoJojo    [ Reply ]
AliGator wrote:
First time I've heard this. The cowbell is there, folks!
Okay I just heard it. But if ever a song needed MORE COWBELL, this is it.
Posted 18 years ago by kazuma    [ Reply ]
A decent, respectful remake, but yeah, needs more 'bell...
Posted 18 years ago by phineas    [ Reply ]
Why did they do this? Must have been real big in Scotland at one time...It even HAS more cowbell.
Posted 18 years ago by Gregorama    [ Reply ]
why would you even bother playing anything but the original of this one?
Posted 18 years ago by rah    [ Reply ]
BoFiS wrote:
that's what this was missing!
So a year later on Halloween we play the same cover...how about some Blue Oyster Cult next year?
Posted 18 years ago by BoFiS    [ Reply ]
ArbiterOfGoodTaste wrote:
Where'd the cowbell go?
listen very closely....
Posted 18 years ago by dogpound    [ Reply ]
First time I've heard this. The cowbell is there, folks!
Posted 18 years ago by AliGator    [ Reply ]
Bad remakes scare me.
Posted 18 years ago by AphidA    [ Reply ]
Hmm, the Blue Oyster Cult rendition was much better in my opinion, but at least this is getting played I suppose
Posted 18 years ago by maLeFunKtion    [ Reply ]
BoFiS wrote:
that's what this was missing!
That and Blue Oyster Cult.
Posted 18 years ago by Darlington    [ Reply ]
more cowbell!
Posted 18 years ago by tony620d    [ Reply ]
There is a severe lack of cowbell in this version.
Posted 18 years ago by kazuma    [ Reply ]
Where'd the cowbell go?
Posted 18 years ago by ArbiterOfGoodTaste    [ Reply ]
The nature of my nature is to give kudos where kudos is due, let slide the unremarkable, and enjoy the ride. THIS, however, riles up the warrior who demands a cessation of hostility to our ears! Slay it with a 1!
Posted 19 years ago by jadewahoo    [ Reply ]
hideglue wrote:
"I got a FE-ver. And the only pre-SCRIP-tion. is more COW-bell."
I'm still laughing five minutes later. Man that was a funny skit.
Posted 19 years ago by drife    [ Reply ]
orpheus wrote:
I'm still wiping away the tears of laughter.
Posted 19 years ago by drife    [ Reply ]
Before I came to comment about the need for more cowbell, I was wondering why I seemed to be liking this better than I remembered. Very surprised to find this isn't the original (obviously I don't know it real well). I'm sure the purists will be upset with me, but this sounded tighter...
Posted 19 years ago by faramir    [ Reply ]
Is that a Scottish band feigning a southern accent?!?!
Posted 19 years ago by SiniLMan    [ Reply ]
hideglue wrote:
"I got a FE-ver. And the only pre-SCRIP-tion. is more COW-bell."
Posted 19 years ago by orpheus    [ Reply ]
"I got a FE-ver. And the only pre-SCRIP-tion. is more COW-bell."
Posted 19 years ago by hideglue    [ Reply ]
Man I thought the original was poor, but this is simply dreadful.
Posted 19 years ago by drife    [ Reply ]
Give me a break - Give me BOC! This is awful.
Posted 19 years ago by BigPete    [ Reply ]
Even covered, the guitar riff is still creepy and the vocals eerily dreamlike...
Posted 19 years ago by gandalfbmg    [ Reply ]
Schmackdown wrote:
I gotta have more cowbell
that's what this was missing!
Posted 19 years ago by BoFiS    [ Reply ]
Still needs more cowbell.
Posted 19 years ago by sans    [ Reply ]
I gotta fever for the cowbell.
Posted 19 years ago by drife    [ Reply ]
This is ok, but the original would be preferable.
Posted 19 years ago by Darlington    [ Reply ]
I gotta have more cowbell
Posted 19 years ago by Schmackdown    [ Reply ]