Reupload - Paul Jones - Pretty Vacant/ Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

Smooth MOR FM cover of the Sex Pistols by a somewhat cheeky Paul Jones

Label: RSO

Year of Release: 1978

Piss-taking pop parodies have always had a place in musical history. Joke easy-listening/ classical interpretations of hard-edged, sneering rock and roll have existed for just as long as mirth-making aggressive versions of traditionally innocent tracks. Every Oasis has had their Mike Flowers, and every innocent children's show its Dickies. We've found examples of the phenomenon on this blog dating as far back as the early sixties, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the practice surviving another fifty years. The very best and very worst jokes are always deathless.

Ex-Manfred Mann member Paul Jones's cover of the Sex Pistols "Pretty Vacant" is, however, so rich in detail that it's one of the most careful jokes ever. With the orchestra whirling into action for the intro, to the smooth, gentle bass sounds throughout, right down to Jones's weary mid-Atlantic vocals (more Jack Jones than Paul Jones, in fact) it finds fluffy levels of detail in the spikiness of the original you'd never have suspected were there. In this sense, what was doubtless supposed to be a very cheeky stab at the Pistols becomes a peculiar compliment - you suddenly appreciate the band's songwriting chops more than you perhaps previously did (not that I ever needed much convincing).

Paul Jones - Pretty Vacant/ Sheena Is A Punk Rocker

Label: RSO

Year of Release: 1978

Piss-taking pop parodies have always had a place in musical history. Joke easy-listening/ classical interpretations of hard-edged, sneering rock and roll have existed for just as long as mirth-making aggressive versions of traditionally innocent tracks. Every Oasis has had their Mike Flowers, and every innocent children's show its Dickies. We've found examples of the phenomenon on this blog dating as far back as the early sixties, and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see the practice surviving another fifty years. The very best and very worst jokes are always deathless.

Ex-Manfred Mann member Paul Jones's cover of the Sex Pistols "Pretty Vacant" is, however, so rich in detail that it's one of the most careful jokes ever. With the orchestra whirling into action for the intro, to the smooth, gentle bass sounds throughout, right down to Jones's weary mid-Atlantic vocals (more Jack Jones than Paul Jones, in fact) it finds fluffy levels of detail in the spikiness of the original you'd never have suspected were there. In this sense, what was doubtless supposed to be a very cheeky stab at the Pistols becomes a peculiar compliment - you suddenly appreciate the band's songwriting chops more than you perhaps previously did (not that I ever needed much convincing).

As if to highlight this, the B-side "Sheena Is A Punk Rocker" - flipped to be the A-side on some versions of this single - is altogether less interesting, causing Jones and Tim Rice on production duties to pull humour from as sarcastic a delivery of the lyrics as feasibly possible.

Portsmouth's finest son Paul Jones is no stranger to this blog, of course - we've already referred to him once when writing about the amazing 60s B-side "The Dog Presides".

Paul Jones - The Dog Presides/ The Sun Will Shine

Label: Columbia
Year of Issue: 1968

I doubt Paul Jones is unfamiliar to many readers of this blog. One of Portsmouth's finest sons, Jones enjoyed huge success as the lead singer of Manfred Mann, before departing their unit in 1966 to become a solo superstar. Or, at the very least, that was the plan. The reality was rather different, as the public chose to continue purchasing Manfred Mann singles without him as lead singer, whilst his own musical career seemed to plummet into ever-more diminishing returns and selective audiences. Rather than licking his wounds quietly, Jones became incredibly adept at diversifying his career, appearing in films and television programmes, and even becoming a DJ on the cultishly popular BBC Radio Two Rhythm and Blues programme.

This particular 1968 flop release is a peculiar affair indeed, having a rather hymnal Bee Gees composition on the A-side which, to be frank, doesn't bear much scrutiny or analysis. It's the track unfairly tucked away on the flip which is the real jaw-dropper. Featuring Jeff Beck on guitar, Paul McCartney on drums and Paul Samwell-Smith on bass, "The Dog Presides" is a supergroup track in all but name, and is a raw, pounding beast featuring all members playing to the best of their abilities. Bluesy, furious and insistent, even Jones' harmonica playing sounds spontaneous and ragged, and being present in the studio at the moment this was recorded must have been a very memorable occasion indeed. The fact that it's talked about so infrequently these days is really due to the fact that EMI seemed to completely fail to capitalise on the collective and merely hid the track out of sight behind a pop number - the phrase "missed opportunity" barely covers their error.

Unfortunately, due to the commercial availability of both tracks I can't really upload them in full here, although you can buy "The Dog Presides" on iTunes, and of course there's a full YouTube clip of it should you care to go wandering in that direction.