Posted by Howard on March 18, 2002 at 10:22:01:
I saw the Dixie Dregs play for the umpteenth time back in early December in Northern Virginia. One of the joys of a live show is when the band rips through a cover of some excellent song, done in true Dregs style, as seen with “Kashmir” and “Jessica.” So since then I have been pondering what cover tune I would love to hear the band play during the next tour, whenever that may be. I became so obsessed with this question that I fed a set of complex parameters into an IBM mainframe and after weeks of processing time, (okay, that whole part was bullshit), was led to the following song, which has the following key attributes:
1. It is instrumental, making it a natural fit for the band.
2. It has violin.
3. It has keyboard.
4. It has blistering guitar.
5. The guitar and strings frequently play note for note during the melody, giving it that nice “doubled” sound, the way the Dregs often do.
6. I have never heard another band try to take this on.
7. Steve likes this guy and probably knows this song by heart anyway.
And the song is:
Scatterbrain - Jeff Beck
Now, I ask one thing - before you post here complaining about this choice, do yourself the favor of getting out your old Blow by Blow LP and actually listening to this song with the specific idea of whether this would make an awesome cover song for the Dregs. I think you’ll agree with the computer!
How about we agree on five top choices, put them to a fan vote, and then physically force the band to learn the song that wins the vote. Howard.