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Thursday 17 August 2017

Papa Was a Rodeo


As I mentioned the other day I've finally got around to acquiring 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields.
There is a lot to digest and I am taking my time and getting there slowly.

It does however give me the opportunity to finally compare and contrast the original of Papa Was a Rodeo with the cover by Kelly Hogan.
Taken from Beneath the Country Underdog a 2000 album on Bloodshot and billed as Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts it has long been a firm favourite of mine.
I would go as far as saying it is probably one of my top 10 songs ever and it has certainly appeared on just about every CD mixtape compilation I have compiled since then..

The Magnetic Fields original is of course excellent but obviously not as good as Kelly

What a coincidence your Papa was a Rodeo too

The Magnetic Fields - Papa Was a Rodeo

Kelly Hogan & the Pine Valley Cosmonauts - Papa Was a Rodeo

5 comments:

  1. Couldn't agree with you more, CC. I am hopelessly devoted to Kelly Hogan, or the next Mrs Goggins as I think of her, and this is possibly the finest of her many fine moments.

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  2. Big fan! An old friend of mine from my youth played on her album I Like To Keep Myself In Pain.

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  3. Gentlemen of exquisite taste who recognise when greatness is among you

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  4. Very nice. I think I still prefer the original, but then that's been my favourite Magnetic Fields song for so long, it'd be bloody hard to dislodge it.

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  5. I'm holding out for Kelly here. I heard her gorgeous version (live) first so that probably influences me. Stephen Merrit's baritone take which I do like, eventually becomes a tad grating - don't mean to sound churlish though as he wrote the damn thing!

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