Thursday, February 21, 2019

Sultans of Swing (metal cover by Leo Moracchioli featuring Mary Spender)



Really interesting heavy metal treatment of Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing.

Sultans of Swing was the then unknown rock band's tribute to a south London jazz band by that name, that one of the band's members had actually heard when stopping in a bar to get out of the rain, and in which a member of the jazz band actually did say "one more think. . . we are the Sultans of Swing".  The tribune song followed.

The song has always been an interesting one in that its a rock bands tribute to a jazz band which is getting ignored in the rock and roll era.  The "crowd of young boys hanging around in the corner" are criticized as they don't like jazz as it "ain't what they call rock and roll".

Dire Straits is a long ways from heavy metal but the song makes the transition surprisingly well in this mixed heavy metal/guitar rock tribune.  It's odd to think of how the song has that sort of staying power.  Mary Spender is a rock guitarist who has come up solely through net exposure and who is the representative of a line of guitars.  So the ironies of the song continue on it seems.

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