Song of the Day 2/20: Crowded House, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
Kudos to Bono and U2 for leading their audiences – in Las Vegas, of all places – in leading chants of “Alexei Navalny” in remembrance of the martyred Russian dissident. Throughout the band’s residency at that new Enormodome, they’ve been dedicating a song to Ukraine’s struggle for freedom, and it’s not one of their own. They cover the No. 2 Crowded House hit “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” from 1986.
There are audience-filmed, low-quality videos of the occasion out there, and they show that U2 hasn’t gotten any better at covers over the years – I’m sorry, fans, it’s just a fact. So let’s hear Crowded House perform one of the under-appreciated Neil Finn’s most poignant tunes.
He explained how he wrote the song for a British TV audience in a songwriters circle appearance and performed it solo on acoustic guitar. Graham Gouldman of 10cc and Roddy Frame of Aztec Camera share the stage.
The exception to the rule is U2’s cover of “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)”.
As a Beatles and U2 fan, I prefer the U2 version of Helter Skelter on Rattle and Hum to the original.
I agree, that’s a good one, but I think McCartney in concert was better.
Technically not a cover.
Didn’t mean it was, but the Beatles never played it live. Had to wait for McCartney’s ’90s concerts to hear live versions of Beatles post-Revolver catalog.