In compiling my list of 10 cover songs for the WXPN countdown, I’m prioritizing versions that reimagine or redefine the first release. Sometimes that means taking the lyrical element more seriously than the original artist did.
Townes Van Zandt’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers” is a case in point. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote it during their first dalliance with country music, which they didn’t take altogether seriously. They made a demo of “Wild Horses” that they thought so little of they didn’t bother giving a full production until the Flying Burrito Brothers released it. That means the Stones’ version, released on 1971’s “Sticky Fingers,” was a cover of their own song.
“Dead Flowers” was another country-inspired number on the same album. Jagger admitted that, as a blues singer, he didn’t take the song seriously. He sang it with a sneer. Van Zandt sings it with sorrow.
Van Zandt’s version appeared on his 1994 live albums, “Roadsongs,” and turned up a few years later in the end credits of the Coen brothers’ cult classic “The Big Lebowski,” which gave it much wider exposure.
The originally released version on “Sticky Fingers” is highlighted by some great slide guitar work by Mick Taylor.
The alternate version the Stones included on the album’s deluxe re-release is faster and less honky-tonk, giving even less emphasis to the lyrics.
