One of the pleasures of putting together the Midweek Song List is never knowing quite where the music will take us. This week we’re travelling from the ancient landscapes of English folk mythology to the industrial might of German metal, with stops along the way for 1950s-inspired rockabilly, American punk, classical light music and some intriguing cover versions.
That’s quite a journey, but variety has always been the point. There’s no reason why someone who enjoys Queen shouldn’t also discover the unsettling world of Flipper, or why a fan of hard rock shouldn’t find something to appreciate in the gentle orchestral beauty of Ronald Binge’s Sailing By. Good music doesn’t recognise the artificial boundaries we sometimes impose upon it.
There are also some interesting stories behind this week’s selections. We’ve got a song that became world-famous only after another singer recorded it, a Motörhead classic performed by an unlikely collection of rock celebrities, and a Roy Orbison hit given a new interpretation more than half a century after its original release.
And for anyone who has wondered what Rammstein are actually singing about, we’ll attempt to shed a little light on that as well.
So put aside your musical prejudices, turn up the volume and see where this week’s selection takes you.
Albion – Witch of the Westmorland
We begin with a song steeped in mystery and folklore. The Witch of the Westmorland was written by Scottish singer-songwriter Archie Fisher and has been interpreted by numerous folk performers over the years.
The story concerns a wounded knight seeking the help of a mysterious woman whose supernatural powers offer the possibility of healing. It draws upon the atmosphere and imagery of traditional British balladry, even though the composition itself is comparatively modern.
Albion bring a heavier approach to the material, blending folk melodies with rock and metal instrumentation. The result has much of the atmosphere of an ancient tale being told around a fire, but with considerably more amplification.
It’s a good example of how traditional storytelling can survive quite happily within contemporary musical forms.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PHiZnRI3Rk
Artillery – Turn Up the Rage
Denmark has produced some formidable heavy metal bands, and Artillery have been among its most enduring contributions to the genre.
Formed in the early 1980s, the group became associated with the European thrash metal movement, developing a style built around aggressive guitar riffs, rapid rhythms and technically demanding musicianship.
Turn Up the Rage comes from their 2021 album X, released in May that year. The title reflects the fact that it was their tenth studio album.
The track demonstrates that thrash doesn’t necessarily have to sacrifice melody in pursuit of speed. There’s precision behind the aggression, with tightly controlled guitar passages and a powerful rhythmic foundation.
Not exactly suitable for a quiet Sunday afternoon, perhaps, but there’s something refreshing about music that makes absolutely no apology for its intensity.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1yVzWY4scY
Around About Dusk – Without You
Time for a change of pace.
Around About Dusk offer a very different musical atmosphere from the thunderous approach of Artillery. Without You takes us into a more intimate world, where melody, mood and musical texture matter more than volume.
What appeals here is the way the performance allows the song room to develop. Rather than relying on spectacular production or sheer force, the arrangement invites the listener to pay attention to the interplay between the instruments and the emotional quality of the delivery.
It’s also the sort of selection that illustrates why we try to feature less familiar performers alongside established names.
There is always something satisfying about discovering music without the baggage of reputation or commercial expectations. Sometimes the best approach is simply to listen and decide for yourself.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k0bt_4WuxA
Ronald Binge – Sailing By
For many British listeners, this piece will be instantly familiar even if the composer’s name isn’t.
Ronald Binge composed Sailing By in 1963. The gentle orchestral waltz became closely associated with BBC Radio 4’s late-night Shipping Forecast, where it has provided an unmistakable musical introduction to reports of weather conditions around the British coastline.
Binge was an accomplished composer and arranger associated with the British light-music tradition. His best-known compositions also include Elizabethan Serenade.
There’s something peculiarly comforting about Sailing By. Its graceful melody and unhurried movement seem to belong to a world in which life proceeds at a more civilised pace.
For generations of listeners, its association with the Shipping Forecast has given it an almost ritual significance.
You don’t need any knowledge of classical music to appreciate it. Sometimes a beautiful tune is enough.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Nea287VfmU
Flipper – Ha Ha Ha
And now we abandon tranquillity altogether.
Flipper emerged from San Francisco’s punk underground around 1979 and developed a sound that was deliberately awkward, abrasive and resistant to the conventions of mainstream rock.
Where many punk bands relied upon speed, Flipper often favoured repetitive bass lines, discordant guitars and a slow, grinding intensity.
Ha Ha Ha captures their confrontational spirit particularly well. The humour is bitter, the sound deliberately rough and the performance seems almost designed to irritate anyone expecting conventional musical entertainment.
Yet Flipper’s influence extended well beyond their original underground audience. Their unconventional approach helped shape elements of American alternative rock, and Kurt Cobain was famously photographed wearing a homemade Flipper T-shirt.
This is music that challenges rather than reassures. Whether you love it or hate it, indifference seems an unlikely response.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6PNmvio1GM
Hollywood Vampires – Ace of Spades
Few rock songs announce themselves quite as dramatically as Motörhead’s Ace of Spades.
Originally released in 1980, it became the group’s defining anthem, driven by Lemmy Kilmister’s unmistakable vocals, Phil Taylor’s relentless drumming and Eddie Clarke’s ferocious guitar work.
Hollywood Vampires approach the song as a tribute to Lemmy and his contribution to rock music.
The supergroup features Alice Cooper, Johnny Depp, Joe Perry and Tommy Henriksen. This performance was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2018, with bassist Chris Wyse handling lead vocals, and was released in 2026 as part of the group’s live-album project.
Covering something so closely identified with its original performer is always risky. Fortunately, Hollywood Vampires understand that the answer isn’t to imitate Lemmy.
Instead, they celebrate the sheer excitement of the song.
There’s no attempt to reinvent the wheel. Just loud guitars, tremendous energy and an affectionate salute to one of rock’s great characters.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIJth479y4w
Mark James – Suspicious Minds
Here’s a reminder that a great song doesn’t always become a hit the first time somebody records it.
Most people associate Suspicious Minds with Elvis Presley, whose 1969 recording became one of his greatest successes. But the song was written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Mark James in 1968.
James, whose real name was Francis Rodney Zambon, recorded the song at Chips Moman’s American Sound Studio in Memphis. His version was released on the Scepter label but failed to make a commercial impact.
Elvis recorded it the following year, using many of the same studio musicians and retaining much of the original arrangement. His performance transformed the song into a major international hit and gave him his first American number one single in seven years.
There’s an interesting story behind the recording, too. Producer Chips Moman resisted attempts by Elvis’s management to claim a share of the publishing rights, and the dispute nearly prevented the record from being completed.
Listening to the Mark James original is a fascinating experience. You can hear just how much of the famous arrangement was already there. What Elvis brought was a particular vocal intensity and dramatic authority.
It raises a question worth considering: how many other brilliant songs were originally recorded by someone other than the performer who made them famous?
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFP0EP-Oi2I
John Mayer – Free Fallin’
Originally written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne, Free Fallin’ appeared on Petty’s enormously successful 1989 solo album Full Moon Fever.
The original recording is one of those deceptively simple songs that seems effortless, although its combination of melody, atmosphere and carefully judged production reveals considerable craftsmanship.
John Mayer’s interpretation takes a different approach.
His acoustic performance, recorded at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles in December 2007 and released on the 2008 concert album Where the Light Is, strips the song back to its essentials. Accompanied by fellow guitarists, Mayer allows the melody and lyrics to carry the emotional weight.
There’s a vulnerability in this version that contrasts with the expansive, radio-friendly sound of Petty’s recording.
A good cover version should bring something new to the material without losing what made the original special. Mayer manages that rather well.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLihs7GFSP4
Morrissey – It’s Over
Roy Orbison possessed one of the most remarkable voices in popular music. His ability to move from restrained melancholy to soaring emotional intensity was almost unmatched.
It’s Over, written by Orbison and Bill Dees, was released in 1964 and reached number one in Britain.
The song’s dramatic structure is particularly interesting. Rather than relying on a conventional upbeat chorus, it builds gradually towards a devastating emotional climax.
Morrissey’s interpretation appeared on his 2019 covers album California Son, which featured songs originally associated with performers including Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs. His recording of It’s Over also features guest vocals from American singer LP.
Morrissey has never made a secret of his admiration for Orbison, and this version makes that affection apparent.
His distinctive vocal style brings a different kind of melancholy to the song. Where Orbison sounds almost operatic in his despair, Morrissey gives the material a more theatrical and sometimes fragile quality.
Whether it improves upon the original is another matter. Orbison set an extraordinarily high standard.
But it’s certainly worth hearing.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3yNAg67u_c
Queen – Seven Seas of Rhye
Before Bohemian Rhapsody, before the stadium anthems and before Queen became one of the biggest bands in the world, there was Seven Seas of Rhye.
Written principally by Freddie Mercury, the song first appeared as a short instrumental on Queen’s self-titled debut album in 1973.
The fully developed version appeared on Queen II the following year and became the band’s first British Top Ten single, reaching number ten.
It also helped establish Queen’s extraordinary musical ambition. The combination of Mercury’s commanding vocals, Brian May’s layered guitars and the group’s elaborate harmonies gave the song a theatrical quality that distinguished them from many contemporary rock acts.
The mysterious kingdom of Rhye was part of Mercury’s imaginative fantasy world, which also influenced other early Queen compositions.
There’s something wonderfully extravagant about the whole enterprise. Even at this early stage, Queen were clearly uninterested in doing things by halves.
The song also provided an early indication of Mercury’s extraordinary ability to make the fantastic sound completely convincing.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prIK-inpWGk
Rammstein – Was Ich Liebe
German industrial metal band Rammstein have built an international reputation on thunderous music, provocative imagery and spectacular stage performances.
Their concerts are famous for elaborate theatrical effects, particularly their extensive use of fire and pyrotechnics.
Was Ich Liebe, which translates as What I Love, appeared on the band’s untitled 2019 album.
The song explores a distinctly unsettling idea: that love and happiness contain the seeds of suffering, and that attachment inevitably creates the possibility of loss.
In other words, this is not exactly a cheerful romantic ballad.
Musically, however, it is magnificent.
Rammstein’s combination of crushing guitar riffs, controlled rhythms and Till Lindemann’s distinctive baritone creates an atmosphere that is both threatening and strangely majestic.
There’s an almost ceremonial quality to the performance. The music builds with deliberate precision, producing something closer to industrial theatre than conventional heavy metal.
And perhaps that’s part of the fascination of Rammstein. Even listeners who understand little German can appreciate the drama, power and extraordinary attention to presentation.
As for the lyrics, they’re considerably more philosophical than an homage to chocolate teapots.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iI-fPa4jwRc
Stray Cats – Rock This Town
We’ll finish with something guaranteed to get your feet moving.
The Stray Cats emerged from New York at the end of the 1970s, but it was in Britain that they first achieved major commercial success.
The trio consisted of Brian Setzer on guitar and vocals, Lee Rocker on double bass and Slim Jim Phantom on drums.
Inspired by the rockabilly music of the 1950s, they combined the energy of early rock ‘n’ roll with the attitude and visual style of the punk era.
Rock This Town, written by Setzer and produced by Dave Edmunds, became a British hit in 1981, reaching number nine. It subsequently enjoyed similar success in America in 1982.
The song is a joyous celebration of rock ‘n’ roll.
Setzer’s lightning-fast guitar playing is particularly impressive, drawing upon the influence of performers such as Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent without sounding like a museum-piece imitation.
The rhythm section is equally important. Rocker’s slap-bass technique and Phantom’s stripped-down drumming give the performance its infectious momentum.
It’s a splendid reminder that musical revivalism doesn’t have to mean simply copying the past. The Stray Cats took an established style and made it exciting for a new generation.
And what better way to finish this week’s selection?
YouTube: https://youtu.be/QCK0N-kkDrU?si=IwXVwGpxxEc3lP-s
A final thought
One of the recurring themes this week has been the relationship between original recordings and cover versions.
Mark James wrote and recorded Suspicious Minds before Elvis Presley turned it into a worldwide hit. John Mayer brought a new intimacy to Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’, while Morrissey tackled the considerable challenge of interpreting a Roy Orbison classic.
Then there’s Hollywood Vampires paying tribute to Motörhead.
All of which raises an interesting question.
Can you think of a song that became much more successful in someone else’s hands than it was for the original performer?
One example that immediately springs to mind is I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll. Originally recorded by the Arrows in 1975, it became an enormous hit for Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982.
There must be plenty more.
Let us know your suggestions, along with your favourites from this week’s selection.
