Read closely for a chance to win tickets!
Karl Denson's Tiny Universe hits Park West this Saturday (4/5), touring in Chicago for the second time behind his latest release New Ammo. The album features some hot new Denson compositions, but also finds a lot of it's life in a handful of covers, both obscure and beloved.
Three tunes were sourced from cult film soundtracks, but listeners are sure to be familiar with the stadium rock of White Stripes "Seven Nation Army" and The Beastie Boys' "Sure Shot". It's no surprise, as Karl has been dropping great covers into his sets for as long as The Tiny Universe has been gigging.
We've picked nine of our favorites below -- from the worlds of rock, pop, funk, hip hop and soul -- which you can stream or download as a mix tape (all are sourced from archive.org).
Tell us which one is your favorite, and we'll pick one reader to win a pair of tickets to this Saturday's gig with Chicago's The Heard opening up. Just leave your comments below (in our web comments section or via the Facebook comments) or email us at info@tomorrowsverse.com to enter. Extra entries go to those who LIKE The Barn on Facebook.
1. "Spanish Castle Magic" -- Just one of several Hendrix songs that have made their way into the TU repertoire. This one is from 8/3/05
2. A staple of KD's sets when I first was turn on to him, Curtis Mayfield's "Check Out Your Mind". This version from March 8th, 2001 features acid-jazz legend Melvin Sparks on guitar.
3. Anything goes on Jam Cruise. Here's a soul drenched take on Zeppelin's "Trampled Under Foot" recorded on the boat from 1/8/06...
4. … and from that same set. A more traditional take on Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces"
5. In 2012, Karl toured with Anders Osborne, covering the Stone's entire Sticky Fingers album each night. "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" was always a highlight, no doubt because of Denson's sax work during the coda. Here's the version from February 11th.
6. Karl's Halloween 2009 concert, featuring a Michael Jackson tribute, made our list of best Halloween Shows Of All Time. Here's the "Thriller" from that night.
7. James Brown seems to always be lurking beneath the service at Karl's gigs. He comes up big in this jam on "The Big Payback" from a NOLA JazzFest after show which featured old pal Lenny Kravitz on guitar for the entirety.
8. After the success of the Stones tour, Denson doubled down for a few shows near the end of the year which showcased the Beastie Boys (which eventually informed the new album). Here's "Root Down" from 12/1/12.
9. And of course, the other New Ammo cover, "Seven Nation Army" gets a nice workout live, too. Here's a version from 5/31/12 clocking in at over 10 funky minutes. Whew!
[box type="download"]Download Entire Mix (mp3 .zip)[/box]
