I can’t choose which version of this song I like best. I heard it first by John Doe & The Sadies on CBC Radio 2 89.9 FM, and loved it. Then the DJ said that the song was originally done by Patsy Cline, and I got excited. She’s a classic! Turns out, her version is slow and I kinda hate it, so, yeah, it didn’t make the cut. But while on amazon.com, I found a lot of other great versions that span the rockabilly/ bluegrass/ country genres, and keep the tempo popping (which was my issue with Ms. Cline’s fair version). I even found a great live version by classic country star Waylon Jennings.
Let me take this chance to point out my position on these genres: Waylon Jennings = classic country, which often verges on Americana folk and bluegrass sounds. I’m totally all about that. Modern country, i.e. Faith Hill and Garth Brooks = yuck. I know it’s hypocritical to say that I love Dolly Parton while hating contemporary twang, but her song-writing talent truly exceeds her accent and high pitch, and, to maybe me only, it defies “twangy” categorization. Other than her, I really don’t like anyone who performs the kind of country they call “country”, or play on CMT, or give CMAs to. To be frank, of all the genres in all the world, I am a hugely accepting and diverse fan. I have enjoyed tuuvan throat-singing albums, I listen to opera as often as I listen to Lotte Lenya and Kurt Weill, I love Tupac and The Mighty Wind soundtrack pretty equally, I am a huge fan of Elvis Prestley-gospel though I love Whitney Houston’s The Preacher’s Wife soundtrack more, I have four different CDs of Erik Satie arrangement performances next to at least a dozen bossa nova albums on the shelf, and, oh yeah, I love broadway (from when it was vaudeville to whatever’s playing now). But I can’t do modern country. It drives me crazy. It’s awful. You won’t find it on this blog. Look elsewhere.
ANYWHOO, here are the amazon.com links to the versions of “Stop The World (And Let Me Off)” that I approve of, that I bestow the Joanee Balonee SEAL OF APPROVAL upon: