Punk Me Up: A Tribute To The Rolling Stones (2024) CD Review

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are both eighty years old, but that doesn’t seem to be slowing the boys down. The Rolling Stones are currently on tour. They just played a show here in Los Angeles. I didn’t go, and instead decided to listen to some punk bands covering their songs. Punk Me Up: A Tribute To The Rolling Stones features some of the Stones’ most popular songs done in a punk manner. Some of these songs seem natural choices for the punk treatment, such as “Satisfaction” and “Gimme Shelter,” while others, like “Wild Horses” and “Angie,” are more surprising choices. The bands featured on this disc have been around a long time, not as long as the Stones, but still these are bands that formed during those great early days of punk in the 1970s and early 1980s.

This disc opens with Jah Wobble and Jon Klein covering “Start Me Up,” this version beginning with a playful bit of spoken word: “Yeah, don’t get me started/Listen, listen, no listen, don’t you get me started.” And then he says, “Now look, I’m telling you, if you start me up, if you start me up, I’ll never stop.” It’s such a surprising and perfect way to deliver the song’s first lyrics. It works so well, and gives me a fresh appreciation of the song. Other lines are sung. This is a great start to this album. I think when I’m in the mood for this song from now on, this is the version I’m going to listen to. That’s followed by “Mother’s Little Helper,” as done by Peter And The Test Tube Babies. After the first line, “What a drag it is getting old,” the song kicks in with a great force. And, you know, punk seems right for this song. Because isn’t it about a person who has just fucking had it with the normal course of a normal day, and needs something to help her get through? It’s like a rage inside a person that isn’t allowed to come out, and so she turned to tranquilizers to calm that rage. And it’s all delivered with a sense of humor. Perfect for punk. Peter And The Test Tube Babies give us a really good rendition.

Fear covers “Honky Tonk Women,” and it begins as a fairly faithful rendition (apart from that opening remark, I mean). It isn’t until the first chorus that it begins to feel like a punk song, when the pace increases. The drums push this one forward. And then, holy moly, check out that guitar work in the second half. Reagan Youth chooses a song from Exile On Main St., “Rocks Off.” I would have thought they might choose something from Tattoo You, which came out at the beginning of the Reagan administration. Anyway, I love Madame St. Beatrice’s vocals here. When she sings a line like, “I’m always hearing voices on the street,” it rings true. We feel like this band is out in the streets, wild urban animals on the prowl. This is a solid rendition, a track that I like more and more. That’s followed by “Paint It Black,” one of my personal favorite Stones songs, done here by U.K. Subs and Dead Boys. Really it’s the U.K. Subs, along with Cheetah Chrome on guitar. This rendition has a great energy. Toward the end, when they really dig in, I want it to go on a little longer, but it’s a punk song, and we take what we get.

The Queers cover “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” and do a great job with it. It’s interesting that in this punk rendition, the lyrics are much clearer. I mean, seriously, there are a couple of parts where I’ve always had trouble figuring out just what Mick was singing,  but here it is perfectly clear. That’s followed by “Midnight Rambler” done by J.F.A., another group that formed early in the Reagan years, the band’s name a direct reference to the assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981. J.F.A. stands for Jodie Foster’s Army. Ronald Reagan was a total asshole, but some fantastic music resulted from his rise to power, created in response to the bastard and his administration. J.F.A. delivers a powerful rendition. After a minute or so, the pace increases and the song really starts to take off. That’s followed by “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,” a Stones song that I’m fairly tired of. But I figured it would work quite well in a punk context, and indeed it does. The Vibrators do a great job with it, pumping some new life into this tired number.

“Sympathy For The Devil,” as done by Anti-Nowhere League, is one of the disc’s highlights. There is a sense of impending danger of something exploding from the start, which is great. These guys take control and deliver a strong rendition. I believe the darkness at the center of this version, and I love that evil laugh after the line “Washed his hands to seal his fate.” This is fantastic. That’s followed by Flamin’ Groovies covering “She Said Yeah.” This is kind of an odd choice, because it’s not a Rolling Stones song, at least not originally. It was written by Roddy Jackson and Sonny Bono, and originally recorded by Larry Williams. The Stones included it on their 1965 album December’s Children (And Everybody’s) and on the UK version of Out Of Our Heads (which has the same cover as December’s Children). Interestingly, that’s the year the Flamin’ Groovies came to be. Anyway, it’s a fun song, and these guys deliver a really good rendition. Then Skids cover “Wild Horses.” As I mentioned, this is one of the more surprising choices for a punk rendition. It sounds quite different right from the start, but once you settle into it, you’ll find it works really well. Skids deliver an earnest and powerful rendition.

“Miss You” is another surprising choice, for the original version, included on Some Girls, has a disco flavor. Angry Samoans take this song and give it a classic punk vibe, and it’s fucking great. That section that mentions a phone conversation is done here as a phone call, and in fact, this rendition begins with the sound of a phone. This is a fun one to dance to, and is another of my favorite tracks. That is followed by “Angie,” yet another interesting choice, for this is a slower number, and a pretty song. It was included on Goat’s Head Soup, and then on Made In The Shade (I had the latter on cassette when I was a kid). Well, The Members speed the song up, though not to any sort of frantic pace, but still they deliver a four and a half minute song is under two minutes. And they give it their own flavor. Then Chrome delivers an interesting rendition of “Gimme Shelter,” establishing an unusual, eerie atmosphere before delivering the first lines. This track is really only one member of Chrome, Helios Creed, who is on vocals and guitar. Fernando Perdomo plays keys, bass and drums, and Durga McBroom is on vocals. It is a wild rendition. Pink Fairies conclude things with “Street Fighting Man,” a fairly faithful rendition with a great energy, and an excellent choice to close the album.

CD Track List

1. Start Me Up – Jah Wobble & Jon Klein
2. Mother’s Little Helper – Peter And The Test Tube Babies
3. Honky Tonk Women – Fear
4. Rocks Off – Reagan Youth
5. Paint It Black – U.K. Subs & Dead Boys
6. Jumpin’ Jack Flash – The Queers
7. Midnight Rambler – J.F.A.
8. Satisfaction – The Vibrators
9. Sympathy For The Devil – Anti-Nowhere League
10. She Said Yeah – Flamin’ Groovies
11. Wild Horses – Skids
12. Miss You – The Angry Samoans
13. Angie – The Members
14. Gimme Shelter – Chrome
15. Street Fighting Man – Pink Fairies

Punk Me Up: A Tribute To The Rolling Stones is scheduled to be released on July 26, 2024 through Cleopatra Records. It will be available on both CD and vinyl. The vinyl edition does not include “Street Fighting Man.”