Alongside a brand new album of all new songs, Too Much Information, which was released on Monday (3 February), Maximo Park have opted to cover a few choice tracks for a “deluxe” edition. Having done their take on influences like of Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake and The Fall, drummer Tom English has made us a Playlist of the originals plus a few other songs they could be tempted to have a crack at. “We’ve only ever really done cover versions on request. The first, which sadly we never recorded, was The Only One‘s Another Girl, Another Planet, on the night of (our first roadie) Scotty’s birthday in his home town of Glasgow,” he explains. “Like all the others since, it was done quickly and nervously; any ‘interpretation’ going on more by accident than design. Performing them usually feels weird but the process of learning them is always rewarding. Some of them were chosen as an extra track to do on a BBC radio session; something already on the playlist that we’d otherwise hardly ever listen to, let alone play. A couple were for one-off compilations, like the Vincent Gallo song we did for the Warp 20th anniversary box set.
“When we did some for Too Much Information, the hardest part was choosing which songs to record: it usually boiled down to the lyrics and how comfortable Paul [Smith, frontman] was singing them. Not having to do them live, we were able to do something more interesting with the recording. Hopefully they’ll give our listeners a better idea of where we get our inspiration.”
Leonard Cohen – Lover, Lover, Lover
“The eminently coverable Cohen combines plain, lyrical honesty with a simple, two-tempo arrangement, in which we found a funkiness.”
The Fall – Edinburgh Man
“Tour bus favourite of long standing; one of those atypical Fall songs that reminds you that M.E.S. is really quite sweet, at heart.”
Townes Van Zandt – I’ll Be Here In The Morning
“Got right back in to Townes after seeing him in the film Heartworn Highways. Like Leonard Cohen, his songs are deceptively simple and his lyrics both brutal and beautiful.”
Young Marble Giants – Final Day
“Colossal Youth is a classic record that we all discovered and hammered around the time of our first lp. The rhythm of the bass line on this tune is a complete riddle that we went to some pains to solve!”
The Proclaimers – I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)
“Overrated by some and underrated by everyone else, this is The Proclaimers at their joyous best.”
Donna Summer – I Feel Love
“To attempt to cover this song is virtually suicidal. Cue Lukas with an arpeggiator and we just about survived.”
Justin Timberlake – Like I Love You
“Sometimes, though not nearly enough these days, mainstream music is the best music. JT and Neptunes totally nailed it on this track.”
The Go-Betweens – Was There Anything I Could Do?
“We bloody love the Go-betweens and would cover them all the time, if it were financially viable to do so!”
Emeli Sande – Heaven
“Funnily enough, we learnt to play Heaven in Heaven (the club in London).”
Vincent Gallo – When
“Like his character in Buffalo 66, Vincent Gallo is a very specific man and didn’t take the news that we’d covered When too kindly… which we were quite pleased about!”
For more, including some songs of their own, head to Maximopark.com.
