The lone cover from the band’s debut elpee, Blank Generation, seemed unlikely. Creedence? Until you hear it.
The Voidoids take the pounding rhythm from the original, cut the running time in half by getting rid of a long instrumental break in the middle, and replace John Fogarty’s growling defiance with Hell’s skreechy pleading. Different approach to the guitar solos, too. It works.
I think Quine is more interesting than great, but this is him at his best. I always though the Creedence version was fantastic for about a minute and a half and unnecessary after that. I’ve had this idea for years that the begining of Walk on the Water should be followed by the middle part of Ramble Tamble. Sorry, but Fogarty takes Neil Young to school:
If you took the Credence version, cut out the two minutes of noodling in the middle, and ended with the guitar solo, you’d have the Voidoid’s version, though the vocal and guitar approaches would be different.
I think there’s room for both Fogarty and Young’s stuff, but Credence was and is my fave.