Handsome Furs "You Got Lucky" (Tom Petty Cover)
The rough-hewn, slightly unfinished sound of the Handsome Furs on record is probably what makes this mid-fi live recording of the band covering the Tom Petty classic "You Got Lucky" so palatable. Though it's not like blood-red levels and tinny drum-machine clicks aren't par for the course, the minimal arrangment really lets the less-than-crisp production slide. The original's meat-and-potatoes classic rock is reduced to some android claps, icy '80s synth stabs, and stretched and wounded guitar notes. Dan Boeckner's voice is rawer and more imposing than Petty's, and lyrics that were slightly dickish coming from Tom can't help but take a darker tone when sung with Dan's frighteningly emotive bleats. "Good love is hard to find," he sneers, sounding like his search began at the bus station and ended in a basement somewhere. His sweet words of pre-song encouragement to fiancee/bandmate Alexei Perry suggest that she may in fact have been fortunate to make his acquaintance, but "you got lucky, babe, when I found you" has a threat of violence about it. Squealing guitar and a bloody throat will do that to a lyric. The added creep factor is surprisingly effective.