Thursday Throwback: “Hard to Handle” as made famous by The Black Crowes
This week’s pick once again comes from Rock Band’s history, as the track was released in the first few weeks of DLC. Hard to Handle is the song, and The Black Crowes is the band.
The Black Crowes are an American rock band formed in 1989, with nine studio albums and several singles to their name. They have sold over 30 million albums, and have opened other rock bands such as Heart, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, the Grateful Dead, and Aerosmith (all known Rock Band artists).
The song itself is from their debut album, Shake Your Money Maker, and is their break out hit which was #1 in the US Billboard chart. The song featured in Rock Band is a cover, while the song by the Black Crowes is actually a cover of an Otis Redding song in 1968.
The song is one of the hundreds in the Rock Band libary which hasn’t had any more songs added to the game. It was released as a single in the first week of January in 2008, along with Die, All Right! by the Hives and Limelight as performed by Rush. And for those who are wondering, I think this cover is fine, and is among one of the better covers of the game.
So what’s it like to play? It’s pretty varied, that’s what. The song starts with a standard 3-tier drums chart, then a 4-tier guitar riff, which then changes to a mix of chords and sustains. The latter half of the song features a not to difficult solo, then followed by a non-official solo for the songs conclusion. Drums switches from a standard beat, switching between the yellow and blue cymbals, with a few fills to not make it repetitive. 2-tier bass features a similar pattern for the majority of the song, but it features lots of HOPOs, so keep that in mind. 2-tier vocals shouldn’t be too difficult, although it can get a little tricky during the chorus.
Got any ideas for any artists we haven’t featured yet? Or different songs by artists we have featured? Any ideas would be great!
After getting your daily RockBandAide fix, head on over to my fansite, The Tribute Pages which features loads of tributes of video games, TV shows, and movies!
Print This Post
I was thinking, you might do all of the covers in a series of throwbacks, for playability and how they sound compared to the originals, especially in the cases where the original has been subsequently released. Unlike GH, there aren’t that many, but it’d be interesting to hear about.
Peter
Ah, this is a great track. I always prefer originals (as I think most everyone does) but this cover is great. Definitely one of the better covers. The song itself is terrific and the parts are varied without being too difficult. Exactly what you want for a fun, very playable RB track. Definitely one of my favourites from very early on in the game’s history.
This and Last Train to Clarksville (aswell as the Sabbath Pack) are among the best covers in the game, and not too dissapointed that we havent gotten “Original Versions” released. But I would like to see more songs by them all.
Another really great cover track is My Sharona as made famous by The Knack.