The Worst Cover Version Of All Time: Blood, Sweat & Tears - Symphony for the Devil / Sympathy for the Devil (1970)

It is not by design that this is the third article I've written about Blood, Sweat & Tears in less than two months. It just kind of worked out that way. For those of you who think that number is too many, please take note, I don't foresee another one coming anytime soon. 

Until now, I've never heavily faulted an artist for genuinely heartfelt experimentation even if the attempt failed. That ends now.

Even though it went all the way to number one Blood, Sweat & Tears 3 was neither the artistic success nor the hit its predecessor was. That eponymous second disc went platinum four times.

BS&T 3 had some good moments but based on the song we're about to discuss today it appeared that the popular horn band was trying too hard to be loved by music critics who never really embraced the post-Al Kooper lineup. Was "Symphony for the Devil / Sympathy for the Devil," their brief foray into prog-rock territory, an attempt to impress the right people?

BS&T was often viewed as being too establishment for a number of reasons, most notably for touring Eastern Europe on behalf of the State Department during the Viet Nam era. It was a time when any cooperation with the federal government was viewed with contempt and the band's image suffered because of it. 

BS&T opened side two of their 1970 LP with a cover of The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil." Introducing the song was a brief, slow, eerie dirge, "Symphony for the Devil," written by keyboard player and arranger Dick Halligan. Then, a drum roll by Bobby Colomby takes us into the main theme that is horribly sung by David Clayton-Thomas. 

The arrangement gradually increases in intensity until it reaches a long instrumental section highlighted by an unmelodic sax solo by Fred Lipsius. Next, all the horns join in followed by a crashing gong that cues the whole band to speak the lyrics as part of a fade-in before the low volume instrumental finale.

The record label shows that the "Sympathy" portion of the track was broken down into sections with titles that were just as over the top as the sounds emanating from the grooves.

I - Emergence
     a - Fanfare
II -Devil's Game
     a - Labyrinth
     b- Satan's Dance
     c- The Demand
III - Submergence
     a - Contemplation
     b - Return

Did Blood, Sweat & Tears believe they were actually creating art? Who was their intended audience?  Yoko Ono? The track was pretentiousness for its own sake but I'm sure Keith Richards and Mick Jagger were laughing all the way to the bank because, despite it's failings, the album went gold.

I sold my copy of the LP years ago even though I liked some of it. Unfortunately, I allowed "Symphony for the Devil / Sympathy for the Devil" to ruin the entire record for me.

Comments

  1. Todd Mason1:12 AM, July 22, 2020

    And, considering that was one the most embarrassing of the Stones' compositions to become a hit in the first place...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis2:05 PM, October 16, 2021

    It was done for musicians! (not music critics) The use of tritones in the opening was a reference to the ban of that interval by the Church. Satans dance was a clever use of sound to evoke images of Fire and dance. It was not aimed at a large audience but at those of us that understood it's meaning. I do understand and respect that many people would find it to be not their cup of tea but for many of us in music it was nice to see a group bucking the silly musical treads of the many sound alike artists of the the time. It also bugged the pretentious Rolling Stone magazine editors that thought that all music should have some sort of political meaning.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Unknown9:23 PM, November 14, 2021

    I love this version

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8:38 PM, May 19, 2022

    That album is one of my favorite albums. That song was enlightening and far more developed than this crank author describes. I too enjoyed its MUSICAL content. Not that Jaggers same tempo and a couple of chords with a maraca wasn’t good for a garage band. BS&T developed it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MadaHorn5:23 PM, December 29, 2022

      Agreed. Fabulous and masterful arrangement. I liked it so much after hearing it last month, that I wrote up a shorter version including just the middle parts for my horn band! One of the most challenging transcriptions I have ever tried! Here is my version. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj3kfhnjY6w

      Delete
  5. Anonymous1:00 PM, January 16, 2023

    I love this version too. haha. It reminds me of Captain Beefheart.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous7:36 PM, October 04, 2023

    The author of this should feel as 💩💩💩 as his text is!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Funkifized1:31 PM, December 26, 2023

    Wow, so much ignorance. The reviewer clearly has no understand of any music outside of '60s classic rock. This B, S, & T cover couldn't get further from Prog Rock than the Rolling Stones themselves. "Unmelodic sax solo by Fred Lipsius"? This an amazing jazz sax solo, Son. Open your mind a bit.

    Speaking of Fred Lipsius, his arrangements of "40,000 Headmen", "Hi-De-Ho", and "Lonesome Suzie" are nothing short of artistic brilliance. The infusion of Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kijé" alongside Thelonius Monk's "I Mean You" for additional themes in Traffic's "40,000 Headmen" is unheard of in a pop music atmosphere. Fred's inclusion of a horn section unison bebop jazz lick to announce the harmonica solo in Laura Nyro's "Hi-De-Ho" is so inventive, so unexpected. His use of vocal harmonies in place of the world-class horn section(who did the vocal) and later horns to bring the song to it's crescendo far surpassed any expectations of this song from Richard Manuel and The Band.

    Let's also not forget to mention the supposed "main theme that is horribly sung by David Clayton-Thomas." There has *never* been anything horribly sung by David Clayton-Thomas.

    The reviewer here really shouldn't embarrass himself more than he already has.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous12:17 AM, April 20, 2024

      Thank you, Funkifized! BS&T's version never "replaced" my affaction for the original, but stands apart as a reimagining by 9 gifted musicians at the height of their powers. I love that album and that group. And dare I ask, whose voice sounds more like the gleeful devil I imagine, Jaggar's or David Clayton-Thomas' voice?

      Delete
  8. Anonymous4:10 PM, April 17, 2024

    Loved it also

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous7:06 AM, June 30, 2024

    The reviewer was clearly musically uneducated and or a Christian. Not wasting any more time on the ignoramus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Charlie Ricci10:12 AM, June 30, 2024

      I almost never reply to comments that readers make on my blog, but this time I feel a need to respond. How is not liking a particular piece of music make one an ignoramus? We just have different tastes. Also, what do religious beliefs have to do with my thoughts on this BS&T piece? Religion of any kind never entered my mind as I was writing the article on this song. To me, that proves your ignorance, not mine.

      Delete

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