Friday 8 May 2015

Ugly Kid Joe 'Cats In The Cradle'

Chart Peak: 7
YouTube
'Cats In The Cradle' was originally a 1974 American chart-topper for its writer Harry Chap {sic}... Ugly Kid Joe's version had reached No. 7 in the UK chart by 28th March 1993.
I didn't realise (and you might not have either) that Ugly Kid Joe has as many as five Top 40 singles in the UK, though only two of them were considered worthy of inclusion in the Now series; they were the only two that made the Top 20. The second of them was this, a version of the song Harry Chapin wrote from a poem by his wife about her previous husband's relationship with their son. It's a kind of sardonic morality tale with just enough self-mockery to tone down the preaching. I'm not sure whether UKJ wanted to mock this song or celebrate it and the trouble is they don't seem to either. It's not a sped-up thrashy version but it's not really confident enough to sound like a genuine cover either. Still, they lucked out by picking a song that hadn't been a hit in the UK before and made the Top 10.

Also appearing on: Now 22
Available on: America's Least Wanted

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