Inside Tracks #32: Plimsouls, 1983, "A Million Miles Away" w/1990 Cover by Goo Goo Dolls (A Collab with Keith R. Higgons of "Abandoned Albums")
The original or a cover? Like all things musical, it's subjective, and emotions can play a part....heck, they SHOULD! Keith and I share our personal stories of two recordings. Which one is your go-to?
Originally released in 1982 on their Shaky City imprint on Greg Shaw’s BOMP! Records, “A Million Miles Away” (written by Peter Case, Chris Fradkin, and Joey Alkes; produced by Jeff Eyrich) showed up the following year on The Plimsouls’ 1983 Everywhere at Once album on Geffen Records (their second; their first, in ‘81, was on Planet).
Click here to see/hear official video on YouTube.
The Plimsouls included singer/guitarist/songwriter, Buffalo native, Peter Case (shown above, second from right, dark glasses), whose previous band, The Nerves (along with Blondie and Def Leppard), were featured on a recent “Hanging on the Telephone” edition of FR&B’s “Inside Tracks,” accessible here:
Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic.com, called the song “The Plimsouls’ greatest recorded achievement. ‘A Million Miles Away,’ packs all of the passion and punch of some of John Lennon’s finest recordings, with a wonderful power-driven Byrds-like arrangement.”
This live version of the song was recorded at The Golden Bear in Huntington Beach in 1983, released in 2012. The guitars sound like a victorious marching army, and very up-front, more so than I thought possible on a song whose studio recording is next to sonically flawless.— Brad Kyle, FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE
The Plimsouls, live at the Golden Bear, 1983:
Keith R. Higgons of Abandoned Albums:
One summer, many moons ago, I fell head over heals for a girl. Our bond was forged over our love of music, and that would be both our foundation and love language for years to come.
Our first summer together, I had read that Buffalo’s The Goo Goo Dolls were opening for The Replacements. I was then, and remain, a die hard ‘mats fan and this was the only stamp of approval I needed. I immediately hunted down The Goo Goo Dolls’ eponymous 1987 debut album.
Listening, I could sense a connection to The Replacements, yet it was a different animal altogether. The Goo Goo Dolls’ debut lacked the Eddie Haskell charm and snark of “Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash.” Instead, it brimmed with anger and street-urchin grit.
That was a summer of discovery for us, on all levels. And while that was awesome, I suspect we got as much pleasure from impressing one another with our musical knowledge and taste as we did from touching and kissing. She introduced me to the hues of the burgeoning Manchester/UK scene, and in return, I guided her through the gritty boulevards of New York City.
We were bona fide music nerds. One fateful day during that summer, we were perusing the record store when she stumbled upon The Goo Goo Dolls’ third album, 1990’s Hold Me Up. We searched for two copies, but the shelves were bare. It was a scene straight out of a romantic movie.
We exchanged glances, each silently asking, “Who’s taking this home?” She suggested I buy it, under one condition: I promised to make her a tape of it. To the younger generation, that gesture might seem trivial, but rest assured, it was the purest and most genuine form of love.
As promised, I went home and popped Hold Me Up into the CD tray and hit play and record to tape it for her. And, what I heard blew me away. The jump from the self-titled debut (I’ll just skip the second album, Jed) to Hold Me Up was dramatic. The sound was bigger, the songs stronger, and the band was tighter.
It’s a similar evolution that we heard with The Replacements’ Let It Be in 1984. Now, don’t get your knickers all knotted up; I’m not saying they’re the same. Hold Me Up became the soundtrack of our summer. Even the tracks we didn’t particularly fancy, like “Out of the Red,” possessed a certain je ne sais quoi that made them tolerable.
And, if you ever need proof of how punk rock Prince was, simply listen to The Goo Goo Dolls’ cover of “I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man”:
Little did I know that this wasn’t the only cover on the album. As the summer drew to a close and we got ready to go back to our respective schools, we zeroed in on “A Million Miles Away.”
Of course, we were going to stay together, but 150 miles may as well have been a million miles away. It was a few weeks into the semester when mi amour told me that “A Million Miles Away” was a cover of a song by a band I had only heard of, The Plimsouls, and was off their album, Everywhere At Once.
I recently had the opportunity to interview Jeff Eyrich, the producer of The Plimsouls’ Everywhere At Once. I asked him if he had ever heard The Goo Goo Dolls’ version. He had only caught a snippet of it live once, as The Goo Goo Dolls performed on the streets of New York City, which was akin to saying “no.”
Naturally, I played it for him. On the first listen, he said: “It’s faster,” and then his eyes lit up: “Oh, they changed it. They left out one of the lines from the chorus.” How Jeff can remember that forty years later is impressive.
“Yeah, it’s faster - more like The Plimsouls live,” he said. Which is true, if you listen to the live version. “The guy’s (John Rzeznik) voice sounds like Peter Case. But, what I miss are the cool Eddie Munoz guitar parts. Not a big deal.” Eyrich concluded, “Yeah, it’s OK.”
It was clear he was nonplussed by it. Now, I had done my time working in a record store and I had the necessary subscriptions for the times, Rolling Stone and Spin magazines, so I was aware of Peter Case and The Plimsouls.…but, that was the extent of my knowledge.
Naturally, I worked at the campus radio station, so the next day, I ventured into the library and unearthed The Plimsouls’ 1983 album, Everywhere At Once. The Goos’ cover was undeniably similar, but The Plimsouls were entrenched in the power pop realm of the Los Angeles music scene. Consequently, their “A Million Miles Away” resonated as more sincere and heartfelt to me.
Reflecting on this song on his website, songwriter Peter Case (above) said: “I was remembering something from a long time back and the feeling was pouring into the song. I’d been having an affair with a girl I really thought a lot of, and that had just broken off.”
I believe that this self-reflective vibe of “Oh, what have I done?” sentiment, shines on The Plimsouls’ original. On the flip side, The Goo Goo Dolls’ cover exudes frustration and anger. The verses leading into the chorus build to an explosive climax, evoking a “This sucks!” rather than an “Oh, what have I done?” sentiment.
Neither interpretation is incorrect, because they both work. And they both originate from each band’s roots: The Plimsouls rooted in power pop, and The Goo Goo Dolls in punk. And attempting to talk about a preference is a fool’s errand….which means I’ll go ahead and do that.
I prefer The Goo Goo Dolls’ version for several reasons: First, it was my introduction to the song, and first impressions often linger. Second, my sentimental attachment to the Goos’ version, and the memories of its discovery, remain unyielding. Lastly, I resonate more with their edgier sound. I react more viscerally to rock and roll than to power pop.
In the grand scheme of things, my initial affinity for the song stemmed from The Goo Goo Dolls’ fervent and vexed rendition. I was a figurative “Million Miles Away” from the girl I loved. Yet, with the passage of years, a different layer of significance has enveloped the plaintive sentiment conveyed in The Plimsouls’ version.
Ain’t it funny how that works? Two versions of the same song. Two divergent interpretations. Two distinct epochs. Two sides of the same coin.
And as for that girl who seemed “A Million Miles Away”? We journeyed through five remarkable years together, pushing the boundaries of our love as far as circumstances allowed. To this day, she remains a good friend.
I cherish that time and those memories with her just as much as I cherish The Goo Goo Dolls’ Hold Me Up and “A Million Miles Away.”
Also, dig into Keith’s “3 Records That Changed Everything,” as he unveils and discusses them with Andres of The Vinyl Room (on Andy’s “Vital Records” series):
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I couldn't bring myself to even try and listen to that Prince cover. It's too sacred. But a great read here!
"I react more viscerally to rock and roll than to power pop."
Great line. I may have to borrow that one.