Video of the Day: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers - Psychotic Reaction (Cover)

I found this on Youtube when looking through the Count Five videos. This cover is from a concert in Reno, Nevada in 1991. Stan Lynch, the original Heartbreakers drummer, does the vocals and it turns out he has a great voice.

I've always had a soft spot for Lynch and secretly believed he and Petty were like brothers which made it difficult for them to get along.

Stan Lynch is also an acclaimed producer and songwriter, working closely with many acts (Fleetwood Mac, The Eagles, Bob Dylan) and specifically with Don Henley on solo projects (aka most of his biggest hits).

This cover is really fun though and worth a few minutes.



(cover of Count Five hit "Psychotic Reaction")

Somebody to Love: Count Five

After watching a little of the documentary "Punk: Attitude", I couldn't stop thinking about The Count Five. The song "Psychotic Reaction" was replaying over and over in my head. In the film they consider it the beginning of the punk movement and while I don't necessarily hear that in the music, I can understand the feeling they speak of and I know their sound influenced a lot of bands in the past forty years. Of course, I don't know much about punk music so I'm not one to say but I do know good music when I hear it and this band is great - I wish I could've found better versions of the songs but I'm thankful to have these - it's not the easiest to come by on Youtube.

One user commented on the site that this band is better than The Beatles yet most people have never heard of them. I don't agree with such a strong statement but I can see how their first album has a lot more substance than The Beatles' early work. In my opinion. Take a listen for yourself.

Also, I don't know if this is true, but I hear they gained a reputation for wearing Count Dracula-style capes on stage. That is not just "punk", that is fabulous.

The band has been accepted into the San Jose Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, according to Wikipedia (what a source), and a couple of the surviving members created a new band in 2002 simply titled "The Count". I haven't heard any of their stuff but I'm willing to give it a try. This is some great music here.

You're lucky you found this post.

Haha.