Frank Turner has shared a faithful reimagining of NOFX’s ‘Falling In Love’, undoubtedly exciting punk fans in the lead-up to their forthcoming covers split.
If you’re a fan of either NOFX or Frank Turner, then you’d know both acts know their way around a cover. Why, NOFX have been covering tracks since the early days, popping musical tributes into their live sets and albums at every turn, and even offering their take on some Rancid classics for the BYO Split Series back in 2002.
Likewise, former Million Dead frontman Turner is no stranger to covering the classics, with tracks by Black Flag, The Postal Service, and more turning up on his releases over the years. Back in 2006, a split EP with Far’s Jonah Matranga even saw him cover Aussie icons Smudge (by way of The Lemonheads) when he dished out his own rendition of ‘The Outdoor Type’.
Now, both of these musical legends will have the other on their minds when they release their split covers album later this month, with West Coast vs. Wessex seeing NOFX covering Frank Turner, and vice versa.
To celebrate the record’s impending release on July 31st, Turner has shared an absolutely mindblowing rendition of ‘Falling In Love’, the closer to 1997’s So Long And Thanks For All The Shoes.
“When [NOFX’s Fat] Mike asked me to do a covers split with NOFX, I was blown away, and immediately knew that one of the songs I’d do would be ‘Falling In Love’,” Turner recalls.
“I’ve long thought it was one of his best compositions, it’s a beautiful lyric and melody, and I wanted to come at the song in a way that would lay that bare and highlight the beauty of the writing. I think it came out pretty good.”
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Indeed it does sound pretty good, with this punk anthem about love surviving an impending plane crash seeing Turner adding a level of heartbreak and tenderness that Fat Mike and the rest of NOFX could only dream of.
Unfortunately for diehard fans of NOFX, Turner’s cover doesn’t include a stripped back version of the famous hidden track which features Howard Stern criticising the band’s lack of talent.
Check out Frank Turner covering NOFX”s ‘Falling In Love’:
The seeds of this project were sewn late last year when Fat Mike approached Turner to recruit him for the record that would become West Coast vs. Wessex.
Defying expectations though, the record doesn’t feature sped-up renditions of Turner’s originals, or slowed down acoustic reworkings of NOFX’s classics. Rather, it sees both acts looking at the vast array of the others’ work presented.
“I listened to all his records, and I picked the ones that I thought I could make more interesting,” Fat Mike explained of his approach. “What I did is change a lot of chords. Frank, he beats me in the singing department. So I can’t sing better than he can, but I can maybe throw in a melody here or there or chord that he hadn’t thought of.”
“I didn’t want to just do straight covers of anything. I wanted to try and pick songs where I felt like me and my band could bring something different to the table,” explained Turner of how he approached the project.
“But it did strike me that it would be cool to demonstrate to the casual NOFX fan, who doesn’t know who I am, that I am actually a fan. I didn’t just go to Spotify and pick the five most-listened-to songs.”
While Turner takes on NOFX gems such as ‘Bob’, ‘Scavenger Type’, ‘Eat The Meek’ and ‘Perfect Government’, the San Francisco icons return the favour by digging deep into the Englishman’s catalogue, unearthing the likes of ‘Substitute’, ‘Worse Things Happen At Sea’, ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’, ‘Ballad Of Me And My Friends’, and ‘Glory Hallelujah’.
NOFX and Frank Turner are set to release West Coast vs. Wessex on Friday, July 31st. Check out the original version of ‘Falling In Love’ below, and scroll on down to check out the artwork and tracklisting.
Check out ‘Falling In Love’ by NOFX:
NOFX vs. Frank Turner – West Coast Vs. Wessex tracklist:
1. ‘Substitute’
2. ‘Worse Things Happen At Sea’
3. ‘Thatcher Fucked The Kids’
4. ‘Ballad Of Me And My Friends’
5. ‘Glory Hallelujah’
6. ‘Scavenger Type’
7. ‘Bob’
8. ‘Eat The Meek’
9. ‘Perfect Government’
10. ‘Falling In Love’
