Covers Revue, Vol. 33 – The Ataris cover "The Boys of Summer" :: Originally by Don Henley

Since EnterTheShell.com is based in the great city of Los Angeles and Monday was opening day at Dodger Stadium, I decided to pay tribute to one of America’s greatest sports in my own little way.

Don Henley’s chart topper “The Boys of Summer” doesn’t really focus on baseball but Henley does sing “My love for you will still be strong after the boys of summer have gone” as a major part of the chorus. The boys of summer, of course, refers to baseball players … Don’s going to love you long after this summer fling! This is a sweet song about a guy actually making an attempt and letting his girl know he still loves her despite everything. My favorite verse is:

I never will forget those nights, I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy? Remember how I made you scream?
I don’t understand what happened to our love.
But, babe, I’m gonna get you back
I’m gonna show you what I’m made of!

Henley’s version is full of buzzing synthesizers, which give the song this eerie feeling…I wonder why they decided to go with that sound? Something to think about, I suppose. There are guitars as well but they’re not brought to the forefront very often outside of slow melodies. During the chorus, the strumming has this thick-toned, buzzing effect and you don’t really think about it at first, but sit there and listen to it and you’ll realize it has a really soothing sound to it. The drums are pretty simple yet fill up every nook and cranny of open air in the song but despite that, the song is pretty slow. I think it’s the synthesizers weighing it down.

Remember in a previous Covers Revue when I talked about punk bands having fun with covers and getting creative with them? Well, Indiana pop/punk band The Ataris did just that with their 2003 version of “The Boys of Summer,” which appeared on their album So Long, Astoria. The song is their biggest hit, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Modern Rock Chart and at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Here’s why…Though I was never a fan of The Ataris, this is one of the best covers I’ve ever heard! Sure, that sounds like a hefty statement to make, but this version still gives me the chills.

The Ataris play this song so hard (I don’t mean “metal” hard, I mean “with all their guts” hard) that you can tell they’re giving it their all, especially Lead Singer Kristopher Roe’s voice as it breaks and is almost at a scream at some points of the song. Punk characteristics are all over this song. It’s a hell of a lot harder than Henley’s version and the tempo is definitely sped up. Guitars play a much bigger role here, obviously because of the genre. It gives the song so much more power, though! The basic sound of the song is pretty similar, it’s just that The Ataris kicked a hole in a wall with this version!

As you can tell, I’m pretty keen on the 2003 version. It’s interesting because the only songs I like by The Ataris are their slow ones. I always remember the song Roe wrote about his daughter (“The Saddest Song“) and it almost breaks my heart when I hear it but there weren’t any other of their songs that stood out to me except for this one. This is the only one of their “punky” songs that I like…And I LOVE it!