I've heard a few good covers (Jimi Hendrix, Green Day), a couple okay (the Rolling Stones' version actually was better than I'd expected if still not exactly transcendent) and a bunch of terrible (John Mayer, sure, but David Gilmour?! What were you thinkin', man?), but few if any great.
And I don't know what the hell I was thinking. Because this cover is not good. It's absolutely great.
I think what I missed the first time is that element that takes it from good to great.
It's not Bille Joe Armstrong's vocal delivery, which is indeed great and has a similarly punkish attitude as the original did, even if their nasally vocal tones sound nothing alike.
It's not Mike Dirnt's typically great bass playing, laying a perfect foundation over which the others can go anywhere.
No, what makes this cover great is Tré Cool's typically incendiary playing. His post-post-punk playing gives the cover the kind of energy that the Bobby Gregg gave the original—especially that opening snare shot that, as one fan put it, "sounded like somebody kicked open the door to your mind"—but updated for a new century.
As the bard once said, "play it fucking loud."
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