Bugotak: Kon Togethy (2006)

We could fill the bottomless black hole that is From the Vaults with just oddball versions of Beatles songs. (So far we have been restrained, just Laibach, cartoon character Elmer Fudd and the Beatles Barkers *).

But this track is irresistible.

Bugotak is a Russian group which plays Siberian instruments, guitars, Chinese flutes and fiddles, and has George "Father Gorry" Andriyanov on throat singing vocals.

It is quite something to hear.

This track -- from their Coverlar album -- has been spliced with an introduction from McCartney speaking in Red Square.

This is lifted from Volume Four (I now want the previous three) of the on-going Exotica label's series of oddball Beatles' covers under the imprint "Exotic Beatles".

Bugotak are alongside musicians from Istabul performing A Hard Day's Night in a Middle Eastern style, an Afro-percussion and juju guitar version of Taxman, a gloom metal And I Love her out of Russia, the beautifully enunciated voice of act-TOR Brian Sewell reading Run For Your Life, a bizarre Spanish outfit of opera singers doing Doctor Robert in Catalan . . .

There is also a terrific revision of Revolution 9 (cf. this version) by Thurston Lava Tube as When I'm 64 (McCartney repeating "64, 64, 64" and spliced-in Lennon spoken words bits, snatches of orchestral passages and weird voices. Oddly effective. See the clip.) 

And interspersed between are appropriate soundbites from various Beatles, Bob Dylan speaking about the Beatles on his radio show, Marky Ramone, radio interviewers talking about the "Paul is dead" rumour and backwards messages . . . and so on.

It is a very bizarre trip. And a lot of fun.

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NB: Check out this doco on Exotica Records which has released these weird Beatles compilations and other wacky stuff in often laugh-aloud covers.

* Does Galaxie 500 covering the Rutles' Cheese and Onions count? If so, it is here. 

For more oddities, one-offs or songs with an interesting backstory check the massive back-catalogue at From the Vaults.