Lamb of God’s Mark Morton and Clutch’s Neil Fallon have joined forces for a cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd‘s “The Needle and the Spoon.”
The Lamb of God axeman and Clutch singer lay down a fine interpretation of one of Skynyrd’s most underrated tracks, roughing it up a bit. Morton plays the memorable central riff faithfully, but his guitar tone is dirtier and more gnarled than the original; meanwhile, Fallon sings a register below original Skynyrd frontman Ronnie Van Zant while still hitting all the right notes.
Reflecting on the importance of Skynyrd to his personal musical history, Morton described the southern rock bands of the ’70s and ’80s as “the soundtrack of my youth.”
“None of them resonated any deeper with me than Lynyrd Skynyrd,” he said. “Their signature guitar driven blues-rock has had a profound influence on my playing. It’s hard to pick a favorite Skynyrd song, but ‘The Needle and the Spoon’ is certainly on the list. Allen Collins’s grimy, swaggering riff paired with Ronnie Van Zant’s dark depiction of addiction are every bit as relevant and captivating today as they were when they were released 50 years ago.”
Considering Lamb of God and Clutch’s history of touring together — and the latter’s very southern-rock influenced sound — Fallon was an apt choice as the vocalist for the cover song.
“Having toured with Clutch for many years and having been a fan of their music for even longer, I’ve long wanted to work together with Neil,” Morton said. “Covering ‘The Needle and the Spoon’ was something we were both excited to do together and we’re thrilled with how it turned out. I hope you dig it!”
Fallon added: “I was flattered when Mark asked me to sing Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘The Needle and the Spoon.’ I won’t lie, though, I was nervous, because, well… Ronnie Van Zant. No one is going to equal his delivery. But I hope I did it some measure of justice. And if that doesn’t convince you, then Mark’s guitar solo surely will. It rips!”
The cover continues Morton’s exploration of non-metal genres in his solo work outside Lamb of God. The guitarist released a full-length album in 2019 entitled Anesthetic and the Ether EP in 2020.
Stream the cover of “The Needle and the Spoon” below.