Whatcha Gonna Do About It

 In August of 1965 the Small Faces launched their debut single "Whatcha Gonna Do About It", penned by Ian Samwell (famous for writing Cliff Richard's hit "Move It") and Brian Potter. I thought it would be interesting to profile the various cover versions over the years. All versions are from 7" releases unless otherwise noted.

1. LARRY'S REBELS-New Zealand Impact IR-1015 1966

Tucked away on the flip of their reading of Benny Spellman's (Via The Artwoods) "I Feel Good", this version kicks off with a fake posh British accent intoning "Right-o Chappies" before exploding into an orgy of blistering fuzz guitar, combo organ and white boy call and response backing vocals that really makes this number their own.

https://youtu.be/2aMG4ci9MnA?si=hZqXDmS-WsVY594V

2. JOE E. CARTER's GROUP- Denmark Columbia DD 775 1965

This nondescript Danish version gets high marks for being quite possibly THE first cover of the track being released soon after the original. It's a fairly mundane run through that doesn't offer  much in either originality or punch but it's good enough to fill our list as a place holder!

https://youtu.be/T4YYUa-J890?si=nOSoLvtTm9vssaux

3. THE EVIL-U.S. Living Legend Records LL-198 1967

Dade County, Florida's Evil go down in the history books for this deep dig from April 1967. The Small Faces version was released in the States back in October 1965 (on the tiny Press label) and despite it's obscurity and it's lack of charity action it became VERY popular with the burgeoning U.S. Sixties garage scene. This was probably the first American Small Faces cover I ever heard and it's still my favorite, in all it's snotty/raw proto punk delivery. It was later reissued on Capitol in November and got a release in Germany AND Thailand!

https://youtu.be/l2nN2Ew7un4?si=bTX1dBJ7Yzaqfgm3

4. TAGES- Sweden Platina PA 109 1966

Sweden's Tages were well known Anglophiles doing lots of r&b covers via The Who and covering tunes by Johnny Kidd, The Swinging Blue Jeans etc. Tucked away on the flip of their version of "Bloodhound" (their fifth single) comes their first Small Faces cover (they would later include a version of "Understanding" on their third LP "Extra Extra). It's slow to the point of almost being lethargic, nothing un-listenable mind you, but pretty disposable nonetheless and certainly not one of their MANY strong sides.

https://readdork.com/music-videos/tages-whatcha-gonna-do-about-it-tages-platina-45-pa-109--w37i2suz

5. LES DINNS-France E.P. track Rivera 231163 1966

Female French quartet Les Dinns cut the number in French as "Ca Ne Tient Pas Debout" making it (possibly) the first foreign language version of the tune. The vocals of course are in French but hearing it in French AND delivered by a female vocal group make this one an incredible reading and as a result it is quite in demand among the Ye-Ye collectors. 

https://youtu.be/pS9UkY3A_xE?si=eZ9jUpBOYebq9UZ0

6. THE LA DE DA'S-New Zealand LP track Phillips PL 08791 1966

Another Kiwi cover was this version found on the untitled debut LP by the legendary quintet The La De Da's. It's probably my favorite of them all. There's something muddy and laid back about it and there's this totally "I don't give a f*ck" feel to it. The lead singer has fairly soulful tone about him and the cool organ and fuzz guitar solo are, as they say, "outtsite!". 

https://youtu.be/rSQHzIMEelM?si=JaCxRLh7CxMvs-3i

7. THE LITTER- U.S. Warick 9445-6712 1967

On the flip side of the legendary Twin Cities release of "Action Woman" comes another North American stab at "Whatcha..". Starting out with some thundering drums and a sped up fuzz lick the number is fairly clean cut despite the band's normally brash delivery on other stuff. The solo is absolutely blistering and therefore warrants investigation. 

https://youtu.be/jCbEjv8ojUE?si=6I8X-SDWHB2bA7KG

8. TOM THUMB- New Zealand Gloria GSPO85 1967

This is yet another New Zealand recording of the tune, I rather like this one because the musical backing sounds like they heard The La De Da's reading of John Mayall's "On Top Of The World" and just put the lyrics to "Whatcha Gonna Do About It" over the top! Excellent! with prerequisite fuzz guitar and combo organ, of course. 

https://youtu.be/KIroLwbXrk0?si=JS-mquImNbgGNfeD

9. THE BEST-Sweden Columbia DS 2292 1966

Sweden's Best took a swing at this with three times the speed, energy and gusto of fellow countrymen the Tages as discussed above. The manic pace sets this apart from ALL of the versions here and though not the best or strongest it deserves merits nonetheless for it's reworking (dig that "Train Kept A Roillin" lick towards the end). 

https://youtu.be/cNf2eACrKWA?si=DemaC_3RGELXnYMj

10. SMALL FACES-Unreleased version 1966

Despite the erroneous tale that originated back in the 90's when an unnamed journo in "Record Collector" stated that this rare and raw version was released on the band's first French E.P. the truth of the matter is that this is utter bunk. The E.P. contained the standard British 45 version. This version was first unleashed on the unsuspecting public in the mid 90's as a bonus track on the deluxe CD edition of their debut Decca LP which unfortunately made the same erroneous boast about it's origin in the liner notes. 

https://youtu.be/A1X1V8Av9fA?si=gXn9ON7T2n2JCs3T