Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin delivered the penultimate installment of the Hanukkah Sessions on Saturday with a cover of “Train in Vain” by The Clash. This take on the “hidden track” from the British punk rock pioneers’ seminal 1979 album, London Calling, follows covers of songs by Lisa Loeb, Ramones, Barry Manilow, Van Halen, Amy Winehouse, and Billy Joel released via YouTube over the course of the last week.
“Michael Geoffrey Jones, born to Russian Jewish mother Renee Zagansky, would come to be known as punk rock legend Mick Jones, co-founder of The Clash,” Kurstin and Grohl noted in the video’s description. “It’s London Calling Jerusalem as we take a ‘Train In Vain.'”
This Hanukkah Sessions cover stays relatively faithful to the sound of the original, with Dave Grohl handling Mick’s lead vocals and Kurstin playing Joe Strummer‘s piano accompaniment. “Train In Vain” has always felt like something of a sonic departure for The Clash, and the Grohl/Kurstin rendition makes good on the conceptual juxtaposition at the track’s core: take a bitter, kiss-off anthem and make it sound like a celebration.
Watch Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin cover “Train in Vain” by The Clash for the seventh night of the Hannukah Sessions below. Stay tuned to the Foo Fighters’ YouTube channel for the eighth and final installment.
Dave Grohl, Greg Kurstin – “Train in Vain (The Clash) – Hanukkah Sessions Night Seven
Last year’s inaugural Hannukah Sessions series saw Grohl and Kurstin cover a wide array of Jewish artists including Beastie Boys, Drake, Mountain, Peaches, Bob Dylan, Elastica, The Knack, and The Velvet Underground.