Certain songs, it seems, are so well written that nobody who tackles them records a bad version. One such song must be Rod Argent's magical "She Does Everything For Me". I first came to it in the early '90s via The Sneetches' fairly faithful but fabulous version which sparked a manic search for The Zombies' original which, it turned out, was even snappier and more psychedelic than The Sneetches' rendition. Wind-on some 20 years and I chanced upon what has become my favourite version*; this time by Australian Robbie Peters. It's a touch less psychedelic than The Zombies' but the playing is frenzied to the point of breathless and Peters' youthful voice and distinctive pronunciation of 'alright' give it real teen appeal. It's completely glorious and must've driven teenage girls loopy!
I couldn't find the Robbie Peters version online so here's the original:
* - Robbie's version is tucked away at track 8 of Big Beat's revelatory collection of Australian sounds, the "Hot Generation", which provides compelling evidence that Australia could compete with the U.S. when it came to producing thumping, melodic post-Yardbirds garage pop.
I wonder if The Zombies played it at Belle and Sebastian's Bowlie 2. I'll be very peeved if they did and I missed it because I was scoffing a pasty in the canteen area!
Update: A bit of clicking around reveals that We The People also did a dandy version which is closer in execution to The Sneetches':
she does everything is not only the best zombies song ever (who would have thought this would come from the fuckers who did tell her no....) but one of the best songs ever.
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