URGE OVERKILL “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” (1994 CD Single)
“Sister Havana” may have put Nash Kato and Eddie “King” Roeser on the map, but it was their Neil Diamond cover “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” that put them in the ears of almost 10,000,000 Pulp Fiction soundtrack buyers. Even the Tarantino novice knows that the auteur director has a way and a vision with soundtracks. Urge Overkill were the beneficiaries of that vision when their 1992 cover (from the Stull EP) was used in one of the most dramatic, well performed and memorable scenes in Pulp Fiction. You remember it well, don’t you? Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman), who seems to only own Urge Overkill on a reel to reel tape*, hits “play” and starts singing and dancing around the room. Meanwhile, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) is having a moment with himself in the bathroom with a monologue about loyalty. Then Mia finds a baggie of heroin in his coat pocket, mistakes it for coke, and overdoses. Blood runs down her nose as Nash sings, “Soon, you’ll be a woman”. Powerful imagery.
It would have made more sense for Neil Diamond to be on the reel to reel tape, but let’s not complain. Urge Overkill’s cover is brilliant, not deviating far from the original. As the song sways and cha-chas like Mia Wallace in her mansion, the trio are accompanied by piano, acoustics and percussion. Kato nails the vibe vocally; his voice is just lower and rougher than Neil Diamond’s.
The single has two B-sides: One from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack and one from Urge Overkill’s Saturation album (on which “Girl, You’ll Be A Woman Soon” does not appear). “Dropout” from Saturation is an unexpected tune, focused on a synth-y beat, a couple acoustic guitars and a single keyboard hook. Lead vocals are by drummer Blackie Onassis, accompanied by subtle female backing vocals. It’s actually a really cool song, difficult to describe adequately. It’s stripped down and laid back with minimal sound effects and a focus on the way the vocals are layered. You would not think it was the same band who did the first track! This cut is slightly edited down at the end from the album version, by 10 seconds.
Finally The Tornadoes close the single with their surf-rock instrumental “Bustin’ Surfboards” from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack. Think back to the film and you’ll remember this music. Jody, Rosanna Arquette’s piercing-obsessed character, is playing the tune when Travolta comes by to score some drugs from Eric Stoltz. This is a vintage track, featuring the sound of crashing waves over the surfin’ guitars and whammy bars.
When you think about it, the track listing for this single is actually quite cool. For the average Pulp Fiction fan, they were getting a second Urge Overkill song that they wouldn’t have come across otherwise. For the UO fan, they were getting the A-side and a Tornadoes tune from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack that they might dig. Something for both scenarios.
And yes, before you ask, the “damaged” CD artwork seen below is just part of the artwork. Like an old worn pulp fiction novel.
4/5 stars
* Teac were still making reel to reel machines in the early 90s.
A well placed song in a movie or tv show makes the scene even more memorable. And I remember the scene very well.
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Definitely memorable. Watching these movies is like a deterrent to hard drugs.
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The Tornadoes number took me right back to the early 1960s with that surfing number.
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Totally eh! What a great little tune.
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That it is!
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Watched Pulp Fiction a few months ago and as Pete and yourself said a well placed song in a movie…
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I haven’t watched it in a couple years. Due to a re-watch. Jackson was awesome/
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Very memorable scene, but i never bought anything by UO. Cool single though.
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I own the Saturation album now. Pretty good! Definitely the kind of rock that I would have liked in the 90s when metal was dead.
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I’ll have to add them to the list.
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I remember it was impossible to escape copies of the soundtrack and this single at record stores back then. Very well done cover.
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That was my first year of working at the Record Store, 1994. I sold a lot of copies of that soundtrack. I didn’t watch the movie for 2 more years. Someone told me about the OD scene and I had already seen Reservoir Dogs, so I said “NOPE!” Only later did my buddy T-Rev start quoting Samuel L Jackson and cajoling me into watching it.
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Saturation was a great LP too. Shame UO seemed to slip through the cracks a bit.
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Just got Saturation and love it.
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It’s a cracker, I wish I’d bought the vinyl back then. I had it in my hand in the queue for the till but got distracted by something else and forgot all about it.
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