There are so many I could name, because I love cover songs. One but standout for me is "Lovesong" - a bright, positive sort of gothic-rock/post-punk song by mostly sad/gothy band The Cure, which was originally released in 1989 and went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their most successful single in the US.
The sone was then remade as "Love Song," a slightly slower, grooving reggae single released in 2004 by alt-reggae rock band 311 as part of the soundtrack to the movie "50 First Dates." To call this version a cover would be an injustice; 311 basically rebuilt the song from the ground up and really made it their own. Their version hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"Lovesong" has also been covered in various ways by other artists like Tori Amos, A Perfect Circle, Death Cab For Cutie, and riot grrl band Jack Off Jill. Adele's bossa-nova version from 2011 (on her album "21") would nicely complement any sunset or evening dinner cruise off the coast of somewhere beautiful.
I have three favourite cover songs that I don't think I will ever tire of:
#1: Mylie Cyrus' cover of Metallica's "Nothing else matters" performed on the Howard Stern show with Metallica: https://youtu.be/hBmSS8fDmek?si=yNhVTWjnjlboyj5A The tears flow every time I listen to the many shades in Mylie's voice.
Miley Cyrus needs to put out an album of her covers. Stellar, every one of them. And I almost never like Dylan covers, but her “Baby I’m in the Mood for You” is fantastic.
And I'd say Aretha Franklin's "Respect" (1967) has to be the best. Even Otis Redding, who released the original in 1965, admitted “I guess it’s that girl’s song now.” In my 12th grade "Music & U.S. History" elective, I teach a whole lesson on how she flipped it from a sexist song to a feminist anthem. Rolling Stone also named it the #1 greatest song – not just cover! More here:
Also, if you haven't seen it, www.whosampled.com is a massive database for covers, samples & remixes. I especially like unpacking hip hop samples with students and the layers of musical sediment that go back decades. For example, Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" (1989) samples 23 different songs, from James Brown to Bob Marley to the Isley Brothers!
I saw them live a few years ago, but they'd had a lineup/instrument change and sounded different than I expected - piano out, saxophone in. Still a great show.
I grew up under a metaphorical rock (reading nonetheless!) and did not know for many years that Alien Ant Farm’s “Criminal” was a Michael Jackson cover. I have come to prefer it.
Recently, I was amazed by Rebekka Bakken’s version of Tom Waits’s “Little Drop of Poison” and Youn Sun Nah’s version of his “Jockey Full of Bourbon, both of which tore down the house in Potsdam and Basel, respectively.
I loved Little River Band. I'm playing my fave, Reminiscing, now as I type.
Favorite covers:
I Will Survive (orig: Gloria Gaynor), by Cake. Loved the original, love this version.
Things Have Changed, Curtis Stiger (orig: Dylan) (Note, I love Dylan covers)
Gimme Shelter (orig: Stones), by Patti Smith. Also, Smith's Changing of the Guards (orig: Dylan). Also Smith's Gloria (orig: Them). (I also love Patti Smith's covers of just about anything.)
Watching the Detectives, The Henry Girls (orig: Elvis Costello)
I went on a terrible date awhile back with a huge Little River Band fan, so that may have ruined them for me. But then I also dislike most Dylan covers, so we may simply deviate in music tastes despite our clearly excellent taste in newsletters.
My favorite cover is an unrecorded version of Dave Alvin’s “4th of July” by a now-defunct local band called Big Wooden Radio. (For covers you can listen to, I’d go with Phoebe Bridgers’s “If We Make it Through December” or Dar Williams’s “Comfortably Numb.”)
But while we’re on the topic of music: I’ve been asking everyone this since my coworker used it as an ice breaker for our interns, Biblioracle readership, what’s your walk up song?
The JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound cover of "I am trying to break your heart" is absolutely delightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6VILyHVDE (honestly, I like it better than the original, though I'm a huge Wilco fan).
Coolest cover confusions: most folks connect “ I Heard It Through the Grapevine” with Marvin Gaye from its 1968 release but it was first recorded by The Miracles in 1966 (but not released until 1968, a few months before Gaye’s version); the initial recording released was Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1967 ( but recorded after both the Miracles and Gaye’s versions)…and then of course there’s Creedence covering it their own way in 1970.
There are so many I could name, because I love cover songs. One but standout for me is "Lovesong" - a bright, positive sort of gothic-rock/post-punk song by mostly sad/gothy band The Cure, which was originally released in 1989 and went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, their most successful single in the US.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks_qOI0lzho
The sone was then remade as "Love Song," a slightly slower, grooving reggae single released in 2004 by alt-reggae rock band 311 as part of the soundtrack to the movie "50 First Dates." To call this version a cover would be an injustice; 311 basically rebuilt the song from the ground up and really made it their own. Their version hit #1 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egX9ZDaIrkU
"Lovesong" has also been covered in various ways by other artists like Tori Amos, A Perfect Circle, Death Cab For Cutie, and riot grrl band Jack Off Jill. Adele's bossa-nova version from 2011 (on her album "21") would nicely complement any sunset or evening dinner cruise off the coast of somewhere beautiful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSec3LfUWxE
Adele's version transported me...thankyou!
I forgot about that 311 version. I remember hearing it in the movie and thinking, “I know that song,” but almost not being able to place it.
I have three favourite cover songs that I don't think I will ever tire of:
#1: Mylie Cyrus' cover of Metallica's "Nothing else matters" performed on the Howard Stern show with Metallica: https://youtu.be/hBmSS8fDmek?si=yNhVTWjnjlboyj5A The tears flow every time I listen to the many shades in Mylie's voice.
#2: "The first time ever I saw your face" Mylie Cyrus' cover of the Roberta Flack song: https://youtu.be/dGtLlkw3QV0?si=FhBkHiysFZAx5S8k
#3: "House of the Rising Sun" covered by almost anybody.
Hearing a certain piece of music performed by different artists can be a real pleasure.
Miley Cyrus needs to put out an album of her covers. Stellar, every one of them. And I almost never like Dylan covers, but her “Baby I’m in the Mood for You” is fantastic.
Loved it! Mylie has a very impressive command of her voice, her performance and her audience. I hope she has a very long career.
Love both this post and prompt! Larkin Poe is a Southern sister duo with serious blues chops who make frisson-inducing covers. Two of my favorites:
"One Way Out": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlYKXbkdCCg
"Wicked Games": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoMG0UtAVak
"Playing for Change" has a fabulous mission with a fascinating window into global music. I love their take on "Gimme Shelter":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJtq6OmD-_Y
So many great Bob Dylan covers, like this one of "Don't Think Twice" from Chris Thile & Brad Mehldau:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whJZgOiRzho
And I'd say Aretha Franklin's "Respect" (1967) has to be the best. Even Otis Redding, who released the original in 1965, admitted “I guess it’s that girl’s song now.” In my 12th grade "Music & U.S. History" elective, I teach a whole lesson on how she flipped it from a sexist song to a feminist anthem. Rolling Stone also named it the #1 greatest song – not just cover! More here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/16/arts/music/respect-aretha-franklin-death.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xFA.5Y8f.Tc76EHsz7sH6&smid=url-share
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/public-enemy-fight-the-power-5-1225336/
Also, if you haven't seen it, www.whosampled.com is a massive database for covers, samples & remixes. I especially like unpacking hip hop samples with students and the layers of musical sediment that go back decades. For example, Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" (1989) samples 23 different songs, from James Brown to Bob Marley to the Isley Brothers!
https://www.whosampled.com/Public-Enemy/Fight-the-Power/samples/
The Bad Plus cover of Radiohead's Karma Police is amazing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p054Ux0QXk
Around the 4:30 mark it sounds like each instrument is doing something completely different, but 30 second later it resolves into perfect harmony.
Great one. I really got into The Bad Plus for a while. I should get them back in my rotation.
I saw them live a few years ago, but they'd had a lineup/instrument change and sounded different than I expected - piano out, saxophone in. Still a great show.
I grew up under a metaphorical rock (reading nonetheless!) and did not know for many years that Alien Ant Farm’s “Criminal” was a Michael Jackson cover. I have come to prefer it.
Don’t tell anyone, but I do too. There’s something charming about their commitment to what they’re doing.
Recently, I was amazed by Rebekka Bakken’s version of Tom Waits’s “Little Drop of Poison” and Youn Sun Nah’s version of his “Jockey Full of Bourbon, both of which tore down the house in Potsdam and Basel, respectively.
Here's a favorite cover of mine. “Rich Girl” by Lake Street Dive.
https://youtu.be/89Oc1UE7SS4?is=9Xxfwo0qRPf5XR7U
I loved Little River Band. I'm playing my fave, Reminiscing, now as I type.
Favorite covers:
I Will Survive (orig: Gloria Gaynor), by Cake. Loved the original, love this version.
Things Have Changed, Curtis Stiger (orig: Dylan) (Note, I love Dylan covers)
Gimme Shelter (orig: Stones), by Patti Smith. Also, Smith's Changing of the Guards (orig: Dylan). Also Smith's Gloria (orig: Them). (I also love Patti Smith's covers of just about anything.)
Watching the Detectives, The Henry Girls (orig: Elvis Costello)
I went on a terrible date awhile back with a huge Little River Band fan, so that may have ruined them for me. But then I also dislike most Dylan covers, so we may simply deviate in music tastes despite our clearly excellent taste in newsletters.
My favorite cover is an unrecorded version of Dave Alvin’s “4th of July” by a now-defunct local band called Big Wooden Radio. (For covers you can listen to, I’d go with Phoebe Bridgers’s “If We Make it Through December” or Dar Williams’s “Comfortably Numb.”)
But while we’re on the topic of music: I’ve been asking everyone this since my coworker used it as an ice breaker for our interns, Biblioracle readership, what’s your walk up song?
Two favorites:
Disturbed's cover of Sounds of Silence. I love S&G, but honestly the Disturbed version is masterful: https://youtu.be/u9Dg-g7t2l4?is=rmC0wPbkG49sAUNm
Indigo Girls' (tho really just Amy Ray's) cover of Dire Straits Romeo and Juliet: https://youtu.be/OuWOd2VT6kk?is=nc_F-2yKVQo5ghD8
I had no idea that was a cover! I never knew the Dire Straits version so I thought it was an Indigo Girls original.
Disturbed's cover of Sounds of Silence is absolutely awesome, especially when compared to Simon and Garfunkel's original.
Thank you for the link to the Disturbed SoS cover which was amazing (though certainly disturbing too).
Big Indigo Girls fan as well, and I do like this cover, but the original is perhaps my favorite song so for me it pales in comparison.
The JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound cover of "I am trying to break your heart" is absolutely delightful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK6VILyHVDE (honestly, I like it better than the original, though I'm a huge Wilco fan).
That is a truly amazing reinterpretation!
It's old news. I stan the Novel Laureate poet Dylan, but Jimi Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower rules.
Here here
There are so many covers to choose from, but here are two that I really think have improved the originals:
Baker Street. The original by Gerry Rafferty, and the cover by the Foo Fighters.
https://youtu.be/dtUqu1vCaFw?si=ceAi9wz03SYQOR0i
War Pigs: The original by Black Sabbath, and the cover by Cake.
https://youtu.be/caINuHPKkFQ?si=8dyX_iHYU_lPve8S
Yacht rock on a boat, that was a great idea for someone. Approximate time that I have not even THOUGHT about "Steal Away" is probably 15 years.
Going with Adele's "To Make You Feel My Love" and being very boring.
Fave “cover”: Kronos Quartet’s Purple Haze: https://youtu.be/Vomfxcnnd5s?si=AD2t4FbogltUuywJ
Coolest cover confusions: most folks connect “ I Heard It Through the Grapevine” with Marvin Gaye from its 1968 release but it was first recorded by The Miracles in 1966 (but not released until 1968, a few months before Gaye’s version); the initial recording released was Gladys Knight and the Pips in 1967 ( but recorded after both the Miracles and Gaye’s versions)…and then of course there’s Creedence covering it their own way in 1970.
So who’s covering what? My favorite is the Gladys Knight version; entirely different rhythm ( and much more drum forward!) https://youtu.be/mJ633YXW-TM?si=zvKidV6eJWNbvJHm