I like cover songs. It's fun to hear an old favourite song given a spin by another artist, or sometimes I discover new songs that turn out to be covers. Really, how else would I listen to Dr Dre, Dolly Parton or Harry Nilsson? Anyway, here's a list of some of my fave covers:
1) In Between Days (The Cure covered by Ben Folds)
3) Inside and Out (Bee Gees covered by Feist)
4) Rattlesnakes (Lloyd Cole covered by Tori Amos… from her interesting album, “Strange Little Girls”, that consists entirely of covers)
5) Handle with Care (Traveling Wilburys covered by Jenny Lewis and Friends)
6) Fast Car (Tracey Chapman covered by David Usher)
7) Bitches Ain’t Shit (Dr. Dre covered by Ben Folds)
8) In a Big Country (Big Country covered by Dashboard Confessional)
9) Lovers in a Dangerous Time (Bruce Cockburn covered by Barenaked Ladies)
10) Enjoy the Silence (Depeche Mode covered by Matthew Good Band… I like Tori’s version of this song too)
11) Fairytale of New York (Pogues covered by Pilate)
12) Strange Little Girl (Stranglers covered by Tori Amos)
13) Will He Be Waiting for Me? (Dolly Parton covered by Sarah Harmer)
14) Kids (MGMT covered by Ben Lee)
15) Don’t Forget Me (Harry Nilsson covered by Neko Case)
Are there any I'm missing?
5 comments:
wow, I'm kind of surprised at how quickly some of these have been covered (e.g. Death Cab and MGMT), but then I guess when you look back Jimi Hendrix made the version of All Along the Watchtower 90% of people shortly after Dylan too.
obviously love 10), don't know that I've actually heard the Cockburn original of Lovers in a Dangerous Time, but the BNL version is good...now off to consider my own list.
sorry, that should have read
"Hendrix made the version of All Along the Watchtower 90% of people *know"
I'm a fan of
Hounds of Love (Kate Bush covered by Futureheads)
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen covered by Jeff Buckley)
Hurt (NIN covered by Jonny Cash)
A New England (Billy Bragg covered by Kirsty MacColl
Satisfaction (Rolling Stones covered by Otis Redding)
Respect (Otis Redding covered by Arethra Franklin)
I Started a Joke (Bee Gees covered by Faith No More)
Felling Good (nina SImone covered by Muse)
This is a short list of suggestions though. I am a big fan of the cover versions. I may think on and send you the long list...
Cover songs are a hard thing to judge and an easy thing to hate. I am one of those curmudgeons who as a matter of habit generally denounce cover songs simply because they are cover songs. My usual comment, “Who do they think they are trying to cover that?” coincides with my first listening of most cover songs.
But there are moments in time, songs that I give the benefit of the doubt and listen to them objectively. It is a few and far between moment, but it does happen. I have used this opportunity to catalog some cover songs I feel are worth listening to. In fact, some of these I feel are arguably equals or betters to the original recording.
further reading...
well, i'd add sloan's cover of joni mitchell's a case of you.
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