Cover Me

by niloc

When a band releases a cover song it can mean many things. It can break an unknown act wide open. It can be a simple tribute to the original artist. In many cases it can be the theme of the summer blockbuster or something a band adds to their encore after a great live performance.

Cover songs have always been around. Bands have released full CD’s of other artist's work. They either play homage by trying to recreate the same feeling or look at it their own way and put a unique twist on it. Sometimes you don’t even know the song is a cover. Soft Cell’s "Tainted Love" was originally recorded by Gloria Jones. Yeah… I’ve never heard of her either. Unfortunately she is better known for being behind the wheel in the crash that killed Marc Bolan. (T-Rex) The song was originally recorded in 1966. Sixteen years before Soft Cell put their synth-pop sound to it. I only learned about this when I was researching this post. The number of Greatest Cover Song Lists on the net is huge. One of the blogs I have recently discovered is Copy, Right? which is soley dedicated to covers. I’m not going to post a “Best Of” list however this list of songs will always be on my iPod.

The Beatles - "Twist And Shout" (Isley Brothers) This was recorded in one take. I remember this song having a huge comeback when it was featured in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The raw vocal and the harmonies are everything a two-minute pop song needs.

The Clash - "I Fought the Law" (The Crickets) It took The Clash to give this song the political charge it needed. I’ll always think of this version first whenever I hear this song.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground" (Stevie Wonder) This is the song that got me into the band. I grew up listening to Stevie Wonder and RHCP punch up the funk in this cover. I can’t help but turn up the punk finish.

Pixies – "Head On" (Jesus and Marychain) I got used to the Pixies version first before hearing the original and I still subconsciously associate it as “their” song.

Faith No More - "Easy" (The Commodores) Mike Patton croons this song so naturally. The guitar solo is exact and precise. I’m sure Lionel Richie must have loved the video that was released along with it.

Tool - "No Quarter" (Led Zeppelin) It’s rare to have such a powerful band perform an equally powerful song. I first heard this version performed live. Maynard spoke to the crowd afterwards saying “For those of you under the age of 25… We wrote that song!”

Foo Fighters - "Darling Nikki" (Prince) Dave doesn’t capture the sexiness Prince did in the original but he sure knows how to scream the story.

Foo Fighters – "Down In The Park" (Gary Numan) Ok, I wouldn’t normally pick two songs by the same band but the Foo Fighters do have a large number of covers that they add so much to. This is a very fitting tribute.

Smashing Pumpkins - "Landslide" (Fleetwood Mac) Pisces Iscariot is one of the Pumpkins more underrated CD’s.

Supersuckers – "Dead Homiez" (Ice Cube) What can I say… The deep vocal; the wailing guitar groove; the punk twist with a crescendo. You gotta wonder what Ice Cube thinks of his reflection of urban life being performed like this.

I realize that all of these are from many of my favourite bands. I should ask Jana to post a few of her own favourite covers to balance it out a little. Please feel free to add your own in the comments.

Comments

[motherbumper]

The first covers that jumped to mind for me: English Beat cover of Smokey Robinson's Tears of a Clown & Doctor and the Medics cover of Norman Greenbaum's Spirit in the Sky.

Oh yes and Johnny Cash covering NIN's Hurt.

[kittenpie]

Ha, MB mentioned two of mine! (She rocks, what can I say?)

My fave band (The Queers) pays tribute to their two big influences (Ramones and Beach Boys) by putting a cover from one or the other on nearly every album, and have also totally covered Rocket to Russia.

And hey, wasn't that Soup Dragons song "I'm Free" a cover? That's a great song. Smashmouth's fun cover of "I'm a Believer" for some movie or another was a toe-tapper, too.

[Wendy]

Good topic to discuss. The number of great covers done are endless but here's a few that come to mind:

Ned's Atomic Dustbin - Saturday Night (Baycity Rollers)
Mrs Robinson - The Lemonheads (Simon & Garfunkle)
I will Survive - Cake (Gloria Gaynor)

[Wendy]

Oh, I ment to add:

Muse - Creep (Radiohead)
Deftones & also Muse - Please, Please, Please Let me get what I want (The Smiths)