coverage

[alicat78]

I appear to have an obsession with cover songs. This isn’t a new phenomenon to me; I’ve been intrigued by the concept of rethinking the way a song sounds and putting a new twist on it since I started going to see live shows in my teens. The first one I remember with any certainty was Matchbox 20’s stunning acoustic reworking of “Time After Time” by

Comments

covers

[enochs_fable]

Wow. I want to hear some of those!

Disturbed doing Genesis' apocalyptic "Land of Confusion" (oddly appropriate now - but both versions are great

Argh. There are some others nagging at my brain. What are they?

Re: covers

[alicat78]

I remembered annother amazing one - Barenaked Ladies' cover of Bruce Cockburn's "Lovers in a Dangerous Time". Stellar, especially the awesome double bass solo in the bridge.

[candragon]

I am of two minds when it comes to cover songs. I either love them or loathe them. I am particularly "Damn Kids! Get off my song!" anal retentive when those being covered are of my generation. No Doubt's horrible rendition of It's My Life and that crass cover of How Soon Is Now as the theme music to Charmed come to mind at once. Coincidentially enough, those I enjoy seem to also be of my generation. The English Beat - Tears Of A Clown, General Public - I'll Take You There, Prefab Sprout - He'll Have To Go, Sisters Of Mercy - Gimme Shelter. These are the first to come to mind as ones I enjoy. There are others, but this addled brain of mine is slow to recall them.

Oh wait! Alison Moyet's version of That Old Devil Called Love. Another goodie.

Ooh. Stranglers - 96 Tears. Another.

I could be here a while at this rate.

[grapefruiteater]

The Jeff Buckley cover of "Hallelujah" is one of those rare covers that's better than the original. I have the Leonard Cohen version, and it's weird. Jeff Buckley made that song his own. They played it on WNYC (New York's major public radio station) two years ago during the fifth-anniversary commemoration of 9/11. I was a sobbing mess in my office.

Bob Dylan might be the most frequently covered songwriter out there. I love the Jimi Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower." There are a lot of other great Dylan covers out there. He's like Leonard Cohen in that the songs themselves are so well written that they are open to more interpretations than we can imagine.

[alicat78]

Ooooh, I love the Hendrix version of that song, too. To me it feels like the "real" version.

Leonard Cohen is primarily a poet, albeit one who sets his poetry to music. The words are the important part, and I think Dylan's much the same, which could be why the songs are so universal.

[amelia_eve]

I think I have 9 or 10 versions of Hallelujah. My own favorite is the version by Rufus Wainwright.

And I agree with grapefruiteater about Dylan. The cover I have been obsessed with lately is the Indigo Girls doing Tangled Up In Blue. They alternate verses so it makes the whole story of the star-crossed romance take a totally different flavor.

ETA: I also have a really great cover of Manah Manah by Cake.

[alicat78]

And now you made me remember the Indigo Girls doing Dire Straits' "Romeo and Juliet", which is all kinds of awesome.