1. 20 Great Covers (In No particular Order)

    There are lots of covers out there, many of them are terrible and are often punted out by manufactured artists in a bid to win over the public with a song that’s already burnt into their psyche. In fact bad covers is a whole subject in itself, but nonetheless for the moment, here are twenty great covers that have managed to avoid the usual pitfalls. Expect no Westlife in here, but you might find a few that you know. Click on the read more link for the full shebang…

    Cinnamon Girl – Type O Negative

    You wouldn’t expect anything less from the Brooklyn doom mongers than this slow, dark and heavy cover of Neil Young’s original. The late, great Pete Steele’s fantastic baritone voice sounds both perversely yearning and steeped in its typical cynical undertones in this atmospheric cover. (Apologies for having to skip a fucking advert to watch this but I thought it was worth posting the official video.)

    Idris Muhammad – House of the Rising Sun

    This funk epic is a completely different take on the original 60s hit by The Animals. Muhammad’s voice is pure soul and turns what is a good cover into a great one.

    My Way – Sid Vicious

    Despite being a total and utter twat by all accounts, Sid was born to be a punk legend and this was his defining moment. I’m sure you could supply electricity to the whole of America using only the power of Sinatra spinning in his grave, but there’s no doubt this is a remarkable revisioning of the crooner’s original. Special mention to the lyrics “you cunt I’m not a queer” and “I killed a cat but not in a gay way”. Indeed.

    Parchman Farm – Cactus

    This late 60s super group of sorts didn’t have many hits but this was their biggest. A cover of Bukka White’s original blues song about the notorious hard labour prison, this is a pure unadulterated rock and roll with some amazing fret work wailing throughout.

    American Woman – Anal Cunt

    Anal Cunt were controversial from the off. The clue is in the name. Lead by the outspoken Seth Putman who died this year, the band put out a plethora of humorous grindcore albums with titles such as ‘Everyone Should Be killed’, ’40 More Reasons to Hate Us’ and ‘It Just Gets Worse’. This cover barely resembles the original and that’s the screaming, ultra-heavy charm of it all.

    Motel Blues – Bombay Bicycle Club

    This Loudon Wainwright song was always a lonely tale of on-tour excess but Bombay Bicycle Club turn it from merely melancholic to positively heartbreaking. An absolute triumph of a cover.

    All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix

    So ubiquitous and genre defining that this cover eclipsed Bob Dylan’s original long ago. An obvious choice perhaps, but worth mentioning nonetheless for being so bloody great. Go on, try and deny it.

    Hurt – Johnny Cash

    Another cover that’s burnt into the psyche of music fans. What more can be said of this song, Cash’s final before his death and one of the best covers ever to be released. The fact that the Trent Rezor original is from Nine Inch Nail’s seminal album ‘The Downward Spiral’ only makes Cash’s triumph all the more astounding.

    Never Let Me Down Again – The Smashing Pumpkins

    Perhaps the main success of this cover is that Corgan has made a Depeche Mode song sound exactly like a Pumpkins tune. The jarring electroclash original is nothing like this dreamy, guitar driven noodle.

    Running Up That Hill – Placebo

    Kate Bush is a tour de force of modern song. One of her defining moments is Running Up That Hill. For Placebo, a whiny indie outfit with fading popularity, to cover such a masterpiece was setting themselves up to fail. But out of adversity often comes surprising triumph as Brian Molko and co. create a beautiful song in it’s own right.

    Where Did You Sleep Last Night – Nirvana

    This traditional American folk song has been covered by many artists, most notably by 1930’s artist Leadbelly. But it was brought to a wider audience with Cobain’s wailing on Nirvana’s Unplugged album. A moment in time just before Cobain’s death, this eerie, pain-filled version is surely this songs central moment in popular culture.

    Band on the Run – Foo Fighters

    Despite what most critics say, I’ve always thought Band on the Run (the ablum, not song) was a bit shit. McCartney had lost it by this point but the title track from the album still had a great, great chorus. Here, the Foo fighters cover it and pay little attention to its original twee nature, ramping up the rock factor to turn a great, great chorus into a great, great song.

    Enjoy Yourself (It’s Later Than You Think) - The Specials

    Written in 1949, this popular song about seizing the day has been covered by many artists but The Specials put their own tongue and cheek twist on it, turning it into a ska anthem that makes you want to drink and dance yourself stupid at the same time.

    Dead Souls – Nine Inch Nails

    New Order’s original is an understated masterpiece but this didn’t put off Nine Inch Nails covering it for The Crow Official soundtrack. Curtis’ monotone vocals are replaced by Rezor’s maddening vocals that sound like he’s two seconds from falling apart as he wrings every last drop of emotion out of this tune.

    If You Want Me To Stay - Red Hot Chili Peppers

    A funk band covering a funk band. Nothing particularly unusual about that but this smooth cover ozzes quality. With every RHCP hallmark present that made them great, they truly make this song one of their own, leaving Sly & The Family Stone out in the cold.

    Word Up - Gun

    A personal favourite of mine. There’s a million heavy versions of regular pop songs but the now defunct Gun recognised how damn great Cameo’s original riff would sound beefed up and played out on power chords, way before Korn decided to do their own (very similar) cover a decade or so later.

    Blue Cheer - Summertime Blues

    Hailed as fathers of metal, this almost stoner cover of Summertime Blues is revolutionary for it’s time. It could be Electric Wizard hammering this out if you didn’t know better. Standing the test of time, this is a fantastic cover.

    Surfin’ USA - The Jesus and Mary Chain

    I’m on my own on this one but I never did like The Beach Boys, so this ultra shoegaze, reverb soaked cover is a welcome break on that normal sugary crap they dole out.

    Keep Me Hangin’ On - Vanilla Fudge

    This cover of The Supremes classic sucks out every bit of Motown twee and replaces it with thick deep vocals and a kind of manic craziness. Moreover, this video is amazing. Check out the guitarist with the specs. What a legend.

    Into the Groove(y) - Ciccone Youth

    Ciccone is Madonna’s surname and obviously, this is Sonic Youth covering one of her songs. Possibly the most fantastically mangled cover yet, only improved by actual Modonna samples looped in the track.

    July 30, 2011