Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 40
  1. #1
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221

    Covers Comp help?

    I'm working a bit on a covers comp and can use some suggestions. I'm trying to stay away from live stuff, well-known covers, or ones where the originals are so obscure no one would recognize that it's a cover in the first place. Here's what I have so far:



    If you want to add to it and make this a group comp the songs in the screenshot can be found here (except in FLAC).

    So wha'cha got?
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  2. #2
    Rae
    Rae is offline
    a golden ball of light Rae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    894
    Grizzly Bear's cover of "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)" might go well with this mix. They also do a pretty good version of "Owner of a Lonely Heart".

    How about the Mountain Goats' take on "Tell Me On a Sunday"?

    There are thousands upon thousands of good covers, especially in the age of the internet.

    ~Rae

  3. #3
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    9,769
    I'm not sure whether this fits into your mix, but I've always loved Colin James cover of Into The Mystic. I'm trying my first file share here, so if it doesn't work, please let me know.

    Thanks.

  4. #4
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    4,380
    Blackmore's Night - Streets of London

  5. #5
    Rae
    Rae is offline
    a golden ball of light Rae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Minneapolis, MN
    Posts
    894
    There's also a pretty good Joe Cocker cover that the Beatles did but I can't remember the name of it.

    ~Rae

  6. #6
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221
    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
    I'm not sure whether this fits into your mix, but I've always loved Colin James cover of Into The Mystic. I'm trying my first file share here, so if it doesn't work, please let me know.

    Thanks.
    When I click the link it automatically opens with Quick Time. I can listen to it but can't save it. Good cover though!
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  7. #7
    Suspended
    Join Date
    Mar 2002
    Location
    St. Louis, MO, USA
    Posts
    10,176
    I don't know if any of these would help:
    Red Hot Chilli Peppers, covers Hendrix, Fire
    I also like their Stevie Wonder cover
    Primus, Pink Floyd's, Have A Cigar
    Anthrax, covers Sabbath's, Bloody Sabbath
    Gary Moore, Shape Of Things
    Ann Wilson, covers Zepplin's Immigrant Song on a solo album. Actually, all covers I believe.
    Brownsville Station's cover of Bare Footin'
    Deadsy, covers Rush's, Tom Sawyer
    Travis Tritt, covers ARS's, Homesick, pretty smoking

    LOL, pick up anything by Hayseed Dixie

  8. #8
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221
    Quote Originally Posted by Rae
    There's also a pretty good Joe Cocker cover that the Beatles did but I can't remember the name of it.

    ~Rae
    I think I'll go with the Yes cover instead.
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  9. #9
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
    Anthrax, covers Sabbath's, Bloody Sabbath
    I like their cover of Joe Jackson's Got The Time too.

    I can easily do an all-metal covers comp . . . some other time.
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  10. #10
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    9,769
    Okay then...how about a little Grandaddy does the Beatles. Let me know if the link works this time.

    Nope. Looks like this just Quicktime too. I don't know why this isn't working.

  11. #11
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    on some faraway beach...
    Posts
    2,916
    I always liked this minimalist version of the John Lennon song ...

    http://members.mailaka.net/davey/sue...ts_so_hard.mp3

  12. #12
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221
    Quote Originally Posted by Davey
    I always liked this minimalist version of the John Lennon song ...

    http://members.mailaka.net/davey/sue...ts_so_hard.mp3
    I have a really good version of Mercury Rev doing Isolation but it breaks my no live covers rule so I'm leaving it out.
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  13. #13
    Indifferentist Slosh's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2002
    Posts
    2,221
    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
    Okay then...how about a little Grandaddy does the Beatles.
    Where is this from? I thought I already had every Grandaddy CD and EP

    I just remembered I have that Sun Kill Moon - Tiny Cities album but Modest Mouse covers seem a little out of place with the rest of what I have so far.

    I also have a Will Oldham tribute CD, but again, the originals aren't very well-known. Speaking of Will Oldham, I also have Bonnie "Prince" Billy's - Ask Forgiveness CD with covers ranging from The Misfits to Sinatra. Might have to pull something off of that.
    Last edited by Slosh; 01-08-2011 at 05:02 AM. Reason: wrong album
    Originally Posted by Troy: She has that same kind of cleft-pallet, slightly retarded way of singing that so many other people find endearing.


  14. #14
    Stone Stone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Michigan
    Posts
    1,587
    Luke Doucet - "Sundown"
    Faith No More - "Let's Lynch the Landlord"
    Iron and Wine - "Such Great Heights"
    PAJO - "Where Eagles Dare"
    And the world will turn to flowing pink vapor stew.

  15. #15
    slightly, all the time jonnyhambone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    Twin Cities
    Posts
    311
    James Blake does a great version of Feist's Limit To Your Love
    Dinosaur Jr.'s acoustic cover of Bowie's Quicksand
    Iron & Wine's Waiting For Superman (he needs to do a Covers album...)
    Couple good ones on the Allison Kraus/Robert Plant disc - I'm partial to the Gene Clark covers

  16. #16
    Big science. Hallelujah. noddin0ff's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    X
    Posts
    2,286
    Always ready with unhelpful suggestions. :-)

    Tom Waits doing Sea of Love?
    http://www.fileserve.com/file/jdesfP5

    The Residents doing I left my Heart in San Francisco?
    http://www.fileserve.com/file/W7EtGpV

    Wish I had a copy of their version of "It's a Man's World", that one's cool.
    Last edited by noddin0ff; 01-08-2011 at 07:22 AM.
    TCA ATT GGA

  17. #17
    Can a crooner get a gig? dean_martin's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2002
    Location
    Lower AL
    Posts
    2,838
    Cat Power's covers of Been Loving You Too Long and Fortunate Son off the Dark End of the Street EP. I think Cat Power has two full-length covers albums also.

  18. #18
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    9,769
    Quote Originally Posted by Slosh
    Where is this from? I thought I already had every Grandaddy CD and EP
    It's from the I Am Sam movie soundtrack. The whole soundtrack is Beatles covers. It's an excellent disk. I highly recommend it.

  19. #19
    3LB
    3LB is offline
    cunning linguist 3LB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    hiding out in treetops, shouting out rude names
    Posts
    1,737
    Yes' cover of Paul Simon's America on the album Fragile is smokin.

    Willie Nelson also covers Simon with Graceland and American Tune on Nelson's cover album from '93 Across The Borderline

    Cake's cover of Guitar Man(Bread) on the album Pressure Cheif

    the Stones' cover of Just My Imagination on the album Some Girls

    David Bowie covered Waitin For The Man, found on the Almost Famous soundtrack

    Anything off the Endless Highway: The Music of The Band tribute with DCFC doing Rocking Chair or Guster doing Wheel's On Fire
    or My Morning Jacket doing It Makes No Difference

    and most recently, Nada Surf did a covers album where they covered Spoon, Dwight Twilley, Depeche Mode and
    even The Moody Blues (Question)
    Last edited by 3LB; 01-08-2011 at 10:53 AM.
    Repost this on your wall if you love Jesus.

  20. #20
    Rocket Surgeon Swish's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Pennsylvania
    Posts
    3,918

    I was going to mention the Calexico cover of Love's...

    ...Alone Again Or, but you already have it. Great song and a great cover.

    Let's see...how about these;

    Iron Man - The Cardigans
    Hurt - Johnny Cash
    Jealous Guy - Elliott Smith
    Rocks Off - Spoon
    I call my bathroom Jim instead of John so I can tell people that I go to the Jim first thing every morning.

    If you say the word 'gullible' very slowly it sounds just like oranges.

  21. #21
    Close 'n Play® user Troy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Highway 6, between Tonopah and Ely
    Posts
    2,318
    Dozens of great covers with these artists/albums:

    Dread Zeppelin (all covers mash-up of Elvis / Led Zeppelin / reggae standards)
    Richard Cheese (hilarious lounge covers of rock standards)
    Moog Cookbook (cheesy synth covers of rock standards)
    El Senor Cocoanut (big band latin covers of Kraftwerk songs)
    The King and Eye- The Residents (all Elvis covers)

  22. #22
    3LB
    3LB is offline
    cunning linguist 3LB's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    hiding out in treetops, shouting out rude names
    Posts
    1,737
    Prince's psychedelic mashup of Crimson & Clover/Wild Thing

    Scissor Sisters cover of Comfortably Numb

    ok...I better stop now
    Repost this on your wall if you love Jesus.

  23. #23
    Musicaholic Forums Moderator ForeverAutumn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    9,769
    Quote Originally Posted by 3LB
    Scissor Sisters cover of Comfortably Numb
    I love the Scissor Sisters (I know, it surprises me too) and I love The Floyd, but this is a terrible cover.

  24. #24
    Sure, sure... Auricauricle's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Location
    Yonder
    Posts
    2,886
    Annie Lennox's covers on Medussa are quite good, if you ask me. Her rendition of favorites like Don't Let it Get You Down and (A Thin Line Between) Love and Hate are beautifully arranged and presented with all her effective (and affective) pathos and charm.

    Another recording is Peter Gabriel's Scratch My Back, which includes of covers like David Bowie's Heroes, David Byrne's Listening Wind and Paul Simon's The Boy in the Bubble. Like the rest of PG's work, the album is pensive and brooding; but the arrangements of these pieces is intricate and superbly crafted in unexpected turns that demand the listener to sit still and hear what has to say. Very recommended.
    "The great tragedy of science--the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact."--T. Huxley

  25. #25
    very clever with maracas Davey's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    on some faraway beach...
    Posts
    2,916
    Quote Originally Posted by ForeverAutumn
    I love the Scissor Sisters (I know, it surprises me too) and I love The Floyd, but this is a terrible cover.
    I don't even remember when I heard it, but just did a quick search and it does show up on a bunch of best covers lists. Number 9 on the top 50 list below, which looks like a pretty good list (both of the Clash covers are perfect) with the possible exception of number 9, eh? Even has Troy's Señor Coconut & His Orchestra

    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    They did it their way: The Telegraph's music critics select the 50 best cover versions ever recorded

    In the late 1980s, there was a band with the astute name of Pop Will Eat Itself. As the number of TV talent shows expands, it does sometimes seem as if there are no more old songs left to sing – or massacre, in the case of most contestants. But this year has also seen a surge in rather brilliant cover versions – reworkings of songs which have displayed the wit and originality that can shine a new light on a classic track.

    To celebrate the renaissance of this pop tradition, our team of music writers have chosen their 50 best cover versions of all time. To qualify, a song had to be well established by one artist, then given a new lease of life by another. It was a tough list to make - and we did it our way. We hope you enjoy it. Let us know at covers@telegraph.co.uk

    50 Don't Leave Me This Way - The Communards, 1986

    orig. Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes, 1975

    It was camp enough to begin with, but Jimi Somerville and Sarah Jane Morris's triumphant falsetto-basso profundo duet on this cover of the 1975 disco classic takes the phrase "row of tents" and flings it in the air like a glittery handbag on an underlit dancefloor. One suspects that the singers swapped voices for a laugh. Key moment: The final, monumental "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah BABY!" just before the last chorus.

    49 Going Back to My Roots - Richie Havens, 1980

    orig. Lamont Dozier, 1977

    Woodstock star Havens caused barely a ripple in 1980 with his impassioned rendition of a song first recorded by Lamont Dozier. But eight years on, it was rediscovered, becoming an arms-in-the air anthem to a million British ravers. As the battered Havens larynx pours out Dozier's vision of the things that really count in life, the goosebumps take over. Key moment: a truly storming piano intro.

    48 Step On - Happy Mondays, 1991

    orig. John Kongos, 1971

    The Manchester baggy anthem, driven by a trademark acid house piano riff, is a hugely inventive remake of He's Gonna Step on You Again by long-forgotten South African singer-songwriter Kongos. Shaun Ryder added his own inimitable lyrical touch, contributing a new saying to the British pop lexicon with his opening declaration: "You're twisting my melons, man!" Key Moment: When it all breaks down to reverb-drenched female backing vocals singing the spookily threatening chorus line.

    47 Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me) - The Wedding Present, 1990

    orig. Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, 1975

    John Peel indie favourites the Weddoes gave Harley's classic the angry makeover its sardonic lyric was crying out for. Gone were the acoustic thrummings and sunny Ooooh-la-la-la backing vocals, replaced by thrashing electric guitars over blistering drums, seemingly at twice the original's speed. Key moment: The 15-second mid-song pause, silent except for a wavering note of guitar feedback. Then Dave Gedge's Yorkshire growl returns: "There ain't no more, you've taken everything."

    46 The Robots - Señor Coconut & His Orchestra, 2000

    Orig. Kraftwerk, 1978

    German musician Uwe Schmidt found a little cha-cha-cha in his waters when he moved to Chile, and felt moved to recreate the clinical oeuvre of Kraftwerk with the magical addition of Latin swing. This is the highlight of his wonderful experiment, a sashaying, hip-clicking antidote to the Düsseldorf automatons' metronomic precision. Key Moment: The horn flourish and celebratory "Olé!" before the vocals kick in.

    45 Rock el Casbah - Rachid Taha, 2004

    orig. The Clash, 1982

    Franco-Algerian bad boy Taha idolises Joe Strummer, but sensing something patronising in the original, he recorded this storming Arabic version of the Clash warhorse. Lutes and strings twang and swoop against a thundering rhythm track and exultant chorus. But it's the guttural attack of Taha's vocal that makes your hair prickle – a technique he learnt from records of old and obscure Algerian singers. Key Moment: The plaintive desert flute that kicks it all off.

    44 Oops I Did it Again - Richard Thompson, 2003

    orig. Britney Spears, 2000

    The sparky old folk-rocker toured with a self-explanatory show (and recorded a live album) called 1,000 Years of Popular Music. This was one of his examples of 20th-century songwriting, and in his hands – acoustic guitar, percussion, lots of echo on the voice – Britney's song actually becomes quite scary. Key moment: He tries to get the audience to sing along. Mostly, they laugh.

    43 Jolene - One Dove, 1993

    orig. Dolly Parton, 1974

    To make this song – so completely associated with Dolly herself – their own was no mean feat for Glaswegian trio One Dove, but they pulled it off with style. Dub reggae bass and echo effects, a glistening electronic production and Dot Alison's vulnerable vocal made for another melancholy rave-era classic. Key moment: When the squiggly noises of the intro give way to that bassline.

    42 David Bowie - It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City, 1975

    Orig. Bruce Springsteen, 1973

    The Boss's gruff tale from urban bohemia is recast as an overblown disco classic by a deranged-sounding Thin White Duke in this priceless 1975 cover, in which Bowie succumbs to vocal hysteria over a backing of crunchy rock guitar and silly strings. Four minutes of inspired madness. Key moment: The Dame finds notes he never knew existed to squeal "Don't that man look pretty!"

    41 Hazy Shade of Winter - The Bangles, 1987

    orig. Simon & Garfunkel, 1966

    Who knew that Paul Simon could write a great heavy metal riff? The circling, folky-psychedelic guitar part of the original, turbocharged by legendary producer Rick Rubin for the Less Than Zero soundtrack, rocks hard here. The all-girl Bangles' slick vocal harmonies turn it into a faultless piece of '80s power pop. Key moment: That riff.

    40 I Fought the Law - The Clash, 1979

    Orig. The Crickets, 1959

    In its original version by the Crickets (post-Buddy Holly), it could have been about returning library books late. Merging punk-rock passion with rock and roll swagger, the Clash make it sound like the wailing of ragged outlaws on the run from a chain gang. Key moment: With its thundering tom tom-driven opening, combined with Mick Jones's ripping two-note guitar lead, the record kicks off like a jail break in progress.

    39 Ms Jackson - The Vines, 2002

    orig. Outkast, 2000

    The Australian band took one vaguely insincere hip-hop apology (inspired by Andre 3000's break-up with Erykah Badu) and turned it into an epic lament for love turned sour. Sampled drum beats, a baleful piano motif and Craig Nicholl's icy vocals build into crashing walls of psychedelic sound. Key moment: The layered, echoing cries de coeur of the bridge: "You can plan a pretty picnic but you can't predict the weather."

    38 Wichita Lineman - Dennis Brown, 1970

    orig. Glen Campbell, 1968

    Boy of 15 from Kingston, Jamaica takes on Glen Campbell's lament of a world-weary telephone repairman in the American Midwest? It sounds hare-brained, but the result is haunting. Destined to be a reggae great, the adolescent Brown sings with a choirboy purity that should be incongruous but instead underlines the song's timeless, otherworldly quality. Key moment: The crystal clarity of the opening – "I am a lineman for the county."

    37 Heartbreak Hotel - John Cale, 1975

    orig. Elvis Presley, 1956

    As darkly humorous as anything he did with the Velvets, Cale's homage to Elvis took the blue mood of the rockabilly original and painted it black. The screaming gothic synthesizers, cello-like guitars and funereal pace obscured the fact that Cale's expiring vocal was actually following the melody note-for-note. Key moment: That weird squeaking over the house-of-horror riff at the start.

    36 Dear Prudence - Siouxsie & the Banshees, 1983

    orig. The Beatles, 1968

    Much misunderstood at the time, the Banshees' take on punk was about individuality through experimentation – arty, but with a pop sensibility. Little wonder, then, that they should cover a Beatles song from the White Album, or that it should become their biggest hit. It seemed made for them. Key moment: The mesmerising "look around-around" coda; punk turns into psychedelia.

    35 Gloria - Patti Smith, 1975

    orig. Them, 1965

    Patti Smith's first single was a piano-accompanied meditation on Hey Joe. For her debut album, Horses, she enlisted a full rock band, but, on Gloria, its opening track, the same spirit of poetic licence ran free, as Smith turned Van Morrison's libido-driven beat tune into a hymn of self-determining spirituality. Key moment: The opening line, "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine" – So, not just about getting laid, then.

    34 Fell In Love With A Boy - Joss Stone, 2003

    orig. the White Stripes, 2001

    The big surprise, and best track, on Stone's soul pastiche debut album was a remake of the White Stripes' Fell in Love With a Girl. As great covers can, her smokily jazzed-up vocal discovered unimagined melodic depth in Jack White's scuffed garage lurve song, and rendered it pretty well unrecognisable. Key moment: The suavely saucy pay-off at the end of the first verse: "Sarah says it's cool, she don't consider it cheatin'."

    33 Money (That's What I Want) - The Flying Lizards, 1980

    orig. The Beatles, 1963 (after barrett strong, 1959)

    David Cunningham and some pals from Brixton bashed on a drum, added some electronic peeps and cheesy backing vocals, and stormed the charts with this avant-garde, lo-fi take on the bluesy Beatles number. Deborah Evans speaks the lyrics deadpan, in the style of an upper-class English dominatrix. Key moment: The way Evans sounds as if she's going to come to your house, whip in hand, and retrieve the cash personally.

    32 Chimes of Freedom - Youssou N'dour, 1994

    orig. Bob Dylan, 1964

    The Senegalese singer encountered Dylan's apocalyptic vision of liberty when it became the anthem of 1988's Amnesty Tour with Springsteen, Sting and Peter Gabriel. Feeling that poor English had prevented him doing the song justice, he produced this epic Wolof language version six years later. Key moment: Intoned over cataclysmic ritual percussion, the French chorus makes this a startling example of cultural appropriation in reverse.

    31 Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word - Mary J Blige, 2004

    orig. Elton John, 1976

    If the new Bridget Jones film takes this poignant reading of Elton John's 1976 hit to a wider audience, it may not have been a waste of time. Stripped of accompaniment, Blige's raw vocal manages to sound at once vulnerable, resigned and iron-willed. Where Elton was merely a bit gloomy, Mary uncovers a world of sublime melancholia. Key moment: Her gentle, barely audible "hmmms" and "aahs" between lines.

    30 I'm A Believer - Robert Wyatt, 1974

    orig. The Monkees, 1966 (written by Neil Diamond)

    The Monkees might claim this as the perfect three-minute pop song, but it took Robert Wyatt's plaintive voice and radical transformations of the music to make you really believe in the lyric. Repeating piano chords, bass, drums and violin power it all along. Key moment: The final choruses, where Wyatt's vocals, perhaps intensified by his recent accident and confinement to a wheelchair, are simply heart-rending.

    29 Black Steel - Tricky, 1995

    orig. Public Enemy, 1988

    Tricky claimed that Public Enemy's Chuck D was "my Shakespeare". His tribute replaced the low-end, funky militancy of the hip-hop original with a hyper-agitated mesh of distorted electronica, asthmatic growls and, most daringly, the mellifluous Martina Topley-Bird on lead vocals. Key moment: When Tricky incants "Now you switch on, you switch off" in his Bristol burr and mutates the grammar of rap into a new, entirely English register.

    28 Jealous Guy - Roxy Music, 1981

    Orig. John Lennon, 1971

    Recorded as a tribute to John Lennon after his murder in December 1980, the former Beatle's paean to self-obsession gave Roxy Music their only UK number one single. In the process, they transformed an exquisite but lovelessly produced miniature into a full-blown, six-minute smoocher, while perfectly preserving its intimacy. Key moment: When the mild-mannered solo guitar cedes to a gleaming, sensuous sax.

    27 Summertime Blues - The Who, 1968

    orig. Eddie Cochran, 1958

    More than any of their '60s peers, the Who represented the same young, working-class male disaffection as their '50s American rock and roll forebears. This cover, then (on their hard-rocking Live at Leeds album) is mightily appropriate. Townshend's crashing power chords and Daltrey's libidinous howls add up to pure aggro: the giddy, bracing sound of trouble brewing. Key moment: the first guitar "KLANGGGG" sets the pulse racing splendidly.

    26 I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself - The White Stripes, 2003

    orig. Dusty Springfield, 1964

    Garage rock's first couple are strong on covers, on a mission to keep songwriting traditions from throughout the last century alive. Indeed, the days when everyone had a crack at a Bacharach/David tune are long gone. Their treatment of this one, originally a number three hit for Dusty Springfield, is breathtaking in its emotional intensity. Key moment: The crashing chords, into "Like a summer rose, needs the sun and rain."

    25 Wonderwall - Ryan Adams, 2004

    orig. Oasis, 1995

    With gently picked acoustic guitar and ambient atmospherics, Adams recreates the Britpop anthem as an intimate blues. Oasis delivered it as a declaration; for Adams, it's a heartbreaking plea. Noel Gallagher was so impressed, he now performs Adams's version of his own song in concert. Key moment: The broken-down emotion Adams conjures singing: "Maybe, you're gonna be the one that saves me…"

    24 Why Can't We Live Together - Sade, 1985

    orig. Timmy Thomas, 1972

    At the height of '80s greed and Cold War angst, the young Anglo-Nigerian Sade Adu insinuated into the wine bars of the world this lush, plaintive call for peace, love and understanding. The final track on her huge-selling Diamond Life album, it introduced Timmy Thomas's hit to a whole new generation. It may lack the Hammond organ funk of the original, but her voice never sounded stronger. Key moment: The outro, "Gotta live, gotta live."

    23 Caravan of Love - Housemartins, 1986

    orig. Isley Jasper Isley, 1985

    Hull's finest nabbed their only number one single, at Christmas, with this ingenious a cappella reworking of Ernie and Marvin Isley (and cousin Chris Jasper)'s Christian rallying call. With the bass vocal beating out the "bom bom boms" against a shimmering choral waterfall of "aaaaahs", a defiant Paul Heaton pleads for the world to join in love and peace. And at Christmas, what better message is there? Key moment: "I'm your brother, don't you know?"

    22 (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction - Devo, 1978

    Rolling Stones, 1965

    Who'd have thought that five boiler-suited geeks with flowerpots on their heads could tackle such a monolithic '60s hit and triumph? Somehow these Darwin-opposing robo-punkers twisted Mick Jagger's disaffection for modern consumerism into their own future-retro logic, and the whole Rolling Stones rebel ruckus into an irresistibly funky techno-pop masterpiece. Key moment: Singer Mark Mothersbaugh's seemingly endless "baby-baby" repetition, like a malfunctioning robot.

    21 Only Love Can Break Your Heart - St Etienne, 1990

    orig. Neil Young, 1970

    Acid house was not all about euphoria. The Balearic scene emerging from Ibiza had a penchant for melancholia amid the hedonism, and this record fitted right in the middle of that. Moira Lambert's plaintive indie-style vocal rides a loping hip-hop beat with shimmering synths, giving Neil Young's lost, wistful mood a modernist twist. Key moment: Grown men crying on the dancefloor.

    20 Police and Thieves - The Clash, 1977

    orig. Junior Murvin, 1976

    At a time when British reggae comprised polite but dull attempts at authenticity, the Clash's stripped-back, garage rock approach came as a glorious revelation. While the ethereal falsetto of the original sounded incongruous on lines about "guns and ammunition", Strummer's gleefully thuggish tones take us straight to an inner city that feels all too real. Key moment: the DM-clad spring in the bass line's step.

    19 Sweet Jane - Cowboy Junkies, 1988

    orig. Velvet Underground, 1970

    Spare, evocative remake of the Velvet Underground's 1970 original. Much moodier and less grungy, it is Margo Timmins' almost whispered vocals, recorded in a church, which reignite Lou Reed's seedy, downtown anthem. The pacing and phrasing are perfect. Key moment: Timmins's longing, languorous bridge: "Heavenly wine and roses seem to whisper to me when you smile."

    18 Just Can't Get Enough - Nouvelle Vague, 2004

    Orig: Depeche Mode, 1981

    Terrific though it is, Depeche Mode's original Just Can't Get Enough can at times evoke stumbling around a suburban nightclub while cradling a warm shandy. Enter Gallic musos Marc Collin and Olivier Libaux, whose sublime bossa-nova reworking, with Rio-born singer Eloisia, whisks one instead straight to the sands of Ipanema, c1965. (Try their Nouvelle Vague album if this sounds your tasse de thé.) Key moment: The glorious pronunciation of, "All the fing ya do ta me, an everyfing ya say…"

    17 Mad World - Gary Jules, 2003

    Orig. Tears For Fears, 1982

    Apparently possessing nothing more than a piano and a voice not unlike Michael Stipe's, unknown singer-songwriter Gary Jules ran away with last year's Christmas number one spot via his haunting and devastatingly simple rendition of Tears for Fears' plinky-plonky electro plodder from 1982. A great example of less equalling more. Key moment: The little wobble in Jules's voice when he first sings "I find it kinda sad."

    16 Billie Jean - Shinehead, 1984

    orig. Michael Jackson, 1982

    Two years after Michael Jackson's global hit came this eerie, dead-slow reworking from Shinehead, aka New York dancehall reggae MC Carl Aiken. Rough & Rugged was the name of the brilliant debut album it appeared on, and that sums it up perfectly, as Aiken's falsetto floats above a vast echo-chamber of dub and stabbed piano chords. Key moment: The whistled "Oo-wee-oo-wee-oo" from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly that opens the song.

    15 Wild Horses - The Flying Burrito Bros, 1971

    orig. The Rolling Stones, 1970

    Country-rock visionary Gram Parsons was on course to self-destruct long before he recorded this exquisitely world-weary version of the Stones ballad. The sincerity and aching fragility of his delivery show up the hamminess of the original to startling effect. Key moment: "Let's do some living, after we'll die" had the feeling of lived reality – within three years Parson was indeed dead.

    14 Rocket Man - Kate Bush, 1991

    orig. Elton John, 1970

    Elton John's lament to the loneliness of space travel (or cocaine addiction, depending on your age group) was vacuous tinny pop until Kate Bush's keening cadences gave it the poignancy it deserved. Her little-girl-lost voice and the bittersweet sound of Uilleann pipes add startling beauty, and a thrilling chill to the Martian air. Key moment: The breathy, pained gasp of "Oh" before the chorus line "No no no I'm a rocket man."

    13 My Favourite Things - John Coltrane, 1960

    orig. Rodgers and Hammerstein (The Sound of Music), 1959

    Cool adventurous jazz was probably the furthest thing from the mind of audiences for The Sound of Music. John Coltrane got hold of this hit song, though, and by adding subtly oriental harmonies and choosing the soprano saxophone as the melody instrument, he was able to create a contemporary jazz masterpiece. Key moment: the first time you recognise the tune, as the sax gleefully skips around the waltz-like rhythms.

    12 One - Johnny Cash, 2002

    orig. U2, 1991

    Producer Rick Rubin had rescued Cash's career with the American Recordings series of albums, and on Vol 3 Cash had truly hit his stride, especially on this towering acoustic version of the U2 song. There's a lifetime of difference between the two renditions: Bono strains and screeches, Cash just reaches down into his soul. Key moment: Cash sings: "You say love is a temple." There's an organ playing. Spines tingle.

    11 Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - Roberta Flack, 1971

    orig. Shirelles, 1960

    This Carole King-penned narrative of a woman's questioning of a lover's blithe sweet nothings was sad and beautiful enough in the Shirelles' Spector-produced version. Slowed down to a drifting lament and sung in Roberta Flack's velvet voice, it becomes almost unbearably lovely. Love and loss, trust and betrayal, innocence and experience are blended into a heartbreaking small-hours classic. Key moment: "Tonight the light of love is in your eyes": so slow, but so perfectly sung.

    10 Mr Bojangles - Nina Simone, 1971

    orig. Jerry Jeff Walker, 1967

    Much recorded, often trampled underfoot (hang your head in shame, Bob Dylan, Lulu and Robbie Williams), this strange Jerry Jeff Walker ballad about an itinerant dancer was made famous by Sammy Davis Jnr as a theatrical showstopper. The inimitable Nina Simone gets to the lonely heart of the tale, in an ethereal, understated, drifting, low-key version. Key moment: The whole song. Simone's almost casual delivery de-dramatises the narrative yet ensures the inherent emotion resonates all the louder.

    9 Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters, 2004

    Orig. Pink Floyd, 1979

    Only divine inspiration could explain how, or why, New York's bendiest band came to pop Pink Floyd's balloon of pretension by re-recording their most horribly self-regarding song in the style of the Saturday Night Fever-era Bee Gees. At once cold, sexy and relentlessly danceable, it far outshines the original in both concept and execution. Key moment: The flurry of electronic handclaps after the line "You may feel a little sick."

    8 Twist and Shout - The Beatles, 1963

    Orig. the Isley Brothers, 1960

    The Beatles recorded their version in a single take for their debut album Please Please Me – and the world changed. John Lennon's lead vocal sounds as raw and urgent as a live concert, aeons away from the bland, computerised studio sound of today. Key moment: John's barked "Shake it up baby" after Paul and George's aaahs in the middle.

    7 Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds, 1965

    orig. Bob Dylan, 1964

    Folk and rock were inconceivable bedfellows, respectively too earnest and too thrill-driven to contemplate each other's existence, until these Californian Beatles obsessives fused the two musics in one exquisite, harmony-loaded Bob Dylan cover. The lyrics reflected how Dylan, tiring of polemic, was now consumed by the seduction of pure music. The Byrds completed that transition for him in none-more-beautiful sound, and went to number one. Key moment: That guitar-chiming intro.

    6 Tainted Love - Soft Cell, 1981

    orig. Gloria Jones, 1964

    With Marc Almond's heroically overwrought vocal adding a deliciously deviant twist to Dave Ball's slinky synth-pop backing track, this straight-ahead '60s soul stomper (originally performed by Gloria Jones – later mother of Marc Bolan's son, Rolan) was somehow transformed into the mystical bridge between Northern soul and acid house. Key moment: The syncopated handclap/keyboard lurch combo which launched a million dancefloor forays.

    5 Respect - Aretha Franklin, 1967

    orig. Otis Redding, 1965

    Soul queen Aretha took Redding's original and turned it into a kind of proto-girl power anthem. Redding sang: "All I'm asking is for a little respect when I come home." Franklin changed the "I" to "you", added the r-e-s-p-e-c-t bit, and made the song her own. Key moment: "Sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me sock it to me."

    4 Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley, 1993

    orig. Leonard Cohen, 1984

    If Leonard Cohen has a fault, it's a weakness for ponderous, synth-heavy arrangements, and nowhere was this more so than on his original version of this lyrically magnificent song. Then Jeff Buckley got hold of it, stripped it down, and sang it in his exquisitely pure chorister's voice. Definitive. Key moment: The serene, sustained falsetto note towards the end.

    3 My Way - Sid Vicious, 1979

    orig. Frank Sinatra, 1969 (after Paul Anka, 1969)

    He knifed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death and died soon afterwards from an overdose of heroin supplied by his own mother. But Sid Vicious should also be remembered for this riotous version of the song made famous by Sinatra, recorded with the rump of the Sex Pistols following Johnny Rotten's departure. The Pistols rock like demons, and Vicious snarls and sneers his way through the song's valedictory lyric with twisted glee. It's mad, hilarious, and thrilling. Key moment: Vicious sings the first verse in tones of mock-seriousness (inserting obscenities along the way); then the guitars and drums kick in.

    2 You Were Always on My Mind - Pet Shop Boys, 1987

    orig. Elvis Presley, 1972 (after brenda lee, 1971)

    The Boys, on career best form, elevated Elvis's tender elegy – written by Willie Nelson – into a monumental explosion of high pop camp. Chris Lowe conjures an electronic symphony of rumbling drums, swelling strings and glittering synths to underpin Neil Tennant's crystalline vocals. "I'm sorry I treated you wrong," mourned Elvis. "You'd be a fool to lose me, cad though I am," seems to be Tennant's message. Key moment: the stabbing trumpet sample, introduced before the song kicks in: Da! Da-da-da-da-da. Da!

    And the greatest cover ever...

    1 All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968

    orig. Bob Dylan, 1967

    Hendrix's version of a so-so track from Dylan's John Wesley Harding album completely outgunned the original. A light, scampering ballad re-emerged as a mini-epic of foreboding with Hendrix's heavy three-chord intro hanging like a thundercloud and Dylan's lyrics sounding an ominous epitaph for the 1960s. Key moment: The last words – "And the wind began to howl" - before the closing guitar storm.

Page 1 of 2 1 2 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •