The art of cover songs and remakes
I collect cover songs. There’s something about covers – when done right – that make them stand out among everything in my music collection. Perhaps it’s because I don’t like change and I’m so much more comfortable when things are familiar and routine that cover songs are like a little thrill or a burst of excitement, like the feeling I get when I venture to do something out of the ordinary.
This isn’t the case for all covers. I’ve always said, if you’re going to remake a song then really remake it. Don’t just re-record what the original artist put down. Take that song and make it your own. Turn it on its head. It’s even better when an artist takes a song completely out of their genre and does something spectacular with it. But it shouldn’t be done in an ironic way or for a little chuckle (see every punk band’s cover of any pop song); it needs to feel sincere.
While Johnny Cash’s cover of Nine Inch Nails’ Hurt has recently become the most common answer to “What is your favorite cover song?” that particular tune -while beautifully done – is not something I’d put on my own list simply because it is presented the same way as the original. Same with Gary Jules’s Mad World (Tears for Fears). While the cover is well done, I think it’s popularity came more from the way it was used in Donnie Darko than from any originality brought to the tune.
The first cover song that left its mark on me was Vanilla Fudge’s rendition of The Supremes” You Keep Me Hanging On. Released just one year after the original, the Vanilla Fudge version takes a dance oriented song and turns it onto a psychedelic trip. I remember being fascinated with the fact that someone could take something that belonged to someone else and completely make it their own. Remnants of the original were still there, but they took the emotions inherent in the lyrics and put their own passion into it.
And that’s – to me – what makes a remake of a song great – taking the guts of the original and putting it another form. Here are some of my favorites:
The way Cake adds bursts of quiet anger and bitterness to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive that were only implied but not vocalized in the original give the song a new feel and the tongue in cheek way in which most of the song is presented adds an even further dimension to it; it becomes Cake’s song.
It takes guts to take a very popular song and do something else with it. Ted Leo makes a thing of beauty out of Kelly Clarkson’s Since You Been Gone.
The Queens of the Stone Age takes Billy Idol’s White Wedding and turns into something dark and ominous.
Rammstein turns Depeche’s Mode’s Stripped upside down, making it something far more sinister than the original ever intended.
Ben Folds makes Dre’s Bitches Ain’t Shit sound completely out of context.
The Dickies manage to make the Moody Blues Knights in White Satin actually sound interesting.
In Flames version of Depeche Mode’s Everything Counts does just about everything a good cover song should do.
Type O Negative doing a polar opposite version Neil Young’s Cinnamon Girl.
Aztec Camera’s cover of Van Halen’s Jump is possibly my favorite cover of all time. It was the b-side to the 12 inch version of their single Oblivious. I listened to Oblivious once, flipped the record over and then listened to this for about four hours straight.
I’d love to add to my collection of covers. What are your favorites?
(For more fabulous covers, check out the Cover Song Appreciation tumblr)
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The Killer’s cover of “Romeo and Juliet” earned the band a ton of cred in my book. While the guys did record a fairly straight-up cover, you can really tell – on the very first listen – just how much respect they have for the Dire Straits original.
Ron – We’re on the same cover page.
In response to another comment. See in context »Even better than the Killers version, imo, is Matt Nathanson’s cover of Romeo and Juliet:
http://hypem.com/#/track/123620/Matt+Nathanson+-+Romeo+And+Juliet+Dire+Straits+cover+
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by MC Thumbtack, sara mcguyer. sara mcguyer said: I love Beat Me Silly's Happy Together @abigvictory: My latest at True/Slant: The Art of Cover Songs and Remakes http://bit.ly/dnFO6w [...]
This is a gobsmacking brilliant cover: Betty LaVette covering “Love Reign O’er Me”.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJi6maTueSc
Richard Thompson — Oops, I Did It Again
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAS4ltt7DzI&feature=related
The audience laughs at the start (a Britney song?), but as he plays it you realize that it’s actually a very good piece in the right hands.
Devo — “Satisfaction”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o
The Jackson 5 — “I’ll Bet You” (doing P-Funk!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PPepwqggmU
i love this! i have always loved cover songs and seek them out often, never thought of myself as a collector, but i guess i am. great blog!
Eva Cassidy’s version of “Over the Rainbow” is unbelievably beautiful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccCnL8hArW8
And for those “Romeo and Juliet” fans, check out Amy Ray’s version with the Indigo Girls. Gives the song a different perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GzA1ZJvSKU
For all the same reasons you listed, this version of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” by BiGod 20 comes immediately to mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xOA8qmwLSY
Agreed with Thompson’s ‘Oops I Did It Again’. Just wow.
Worm Is Green’s cover of Joy Division’s ‘Love Will Tear Us Apart’ is pretty special.
Blake Harnage’s cover of Frou-Frou/Imogen Heap’s ‘Let Go’ (it’s not hugely different, but my, it’s beautiful, made his own by being a male voice).
The Whitlam’s cover of Bob Dylan’s ‘Tangled Up In Blue’ is pretty much brilliant.
Thrice’s cover of the Beatles’ ‘Eleanor Rigby’ is testament to Kensrue’s vocal range.
My Chemical Romance / The Used’s joint live cover of Queen’s ‘Under Pressure’ is mighty fine.
Laura Marling’s cover of Neil Young’s ‘Needle and the Damage Done’ is gorgeous.
Cellobelly’s youtube cover of Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ is fantastic.
Cote de Pablo’s cover of Tom Waits’ ‘Temptation’ for an NCIS episode was purely phenomenal, oh my.
Spill Canvas’ cover of Ke$ha’s ‘Tik Tok’ is pretty sweet.
Peter Gabriel’s cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Flume’ is really quite good.
I’m not going to go on, ha. Although there is something about Vanessa Carlton’s cover of ‘Paint it Black’…
Oh, I collect covers, too. (;
Camper Van Beethoven covered Fleetwood Mac’s best album, Tusk, in its crazy entirety, I just found out yesterday. My mind exploded; this is addressed in greater detail here:
http://thingsiatethatilove.tumblr.com/post/698248213/storms-fleetwood-mac-cover-camper-van
Tom Waits’ cover of “Heigh Ho” (from “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”) is absolute genius, turning the song completely inside out. The original is a happy-go-lucky, whistle-while-you-work type number, but Waits’ version captures all the drudgery and bleak monotony of a workday with its soulless beat, tired vocals and assorted sonic horrors. Sheer brilliance.
I’m also a big fan of Aztec Camera’s version of “Jump”, good to see it included on the list. Another favorite: Jason and the Scorchers cover of Dylan’s “Absolutely Sweet Marie” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-cF40OWeak
I’d also like to recommend a local band, The New Standards, made up of three veterans of the Minneapolis music scene. They do jazz trio; piano, bass, and vibes, versions of contemporary favorites. Here they are performing “London Calling”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U78YNzXYtI
“Rose Garden,” by Southern Culture on the Skids, but then, I love everything they do.
“My Girl,” by the Jesus and Mary Chain.
“Ring of Fire,” by Wall of Voodoo.
“Where Do Broken Hearts Go,” by Me First & the Gimme Gimmes.
Oh, that Ring of Fire cover is awesome.
In response to another comment. See in context »http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cyfTFbzk9A
Some really great covers here, I’m trying to listen to them all. That Camper van Beethoven thing is blowing my m ind.
good & usual playlist : http://www.nevver.com/search?q=cover
In response to another comment. See in context »This would be my first comment ever, though your good taste always blows my mind. A little surprised that Failure’s cover of Depeche Mode’s “Enjoy the Silence” didn’t make the list.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO0pbPJQqoQ
It’s pretty straightforward until about a minute in, at which point they decide to melt your face off.
That does remind me, I wanted to mention in this piece that the Depeche Mode tribute album “For the Masses” is the best of its kind.
http://www.amazon.com/Masses-Album-Depeche-Mode-Songs/dp/B000009PNY
In response to another comment. See in context »You know, Wall of Voodoo cover came out way back in the dark ages, long before the internet. I heard it with my best friend, but we didn’t catch the name of the band, but it was a distinct sound that neither of us could put our finger on. Next day, the band name just popped in my head. I called her at work, she picked up the phone at her desk, said hello, and I shouted, “Wall of Voodoo!” She screamed and we were happy. We were simple back then. Also, we had to remember things on our own without the help of google searches.
I am also very partial to “Melvin,” by Thee Headcoatees (a cover of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.”) Genius.
In response to another comment. See in context »Great topic… I tag all of my covers in iTunes and have a smart playlist generated accordingly. I’m that obsessed. Anyway, this Badly Drawn Boy track by way of Kings of Convenience has always been a favorite: http://linesparallel.tumblr.com/post/680861652/once-around-the-block-by-kings-of-convenience
Van Halen’s cover of “Dancing in the Street” has held my top spot for a while now, and consistently makes me want to throw furniture.
Here’s a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZvpwJvRr4
In response to another comment. See in context »All time favourite cover tune: Leatherface doing ‘Message in a Bottle’
Found this audio only clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eCQdldG5XQ
They take a melancholy lament and turn it into something angry and defiant.
I simply cannot get enough of William Shatner’s version of “Common People.” I do not even know why.
Also I adore most everything by Nouvelle Vague. Which I cannot explain except to say that i heard them interviewed once and they said that they tried to hire singers who knew nothing about the songs they were covering. Some of those songs I never actually liked much until I heard them covered by Nouvelle Vague. (I won’t tell you which so as not to be marked as an idiot.)
http://www.google.com/url?q=http://s0.ilike.com/play%23Nouvelle%2BVague:Teenage%2BKicks:287544:m23725757&ei=MK0WTOSSJZCuNqy_wc8I&sa=X&oi=music_play_track&resnum=2&ct=result&cd=2&ved=0CCgQ0wQoATAA&usg=AFQjCNFJOtdzdRBlsu6T1x_lsuJA93ODYw
Type O Negative’s cover of Black Sabbath (from a Satanic Perspective), and Paranoid. Never can go wrong with RIP Peter Steele’s vocal style.
Devo Satisfaction, I’ve heard the Rolling Stone version then this, and I’m partial to Devo just because of the off time aspect.
Arsis, covering Things She Said by Depeche Mode, in a very technical way. Harsh vocals, but sped up.
Sacred Reich cover of Who Do You Want to Be by Oingo Boingo, speed up and rocks.
Richard Cheese doing his lounge style with many of the top songs, Nookie from Limp B would be top on my list.
Dread Zepplin covering Led Zepplin songs.
Agree with Wall of Voodoo, and Cake. I’ve not heard The Dickies, I’ll check that out. I’m sure I’m missing some really potent covers.
B.
I purposely left Richard Cheese off the list being that he does nothing but covers (same for Me First and the Gimme Gimmes). My absolute favorite Cheese cover is of Disturbed’s Down With the Sickness (Holiday in Cambodia is also awesome. And Me So Horny).
In response to another comment. See in context »Ten Masked Men (anything – because it’s always funny)
Sepultura – Symptom of the Universe
White Zombie – Children of the Grave (that remake was great justice)
Van Halen – Pretty Woman
Primus did a maxi album of covers called “Miscellaneous Debris”. Included was an amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s “Have a Cigar” and “Making Plans for Nigel” by XTC. Both are great.
You might also like the “Fabulous Flying Frog Brigade” which is an all-star band of Les Claypool of Primus, Tre from Phish, Bernie Worrell of The Talking Heads, and others. They cover the entire Pink Floyd album “Animals” beginning to end. No easy feat and also very well done…
In response to another comment. See in context »Wow Michele, I had never heard The Dickies cover of Knights In White Satin until now. As it starts, it sounds like a cover of My Generation, but definitely better than the depressing original.
So many additional links provided reinforcing the fact that there really are lots and lots of great covers out there! Thank you!
Oh God. Covers are the best. My covers playlist, which is only semi-extensive, has 31 songs, and probably more plays than any other.
I do think Ben Folds’ Dre cover was a little bit ironic, though? But I definitely like it better than punk-covers-pop. Probably because it hasn’t been done over and over and over. And over.
My favorite covers… I really like Kate Nash’s cover of The Black Kids’ I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2MTleG57Vg
And also, Pomplamoose does some amazing stuff. I really like their September, but I think Single Ladies wins.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIr8-f2OWhs
Also, Greg Laswell does this amazing cover of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and Yo La Tengo has too many to choose from. (Here Comes My Baby and the version of With A Girl Like You they play for their La Blogotheque video are especially lovely.)
Houseguest did a cover of “Ontario, Quebec and Me” by Billy Bragg and turned it into a nice, jangly jam. I don’t think they ever actually released it though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXj4BDYFVUA
Also, Jose Gonzales’ cover of “Heart Beats” by The Knife was lovely.
In response to another comment. See in context »down the shore everything’s alright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRXhDQXhdXE
Bruce Springsteen covering Jersey Girl
Tears for Fears Creep Live
http://www.nevver.com/2009/10/cure-creep-live.html
In response to another comment. See in context »I’m a big fan of the Foo Fighters’ version of “Baker Street”
Two covers of “All Along the Watchtower” are on my list of faves. Jimi Hendrix, of course – no need to link to that one, I’m sure. But I also really like what Bear McCreary did with it for the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ka_sHy9cVH0"
Concrete Blonde’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Everybody Knows” is amazing:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RaJAxdGeZ4E"
Foo Fighters doing Prince’s “Darling Nikki”:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEoYKYA9oHE"
and Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street”:
< ahref="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH5SFemG8CI"
Hard to top the originals, but I think they did a great job on both.
Damien Rice covering Radiohead’s “Creep”:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6uyZ4jKTdg"
I was surprised how much I liked Nonpoint’s cover of Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight”:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihYwcaxEEUk"
Quite a few more I could list, but I’ll end here before this gets too long!
OK – I swear I’m not as inept at posting comments as I appear, but wow. That was horrible. Sorry about the mess.
*slinks away*
In response to another comment. See in context »DEVO – Satisfaction
Travis – Hit me baby one more time
Ben Gibbard – Complicated
virtually any ramones cover
husker du covering ‘eight miles high’
sonic youth (as ciconne youth) covering ‘into the groove’
yo la tengo covering ‘by the time it gets dark’
sensefield covering ‘a letter to elise’
pussy galore covering ‘yu gung’
dead kennedys covering ‘viva las vegas’
scrawl covering ‘public image’
patti smith was much better when she laid her poetic ramblings on top of an existing song as opposed to her original tunes.
I have the same obsession. Some choice cuts…
Violent Femmes doing “Do you really want to hurt me?” by Culture Club is just gorgeous. Shows how good a song it actually is.
Built To Spill taking on Neil Young’s “Cortez The Killer”.
The Lemonheads doing “Mrs Robinson” is outstanding.