Entertainment For Lively Minds
Covers albums - really
Has there ever been a good covers album?
The majority of covers albums are often given away as freebies with a number of other magazines (so I hope I am okay raising this) and if anything the bar has just been raised with one such periodical giving away an album, of covers of the classic U2 - Achtung baby album. While many such albums feature B and C list, or up and coming band, this very definetly features a whole range of A list bands. However, its still not very good - why!!
Whenever I listen to any covers, they basically seem to be a slowed down version (any band, any track that is being covered) and the bits that made the original special are stripped out, so that it loses whatever it is that it had in the first place. I know bands/artists try to put their own interpretation onto a track they are covering, and a direct copy of the original would be pointless - but are there any covers (even a track if not a full album) that surpasses the original?
All this one has done is remind me of how good the original is, I have dug out my copy (which hasn't seen the light of day for 10+ years) and tomorrow I know what will be playing in my car! and the covers album has been filed away after barely a listen...
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The Covers Album
Cat Power
Highly recommended
I rather enjoyed (Ahk-Toong
I rather enjoyed (Ahk-Toong Bay-Bi), though I agree it is nowhere near as special as the original.
I was also reminded of just how great the original was, and I also thought the cover versions lost something special from each track - I thought it was the passion of creating something from scratch. U2 were so desperate to be different with Achtung Baby, I think that's what gives it an extra bit of bite!
That said though, a bit harsh to dismiss this covers set entirely. There are some nice versions on it. Particularly NIN subdued take on Zoo Station, Gavin Friday's version of The Fly (He's suspeciously Bono-like, or is that the other way around?) and The Killers take on Ultraviolet wasn't bad.
Ultimately I liked it all, probably because I love the songs so much.
I'll second that!
Excellent album. As is everything the wonderful Charlyn does. Not the best track but it's the only one I can find on Youtube
erm...
which song of course isn't actually on that album of course. Should give you an idea of her style though. Excuse me whilst I find a hole to crawl into
Laibach - Let It Be
A cover which has such an oblique take on most of the tracks that I find myself appreciating both versions more, when comparing & contrasting.
"Get Back" is almost Laibach-by-numbers (but still highly listenable) whereas the rest is the product of a "what can we do with this source material?" approach.
Agree
They go so far away with the source material on most of the songs that you can listen to the album without thinking about the Beatles versions most of the time.
And their version of "Across the Universe" is better than the original.
*Ducks barrage of rotten vegetables*
Yes.
It's A Shame About Gemma Ray, by Gemma Ray.
It's absolutely fantastic. Her originals are sheer class too, but this is a set of incredibly well chosen covers, all done beautifully in her own lovely way.
Here's Mudhoney's "Touch Me I'm Sick."
And here's Gallon Drunk's "Put A Bolt In The Door" (I could only find a live acoustic version, which is great, but the recorded version's even better.)
Thanks Bob!
That's great. I hadn't heard of Gemma Ray before this and now I've checked out the album. Great stuff.
:-)
Brilliant. She's pretty much never going to make a living out of music, I wouldn't imagine, which strikes me as very sad. She's great.
,
That's one of my favourite ever comments on this blog...
Have an up.
Still listen to this fairly often
Beautiful South - Golddiggas, Headnodders & Pholk Songs
(Some "interesting" choices ('You're The One That I Want', 'Livin Thing', 'Blitzkreig Bop')
Other covers albums (or tribute albums as they became known):
Fire & Skill - Songs Of The Jam (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Skill-Songs-Jam/dp/B00002MUPN/ref=sr_1_1?s=...)
Substitute - The Songs of The Who (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Substitute-Songs-Who/dp/B00005AQD3/ref=sr_1_4?ie...)
Love that Beautiful South album.
It was a while before I twigged that one of the songs was a fake cover, rather than just obscure. I particularly like the Lush and S Club 7 songs.
Pin Ups!
That Who album is pretty good. Sheryl Crow's version of Behind Blue Eyes and Weller's take on Circles are both excellent.
In regard to the OP's view, I think the Achtung Baby covers album is actually pretty good and well worth the cover price (shhh - the only reason I bought said periodical which, incidentally, is still shite). Love the NIN and Gavin Friday tracks.
Kathryn Williams
Relations
Carpenters
Whilst not as good as the Carpenters originals, there are a number of tracks on the "If I were a Carpenter" covers album that shine;
Shonen Knife - top of the world
Sonic Youth- superstar
Cranberries- close to you
Big Daddy...
..anyone?
My favourite covers album by anyone, ever
is "Fire in the Hole - Sara Isaksson & Rebecka Törnqvist sing Steely Dan".
The songs are stripped down to the bare essentials and sung simply and beautifully. I love the Dan, but I think on a couple of numbers at least, I might even prefer Sara and Rebecka's versions.
For a taster, here's "Rose Darling"...
These are beautiful
I had Good Thing in the 90s(?) and I liked her voice. £30 on amazon and nowhere to download that I can find. How did you get it?
I got it from www.cdon.eu
It's now available there for the princely sum of EUR 17.95.
Full link:
http://cdon.eu/music/isaksson_sara_%26_rebecka_t%c3%b6rnqvist/fire_in_th...
Incidentally, a friend of mine here in Stockholm bumped into Sara & Rebecka's manager in a bar just after this album came out. He asked him whether the ladies would be doing any gigs to support the album. "No - they don't feel like it" was the reply. Pity.
I still have Good Thing
Got it in a bargain bin in Tower Records in New York. Didn't realise she had done anything else
Frank Black's
Frank Black Francis album of serious reworkings of his own Pixies songs is brilliant.
But one offs:
This album
has it's moments, including this:
Little Roy - Lithium (from Battle For Seattle).
For some reason
I couldn't fully enjoy this, despite previously enjoying things like the Studio 1 Soul / Funk albums and some of the Easy Star All Star treatments.
Suspect it could be to do with the major/minor chord progression that someone who understands music would be able to tell me about.
Covers
'Sorrow' by Bowie
'Positively 4th Street', 'Hard Rain', 'River of Salt', 'Smoke gets in your eyes' - all By Bryan Ferry
'Mr Tambourine Man' - The Byrds
'House of the Rising Sun' - The Animals
'Hurt' - Johnny Cash
Forgot
'Reason to Believe' - Rod Stewart
'Little help', 'The letter' = Joe Cocker
Bowie's Pin Ups
The original (and best) covers album?
Many highlights, but I'm particularly fond of this
Revisiting that weird high/low vocal style at the end of Bewley Brothers, toss in a bit of Strawberry Fields Forever and Mike Garson leaning his elbows on the piano keys - marvellous!
absolutely
the best ever covers album. Also there are many great covers on Johnny Cash's American Recordings series.
Yep
Most of the covers on Pin Ups were what the eight-year-old me regarded as the original versions. They're still better in most cases.
No they're not!
I love Bowie, but it's a pretty patchy effort.
Agreed
I love Bowie, too. But the Floyd, Who and Yardbirds covers on Pinups are nowhere near as vital or life-affirming as the originals.
Neither is the Easybeats cover.
I absolutely love
"Brand New Boots and Panties" it's in the spirit of the original but with a slight twist added by the new performers. With The Blockheads providing the music it gives artists from McCartney to MacGowan and many in-between a chance for their own interpretation. They are all on Youtube or just buy yourselves the album you won't be disappointed. My favourite? Sinead O'Connor doing "Wake Up and Make Love With Me" yes please as long as you look like you did for "Nothing Compares To You" Sinead.
She got me
at "behind".
Sweet Relief
is a really great covers album.
Yes, it is.
But only if you like Victoria Williams' songs, I suspect.
Then there's her voice
I like her songs, but find her singing very hard to listen to, so Sweet Relief lives up to its name very well for me. It also contains the only performance by Eddie Vedder that I can bear to hear, on Crazy Mary.
Give My Regards To Broad Street
Paul McCartney covers...Paul McCartney's greatest hits.
The 'new stuff' on the album is largely overshadowed by the Beatles/McCartney songs performed in an often stripped-back style.
(Yesterday - Here, There and Everywhere - Wanderlust)
Don't they all look so young?
Easy Star All-Stars
Radiodread is better than OK Computer. This is indisputable.
Dub Side of the Moon is also wonderful. Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band - good but not great.
It is a truism that any song - any song - is improved if sung by a Jamaican to a reggae beat.
I beg to differ
and say that any song sounds worse given this treatment.
A friend of mine and I
have to agree to disagree on this very point, despite both being into ska.
If you're going to give something the reggae treatment you have to do it well, and Easy Star All Stars do. But Lonely Hearts Dub is only good for about 2 listens.
And then some people just can't stand the off-beat. It's genetic, like rolling your tongue.
That off beat
I just love it. Yesterday I was trying to work out precisely what makes "Hole In The Head" by the Sugababes so chuffing awesome, and I decided it was the little off-beat chords. Just keeps it rolling along so danceably. Lovely stuff.
I'm with Paul on nearly all of the above, but I don't think Radiodread is *better* than OKC. Just also brilliant, on its own terms.
Yep
OKC - I practically had it sown into my brain in 1997. Radiodread will never overshadow it but the flipside is it gives such a brilliantly fresh (abilene?) take on something already loved.
Ha!
Little "Meaning of Liff" moment there, Murrance! Love it!
heyhey
By the way, I didn't recognise the name of the Sugababes tune so I looked it up and yes, you're right, it's very catchy. Just thought you might like to know your pop evangelism doesn't always fall on fallow ground.
:-)
Good to know! Thanks!
Not every one
Sylvia's Mother in a rub a dub style
There's an album of Big Star covers
Small Band, Big World. Or something along those lines. Lots of Power Pop luminaries on it. It's rather good but a bit obscure.
Thea Gilmore, none finer
I highly recommend her covers album 'Loft Music' which includes this ...
And her recent cover of the entire 'John Wesley Harding' album which I absolutely adore (although it was the subject of a fairly scathing DH review in a recent issue of the magazine).
Her new CD of unreleased Sandy Denny compositions comes out next week.
I urge any Kraftwerk fans
to get this
El Baile Aleman by Senor Coconut
All of the Senor's covers are excellent but this album is exceptional, it's the highly unlikely combination of those tight melodies and loose Latin style rhythms. It was love at first listen for me.
DaDaDaistic
Bizarrely
The album doesn't include what I think is his best Kraftwerk cover - Radioactivity. It's on the La Musique de Paris Derniere 2 compilation.
You'll be meaning
this
Senor Coconut on Meltdown
Somewhere I have a recording of the BBC coverage of Meltdown at which the good Senor played with a live band. Excellent stuff - and the Legendary Stardust Cowboy too (I'm guess this was when Bowie was curating - that man! he gets everywhere).
His album of YMO covers is good too
"Yellow Fever!". The cover of "Behind the Mask" is particularly good.
I'm Your Fan
in the early 90s was/is pretty good
Joan as Police Woman
She released a covers album called "COVER". and toured it all over. This was a highlight for me, a cover of Sonic Youth's Sacred Trickster.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
"Kicking Against The Pricks"
Mark Mulcahy
When Mark's wife Melissa died a few years back a number of admirers got together to record Ciao My Shining Star - an album of his songs (both solo and with Miracle Legion) in an effort to raise funds to help support Mulcahy and his 3 year old twin daughters. Michael Stipe, Thom Yorke, The National, Frank Black and a host of others pitched in. It's worth buying even if only to assist one of the good guys. Here's Thom Yorke and if you don't know Mulcahy, a link to Hey Self Defeater from the splendid Fathering album.
Beat The Retreat
an album of Richard Thompson covers by Shawn Colvin, David Byrne, Martin Carthy, Loudon Wainwright III, June Tabor, Bonnie Raitt, Beausoleil, R.E.M., Syd Straw, Maddy Prior.
It's all good, so I just picked this at random. I'm not much of an REM fan, but this cover of Wall Of Death is fantastic.
It's all good...
... apart from the awful Dinosaur Jr. cover of I Misunderstood, which has me reaching for the next track button every time.
Oh yeah...
...rose tinted glasses off, you're right, of course.
I was going to mention this too.
REM's version of Wall of Death is magnificent.
Already Posted
but really like I'm Your Fan and Golddiggers, beautiful south.
I also play the I am Sam soundtrack of Beatles covers and Shaken not Stirred, bond covers , a fair bit. Both bought originally due to the presence of Aimee Mann
and the one I was playing again only yesterday - Asleep at the Wheel - Ride with Bob
NME - Last Temptation Of Elvis / Ruby Trax
There were a couple of NME covers CD's from the early nineties that I still listen to...
Last Temptation of Elvis - obviously a collection of Elvis covers featuring everyone from Pop Will Eat Itself to Lemmy, via the Reggae Philharmonic Orchestra.....
Ruby Trax - A collection of covers of numbers ones to celebrate NME;s 40th anniversary (or something like that). Covers of Ashes to Ashes by Tears For Fears, Atomic by The Mission, Like A Prayer by Marc Almond... the list goes on.
Also add to the Elton John / Bernie Taupin covers album "Two Rooms" - worth it for Rocket Man by Kate Bush alone.
Surprised no one has mentioned Jeff Buckley / Hallelujah.
Oh, I remember the "Last Tempation of Elvis" double CD
The front cover drawings of Tanita Tikaram and Bruce Springsteen were TERRIBLE. They made Bruce look a bit like my Granny.
THAT'S Tanita Tikaram?
I thought it was Marc Park.
Ruby Trax
Covers of tracks that had made it to number 1 in the NME chart - with one exception :-)
The Walkabouts
The Walkabouts have been a fine judge of the cover version,releasing two decent albums of excellent material from lesser known artists.
I can recommend "Satisfied Mind" a 1993 set of country covers with contributions from the likes of Peter Buck and Mark Lanegan.
Their later "Train Leaves at Eight" is am unusual,successful reworking of covers of popular work from East European songwriters previously unknown to me.
Oh and there's also "Por Vida" - an excellent album of Alejandro Escovedo covers from the likes of Steve Earle, the Jayhawks and Lucinda Williams, released to cover his medical bills when he was seriously ill with hepatitis.
Sharing the Love
I'll always have a soft spot for the Band's "Moondog Matinee", covering the songs they used to play live when they were a bar band called the Hawks. A world of music - well, mostly New Orleans music - opened up for me through the artists they covered: Allen Toussaint, Bobby Bland, Clarence Frogman Henry, Lee Dorsey ... It was recorded in 1973, when the songwriting had dried up and when Richard Manuel was already well in the grip of alcohol and substance abuse. But his singing was still sublime. Here he takes on Bobby Bland's "Share Your Love With Me":
http://youtu.be/DAXXBcaJu1Y
Spot on!
As well as 'Share your love', the cover of the cowboy song 'Crying Heart Blues' is stupendous.
Almost Blue
How do the Costello fans rate this one? Whilst not over fond of 'Honey Hush' I love this album and will be forever grateful that it introduced me to Country music. Of course 'Good Year for the Roses' is just a marvellous song and it's still thrilling to hear EC sing it today.
http://youtu.be/Nyppu4z8h70
Wonderful album
and as you say 'Good year for the roses' was effectively made his own. I bet not too many people in this country have heard the original.
I am also in the minority of Costello fans who thought Kojak Variety was pretty good especially the expanded version. Love his version of Please Stay which is very emotional.
The Stones did a great cover of Just my imagination and Isaac Hayes does a terrific version of By the time I get to Phoenix which runs to around 17 minutes from memory.
Stairways to Heaven
Anyone remember this? An entire album of Stairway covers in different styles by Australian acts (including the Rolf one). Had a very tasteful cover of an old lady toppling down down some stairs. This is my favourite:
This is the cover
of the CD on my shelf as we speak:
I've got the Rolf Harris
I've got the Rolf Harris single.
Classic.
His Bohemian Rhapsody was nowhere near as good!
"Sometimes all of our thoughts are Misgiven."
Miss Given there. D'you like having your name mentioned in a song?"
Mine looks like this
Although this is the front which shows only the stairs. The little old lady is on the back.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51KMY0DWJ1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
That must be the UK cover?
I guess the TV show the songs originated from (The Money Or The Gun) didn't mean much outside Australia.
Made my day
That's brilliant Malc! Thanks!
Sergeant Pepper Knew My Father
The NME album in aid of Childline fronted by Wet Wet Wet's take on "With a Little Help From My Friends" and Billy Bragg's only #1 single "She's Leaving Home".
Remembered for Mark E Smith's erm 'remarkable' reworking of "A Day in the Life" and the Weddoes take on "Getting Better".
Jason Falkner
The powerpop god's covers album is called Everyone Says It's On. The whole thing is stupendous but here are two highlights:
On the subject of Jellfish alumni..
Roger Manning's The Moog Cookbook was another set of interesting covers.
We'll all recognise their version of Are You Gonna Go My Way.
Kate Walsh - Peppermint Radio
One of my favourite albums from last year was Kate Walsh's reworking of some of her childhood favourites. She's got everything from The Shamen to Radiohead, and a sublime version of When Love Breaks Down.
Another great one, from long ago, was Ruby Trax, an NME compilation to celebrate 40 years of the charts (I think). Most people will remember The Manics doing the MASH theme, but we also got Jesus Jones doing Voodoo Chile, Inspirals doing Tainted Love and The Mission covering Blondie. As well as this...
Chuck Prophet
did a cover of Waylon Jennings's album Dreaming My Dreams retitling it Dreaming Waylon's Dreams.
I think Chuck's album is a mighty fine record, but I can't compare it to the original as I've never heard it.
No-one seems to have recommended the covers album
(Under The Covers) recorded by Matthew Sweet & Susannah Hoffs. Covers of some great power pop classics including I Can See For Miles, Monday Monday, The Village Green Preservation Soc,, Run To Me etc.
Here's The Kids Are Alright:
Thats what I was going to recommend
That and Nada Surf's if I had A Hi Fi. Power Pop Covers. Brilliant.
Not sure tis a 'good' covers album,
but Todd's 'Faithful' is an interesting attempt to exactly replicate some of his favourite tracks.
An Acquired Taste
No, not a reference to a Gentle Giant covers album, just a few words of mitigation before mentioning that I quite like Robyn Hitchcock's Robyn Sings, in which the Silver Haired Lothario regales us with a double-album of Bob Dylan covers.
I was always quite fond of
The Church's 'Box of Birds' - interesting set of covers including SAHB's Faith Healer, The Monkee's Porpoise Song and this take of Ultravox's underated Hiroshima Mon Amour
I'm Your Fan
The Leonard Cohen covers album put out by Les Inrockuptibles, has many good versions. There are some distinctly ropier Cohen cover versions knocking about.
I could put together a very decent Fatima Mansions covers album. with at one end of the spectrum this beautiful version of the Watersons
and at the other this VU butchering
with all manner of more or less respectful versions in between:
The Great Valerio, A Singer Must Die, Stigmata being at the respectful end
Shiny Happy People and Everything I Do being at the, well, completely unrecognisable end.
And this somewhere in the middle
Two that haven't been mentioned
At the same time Costello did Almost Blue, Joe Jackson did a fantastic 40s swing album called Jumping Jive - here's "What's the Use of Getting Sober?"
And as well as being an amazing singer-songwriter, Nanci Griffith is brilliant at covers - her "Other Voices, Other Rooms" album is great.
Here is Dylan's "Boots of Spanish Leather" and
John Prine's "Speed at the Sound of Loneliness"
The Stones first album
is entirely a covers album.
Pedant alert!
Apart from Tell Me:
and Little By Little.
I feel like
a prat! Should have checked!! Had it in my head for some reason that it was all covers.
Little by Little is co-write with Spector?
Was Tell Me first-ever Jagger-Richards song?
Tell Me...
...was the first Jagger/Richards song to be credited as such. Little By Little is credited to Phelge/Spector. There is a third original that I forgot about last night(somebody else should have checked): the instrumental Now I've Got A Witness which carries a Nanker/Phelge credit.
During a mingle discussion on Friday
it was mooted that "Satisfaction" has only ever been truly successfully rendered by the Rolling Stones themselves and that it is not wise for others to attempt to perform it, especially in a live setting. It was further suggested that the song itself is not actually that good, compositionally, and that it is the actual performance by Jagger, Richards, Jones, Wyman & Watts that makes it A Classic.
Wot about
Otis Redding at Monterrey? Terrifically exciting, particularly near the end.
Other music magazines are available
and one of them produced a covers album of Pink Floyd's "The Wall"
on which this piece of gorgeousness can be found -
The Mummers - Nobody Home
Bonus Track!
While looking for that on youtube I discovered this little gem -
a cover of Nick Drake's "Riverman".
It's the first collaboration between Raissa and Mark Horwood before
The Mummers existed.
wonderful
Clem Snide
have recently released a fanastic ep of covers of Journey songs - unpromising I know but actually great!
Add also
Robert Forster - I had a New York Girl Friend
John Prine - In Spite of Ourselves
and further thumbs aloft for Almost Blue and K. Williams Relations