Sunday, September 7, 2008

Covers

John Mayer's gorgeous cover of Tom Petty's Free Fallin' is making me think of some of my favorite covers. Now, I think a good cover brings a little something different to the song - otherwise it's just karaoke, right? But, then there's the tricky business of honoring the first song while, to use the words of the American Idol judges (who frequently merely judge karaoke): "making it their own." Which is to say, artist #2 brings their own unique interpretation of the song. What are your Top Five cover songs?

11 comments:

Special K said...

1. Wake up Maggie by Melissa Etheridge (orig: Rod Stewart)
2. Sweet Jane by the Cowboy Junkies (orig by Velvet Underground)
3. Blue Moon by the Cowboy Junkies (orig by Elvis - is that right?)
4. Across the Universe by Fiona Apple (orig by the Beatles)
5. Somewhere Over The Rainbow by Iz (orig by Dorothy)

(You can see I like the ol' gender switchero)

kbmulder said...

1. "Blackbird" by Sarah McLachlan
-I AM SAM Soundtrack
-Original: Beatles

2."Across the Univers" by Fiona Apple
-PLEASANTVILLE Soundtrack
-Original: Beatles

3. "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston
-THE BODYGUARD Soundtrack
-Original: Dolly Parton

4. "With a Little Help From my Friends" by Joe Cocker
-WONDER YEARS Theme Song
-Original: Beatles

5. "Lately" by Jodeci
-Original: Stevie Wonder

Notice the trend with covers on soundtracks. In a lot of cases, the soundtrack is better than the movie!

Lyman said...

While jazz musicians typically play primarily 'covers' there is so much improvisation involved that I don't think they really count. Plus I could never come up with only five.

1. "High and Dry" Jamie Cullum (orinally Radiohead)
2. "We Can Work It Out" Stevie Wonder (originally The Beatles)
3. "Rockin' In The Free World" Pearl Jam (originally Neil Young)
4. "Little Wing" Stevie Ray Vaughn (originally Jimi Hendrix)
5. "Romeo and Juliet" Indigo Girls (originally Dire Straits)

and K, "Blue Moon" is an old Rodgers and Hart standard, I don't know who recorded it first but it wasn't Elvis

Anonymous said...

Hmmm, fun! I love covers. Here are the first five good ones (in no particular order) that I can think of...

Kevin Gilbert - Kashmir (Led Zeppelin)
NDV - The Colony of Slippermen (Genesis)
Spock's Beard - Beware of Darkness (George Harrison)
Glass Hammer - Longer (Dan Fogelberg) I know, I know--how do you make a Fogelberg tune worth listening.
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen)

cheers-
patrick

KHM said...

I'm a fan of the gender switcheroo, too:

1. Stand By Your Man -- Lyle Lovett (originally Tammy Wynette)
2. Honky Tonk Woman -- Melissa Etheridge/Sammy Hagar (Rolling Stones)
3. Fields of Gold -- Eva Cassidy (damn that Sting)
4. D'yer Mak'er -- Sheryl Crow (Led Zeppelin)
5. Reserving this selection for the inevitable oversight....

Anonymous said...

Here I go...
1.Voodoo Chile- Stevie Ray Vaughn (Hendrix)
2.Superstition- Stevie Ray Vaughn (Stevie Wonder)
3.Knocking on Heavens Door- Guns-N-Roses (Dylan)
4.Space Oddity- Natalie Merchant (Bowie)
5.Rocket Man- William Shatner (Elton John)
BT from Indy

kbmulder said...

Oh, Eva Cassidy is wonderful. Good pick KHM! And, what about this William Shatner singing, is that for real?

Caitlin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caitlin said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Caitlin said...

Hurt - Johnny Cash (orig. NIN)
Mad World - Michael Andrews/Gary Jules (orig. Tears for Fears)
My Humps - Alanis Morrisette (orig. Fergie)
Somewhere Over The Rainbow - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (orig. sung by Judy Garland aka Dorothy -- (hee! Props, K)
Smells Like Teen Spirit - Tori Amos (orig. Nirvana)

Special K said...

That Tori Amos is really good - almost made my list.

Oh, the Shattner is real all right. All too real.