The art of the cover song is a delicate process, rather like cloning a sheep. If, like me, you often come across toilet doors which hold the instructions on how to clone a sheep you will realise one of two things. Firstly, it LOOKS exceptionally easy to clone a sheep. All you need is a few cells and some currents. Simple. But after chasing a few sheep with a CSI swab-stick you will reach your second conclusion – nothing is as easy as it looks.
Cover songs look exceptionally easy; all you need to do is to clone someone else’s work, right? Wrong. That is just lazy and you will no doubt get hunted down by fanatical fans. To create an exceptional cover song you must cover AT LEAST one of the following three points (if you get all three then, well… wow):
1: Your cover song sounds even marginally better than the original.
2: You have mastered the difficult process of ‘making it your own’.
3: You have succeeded in fooling the general public that this song is in fact you own.
So which cover songs qualify into at least one of these points? Nothing popping to mind? Well luckily for you I’ve stuck together a little list of fifteen of my favourite cover songs. Of course you might hate every one of these songs but then again doctors are quite good at treating insanity… ENJOY!
The Fugees – Killing me Softly (Don Mclean 1971)
Onnnne time. Twwwoooo time. One of the most heart-wrenching songs re-told in the delectable voice of Lauryn Hill – it was never going to be bad was it?
Nirvana – Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie 1971)
It takes a lot of balls to cover a David Bowie song; it also takes an immense amount of talent to make it sound good. Trust Nirvana to be the teacher’s pet.
Stereophonics – Handbags and Gladrags (Mike d’Abo 1967)
The welsh god-like creatures that are the Stereophonics can do no wrong.
Stereophonics – Sexy Thing (Hot Chocolate 1975)
See above. Also see Kelly Jones.
Ignored by them at Spotify, but it's on youtube, so here ye go:
Klaxons – It’s not Over Yet (Grace 1995)
Electro-pop fabulousness injected into an old dance track. You don’t get many covers better than this (see above).
Marilyn Manson – Tainted Love (Gloria Jones 1964)
Now you might try to claim that you dislike this song, even hate it BUT we all know that’s a lie.
Gossip – Careless Whisper (George Michael 1984)
Radio 1 might have a lot to answer for with all those beautiful songs being butchered in their Live Lounge but all can be forgiven on this cover alone. Gossip take this golden oldie and transform it into a quirky modern hit that you just have to dance to.
Snow Patrol – Crazy in Love (Beyonce Knowles 2003)
Can you imagine Gary Lightbody booty shaking to this song? Disturbing mental image or not the song is pretty damn amazing.
30 Seconds to Mars – Stronger (Kanye West 2007)
This might seem like the strangest cover ever but (very) surprisingly it works exceptionally well. Slowed right down to goosebump levels you really need to remind yourself that originally this was a rap song sampling Daft Punk.
Youtube link
Arctic Monkeys – Love Machine (Girls Aloud 2004)
Indie takes on pop head-on and bam you get this. It’s funny, it’s catchy and it’s just plain weird. In a very very good way.
A belting live version
Flying Lizards – Money (Barret Strong 1959)
Take a posh voice, one a funky beat and you get the Flying Lizards take on ‘Money’. You also get a weird instrumental bit at the end which sounds like aliens surrounding you. Hey, it’s catchy.
Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince 1985)
It’s a little known fact that Sinead’s greatest hit was actually a song written by Prince. While it’s hard to imagine Prince shedding a tear on screen Sinead does it rather perfectly. Who hasn’t broke up with someone and listened to this song on repeat for 24hours?
Placebo - Running Up that Hill (Kate Bush 1985)
Kate Bush is usually sacred in world of music/my mind but Placebo’s haunting cover of ‘Running Up That Hill’ is a million times better than the original which was amazing in the first place. It might cause a mind explosion.
Reel big Fish – Take On Me (A-ha 1985)
Reel Big Fish are known for creating ska-inspired covers and ‘Take on Me’ is by far the greatest. If Norwegian bands used trumpets more often they’d be the best musical country IN THE WORLD.
José González– Heartbeats (The Knife 2003)
Made famous by an advert about bouncing balls this cover not is the prettiest thing you’re likely to discover today. It also brought The Knife to our very eager attention.
GO PLAY- Steph's Covers Playlist
1: The Fugees- Killing Me Softly
2: Nirvana- The Man Who Sold The World
3: Stereophonics- Handbags and Gladrags
4: Stereophonics- You Sexy Thing
5: Klaxons- It's Not Over Yet
6: Marilyn Manson- Tainted Love
7: The Gossip- Careless Whisper
8: Snow Patrol- Crazy in Love
9: 30 Seconds To Mars- Stronger
10: Arctic Monkeys- Love Machine
11: Flying Lizards- Money
12: Sinead O' Connor- Nothing Compare 2u
13: Placebo- Running Up That Hill
14: Reel Big Fish- Take On Me
15: Jose Gonzalez- Heartbeats
Posted In Gobshout Classics, May 07 2011.
Words - Steph