First of all, some shout outs are in order. As you all know, when The Turn plays, "Request Lines Are Open". Some people take that very literally. This past Saturday at Gabrielle's, Mr Dan Schaefer and Ms Blaire Borut both phoned in a couple of requests. I'd like to say thank you to both of them for coming out and showing their continual support, and for being so 21st century and BlackBerry Messaging me their requests.
In the meantime, I figure I will drop my two cents on what might be my five favorite cover songs. . to listen to, not to play. That list would be entirely different. I'm sure we'll get there, but for now, let's stick to other band's good decisions. I was in the car with Jonny and Heather on the way back from the supermarket, and we flipped on the radio (which is usually an awful decision). In this particular case, we happened to catch Metallica's cover of Bob Seger's "Turn The Page". Then I got to thinking. I'd say that the elements of a great cover are improving upon a song while staying true to its form. So let's start this list out.
1) Metallica - Turn The Page. They got it down. While staying true to the structure, they made an already awesome song louder, stronger and more intense. Almost every aspect of the song hearkens back to the original while improving upon its subtleties. I know I've been shouting out to Metallica a lot recently, which isn't even intentional. I suppose it just testifies to their impact on modern music. This just in: They've been around almost 30 years. That's older than most of the people reading this I'm sure. So, love 'em or hate 'em, they've got a solid foothold in Rock and Roll history. Their cover of "Whiskey In The Jar" is also great, check that out.
2) Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends. The Wonder Years theme song. More importantly, a Beatles song. There's a certain level of taboo that attaches to covering The Beatles. Simply put, it shouldn't be done. Seriously, are YOU, whoever "you" happens to be (the royal you in this case), going to somehow rediscover and improve upon something The Beatles did? No, I don't think so. Luckily for Joe Cocker, this song was written for him and in fact released prior to Sgt. Pepper. I think they should have let him keep it. As it stands, it's more recognizable for its association with The Wonder Years, and it so happens that The Beatles version is sort of lackluster.
3) Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night. This is a late addition to the list, but a very deserving one. If I were going to order my lists, I suppose this might have to come in at number one solely for the performance on "Unplugged In New York". Check it out. If you have ever seen something more haunting, then let me know. The "chill factor" rivals almost anything else I've ever seen. The other insanely cool thing about this cover is its derivation. It goes by several different names, and has been around since the 1870s. An American Folk Standard, as it were. I won't hold it against you if you say it's Kurt Cobain's song.
4) Marilyn Manson - Personal Jesus. This rocks so hard. Say what you will about Marilyn Manson, he just wants to rock, and offend people. He succeeds admirably at both. I'm not so down with the offensive part, but there's no two ways about it - this song was awesome when Depeche Mode did it, and remains so in this vein. He also has a pretty sweet cover of "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics. You're likely familiar with that for its similarity to "Crazy Train". All awesome songs, but "Personal Jesus" gets the spot.
5) John Mayer - Bold As Love. This rounds out the list quite nicely. More mellow and true a cover than some of the others, but still with his own twist. I wouldn't go so far as to call the original "Bold As Love" a classic, at least not as far as Jimi Hendrix songs go, but Mr. Mayer gives us good reason to go back and check out what Jimi was doing. You can find this song on his latest record "Continuum" and pay close attention to the solo. Maybe this should have made my top five solos list. Maybe it will make my next top five solos list.
That's the top five. Honorable mention for today's list:
- Stone Temple Pilots - Dancing Days (Led Zeppelin)
- Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson)
Peace Love and Vocal Harmonies
Brian
Ever listen to Copeland? They've done some great covers, my favorites being Another Day in Paradise (Phil Collins) and Part Time Lover (Stevie Wonder). Check it out.
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