Everyone loves a Cover. Don’t we? But not all Covers are equal. By my reckoning, there are three or maybe four kinds…
The first is the staple of the start-ups – just pick a band favourite and blast through it as faithfully as we can, possibly without the tricky solo. Most new-formed bands plump out their setlists with homages to their pet tunes; audiences like what they know (more than dodgy new creations) Ching-ching – everyone is happy.
This is understandable at this stage of a band’s life but to me, always surprising when great artists just take someone else’s song, adding nothing of themselves to it. Pretty much every coverer of Can’t Hurry Love fits this pattern, even the great Phil Collins. Yesterday, Summertime and Hallelujah are the most covered songs of all time but the majority deliver an unadventurous sound-alike.
And then there’s the Tribute Band, deliberately going for a note-perfect version of the original. Some are painfully serious, others having loads of fun – evidenced by names like Bjorn Again, Fake That and the Clone Roses. Many are worth hearing live after the original artists have stopped touring or are charging £400 a seat. But buyer beware; when you have the original version lodged in your head, every shaky note hurts.
The second kind of cover is my favourite - the twist. A radical re-working to bring a new feel to the original. By slowing it down, the Civil Wars’ take on Billie Jean adds real dimension to the dread of the singer, accused of fathering a child he denies. Or try Little Hurricane’s angry, halting version of Ain’t no Sunshine. Risking the mockery of Leonard Cohen’s devotees, Jennifer Warnes’ version of First we take Manhattan is splendid, not least due to Stevie Ray Vaughan riffing along.
For me, these covers are mercifully distinctive from the Christmas TV ad recipe of a lesser-known female artist’s half-speed rendering of song with a story roughly relevant to the brand. Some are nice, but the technique is so overdone. Come on ad-land, next idea please.
Usually, my favourite tracks don’t last long as I over-play them and get bored, but Lianne La Havas’ re-working of Baltimore breathes new air into the (magnificent) original. It’s been one of my favourite covers for years. Likewise, Ojos de Brujo’s vivacious take on Bob Marley’s Get up Stand up. In a very different style, Elton John’s Grey Seal, complete with fiddle and banjo is a work of sheer exuberance in the hands of The Band Perry.
Covers of the third kind are established artists reworking their own material. There is gold in these hills, perhaps as they hear their own music for the 500th time and wonder how it would sound with a twist. Sting is a master at this. Watch the video documentary, All this Time to see him and a group of outstanding musicians rework a setlist of his best songs. Roxanne, a number whose vocal range puts it beyond most cover artists, is surprising and exceptional. Or try Travelogue, Joni Mitchell’s re-work of 22 songs from her catalogue but with symphony orchestra.
More recently, we see the established artist pairing with a much younger talent to cover the old tunes – a nifty marketing ploy to introduce the old to the new and vice versa. But sometimes it works. Lady Gaga brings fabulous sass to Tony Bennett’s version of ‘The Lady is a Tramp’. The performance is a genuinely affectionate double act, all the way to the end where Tony breathes, ‘Beautiful; thank you’.
The optional fourth efforts are almost always a flop. They only qualify for a category of their own because the tracks covered are inviolate. Covers beware. Riders on the Storm, Lover, you should have come over, every Radiohead, King Crimson and Bjork track – are sacrosanct and should not be attempted.
Stairway to Heaven should be on this list of forbidden treasures but there are innumerable awful covers of this masterpiece. Almost all are so hideous that I can’t bring myself to link you to them. ‘Why Dolly Parton? And even Rolf Harris – unspeakably, cringingly horrible in every possible way. That said, a couple of outliers have made it onto Radio Crimson. Doug Johns’ jazzy bass solo cover of Stairway is quirky and original and Doug has the wisdom to call it a day after 1m 21secs. At the other end of the production spectrum, Heart’s exceptional version, live at the Kennedy Centre Honors, in front of the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, complete with gospel choir and John Bonham’s son, Jason on drums.
For the total massacre of a perfectly decent song, the all-time Coverfuck prize has no competitors. Consider this version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, by William Shatner. Is he high? I am too classy to attempt a joke on his name, but somebody please beam him up. I have no further words for this catastrophe.
And finally, just so I don’t leave you with Captain Kirk’s monstrosity, have a listen to What’s Goin on, played by multiple amateur musicians from around the world and the fabulous Sarah Bareilles from the ‘Playing for Change’ series. It will make your day.
Here's a link to a bigger list of my favourite covers. It's 4 hours long, but there's no chaff! https://tidal.com/playlist/8f99c7a9-ad10-4d32-aa68-9c28c470cd9b
Let me know your thoughts? music@radiocrimson.com