Cover News: November 13, 2009

Posted by Ray Padgett at 4:07 am No Responses »
Nov 142009

Cover News is a weekly feature keeping you up to date on the goings-on in the world of cover tunes, tribute albums, etc. Plus, at the bottom we post our array of cover tunes we’ve been sent in the past week. Have you recorded a cool cover? Send an mp3 to the email address on the right!



This Week’s News

Thanksgiving’s coming up in a few weeks and Cover Me’s very thankful for its readers! So out post on Thanksgiving will be requests. Request any cover, from the particular (Do you have Lightspeed Champion’s cover of ‘When You Were Young’ by the Killers?) to the general (Know any good covers of ‘Bat Out Of Hell’? or Has My Morning Jacket done any cover songs?) and I’ll try to get it for ya! Submit requests in the comments here, via the email address on the right, or at our Twitter page. You’ve got a week and a half. All requests (or as many as I can find) will go up the Monday before Thanksgiving.

A few weeks late for our Halloween post, Frank Sinatra’s “Witchcraft” has been covered by seven different artists in a new Cover Song Throwdown. Vote for your favorite! [Acoustaclaw Records]

A little late on the boat here, but this Brazilian blog is counting down 1001 Covers You Need to Hear Before You Die. He’s only at #75, so there’s plenty of time to catch up. [1001 Covers]

A hardcore Umphrey’s McGee fan and friend of the band passed over the summer. In tribute to him, Umphrey’s has officially released Cover It, a two-disc st of live covers he had put together. They take on The Beatles, Guns n Roses, Pink Floyd and more in this two-disc set. [Live Downloads]

Beck has finished up his covers of Songs of Leonard Cohen (download them all here) and now is off on covers of Skip Spence’s Oar. Along for the ride this time to take on the Jefferson Airplane/Moby Grape man: Wilco! [Record Club]

Solange Knowles (aka. Beyoncé’s sister) takes on the Dirty Projector’s “Stillness Is the Move.” Universal Records is apparently having a fit despite officially liscencing it, but you can still download it here. [Stereogum]

Weezer decided to cover Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” recently. “It’s one of those rare songs I can listen to over and over again without getting sick of it,” lead singer Rivers Cuomo says. If only the rest of the world agreed. [I Heart Radio]

I prefer Coldplay covering Michael Jackson, a week earlier, for the same program. [YouTube]

Gavin Rossdale (aka. Mr. Gwen Stefani) covers a Joy Division song for the Criminal Minds TV show. While dressed up as a vampire. Some obscure tune too, called “Love Will Rip Us Asunder” or something. [Videogum]

We mentioned Peter Gabriel’s upcoming covers a while back for his work with Radiohead. Well now the full tracklist has been released of Scratch My Back (clever name) and it’s got Lou Reed, David Bowie, The Killers and more! [Pitchfork]

New Muppets tribute album with Andrew Bird and Weezer! That says it all. [Exclaim]

This Week’s Submissions

Left With Pictures – 1952 Vincent Black Lightning (Richard Thompson) [more]

Paul Masson – My Girls (Animal Collective) [more]

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Stalkers and Restraining Orders

Posted by Ray Padgett at 5:00 pm No Responses »
Nov 092009

No one has ever accused musicians of being too well-adjusted. There’s a fine line that keeps a love song from crossing from romantic to creepy and it’s a line musicians frequently cross. Sometimes the sketchball factor is intention (The Police), other times it clearly is not (The Turtles). So get ready to write some restraining orders, cause it’s StalkerFest ’09.


Allred – Every Breath You Take (The Police)
We’ll kick it off with the stalker song to beat all stalker songs, the tune that goes beyond obsessed-rejected to psychotic-deranged. People using this for their wedding song might want to think twice. [Buy]

Plectrum – Across the Sea (Weezer)
Rivers Cuomo wrote this as a response to a girl sending him fan mail from Japan. “When I got the letter, I fell in love with her,” he said. “I was very lonely at the time, but at the same time I was very depressed that I would never meet her. Even if I did see her, she was probably some fourteen-year-old girl, who didn’t speak English.” This is the response from Japan, off the all-Japanese tribute comp of the same name. [Buy]

Spiers & Boden – Run For Your Life (The Beatles)
In 1973, John Lennon said this was his “least favorite Beatles song,” the one he most regretted writing. The catchy melody does hide the incredibly bitter, aggressive lyrics. The “I’d rather see you dead, little girl” line though came not from Lennon’s pen, but from Elvis Presley’s “Baby, Let’s Play House.” [Buy]

Rachelle Ann Go – Two Steps Behind (Def Leppard)
This Filipino-Chinese singer named her 2007 album Obsession, so her stalking creds are song. “You can run, but you can never hide / From the shadow that’ creeping up beside you.” Yikes. [Buy]

Lee Rocker – One Way or Another (Blondie)
It’s not just guys doing the stalking though. Debbie Harry plays predator here, driving past the guy’s house in the dead of night to see what’s going on. One way she’ll get him may be with charm, but you get the impression other involves tying him to a basement radiator. [Buy]

Leningrad Cowboys – Happy Together (The Turtles)
This song seems sweet until you read the actual lyrics. They take the romance one step too far, since there’s no indication the girl in question hasn’t gone into the Witness Protection Program to avoid being “happy together” with this creep. The Russian choir singing this version adds an extra notch of “Eeeee…” [Buy]

Kevin Doyle – Escape (Enrique Iglesias)
“You can run, you can hide, but you can’t escape my love”? Enrique, your love sounds like a sexual predator. [Buy]

Four Year Strong – Spiderwebs (No Doubt)
While song from the point of view of the stalker are everywhere, here’s one from the flip side of the coin. Poor Gwen Stefani has to screen her phone calls. This comes of Four Year’s recent cover album Explains It All. [Buy]

Scala and Kolansky Brothers – Walking After You (Foo Fighters)
Where “Run for Your Life” implies a brief and terrifying chase, Dave Grohl seems more like a slow prowler. This gal may be looking over her shoulder the rest of her life. [Buy]

WAZ – I Will Follow (U2)
Similar sentiment to the Foo Fighters. “If you walk away, I will follow.” Ladies, bear this in mind when entertaining your Bono fantasies. [Buy]

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Shuffle Sundays: Old Brown Shoe

Posted by Ray Padgett at 3:00 pm No Responses »
Nov 082009

Shuffle Sundays is a weekly feature in which we feature a cover chosen at random by my iTunes shuffle. The songs will usually be good, occasionally be bad, always be interesting. All downloads will only be available for one week, so get them while you can. After you listen, discuss this week’s tune in the comments.


George Harrison wrote “Old Brown Shoe” as the b-side to “The Ballad of John and Yoko” single. Its inclusion seems only fair, after all, since John Lennon and Paul McCartney recorded the a-side while Harrison was on vacation.

“I started the chord sequences on the piano, which I don’t really play, and then began writing ideas for the words from various opposites: I want a love that’s right, But right is only half of what’s wrong,” Harrison said. “Again, it’s the duality of things — yes-no, up-down, left-right, right-wrong, etc.”

The tune is their Beatles at their bluesiest, complete with a fuzz-rock guitar solo from Harrison (Lennon’s guitar part was replaced by George’s organ in the final recording). Here’s a proto-music video for the track with studio footage:


In his solo career Harrison performed the song live over the years (watch him play it in ’91 with Eric Clapton here). It was resurrected in 2002 a year after his death in the Concert for George by Gary Brooker, who had played piano on several of Harrison’s solo albums.

On the Songs from the Material World Harrison tribute album though, Mountain guitarist Leslie West gives “Old Brown Shoe” a swamp-blues treatment equal parts Creedence and Skynyrd. His gruff vocal delivery propels the song along, but it’s his trademark searing solos that show why Johnny Ramone named him as a favorite.

“Leslie West [of Mountain] never gets any recognition,” Ramone told Rolling Stone. “I’ve always been a big fan of his, since back when he was a fat kid dropping out of high school in Forest Hills [Queens]. He was, to me, one of the top five guitar players of his era. His playing is so soulful and tasteful.”

Agree with Johnny R? Check out “Old Brown Shoe” to see.

Leslie West – Old Brown Shoe (The Beatles) [Buy]

What do you think? Discuss this song in the comments section below.

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Cover News: November 7, 2009

Posted by Ray Padgett at 2:40 am No Responses »
Nov 082009

Cover News is a weekly feature keeping you up to date on the goings-on in the world of cover tunes, tribute albums, etc. Plus, at the bottom we post our array of cover tunes we’ve been sent in the past week. Have you recorded a cool cover? Send an mp3 to the email address on the right!

This Week’s News

Phish covered the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main St. (we’d predicted Electric Ladyland) on Halloween, and the two-hour jam-blues is available for purchase. [LivePhish]

In other Halloween news, Pearl Jam rocked out “Whip It,” in full DEVO gear! [Rolling Stone]

But the winner for Best Costume is the boys of Monsters of Folk (Jim James, Conor Oberst, M. Ward, etc.) for their KISS look. Guess dressing up as all-caps rockers was in this year. [YouTube]

“Move On Up” with Los Fabulosos Cadillacs cover of the Curtis Mayfield classic! [SPIN Earth]

Questionable Weezer Cover #1: Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida.” [Stereogum]

Questionable Weezer Cover #2: Green Day’s “Brain Stew.” [AOL]

The Christmas covers have begun. You’ve all heard Bob Dylan’s latest I’m sure, but now check out the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas take on the Saturday Night Live classic “I Wish It Was Christmas Today.” [Music Induced Euphoria]

Even Billy Bob Thornton (ie. Bad Santa) is in the Christmas mood, with his band the Boxmasters rocking Alvin and the Chipmunks. [Vanguard Records]

Finally, Perez Hilton favorite Sliimy has released a music video for his “Womanizer” cover. Since Britney Spears’ current videos are terrible, it’s a relief. [MySpace]

This Week’s Submissions

Bebel Gilberto and Mark Ronson – The Real Thing (Sérgio Mendes) [more]

Jedi By Nature – Can’t Stop Partying (Weezer) [more]

Jump Clubb – Angeles (Elliott Smith) [more]

Paper Route – Day N Nite (Kid Cudi) [more]

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Full Albums: Robert Johnson's King of the Delta Blues Singers

Posted by Ray Padgett at 6:00 pm No Responses »
Nov 032009

The first post of the month always features a look at songs covering every track on a famous album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!


The King of the Delta Blues Singers compilation didn’t come out until 23 years after Robert Johnson’s untimely death, but was such a force in the burgeoning folk movement of the early sixties that it quickly brought his music to the masses, inspiring young singers like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez. Rolling Stone called it the 27th greatest album of all time, and if that doesn’t qualify it for inclusion here I don’t know what does.

Tom Hanway – Cross Road Blues
First up we have a nice banjo duet acquired from our friends over at Cover Lay Down. Hanway’s clearly not a real big Cream fan. [Buy]

Peter Green – Terraplane Blues
He of Fleetwood Mac fame, Green ditched the grandiose pop sounds for his Robert Johnson Songbook. He can play slide guitar with the best of them though. If the Mac hadn’t worked out, he could have a good career in a bloozey bar band. [Buy]

Patti Smith – Come On In My Kitchen
Here it is, the pièce de résistance. Our Twitter followers will know I mentioned a cover I searched for for two years. Smith only released it on her rare Summer Cannibals single in 1996 and it is nowhere on the internet. Until now. Enjoy. [Buy]

Susan Tedeschi and the Derek Trucks Band – Walkin’ Blues
The Hellhound on My Trail tribute album features such heavy-hitters as Taj Mahal and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, but nothing tops Trucks leading wife Tedeschi through a soulful wail of a number. [Buy]

Beck – Last Fair Deal Gone Down
We recently posted a live version of Beck doing this one with one Mr. Jack White (scroll down for more of that young man), but here’s a studio version for the Harry Smith Project covers set. [Buy]

Bob Dylan – 32-20 Blues
Bob Dylan’s covered half these songs in his career. This is the most recent, released last year on his Tell-Tale Signs outtakes set. Stay glued to Twitter though; I’ll tweet out more Dylan Does Johnson later this week. [Buy]

Bob Margolin and Pinetop Perkins – Kind Hearted Woman Blues
Margolin’s got blues chops galore: he used to be in Muddy Waters’ band. The real star here is the boogie-woogie piano of Mr. Perkins, currently in his 96th year and still kicking. [Buy]

The White Stripes – If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day
The Stripes covered Johnson’s “Stop Breaking Down” on their first album, but this live recording comes from six years later, at a stop on their 2005 Get Behind Me Satan tour. Anyone who’s ever seen a live “Death Letter” (like this one) knows what Jack White is a blues-guitar badass. [Buy]

The Gun Club – Preachin’ Blues
The Gun Club actually changed the name here to “Preaching the Blues.” Oh, and they made it a wee bit louder. [Buy]

Johnny Winter – When You Got a Good Friend
Winter is known for his fiery electric guitar solos, but in this recording from Woodstock he shows he’s just as adept on acoustic. Give this man a slide and get the fuck out of his way. [Buy]

L?k?o – Ramblin’ On My Mind
It’s one of the unsolved riddles of the world why all music that comes out of Japan seems really bizarre, like made by A.D.D. children after a 24-hour Dragonball Z marathon. This comes off an all-Japanese tribute album Up Jumped the Devil: A Tribute to Robert Johnson and very few of the songs are recognizable. The re-re-remix sounds on this come off nicely though. [Buy]

John Mellencamp – Stones In My Passway
Mellencamp released blues/folk cover album Trouble No More to fulfill his contract with Columbia in 2003, proving that this “just a littly ditty ‘bout Jack and Diane” heartland rocker can sing the twelve-bar like no one’s business. [Buy]

Led Zeppelin – Traveling Riverside Blues
The Zep can come off a little pompous on some of their Lord of the Rings-aping originals, but there is no disputing their blues-rock prowess. [Buy]

Rory Block – Milkcow’s Calf Blues
Block comes from Princeton, NJ, but sounds straight off of Bessie Smith’s back porch. For more great Johnson covers like this, download to this fan-made Complete Covers collection. [Buy]

Cowboy Junkies – Me and the Devil Blues
This smokey late-night live recording brings folk, country, and Beelzebub himself to the table with creaky violin and Margo Timmins’ spooky vocal delivery. Satan may be in for a shock when this lass shows up. [Buy]

The Mountain Goats – Hellhound on My Trail
A nice indie-folk ending, where the same band who so memorably took on Ace of Base’s “I Saw the Sign” brings the same quiet magic to our man R.J. John Darnielle sings like a man tired of running, just about ready to let the hellhound have him. [Buy]

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Shuffle Sundays: Fairytale of New York

Posted by Ray Padgett at 3:00 pm No Responses »
Nov 012009

Shuffle Sundays is a weekly feature in which we feature a cover chosen at random by my iTunes shuffle. The songs will usually be good, occasionally be bad, always be interesting. All downloads will only be available for one week, so get them while you can. After you listen, discuss this week’s tune in the comments.


Retailers across the country are dusting off the plastic cranberries and fiberglass santas, so why not get a head start on the season ourselves here at Cover Me. Plus, by putting the most depressing Christmas song ever out there first, there’s nowhere to go but up!

For those unfamiliar with this little bushel of holiday cheer, it’s a duet between a drunken lout of a narrator and his harping bitch of a wife (played with passion in the original by Kirsty MacColl). The insults get thrown back and forth, culminating in her immortal cry, “You scumbag, you maggot/ You cheap lousy faggot / Merry Christmas, you ass / I thank God it’s our last!” If that isn’t the spirit of the season, I don’t know what is.

The song’s true brilliance comes in the chorus though, imbuing the traditional “Little Drummer Boy”-style crooning with searing sarcasm. “The bells of the NYPD choir were singing ‘Galway Bay,’” Shane MacGowan sneers with all the vitriol he can muster. “And the bells were ringing out for Christmas day.” The stage is set for a last-verse reconciliation between the two dueling lovers, but don’t kid yourself. These two can count themselves lucky if they survive the night.

The tune was an instant hit upon its release in 1987, only being denied the number-one spot on the charts by the Pet Shop Boys’ “Always On My Mind.” Quoth the ever-tactful MacGowan, “We were beaten by two queens and a drum machine.”

Toronto’s Pilate (now know as Pilot Speed) took on this holiday gem for the Maybe This Christmas Tree compilation, throwing out angry guitar blasts to bridge the gap between the pretty melody and the hate-spewing lyrics. In spite of it all, there’s a bit of romantic charm buried beneath the coal. Sure they hate each other, but you get the sense they’ll stay together in spite of it all.

Pilate – Fairytale of New York (The Pogues) [Buy]

What do you think? Discuss this song in the comments section below.

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