Oct 182016
 
JosienneClarkeBenWalker

More people should be covering songs off Gillian Welch’s 2011 album The Harrow & the Harvest. We named Night Beds’ take on “The Way the Whole Thing Ends” one of The Best Cover Songs of 2014, and Josienne Clarke & Ben Walker’s new version of “Dark Turn of the Mind” might end up on this year’s list. Continue reading »

Oct 182016
 
jack-white-acoustic-approved-press-photo-3-by-jo-mccaughey

This past weekend, Chris Thile of Cover Me-favorites Nickel Creek hosted his first Prairie Home Companion after Garrison Keillor stepped down. There’s been a lot of speculation over whether fans of Lake Wobegon and “Beebopareebop Rhubarb Pie” will stick around with Keillor gone, so Thile brought out the big guns for his debut, booking Jack White for his first-ever appearance. White sang solo material, Raconteurs, and White Stripes songs in new acoustic arrangements (one with his Third Man labelmate Margo Price) and even played a new cover, of Bobby Bare‘s 1969 country hit “(Margie’s At) The Lincoln Park Inn.” Continue reading »

Oct 142016
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

otis redding

Otis Redding built one of his greatest songs out of almost nothing. Guitarist and co-writer Steve Cropper explains: “‘I Can’t Turn You Loose’ was just a riff I’d used on a few songs with the MG’s. Otis worked it up with the horns in about 10 minutes as the last thing we did one night in the studio. Just a riff and one verse that he sings over and over. That’s all it is.”

Continue reading »

Oct 112016
 
1989 is Hell

Last year, Ryan Adams shocked the music world with his earnest track-for-track cover of Taylor Swift’s 1989. Initially, news of the album was assumed to be either a joke or purely inspired by irony, but the finished product was strong enough to land a spot on our favorite cover albums of 2015. Swift responded favorably to Adams’ tribute, but as far as we know she hasn’t gone into the studio to cover any of his songs. Continue reading »

Oct 102016
 
Howard Stern Presents The Beatles' Revolver

As you may have heard, this year marks the 50th birthday of the Beatles’ seminal album Revolver. We already put together our own tribute album, but the celebration continued this past weekend with another set of covers. For his radio show, Howard Stern collected all-new recordings of every track by some serious heavy hitters, from vets like James Taylor and Cheap Trick to newer buzz bands like Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats and Milk Carton Kids. And we’ve got every song below. Continue reading »

Oct 102016
 
rolling-stones-desert-trip

The Rolling Stones haven’t released an album since 2005, but in December they’ll finally return – and with their first-ever covers album to boot. Titled Blue & Lonesome, the album contains their versions of 12 classic blues songs by Little Walter, Howlin’ Wolf, and more. They’ve snuck a blues cover on LPs here and there in the past (“Love in Vain” on Let It Bleed, “You Gotta Move” on Sticky Fingers) but this is the first time they’ve filled a full album with them. They’ve already released the first track, Little Walter’s “Just Your Fool,” which you can hear below. And this weekend, they performed another album cut at Desert Trip festival (aka “Oldchella”): Eddie Taylor’s “Ride ‘Em On Down,” which they last performed in 1962! Continue reading »