Apr 282017
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

dark side of the moon

On April 28, 1973 – forty-four years ago today – Pink Floyd’s album The Dark Side of the Moon reached number one in the Billboard Top 200 Bestselling Album charts. Fifteen years later, it was still on those charts. Impeccably produced and beautifully played, Moon deservedly served as the band’s breakthrough. This was an album that worked best as a whole, even if it did contain a top 20 single in “Money,” and it’s an album that’s been covered in its entirety by multiple single artists. Among them: Phish, the Flaming Lips, Dream Theater, and the Easy Star All-Stars, whose Dub Side of the Moon was so successful they released an album of remixes, Dubber Side of the Moon, seven years later.

Let’s just say that when it came time to put together our own Full Album collection, the pickings were anything but slim. Consider the following just one of many, many Moons.
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Apr 242017
 

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

ham

As the cops close in and Walter White lies dying, one of television’s most influential series ends with the crisp power-pop of Badfinger’s “Baby Blue” in the background. (“Guess I got what I deserved…”) It was likely the first listen to Badfinger for many Breaking Bad fans, and the exposure provided by the show resulted in a huge spike in song downloads and more than a few blog posts on the “tragic” band from Wales. Badfinger would be remembered mainly for three reasons: being seminal contributors to the power-pop genre, penning one huge and iconic song, and the suicide of its two best known members.
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Apr 212017
 

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

new sell out

It couldn’t miss – a music genre’s Who’s Who paying tribute to the Who.

These were some of the biggest names in the power-pop world (a small underground world, granted, but one with a truly devoted population) taking on The Who Sell Out, the band’s concept album that saluted pirate radio and served as a bridge to the world of Tommy. Like the original album, the tribute would feature fake commercials and promos – “every word, every chunk, in order,” said Keith Klingensmith, the head of Detroit indie label Futureman Records. “My partner, Rick McBrien, and I had this idea for a while now, and we knew we would never get another compilation idea this good, so we decided to do it ourselves.”

The power pop intelligentsia waited for the album’s release with bated breath and more than a little drool. And waited. And waited…
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Apr 202017
 
beck elvis

As we covered a few weeks ago, the soundtrack for the Amazon original show The Man in the High Castle is chock full of big names covering classic songs. The album is out now, and one of the highlights is Beck covering Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” Like many of the songs mentioned previously, Beck didn’t get too adventurous on this number, opting to stick with what worked the first time. Continue reading »

Apr 192017
 
screaming females neil young

Neil Young recently cancelled his Pearl Jam Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction speech due to illness (he’s reportedly fine now). While he takes a break though, new Neil covers keep rolling in. Two particularly great ones have surfaced in the last month, tacking a pair of Young’s loudest and most fiery songs.

First up, composer Teho Teardo and singer Blixa Bargeld (of Einstürzende Neubauten/Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds fame) cover “Hey Hey, My My” on their new EP together Fall. A weird and wonderful production, it brings together bass clarinet, musical saw, and a six-piece string section under Bargeld’s mesmerizing line readings. It’s one of the best Neil covers we’ve heard in recent years, surprising and unexpected. Continue reading »

Apr 182017
 
BROTHERTIGER 500x500

In May, Tears for Fears will begin a three-month tour with Hall and Oates. It’s the sort of retro package tour sure to fill sheds all summer, but an exercise in nostalgia may undersell a band whose sound remains influential across all manner of electronic music. Witness Kanye West’s prominent sample of “Memories Fade” a few years back for his ballad “Coldest Winter.” Earlier this year, one of our writers cited Gary Jules cover of “Mad World” as one of the most meaningful covers of her life.

The latest artist to acknowledge a Tears for Fears influence is New York electronic music John Jagos, who performs as Brothertiger. On his new album, he covers every song off one of his favorite albums, Tears for Fears’ biggest album, 1985’s Songs From The Big Chair. We’ve got the premiere of opening track “Shout” below. Continue reading »