Kevin Weinstein, Author at Cover Me

Kevin Weinstein

Kevin Weinstein’s love of music began while sitting with his brother in the back seat of his parent’s truck during Griswold-esque road trips, while being fed a steady diet of Kinks and Beatles cassette tapes. The pure joy these tapes provided him during these road trips is largely responsible for his ever-evolving fascination with the music of the 60s in particular and his ever-evolving obsession to all music in general. To Kevin, there is nothing more invigorating than the perfect album, old or new. And his quest to hear them all, will never end. Kevin Weinstein currently resides on the North Shore of Chicago with his beautiful wife, son and daughter. Follow him on Twitter.

Five Good Covers: These Days (Jackson Browne)

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 4:00 pm 8 Responses »

Apr 132016

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

“These Days” was written by an old soul of sixteen, Jackson Browne, several years before he released an album of his own. The melancholy ballad was originally released on the 1967 album Chelsea Girl (a reference to Andy Warhol’s 1966 film Chelsea Girls) by the singer-songwriter, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, actress, and ’60s counterculture queen, Nico. It may have been Browne’s song, but Nico was the first to put a stamp on it, and her stamp was an indelible one.

Review: Jeff Buckley, ‘You and I’

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 10:00 am No Responses »

Mar 222016

“Any time I take a cover and wear it on my sleeve, it’s because it had something good to do with my life and still marks a time in my life when I needed that song more than ever.” – Jeff Buckley

You and I is a posthumously released collection of ten songs (eight of which are covers) Jeff Buckley chose as a showcase for Columbia Records in 1993. They have lived in the vaults of Columbia Records for the past twenty-three years. Up until the point of these recordings, Buckley’s career was that of a cover artist, gradually working on his own material, performing often at venues in Lower Manhattan, such as Sin-é. Despite vast interest, Buckley was apprehensive about signing with a record label. Eventually he signed with Columbia and recorded what would be his only studio album, the otherworldly Grace, in 1994. An album David Bowie chose as a desert island album, an album whose release saw Bob Dylan knighting Buckley as “one of the great song writers of this decade,” and an album that convinced Rolling Stone that Buckley was one of the greatest singers of all time.

Full Albums: The Grateful Dead’s ‘American Beauty’

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 5:00 pm 3 Responses »

Mar 112016

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

In 1970, Wally Heider’s San Francisco recording studio was the percolating epicenter of the psychedelic rock universe. The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Neil Young, and Carlos Santana shared this transcendent studio space, which Phil Lesh classified as “jammer heaven.” This was where the Grateful Dead’s American Beauty was born.

Five Good Covers: War Pigs (Black Sabbath)

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 4:00 pm 6 Responses »

Mar 072016

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

“War Pigs,” originally titled “Walpurgis” (defined as “Christmas for Satanists” by Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler), is the first track off Black Sabbath’s second studio album, 1970’s Paranoid, and is regarded by Guitar World magazine as the “greatest Heavy Metal song ever.”

The slow gravitational pulling power chord intro creates an atmosphere of an apocalyptic wasteland. The rolling darkness and muffled air-sirens continue until they are quickly halted with the most spine-tingling, D to E power chord transition in heavy metal history, not once, not twice, but thrice! Ozzy Osbourne gives us a piercing belt of “Generals gathered in their masses / just like witches at black masses,” and Toni Iommi continues the pattern after every Ozzy verse until Iommi’s power chords evolve into a wicked guitar riff. Bill Ward comes crashing in on drums, Geezer Buttler starts pounding his bass, and before you know it, you’ve bypassed “Luke’s Wall” (the song’s instrumental outro) and you’re riding shotgun with Lucifer on a thrill ride through hell.
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Five Good Covers: The Dark End of the Street (James Carr)

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 4:00 pm 12 Responses »

Feb 172016

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

We were always wanting to come up with the best cheatin’ song, ever. — Dan Penn

Dan Penn, from the musically abundant and fertile lands of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, served as a performer, producer, and songwriter for soul music’s Mecca, FAME Studios. Chips Moman, an accomplished musician and songwriter, owned American Sound studios in Memphis, Tennessee. Moman is known for recording Elvis Presley, along with other legendary greats. Together, they co-wrote a few songs, including “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man” for Aretha Franklin.

The initiative for their goal of writing “the best cheatin’ song, ever,” occurred while attending a DJ Convention in Memphis, Tennessee in 1966. During a break in a card game, inspiration struck Penn and Moman, and they needed a place to get it all down. Quentin Claunch of Hi Records agreed to lend his hotel room to the galvanized duo to write the song in, contingent on the agreement that the song would be given to James Carr to sing. Half an hour later, Penn and Moman emerged with a perfectly crafted musical masterpiece called “The Dark End of the Street.” Mission accomplished.
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In The Spotlight: Ween

Posted by Kevin Weinstein at 5:00 pm 2 Responses »

Feb 122016

In the Spotlight showcases a cross-section of an artist’s cover work. View past installments, then post suggestions for future picks in the comments!

Ween caters to no one. When it comes to creating music, they don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you believe in, or what offends you. Ween’s goals are clear: they are going to make the music they want to make and have an absolute blast in the process. As a result of this approach, we all reap the tremendous benefits.