Creedence Clearwater Revival

In the Spotlight: M. Ward

Posted by Patrick Robbins at 5:00 pm 1 Response »

Dec 122011

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!

With a voice as natural as a hunk of dry bark and a guitar style so vivid you’ll swear you can hear the dust coming off the strings, M. Ward rose from Portland, Oregon, and settled down on back porches all across Americana. His warm, enduring melancholy and his playing ability has won him fandom not just from listeners, but from his peers, who seek him out for collaborations and tribute albums aplenty. With his work with Zooey Deschanel in She & Him, not to mention with Jim James and Conor Oberst in Monsters of Folk, Ward’s never been more visible, and yet his music still retains the earthy intimacy it had when he first started out. Continue reading »

Buffalo Tom's Bill Janovitz Posts His 100th Free Cover: Aztec Camera

Posted by Greg Duncan at 9:00 am No Responses »

Feb 042011

For the last two years, Bill Janovitz, guitarist and vocalist from Buffalo Tom, has posted a cover a week (almost) on his blog “Part Time Man of Rock.” Last week he celebrated 100 covers with his version of Aztec Camera’s “The Bugle Sounds Again.” Where the original sounds like mid-‘80s British indie pop, Janovitz’s version could easily pass as an outtake from Bruce Springsteen’s Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. Continue reading »

Remembering Solomon Burke

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

Oct 112010

Legendary soul singer Solomon Burke passed away yesterday en route to a European concert. In his seventy years, the “King of Rock and Soul” dominated soul, gospel, and rhythm and blues music like no one else. On early hits like “Cry to Me” and “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and latter-day classics like “Diamond in Your Mind” and “Make Do With What You Got,” his smooth baritone turned everything it touched to gold. With just a few syllables he could deliver you or seduce you, raise you up or bring you low. Unlike many of his peers, Burke continued performing and recording up through his last days; he released two records this year alone!

Though his commercial fortunes ebbed and flowed, the music community never forgot Burke. His 2002 album Don’t Give Up on Me featured song contributions from Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson, and Tom Waits. Pretty impressive Rolodex.

We’ve rounded up some live covers to remember the legend. Few can turn a phrase like Burke can, making his renditions of clichés like “Christmas Song” and Sam Cooke‘s “A Change Is Gonna Come” revelatory. On the less somber side, the raucous onstage party on “Proud Mary” shows his love of the ladies. Anyone who has attended a Burke concert can attest to the unbridled joy filling the room. He will be missed. Continue reading »

Live Collection: Drive-By Truckers

Posted by Ray Padgett at 5:00 pm 5 Responses »

Aug 062010

Live Collection brings together every live cover we can find from a featured artist.

From Athens, Georgia, the Drive-By Truckers are the most Lynyrd Skynyrd-esq band around today. They don’t deny it. Heck, they even based an entire album on Skynyrd’s career trajectory (as metaphor for Southern decline). Patterson Hood leads the six-piece around the country playing seemingly more concerts than there are days in the year. With all that touring, they’ve had quite a bit of time to bust out a cover or two.

Our first Live Collection feature collects every DBT concert cover we could get our hands on (Hood’s vast solo repertoire will wait for a later date). Some are set regulars, others are one-time-only treats. Download each MP3 individually below or all together at the bottom, then report back. Did I miss any? Post a note in comments! If you include a link, I’ll add the song to the main post. Continue reading »

Song of the Day: 8mm, “Bad Moon Rising”

Posted by Ray Padgett at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Jul 222010

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

“Freebird!” you shout as the intro begins. The classic slide guitar riff gets you swaying, ready to raise your voice (and lighter) for the singalong. Then it begins: “I see a bad moon rising.”

Wait, what? Turns out that intro was a trick, a red herring. Lynyrd Skynyrd be damned; this right here is some old-school Creedence Clearwater Revival. L.A. duo Sean and Juliette Beaven, who record as 8mm, transform the swamp-rock into a soaring country duet. Alternative Press called them a “Top Band You Need to Know” and we call this a “Top Cover You Need to Know.” Continue reading »

Song of the Day: Cold War Kids, “Long As I Can See the Light”

Posted by Ray Padgett at 9:56 am 2 Responses »

Jun 292010

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

The Cold War Kids covering Creedence Clearwater Revival is like Coldplay covering U2, Lady Gaga covering Madonna, or John Mayer covering Eric Clapton. Every aspect of their sound indicates the Kids hold John Fogerty and CCR in some esteem, so you wonder if a cover can make the leap beyond mere reverence.

It can. The Kids have been playing “Long As I Can See the Light” on tour for a little while now, but this performance at Rolling Stone HQ strips the band down a organ-fueled trio. Nathan Willett’s cracking falsetto can bring new emotion to even the most obvious choice.
Continue reading »

We're Number Two!

Posted by Ray Padgett at 10:00 pm 3 Responses »

May 102010

Number-one hits get all the glory, but what about the runners-up, the second-best, the popular-but-not-quite-popular-enough? You might be surprised what classic singles stalled at #2, and what forgotten yesterhits kept them from the top. Cover Me salutes the silver medalists as a reminder to the kids: winning isn’t everything. As long as you come in second.

Cover News: October 24, 2009

Posted by Ray Padgett at 12:05 am No Responses »

Oct 252009

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

Candidate for Best Cover of 2009: Kings of Convenience taking on Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party” for SPIN. Head there to check out the video, then come back here to download the mp3. [SPIN]

The video for Fever Ray’s cover of Nick Cave’s “Stranger Than Kindness” may be the creepiest thing since…everything else Fever Ray has ever done. [Music Video Daily]

We mentioned last week that the Flaming Lips were talking about a full-album Dark Side of the Moon cover set. Well the first taste of said set comes with “Eclipse.” [Stereogum]

Phish is still killing off the albums they won’t be covering this Halloween. With only one week to go it’s getting down to the wire, but Prince, Frank Zappa and Michael “This Is It” Jackson are hanging in there. [Phish]

Patti Smith recently debuted many brand-new covers to celebrate the work of photographer Robert Frank. [Dylan, Etc.]

Indie rocksters The Walkmen have a couple choice Leonard Cohen cuts (and best of all, neither of them is “Hallelujah”!). [Aquarium Drunkard]

The Raconteurs are on hiatus while Jack White records a second album with the Dead Weather, so Brendan Benson’s got a lot of time on his hands. We saw him perform on a Manhattan roof a few months ago, and now he’s back covering Superdrag. [Daytrotter]

Guided By Voices got their start in Rio de Janeiro, so it’s only natural for an all-Brazilian tribute album to turn up. Wait, they’re from Dayton? Oh. [Transfusão Noise Records]

Echo and the Bunnymen don’t put on the most enthralling live show, but the did bust out tunes by the Doors, John Lennon, Lou Reed and more at a recent NYC gig. [Rolling Stone]

Finnish songwriter Jaakko Teppo is the subject of a new tribute album, featuring Nightwish. [Braveworlds]

This Week’s Submissions

Nicky Francis – Proud Mary (Creedence Clearwater Revival) [more]

Nicky Francis – Still Feelin’ Blue (Gram Parsons) [more]

Gangbang Gordon – It Ain’t Gonna Save Me (Jay Reatard) [more]

Love Songs – Dragstrip Riot (The New Bomb Turks) [more]

Neil Nathan – Do Ya (Electric Light Orchestra) [more]

Neil Nathan – Darling Friend (Für Elise) (Beethoven) [more]

Random Maxx – Under Pressure (Queen & David Bowie) [more]

Sonos – I Want You Back (Robin Danar Mix) (The Jackson 5) [more]

Your Mother – Fun Zone (“Weird Al” Yankovic) [more]