Nov 022022
 

“Covering the Hits” looks at covers of a randomly-selected #1 hit from the past sixty-odd years.

all night long covers

“All Night Long (All Night)” is the fifth of seven chart-topping singles in Lionel Richie’s career, two with the Commodores (“Three Times a Lady,” “Still”) followed by five under its own name. The extremely goofy parenthetical in the title clearly did not impact the song’s journey towards the top. Nor its legacy either; some of these chart-toppers we look at in Covering the Hits did not, in fact, get covered much. “All Night Long (All Night)” – that’s the last time I’m writing that parenthetical – still gets covered constantly. I mean, have you ever been to a wedding?

But below we’ll dig a little deeper into the most notable and most interesting covers, from the ‘80s through just last month. Continue reading »

Apr 062011
 

Quickies rounds up new can’t-miss covers. Download ‘em below.

The Submarines re-whet our appetite for The Jesus and Mary Chain covers last week, and Cali folk-rockers Dead Rock West continue the boy-girl duet theme with a threatening, much less romantic “God Help Me.”
MP3: Dead Rock West – God Help Me (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover) Continue reading »

Nov 102010
 

Live Collection brings together every live cover we can find from an artist. And we find a lot.

The recent release of Easy Wonderful has given Guster fans reason to fall in love with them all over again. As their album title insinuates, they have an agreeable sound that resonates with you and has aged well over the past (almost) 20 years. If the Beach Boys went to college in the 90’s, added some bongos, and stayed out of the sun, Guster is what they would sound like.

Featured on soundtracks like Life as a House and Wedding Crashers, their songs can pull at the heartstrings as you croon along with them. On the other hand, they are better known for their laid-back, wisecracking personalities that beam from the stage and infect their fans. During their years of touring, they have taken on many cover songs with both their sensitive and playful dispositions (but mostly the latter). Typically at the end of a show, Guster will rile up the crowd with a number from Madonna, Talking Heads, or whoever sings the “Cheers” theme song (Portnoy) and get everyone involved.  Most of the time, it’s just an excuse to get drummer Brian Rosenworcel out in front showing off his questionable vocals, calling in the crowd for backup.  It’s just like being at a karaoke bar. Continue reading »

Oct 222010
 

You know the drill by now. My Morning Jacket are playing one album every night for five nights in New York City. Refusing to repeat any song over the stand, they encore with covers and b-sides from around the time of the record’s release. For Night 1 (The Tennessee Fire), that included “Rocket Man,” “White Rabbit,” “Tyrone,” and “Hot Legs.” Night 2 (At Dawn) brought out “How the Gods Kill,” “Miss You,” and “Black Sabbath.” Now we reach Night 3. The best set yet?

Last night the band busted out It Still Moves, their most popular disc of the three. With their famous Conan performance of “One Big Holiday,” the Louisville band blew their fan base wide open. After running through the full album (“Golden”! “Run Thru”! “Mahgeeta”!), they encored with – you guessed it – more covers and b-sides. And what a list! Bob Dylan‘s “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” kicked things off. After two b-sides, a three-cover set closed things out: “Head Held High” (The Velvet Underground), “It Makes No Difference” (The Band), “All Night Long” (Lionel Richie). Continue reading »