The emotional highpoint of the Grammys—well, other than Tracy Chapman’s return (covers-adjacent!)–was Annie Lennox’s tribute to Sinéad O’Connor during the In Memoriam. Bonus points because she was backed by two longtime bandmembers of Prince (who, of course, wrote the song), Wendy and Lisa. The teardrop on Lennox’s eye was very Prince, and the political statement at the end was very Sinéad. Continue reading »
‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
To quote a Bruce song, this list has been a long time comin’. After all, twelve years ago we borrowed one of his song titles to name this site (a song that, surprisingly, doesn’t actually get covered very often). And over those twelve years, we’ve posted hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bruce covers: “Full Albums” tributes to Born in the U.S.A., Darkness at the Edge of Town, and Tunnel of Love; tributes to the tributes, honoring several classic Boss tribute records; a spotlight on the best “Born to Run” covers; and a million news posts. It’s time to pull it all together.
Appropriately enough for a man whose concerts routinely top three hours, this list is long. Fifty covers long, and even then we still found ourselves left with dozens of killer bonus tracks for our Patreon supporters. The hits are all here, of course, but Bruce’s catalog runs deep. This list includes many covers of lesser-known cuts and more recent songs – even one from his just-released solo album Western Stars. Though he turns 70 today, the man is not slowing down, and neither are the artists paying tribute to him. As Bruce famously sang, he learned more from a three-minute record than ever learned in school. Well, here are fifty artists who learned something from his three-minute records.
The list starts on Page 2.
Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.
“Another ‘Dancing in the Dark’?” you ask. “Didn’t you just have that as a Song of the Day back in June with Amy MacDonald’s lilting Scottish heartbreaker?” True, but Sarah McLeod’s cover couldn’t be more different. When McLeod’s publicist sent this recording along, I knew it had to go up now.
A flurry of programmed strings provides the only accompaniment to McLeod’s seductive singing…until the tribal drumming comes in. The tension builds and builds, simmering just beneath the point of total explosion. It’s dance music for someone too self-conscious to dance. And given the lyrics, skewed proto-house beats seem oddly appropriate. Continue reading »