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The Best Cover and Tribute Albums of 2019

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am 1 Response »

Dec 112019

Follow all our Best of 2019 coverage (along with previous year-end lists) here.

With their surprise success “Africa,” Weezer delivered easily the biggest cover-song news of 2018. And they similarly seemed poised to dominate this year’s cover-album news when they dropped a full set of similar songs in January (that album’s not on our list, because it is – and I say this as a fan for going on 20 years – terrible).

Thankfully, that album got forgotten about five minutes after its release. A slate of other high-profile cover albums took its place, and delivered more staying power. Angelique Kidjo, Morrissey, and Juliana Hatfield all released covers albums, and a host more stars contributed in one way or other to tribute compilations, from Norah Jones and Margo Price covering Bobbie Gentry to Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile tackling Wilco. Some of the aforementioned made our list and some just missed it, but all are worth investigating.

That’s to say nothing of the many lesser-known artists who came out of nowhere, amazing covers records by bands and singers I’d never heard of before. Covers albums can offer a wonderful entry point for discovery, and I’ve now got a lot of new favorite bands to dig deeper into. Hopefully you’ll find a few here too.

– Ray Padgett, Editor-in-Chief

Full Albums: ‘Saturday Night Fever’ Soundtrack

Feature, Full Albums, Video 3 Responses »

Oct 112019

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

Saturday Night Fever was released in 1977, joining the ranks of great movies that feature dance as a plot line such as the ballerina fairytale The Red Shoes, or the string of Fred Astaire movies with Ginger Rogers (Top Hat, Swing Time, Shall We Dance, and more) and without (Easter Parade, with a post-Oz Judy Garland). This genre also has plenty of popular descendants like Dirty Dancing, Footloose, Save the Last Dance, and Step Up. SNF is both a worthy successor to the older films and a proud forebear of those that followed in its dance steps.

Starring John Travolta before he had really made his mark (post-Kotter, pre-Grease), the story is as old as time: boy wants to escape his mundane job and dramatic family life through dance and pursue the woman of his dreams, who of course is bad for him, along the way. Plus, there is an obligatory Brooklyn v. Staten Island rivalry thrown in for good measure.

The Bee Gees had fallen into a funk, and not the good kind, in the early 1970s. With help from disco and falsetto, the band had found a new groove. Being a major part of the SNF soundtrack – they composed and/or performed eight of its 17 songs – helped breathe new life into their career. The soundtrack contributed three of their six consecutive number-one singles to the Bee Gees streak, at the time tying the Beatles’ record for the most in the United States.

The soundtrack helped the Bee Gees win five Grammys, and the Bee Gees were able to keep up the momentum from this success until the end of the disco era. By the end of the ’70s, disco fever had burned itself out.

Although some of the themes and dialogue from the movie don’t hold up, the songs remain essential for those times when you want to put on your boogie shoes.
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Review: The Bird and the Bee, “Interpreting the Masters, Volume 2: (A Tribute to Van Halen)”

Posted by Sara Stoudt at 11:00 am No Responses »

Aug 142019

Nine years after The Bird and the Bee’s first cover album, Volume 1: A Tribute to Daryl Hall and John Oates, Volume 2 has arrived, and let me tell you, it is worth the wait. The duo had me when they released “Ain’t Talking ’bout Love” as a single. (If you haven’t seen the live version with Dave Grohl on drums, stop everything and watch it here.) With “Ain’t Talking ’bout Love” released ahead of the album, along with “Panama” and “Hot for Teacher,” I was worried that we had already heard the juiciest covers from the album, but the rest of the songs do not disappoint.

Why would the jazz-based electro-pop duo choose Van Halen for their latest tribute? Well, they already made a shout-out to David Lee Roth in their song “Diamond Dave,” from their 2009 album Ray Guns Are Not Just the Future album. They bring it back here, covering their own song to round out their tribute album. Plus, it helps that The Bird and the Bee, of Los Angeles, are practically neighbors of Van Halen, originally from Pasadena.

Since the cover-ers and the cover-ees come from very different musical genres, the pairing is a compelling one. Replacing Van Halen’s heavy electric guitar with a mixture of synths and more traditional piano, and changing the original vocal style from gravelly rock, to a smoother and sultry jazz vibe, The Bird and the Bee create another instant classic tribute album.

The Best Cover Songs of June

Posted by Ray Padgett at 12:00 pm 3 Responses »

Jun 282019

Check out the best covers of past months here.

Ashley O [Miley Cyrus] – Right Where I Belong (Nine Inch Nails cover)

The second-most-bonkers cover of the month (just wait ’til we get to “Spicy”) comes from – who else – Miley Cyrus. On a new episode of Black Mirror, she covers/parodies angsty Nine Inch Nails songs as the most insipid of pop jams. Trent Reznor, for one, says he is very much on board (given the lyric changes, these covers required his legal approval). Miley’s songs in character as Ashley O are outrageous and borderline offensive, which is kind of the point. “On a Roll” (FKA “Head Like a Hole”) has gotten most of the attention, but “Right Where I Belong” is more listenable. Marginally. Continue reading »

After Nine Years, The Bird and The Bee Announce Volume Two of Their Cover Series: Van Halen

Posted by Mike Misch at 9:00 am No Responses »

Jun 242019

If you missed it the first time around, immediately go check out The Bird and The Bee’s truly wonderful Hall & Oates tribute from 2010. We’ve included songs from it on our Hall & Oates lists before, but start to finish it’s a great listen that has held up well. When the duo of Greg Kurstin and Inara George first released a Van Halen cover in March, we thought the long-awaited Volume 2 may be on the way. Now it’s confirmed with another track from the album: “Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love”. Continue reading »

Five Good Covers: “Sara Smile” (Hall & Oates)

Posted by Sara Stoudt at 2:00 pm 3 Responses »

May 102019

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

The timeless tracks of Hall and Oates are often go-to karaoke fodder for non-professionals. They also serve as prime cover material for more seasoned performers. If we asked ten people to name their favorite Hall and Oates song, it is not inconceivable that we would receive ten different answers; throughout their career, they have tallied quite the number of hit songs. But there was a time before their string of gold records. Beyond the oft-covered “I Can’t Go for That” and “Rich Girl” stands “Sara Smile,” Hall and Oates’ first Top 10 hit. It took the duo almost ten years to get into the groove, but this song gave them the momentum they needed.
Continue reading »