The AppleTV+ mystery comedy Bad Monkey‘s full soundtrack album is now out, revealing the complete list of Tom Petty covers for those who haven’t been watching the show. (See flipturn’s cover of “Don’t Do Me Like That” for one of the covers that was released before the album dropped.) Sharon Van Etten is one of the more high profile artists to contribute to the soundtrack, though hardly the highest profile given the presence of Eddie Vedder and Weezer.
Technically a solo track rather than a Heartbreakers song, “I Won’t Back Down” famously features both Jeff Lynne, the co-writer, and George Harrison on it, or three fifths of the Traveling Wilburys. At the time, it was Petty’s biggest ever hit.
Van Etten knows how to make a cover her own and it’s no different here. She plays the song on piano rather than guitar, though there is a guitar present. The opening could almost be “Walking in Memphis.” The pace of the song is mostly the same but the vibe is entirely different – first it could be a ballad, then the expanding arrangements transforms it into 21st century indie instead of the original’s heartland rock. There’s a pulsating beat underlying everything which adds to the modern feel.
In the chorus she plays with the vocal line a little bit and the super clean backing vocals from the original are replaced by a range of different vocals, both tracking her lead and singing background. Aside from the piano, this is probably where she deviates from the original the most.
A number of the Bad Monkey Petty covers are basically note-for-note so it’s nice to hear someone making the song her own. This is a very Sharon Van Etten cover.
Check it out:
What a great version Sensational