10. Thou — Spin the Black Circle
“Spin the Black Circle” is Pearl Jam at their punkiest. A tribute to listening to hardcore on vinyl, the decision to play it so punky was actually somewhat divisive in the band. But the title of the song leads to…other interpretations, certainly. Maybe it’s about Satan, right? Or something sinister? I suppose it was only a matter of time before someone thought about doing a black metal version of “Spin the Black Circle.” And Thou are that band.
Opening with sludgy fuzz, the main riff is played with basically only bottom, barely any treble at all. It’s sludge metal, really, but the vocals are pretty close to classic black metal with how screechy they are and how neutered they are by their position in the mix. So maybe it’s not a pure black metal cover of the track, but it’s pretty close. And it’s a lot of fun. — Riley Haas
9. The Anchoress — Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town
The longest song title in the Pearl Jam catalogue, “Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town” was a fan favourite almost immediately, charting without being released as a single. It is their 11th most streamed song on Spotify now and a popular cover.
The Anchoress, aka Catherine Anne Davies, transforms the gentle folk of the original to stirring baroque pop. She begins with just her voice and electric piano, much like how sparsely the original opens. As she sings, she adds additional keyboards and vocals and what sounds like a vibraphone. At least one of the keyboards sounds like it could be approximating some kind of renaissance instrument and nother a flute. It’s a straight-ahead, faithful arrangement in terms of how Davies sings the song, but the feel is entirely different. Another genre, a distinct set of emotions conveyed by the performance and the lyrics. — Riley Haas
8. Nancy Wilson — Daughter
Nancy Wilson’s sister Ann is the powerful-voiced lead singer of the legendary rock band Heart and Nancy is best known as a killer guitar player and occasional singer. In fact, Heart’s first number one single was not “Barracuda,” or “Magic Man,” or “Crazy on You,” rockers all sung by Ann, but “These Dreams,” a ballad featuring Nancy on lead vocals. Nancy’s first solo rock album was released in 2021, and it included a handful of covers (and lots of guests), including a version of Pearl Jam’s “Daughter.” Nancy originally recorded the song for Netflix‘s I Am All Girls, a South African film which about human trafficking, a different concern than the original, which is about dealing with learning disabilities. Wilson’s version alternates between delicate and intense, with Wilson’s vocals capably handling both. — Jordan Becker
7. My Pet Dragon — Release
“Release” is a song that Pearl Jam often opens with on tour. The lights go down and the band emerges in darkness. And as they kick off the song, the music floats out over the crowd like a wave, lapping and repeating, growing and growing as it moves through the venue. And then, on top of it all, comes Eddie Vedder’s distinctive voice. He’s offering us a hand from the water and pulling us up alongside him. We are now one with the wave, together with Vedder, knowing we will triumph over whatever the challenge may be.
And in My Pet Dragon’s hands, “Release” does take that and more. The drone-ish sound of the music is increased and amped up. It becomes overwhelming. We’re getting pulled under in the sound. And when the vocals come in, we’re suddenly rescued. But the band (really just musician Todd Michaelsen in an early exploration of his musical voice), just adds to the drone-line nature of the song with the vocals. And, in an interesting deviation from the original, Michaelsen has almost a choir of voices singing the lyrics. We are not just safe with this song, this musician- we are safe as a group. We are one. — Luke Poling
6. John Lester Quartet — Even Flow
If you wanted to buy up essence of grunge, “Even Flow” might be a good place to start, the rocker as archetypal of the genre as anything in the Pearl Jam canon, with enough crossover potential for the metalheads to relish. So who better than a stand-up jazz bassist to cover it. Which, nominally, is what John Lester is. Or at least where he is coming from. Often working solo as a singer-songwriter, accompanying himself on his huge acoustic bass, the record this comes from, Jazz?, is with a band. The question mark is arguably the most important part of that title. The song is actually recognizable, if only just, beginning as a sly shuffle, voice bass and drums. He has an appealing voice that calls to mind the schtick of the Spin Doctors. Piano tinkles in and then a good old skronky sax solo, atonal enough for the jazzers, but melodic enough for the rest. Classy. The parent album is similar fare, with covers also of Counting Crows, Tom Petty and Pink Floyd. — Seuras Og
5. Anna Weatherup — Black
Anna Weatherup first came under the public eye via Australia’s The Voice. As for this cover, Weatherup knows the gravity that the original version of “Black” has created for itself. She states, “I know Black is one of those songs that you don’t F with.” With only a guitar and her voice, this artist honors the song.
The depth and rasp of her vox perfectly replicates Vedder’s, except with an oh-so-slight feminine softness. As the song progresses, she hints at the massive power behind her belt, but then keeps backing off it, ever so restrained. We almost reach the precipice at the bridge, but then the next phrase comes in, the tide goes out, and it leaves us (mournfully) longing for more. — Aleah Fitzwater
4. The Bitter and Sick and Die Alones — Jeremy
In the days before the internet, it used to be that if you wanted to know the lyrics to the hits on the radio, you had to buy the album or single and hope the artist or band provided a lyric sheet. There weren’t thousands of lyrics websites and they didn’t just populate in Google because Google didn’t exist. That led to a lot of misheard lyrics with few corrections. And some singers have more of them than others. Eddie Vedder sometimes has a…unique way of pronouncing the words he sings. For years, a friend of mine insisted that Vedder sang “Glorified version of a pelican” in “Glorified G” instead of “pellet gun.” Fortunately the internet eventually saved us.
I have to thank The Bitter and Sick and Die Alones for their cover of “Jeremy” because, for the first time in my life, I actually understand all the lyrics to “Jeremy.” I have never had a CD copy of Ten because it’s far from my favorite PJ album, so I have no idea if they included the lyric sheet. But I misheard a few.
That’s not the reason it’s great, though. The reason their cover is great is how it completely detaches the song from its original grunge sound while retaining the song’s power. This version is sparse but full of echo and has this kind of menace – always threatening to explode, but never quite getting there. It’s hard to find the time for much of it, with the verses inheriting the tempo of the intro and the chorus closer to the original. The pace picks up as the song progresses as it builds to its conclusion and the tension builds but the release never fully arrives. — Riley Haas
3. Sugarland — Better Man
Country behemoths Sugarland are extremely shiny and showbizzy…which is to say their perky 2009 live version of “Better Man”, ain’t for the cynical. Still, it’d be hard for even the hardest rocker not to be at least a little bit charmed by lead vocalist Jennifer Nettles’ opening shout out to two fan-ladies proudly sporting their Led Zep and Clash tees at the Sugarland extravaganza. Nettles then proceeds to twang the living hell out of “Better Man”, belting the chorus as, oh yeah, “Cain’t find a Better May-an”.The band is tight. The vibes are joyful. And this cover is just a whole buncha fun (y’all). — Hope Silverman
2. Roseaux ft. Aloe Blacc — Indifference
The closer to Pearl Jam’s follow up to their meteoric debut closes with “Indifference,” a meditation on stubbornness and maybe nihilism. Vedder’s inflections and emotive vocals unsurprisingly lend an immense weight to the already heavy lyrics. Roseaux gives even more weight to an already heavy atmosphere with discordant strings and light high hat. Aloe Blacc’s smooth voice stands in contrast, however, to the darkness of the lyrics. Where Vedder sounds like a curmudgeon or an addict, Blacc sounds more like a tragic hero. Yes, the lyrics are bleak but now lines like “I will stare the sun down until the sun down until my eyes go blind. And I won’t change direction and I won’t change my mind” sound less like insanity and more like heroic defiance. Cutting two minutes of the song also helps give it an immediacy vs. the slow burn of the original. It’s an intense cover of an already intense song. — Mike Misch
1. Willie Nelson — Just Breathe
“Just Breathe” began life as a much shorter piece of music that Eddie Vedder was composing for the film Into the Wild. Inspired by one chord in the instrumental piece “Tuolumne,” Vedder crafted what, as of this writing, was Pearl Jam’s last big hit.
A meditation on life with a mantra-like melody line, the song overflows with emotion. It is also an emotional catharsis for both singer and audience. The singer is acknowledging the simple and important things in life, but also allowing that they didn’t always realize what was important. It’s a “learn from me before it’s too late,” type of song.
Some performers might be tempted to dial that emotion up to an insane level and make a three-course meal out of it. However, in Willie Nelson’s hands, he goes the other way and breaks the song down to basics: a voice, a guitar. And, because it’s Willie Nelson, it’s that voice and that guitar. It’s sparse and simple. No need to overcomplicate the matter.
In his recording, his voice is right in front of us, confronting us with these hard-learned truths. Nelson is forcing us to confront the people and things in our lives that we would rather not. Take it or leave it, he needs to tell his truth. With a song that could easily tip over into bumper sticker philosophy, Nelson offers us something deeply personal and deeply felt, something that sticks with you long after the song fades. — Luke Poling
