‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.
On every full moon this year, Peter Gabriel has been releasing new songs off his upcoming album o\i. It’s the same system he pulled a few years ago, previewing tracks from his 2023 album i/o (you see what he did there?), and once again with each song in two versions, the so-called Dark-Side and Bright-Side mixes. As ever, Peter Gabriel moves to his own rhythm. “The rhythm has my soul,” he famously screamed in 1982.
For such an idiosyncratic artist, though, he has a way with a pop hook—which has made his songs so widely covered in so many styles and genres. Below, we count down 40 of the best. These mostly come from his solo career—as you’d expect, his blockbuster 1986 album So looms large—but there are a few of his Genesis tunes mixed in too.
Is there a version of Nena’s cover of “Darkness” those of us in the USA can listen to? The Spotify version is grayed out, and it does not appear to be on any of the other streaming services I’m on, or on YouTube.
The Urban Folk Quartet do a marvellous version of Solsbury Hill, well worth a listen.
Thank you for this PG feature. Best description of his voice is “sweet cream over gravel.”
The songwriting is superb. Wonderful to hear new interpretations.
I feel obliged to point out Harry Styles did an excellent version of Sledgehammer on the Howard Stern show. Otherwise thanks for the list!