The 40 Best Peter Gabriel Covers Ever

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20. Nena — Darkness

The leadoff track to Gabriel’s seventh album, Up, “Darkness” contrasts an extremely aggressive instrumental hook – featuring a cut-up guitar part layered atop scream among other things – with pleasant, melodic verses. The hook was aggressive enough that it was actually controversial that he chose it for the lead track. Legendary German singer Nena makes the hook a little less aggressive, with her band playing it live (at least part of the time). She also sings parts of the verses nearly a capella, with most of the many instruments dropping out of the mix, only coming back in piecemeal before the hook. And she doubles her voice at times, doing a sort of speak-sing thing and singing in a much higher register to accompany it. She keeps the same seesawing between aggressive and soft from the original, though those poles are closer together. But the vibe feels completely different, not just due to the way Nena sings it, plus her affect, but also because of the overall live band feel. (Yes, even though there are strings and unusual percussion.) Though it’s not that far off the original, it really feels like it is. — Riley Haas

19. Randy Newman — Big Time

In 2010, Peter Gabriel released the covers album Scratch My Back. The concept was a novel one: All the artists he covered would cover him back. And they mostly did! The sequel, *And I’ll Scratch Yours*, featured most of the artists on the original. On the first album, Gabriel did Randy Newman’s “I Think It’s Going to Rain Today.” Returning the favor, Randy Newman made “Big Time” sound—well, a lot like a Randy Newman song. This is the first song off this album on our list, but it will not be the last. — Ray Padgett

18. Mad Crayon — Time Table

This pretty, nostalgic ballad about “when kings and queens sipped wine from goblets gold,” turns into a meditation on the transitory nature of power. Genesis loved using puns in its songs and titles, and here the song itself discusses a “table,” while the title can, of course, have more than one meaning. Often overlooked in the Genesis canon, “Time Table” apparently was never played live by the band, and that is a shame. This solo piano version of the song is beautiful. It comes from the official YouTube channel of Italian prog rockers Mad Crayon, and the actual player is not specifically identified, but is probably Alessandro Di Benedetti. — Jordan Becker

17. SuRie — Here Comes The Flood

“Here Comes the Flood” is a salve. A healing balm. Peter Gabriel explained in a 1986 interview that when he’d written the song he’d been “obsessed with short-wave radio” and “amazed at the way in which the radio signals would become stronger as daylight faded. I felt as if psychic energy levels would also increase in the night.” He added that he’d “had an apocalyptic dream in which the psychic barriers which normally prevent us from seeing into each other’s thoughts had been completely eroded, producing a mental flood. Those that had been used to having their innermost thoughts exposed would handle this torrent and those inclined to concealment would drown in it.” Despite this explanation, a lot of folks have long interpreted it as a song about depression. I definitely have. Either way, “Here Comes The Flood” is a stunner.

English singer SuRie’s version from 2016 follows the blueprint of Gabriel’s spare and beautiful 1990 rerecording of the song (from the compilation Shaking the Tree). Spare and straight up lovely it is. — Hope Silverman

16. Krystyna Stanko — I Grieve

In 2010, Polish jazz singer Krystyna Stanko released her second album Secretly. It was entirely Peter Gabriel songs (plus a Magnetic Fields song Gabriel had recently covered). She picked some deep cuts too. No “Sledgehammer,” no “In Your Eyes,” no “Solsbury Hill.” Instead, she dug into songs from albums like Us and Up that few people attempt. They’re all good-to-great, but best by a hair is “I Grieve.” Like many of these tracks, vibraphone plays a central role, played by Dominik Bukowski. You may not know the song, but Stanko makes the case that it’s a stealth classic. — Ray Padgett

15. Richard Shindell — Mercy Street

Gabriel constructed this beautiful song around some Brazilian percussion tracks recorded by Djalma Corrêa. Adding lyrics based on the poetry of Anne Sexton, an English folk melody, and his trademark synthesizers, Gabriel included “Mercy Street” on his breakthrough So album, and it is consistent with the quiet, contemplative bulk of that album, which is probably better remembered for the bigger sounds of “Sledgehammer” or “Big Time.” NME named “Mercy Street” as one of the 10 Most Depressing Songs Ever, in a very complementary way. Richard Shindell, an excellent songwriter, included his version on an all-covers collection, South of Delia, and not surprisingly, takes a more Americana approach, stripping out the atmospheric synths and featuring excellent harmonies by Lucy Kaplansky, without losing the power of the original. — Jordan Becker

14. Paul Simon — Biko

One could say Paul Simon covering Peter Gabriel is a case of “robbing Peter to pay Paul.” But one would be wrong. Simon’s connection to South Africa is one of the most famous squares of the quilt of ’80s music, making him the absolute natural choice to cover “Biko,” about the life and death and afterlife of activist Steve Biko. Simon connects to the song without making any effort to ape what Gabriel did in his arrangement. With only an acoustic guitar and cello to back him, his take can’t have the same amount of drama – but that only means the message is the most important part of what plays. Whether it’s shouted or murmured, that message stays at the forefront, and makes for a very affecting cover. — Patrick Robbins

13. Pop Will Eat Itself — Games Without Frontiers

Well come on, did you really expect PWEI to stick to the original template? From a charity album dedicated to the youth of Northern Ireland, at a time still coming to terms with the Troubles and their aftermath. A gauntly oppressive version, there is enough of the original to remind, but the gothic nursery rhyme noir of Gabriel is transformed into something a whole lot more menacing. And is all the better for it. — Seuras Og

12. John Ford of The Strawbs — Carpet Crawlers

One of the best songs from Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway, an album filled with great songs (and some clunkers), “Carpet Crawlers” is lyrically opaque (like most of the album) and builds as it goes along. The song features great guitar playing by Steve Hackett and keyboards by Tony Banks, strong, restrained vocals from Gabriel and prominent harmonies from Phil Collins (and Mike Rutherford does his usual fine job on bass). John Ford (billed as “John Ford of the Strawbs,” presumably to eliminate confusion with the great film director), contributed a cover to a Genesis tribute album, and it takes a rocking approach to the song. Ford’s vocals are fine, and the guitar playing is definitely Hackett-adjacent, but the song is marred by the drum track, which lacks the necessary subtlety and is mixed way too high (and sounds like it might be synthesized). — Jordan Becker

11. Fever Ray — Mercy Street

In 2010, “Mercy Street” had a moment. First, indie-rock veterans Elbow covered it. Later, LA producer Spotlight, Floodlight covered it. In between came the best of all, from experimental electric musician Karin Elisabeth Dreijer Andersson aka. Fever Ray. Her new version is dark and threatening, with swirling synths and textures underpinning her slow croon. Beautiful, and haunting. — Ray Padgett

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