The 40 Best Peter Gabriel Covers Ever

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10. Lori McKenna — In Your Eyes

McKenna takes up the challenge of covering one of Gabriel’s most well-known songs and, thanks to her wonderful vocals, she knocks it out of the park. Her delivery is almost lounge-like in the opening verse, lingering on notes, dragging behind the slinky-sounding bass and ringing guitar. By the pre-chorus, though, there’s more of an alt-country or folk tinge to her delivery, with a little more twang and vibrato in her voice. As the song progresses, her style continues to evolve, growing in boldness and transcendently soaring at times. Although the backing band gives a jam band feel, McKenna transforms the song into a stunning showcase for her vocals. — Mike Misch

9. Còig — Solsbury Hill

Gabriel has chosen to live near the city of Bath for many years. A short journey from Stonehenge and not far from Glastonbury, which was mystical long before the festival arrived, the city has gathered people from prehistory because of its hot springs from an ancient volcano. It is overlooked by Solsbury Hill and provides the city lights of the lyrics of Gabriel’s breakout solo hit. Nevertheless, Gabriel has the good grace, or common sense, to sound incredulous at his own tale of a giant mystical eagle coming down to tell him to leave Genesis and start that solo career. He senses that people will feel it is a little strange, if beautiful musically.

Bath was a Celtic place before a Roman one, and long before being an English one. Còig’s Celtic music seems an outstanding fit for the tale, and the vocal delivery makes it all sound much more natural and normal, in the context of an exquisitely delivered arrangement. — Mike Tobyn

8. Lowland Hum — Red Rain

Lowland Hum wouldn’t be the only artists to appreciate the intrinsic vocal beauty available within Gabriel’s euphonious melodies. Stripping back all the melodrama of the original, it is the stark and almost austere voices of Daniel and Lauren Goans that shine through. From their courageous entire cover version of Gabriel’s So, this is the undoubted high water mark. — Seuras Og

7. Christy Moore — Wallflower

Christy Moore doesn’t really do cover versions; he makes them his own, his signature lilt and phrasing seldom carrying much memory of any original. Drawn always to the plight of the oppressed and the underbellies of society, Gabriel’s “Wallflower” is catnip for the proud Irishman. And it is the simplicity with which he infuses the lyric that impresses the most, the horror all the more galling on account of this. An astonishing de/reconstruction. — Seuras Og

6. The Flying Pickets — Here Comes the Flood

Back in 1977, Gabriel was still finding his post-Genesis voice, with this song a palpable link between the two stages of his career, a song you can imagine being played by the old band. The Flying Pickets ignore both, invoking a simple street corner sensibility, near doo-wop, if still peculiarly English in enunciation. Seen somewhat as a joke, courtesy their image as out-of-work thesis, making a career move for a quick buck. This shows the flip, proving them accomplished and sensitive interpreters. — Seuras Og

5. Randy Crawford & Joe Sample — Lovetown

The debate lasts for just over three minutes: is this jazzy cover a vehicle to showcase Crawford’s voice or to give space to appreciate Sample’s understated but compelling piano? But the argument is rendered moot when Crawford sings “who’s looking in Lovetown tonight?” Her doubled vocal stings have made a strong argument to this point, but when she hits that final “tonight” the winner is clear. Her voice, at times strong and confident and elsewhere breathy and mysterious, is the star of the show. The great thing about this debate is that regardless of whether you agree on the winner, all listeners are treated to a wonderful display of talent by both artists, transforming Gabriel’s song into an unmissable jazz tribute. — Mike Misch

4. Local H — Shock The Monkey

When Local H entered the AV Undercover studios in 2015, they had a list of songs to choose from. They could have tackled Slayer’s “Raining Blood,” James’ “Laid,” even “Possum Kingdom” by the Toadies, a band they are on tour with right this second. But they didn’t have a possum suit. They had a gorilla suit. So the Chicago alt-rock veterans split it between them to rip through a loud grungy “Shock the Monkey.” Bonus points to Ryan Harding for drumming so hard with a giant rubber mask on. — Ray Padgett

3. Manu Dibango — Biko

The slow but relentless pace of Biko, where the 7” single version played at 33rpm, captures an apparent struggle between African music and a simpler, less colourful Western structure. The latter occasionally seems to have dominance, but African voices eventually get the upper hand and prominence. An African victory and wider justice did not seem certain in South Africa in 1980, when Gabriel initially professed his outrage at a horrific injustice on vinyl. By 1994, when Cameroonian musician Manu Dibango assembled a cast of musicians to record his version, there was more optimism and the African tones could dominate throughout. There were artists from the Northern Hemisphere included in the mix, forming part of the overall success, but further back in the mix. The injustice was not forgotten or forgiven, but its meaning was captured in a message of ultimate hope. — Mike Tobyn

2. Bon Iver — Come Talk To Me

For And I’ll Scratch Yours, Bon Iver chose “Come Talk to Me,” a song from Gabriel’s Us, which was written to explore the breakdown in the relationship between Gabriel and his daughter after Gabriel divorced Jill Gabriel. But it also can be interpreted to be about universal barriers to communication. Like many Gabriel songs of that era, it was filled with instrumentation from around the world, including guitars, African drumming, bagpipes, a Russian folk chorus, Middle Eastern instruments, and Sinead O’Connor’s vocals.

The song’s message was important to Justin Vernon, the leader of Bon Iver, and he delivered a stunning cover that echoes the intensity, density, and yearning of the original, but with an American twist, with prominent banjo strumming, and Vernon’s ethereal vocals front and center. — Jordan Becker

1. Willie Nelson ft. Sinéad O’Connor — Don’t Give Up

The flatness of Willie’s voice on the verses against the sharpness of Sinéad’s voice on the choruses has magic in it. Part of the lore of this cover is that Willie invited Sinéad to record it with him the day after she’d been booed on stage at a Bob Dylan celebration where both Willie and Sinéad performed. It’s an unexpected pairing of voices and personalities, and it’s nice to think that the duet has that gesture behind it, one that says, in effect, don’t give up when others don’t get you. The message of the song, in other words.

Another fun fact: Kate Bush of course performed on the original, but she was not Gabriel’s first pick. Dolly Parton was, but she turned down the offer. — Tom McDonald

Check out more installments in our monthly “Best Covers Ever” series, including Weezer, The Police, The Doors, and more.

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