May 162025
 

IconsThe late Bernie Marsden seems universally acknowledged as one of the good guys. Possibly best known for his time in and in association with Whitesnake, he spent time also with a dizzy array of bands: U.F.O., Wild Turkey, Babe Ruth, Paice, Ashton & Lord before that, and any number of solo or semi-solo enterprises afterwards. He was a reliable provider of rock guitar, just on the more tactile and friendlier shores of metal, closer to blues rock than heavy rock. As well as being a masterful player, able to bleed notes from any of the many guitars he collected over his lifetime’s playing, he also possessed a no-nonsense meat and potatoes rock holler. He died, in 2023, having caught bacterial meningitis.

His later recordings were often made in the form of collections of songs by artists or studios influential to him: the “Inspirations” series. 2021 saw “Kings” (a tribute to B.B., Freddie and Albert, the trifecta of regal blues) and “Chess” (a tribute to the studio of Marshall Chess and the artists who were there nurtured) come out, while “Trios” (a little more self-explanatory) was issued in 2022. In similar sleeve design, the posthumous release Icons is the fourth of his last five records in the same vein. (The album between, “Working Man”, released shortly after his death, was all Marsden originals, thus breaking the pattern.)

Albums featuring the “favorite tracks” by guitarists have a vexatious history. At one end of the spectrum, in, arguably, the blues from which rock was born, there is a long tradition of recycling and repeating the same riffs and repetitions, whether acknowledged or otherwise. At the other you get the deeply divisive “superstar plus friends” sessions, pumping out easy listening lite derivatives. Carlos Santana’s “Guitar Heaven” must surely here be the nadir, and this listener’s hell. Thankfully, Icons is not that, as it it comes over just so darn genial. Indeed, such is the choice of material that anyone with longer teeth in the game, and perhaps out of touch with the current playing field of rock guitar, will get a warming flashback to their more formative days, when this sort of ticket was just the job for any red-blooded boy with a denim jacket to embroider and satchel to stencil.
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May 162025
 

New York Hardcore musician Walter Schreifels has contributed two Pink Floyd covers for a new album designed to raise money for the Randolph County Animal Shelter.

Schreifels, who has played in the bands Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, among others, contributes Pink Floyd’s “Pigs on the Wing,” parts 1 and 2 to open and close the album, placing the tracks where they were placed on the Pink Floyd Animals album. Schreifels’ take is pretty close to the original, featuring just vocals and a guitar. Continue reading »

May 152025
 
sumber covers madonna

Sumner is an Australian electronic music duo that first formed in 2018. Artists Chloe Wilson and Jack McLaine’s original song “Stranded” garnered attention from Aussie radio station Triple J, and made it onto the radio station’s hottest list in both 2020 and 2021. Surprisingly, their new cover of “Like a Prayer” for cover-song series Like a Version for the station steers away from their usual electronic impulse, at least in the intro. McClain arranged a rich new 4-part vocal harmony in this version of the tune. The duo also added drummer Patrick Denao for the live cover. Continue reading »

May 142025
 

Welcome to Cover Me Q&A, where we take your questions about cover songs and answer them to the best of our ability.

cover of instrumental

Here at Cover Me Q&A, we’ll be taking questions about cover songs and giving as many different answers as we can. This will give us a chance to hold forth on covers we might not otherwise get to talk about, to give Cover Me readers a chance to learn more about individual staffers’ tastes and writing styles, and to provide an opportunity for some back-and-forth, as we’ll be taking requests (learn how to do so at feature’s end).

Today’s question, courtesy of staffer Hope Silverman:

What is your favorite cover of a deep cut?

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May 142025
 
Waxahatchee & Brennan Wedl

Katie Crutchfield, better known as Waxahatchee, was joined onstage in Nashville a few nights ago by Brennan Wedl to cover Kathleen Edwards‘ “Six O’Clock News.” Waxahatchee is currently opening up for Wilco on a string of spring dates and, Nashville just happens to be Wedl’s hometown. The two combined for a take on the song which hewed closely to Edwards’ original take, with a tad more country added to the mix. (Such is the result when you have a pedal steel player in your band.) The paths of Waxahatchee and Wedl have crossed before; Wedl sang at a Waxahatchee event at Willie Nelson’s farm in Austin, Texas earlier this year. Continue reading »

May 132025
 

Neil Young tribute albumIf you have an abiding interest in Neil Young, or regularly check in on this site, you have heard it by now: the new Neil Young tribute album is out. Heart of Gold: The Songs of Neil Young, Volume 1 has got some big names on board, and a confident, semi-official vibe about it (thanks in part to the subtitle, A Benefit for the Bridge School). Volume 2 is officially unannounced but said to be forthcoming from Killphonic Records.

We’ve been spreading the news of the project in recent months by looking at each of the singles released ahead of the album. But enough teasing: the record is here, and it’s time to opine.

Let’s jump right to the point: Volume 1 is a solid collection to kick off the series. Long may it run.

Is there room for improvement in Volume 2? Of course, and we’ve got some suggestions.
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