Jun 152018
 
best cover songs 1978

Welcome to the third installment in our Best Cover Songs of Yesteryear countdown, where we act like we were compiling our usual year-end list from a year before we – or the internet – existed. Compared to the first two, this one has significantly less grunge than 1996 and less post-punk than 1987. It’s hard to have post-punk, after all, before you have punk, a new genre starting to hit its peak in 1978. And don’t forget the other big late-’70s sound: disco. Both genres were relatively new, and super divisive among music fans. Lucky for us, both genres were also big on covers.

Disco, in particular, generated some hilariously ill-advised cover songs. We won’t list them all here – this is the Best 1978 covers, not the Most 1978 covers. If you want a taste (and think carefully about whether you really do), this bonkers take on a Yardbirds classic serves as a perfect example of what a good portion of the year’s cover songs looked and sounded like: Continue reading »

Sep 292017
 

Five Good Covers presents five cross-genre reinterpretations of an oft-covered song.

for your love

“For Your Love” was where English teen Graham Gouldman’s songwriting trilogy for the Yardbirds began. The band’s pivot away from their R&B roots to a more “experimental-yet-accessible” sound kicked off in 1965 when they picked up three Gouldman-penned tunes. “For Your Love,” the first single to be released, became an immediate hit in the UK (#1 on NME) and reached #6 in the US and #1 in Canada. It’s become known as one of the great classics of the British Invasion and paved the way for the similar success achieved by Gouldman’s other contributions, “Heart Full of Soul” and “Evil Hearted You.”

The band made a concerted effort to create a unique arrangement for the song. Gouldman and rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja are both on the record citing the song’s “weirdness” due to elements like the (accidental) addition of the now-signature minor chord harpsichord introduction, bongos, and a bowed bass. The end product sounded like two songs fused together; one with an ancient or middle eastern feel, the other, an R&B standard. Legendary guitarist Eric Clapton can be heard playing on the bridge, his final recorded notes with the Yardbirds before leaving the group after the song’s release (to be replaced by Jeff Beck).

We’ve identified over 60 verified covers of the song. Gouldman fans can find the first recording of his own song in our covers review of The Yardbirds’ Greatest Hits. For this global hit, we’ve selected five additional favorites and a bushel of bonus tracks for you to enjoy…
Continue reading »