Feb 192016
 

Cover Classics takes a closer look at all-cover albums of the past, their genesis, and their legacy.

badfinger

Badfinger combined magic and tragic like no other band in rock history. They were one of the few bands signed to the Beatles’ Apple label who made an impact of their own, but the Fab Four’s blessing carried its own curse of people not taking them as more than clone wannabes. They scored multiple top 20 hits, but saw very little of the revenue they generated, due in no small part to their corrupt manager. Finally, two members of the band, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, were driven to suicide. Today, the sorrow of Badfinger’s fate remains – but so does the music. Some of the strongest power-pop songs came from the band, including “No Matter What” and “Day After Day,” and their song “Without You” became a worldwide smash when covered by Harry Nilsson and (more than twenty years later) Mariah Carey.
Continue reading »

Nov 222013
 

Full Albums features covers of every track off a classic album. Got an idea for a future pick? Leave a note in the comments!

November 22, 1963 is a date that resonates with people the world over – not least because it’s the day that both Aldous Huxley and C.S. Lewis passed away – but it’s an important date in the music world too. It was on this day, fifty years ago, that the Beatles released their second album, With the Beatles. Certainly that date resonated with the Beatles – they released the White Album five years later to the day, and that was no coincidence – and the music they released on that fateful day had proven to resonate just as long.
Continue reading »

Mar 082011
 

This March, we pit 64 Beatles covers against each other in what we call Moptop Madness.

Yesterday’s winners: Bob Dylan, “Something” and Spiers & Boden, “Run for Your Life”

Some strong contenders today, folks. First, it’s a battle of beauty when Smokey Robinson’s voice in “And I Love Her” takes on Jake Shimabukuro’s ukulele in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” Then, things get uglier as Neil Young’s roaring “A Day in the Life” butts heads with Cotton Mather’s trippy “Don’t Bother Me.”

Listen to each pairing below, then vote for your favorite. For added sway, try to convince others to vote your way in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours. Continue reading »