May 312023
 
best cover songs may 2023
Beck – Hands on the Wheel (Willie Nelson cover)

Willie Nelson’s giant 90th birthday concert in Los Angeles featured a whole host of covers. Some of them featured the man himself. Admittedly, that makes those not really covers, so we’ll feature a couple Willie-less Willie tunes. First up, Beck tackles Willie’s Red Headed Stranger classic “Hands on the Wheel.” (Find another cover of this song in the Best of the Rest list.) Continue reading »

May 012023
 
best cover songs
The Flowers of Hell – Atmosphere (Joy Division cover)

Toronto-London ensemble The Flowers of Hell first released this cover on their 2012 orchestral-pop covers album Odes, but, in honor of its first vinyl release on Record Store Day, it got a new music video. If you missed this wonderful Joy Division cover the first time around, it’s a perfect time to catch up. There’s a new “Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft” video too. Continue reading »

Apr 182023
 
depeche mode sundown

To promote their latest album, Memento Mori, British superstars Depeche Mode appeared on the Radio 2 series Piano room with the BBC Concert Orchestra. As a part of the show, they performed a version of the Gordon Lightfoot song “Sundown,” modeled after the Scott Walker version. Continue reading »

Jan 312023
 
dave gahan chains

In 2021, Depeche Mode frontman Dave Gahan recorded a covers album with electronica production duo Soulsavers called Imposter. On it, he tackled songs by Neil Young, Mark Lanegan, Eartha Kitt, and more. We thought it was pretty good.

Now, even as Depeche Mode prepares to release its own next album, Gahan is back with another cover. This one finds him paired with a different producer, Kurt Uenala, and tackling a different band: The Raveonettes. For an upcoming tribute album to the Danish surf-shoegaze duo, he sang a nearly unrecognizable version of their early song “Chains.” Continue reading »

Oct 212021
 
Depeche Mode Cat Power Dave Gahan

While cover records may be old hat (and, recently, big news) for Cat Power, interpretations of her songs from other musicians are rarer to come by. Yet Depeche Mode’s Dave Gahan has nobly entered the fray this month, offering up an epic version of Cat Power’s “Metal Heart.” The cover is officially credited to Dave Gahan & Soulsavers, and the group’s near-holy name rings true: their version is fiery, gospel-tinged and expansive. Continue reading »

Jun 022021
 
fousheé cover

Riding on the coattails of “Personal Jesus,” the more recognizably Depeche Mode single “Enjoy the Silence” became their biggest overall hit. So it’s no surprise it has been covered hundreds of times. Originally a ballad, the finished version combines the classic Depeche Mode tropes – Gahan’s sonorous voice and plenty of electronic instruments – with the guitar hooks so common on parts of Violator.

Fousheé is a singer from New Jersey who competed on season 15 of The Voice and who got her big break last year when Sleepy Hallow sampled her voice in a song that blew up on TikTok. Her cover of “Enjoy the Silence” was commissioned for a new H&M campaign. Continue reading »