Jan 242019
 
vic mensa zombie cover

Remember when Lil Wayne decided to become a rock and roll guitar hero, despite clearly not knowing how to play the guitar? Or, before that, Ice-T first ditched rap in his metal band Body Count? There’s a new name to add that list: rising rapper Vic Mensa, who has just debuted a new alt-rock band with a heavy cover of the Cranberries’ “Zombie.” Continue reading »

Jan 172019
 
hannah georgas covers cranberries

It’s been a few years since Hannah Georgas released her last full length album For Evelyn, but the Canadian singer-songwriter has finally returned with an EP of cover songs called Imprints. The first song available from the new album is Georgas’ cover of “No Need to Argue” by The Cranberries.

Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius join Georgas to transform the song into a 1980s brat pack break up moment. With an easy drum machine beat, synth, sound effects, and luscious harmonies, the effect is decidedly lighter than The Cranberries’ solemn and slow dirge. Continue reading »

Jan 312018
 
best cover songs january

At the end of every year, we work for weeks curating our annual Best of the Year list (here’s last year’s). We’re monitoring what comes out all year though, so this month I thought: why wait? Here’s a more impulsive and spontaneous list, some songs we’ve written about already and others we didn’t get to. Just some great covers that stood out as the month comes to a close. Continue reading »

Jan 292018
 
bad wolves zombie

It has been a little over a week since the death of Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan. So much potential music was lost on the day she passed – including this cover.

O’Riordan was scheduled to record vocals on the Bad Wolves version of “Zombie” just days after her sudden death. She had heard from a former manager that the cover was special and, after hearing it, agreed. They’ve released the cover – sans O’Riordan vocals – and it’s not hard to figure out why it resonated with her. Continue reading »

Jan 162018
 

In Memoriam pays tribute to those who have left this world, and the songs they left us to remember them by.

cranberries covers

2017 was a particularly tough year with the loss of so many musicians, and 2018 is starting out with more sadness. Dolores O’ Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries and one of the most recognizable female vocalists in history, has passed away at the age of 46. Their influence, and specifically, O’Riordan’s leadership, can be felt in the generations of musicians who have followed them, as described beautifully by Hozier: “My first time hearing Dolores O’Riordan’s voice was unforgettable. It threw into question what a voice could sound like in that context of rock. I’d never heard somebody use their instrument in that way.”

The Cranberries released very few covers in their career: two for tribute albums, and a third, a cover of Elvis Presley’s “In The Ghetto” on their album Wake Up and Smell the Coffee.

The first of two compilation covers, “(They Long to Be) Close to You”, can be found on If I Were a Carpenter, a tribute album to The Carpenters. O’Riordan’s voice is the immediate tip off that we have flashed forward almost 25 years from the original hit. With sparse instrumentals, the Irish lilt is especially pronounced, as is the slightly darker tone of O’Riordan’s voice from Karen’s sweetly sung rendition. It’s a lovely cover, and a standout on the album. Continue reading »