Sep 232019
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

bruce springsteen covers

To quote a Bruce song, this list has been a long time comin’. After all, twelve years ago we borrowed one of his song titles to name this site (a song that, surprisingly, doesn’t actually get covered very often). And over those twelve years, we’ve posted hundreds, maybe thousands, of Bruce covers: “Full Albums” tributes to Born in the U.S.A., Darkness at the Edge of Town, and Tunnel of Love; tributes to the tributes, honoring several classic Boss tribute records; a spotlight on the best “Born to Run” covers; and a million news posts. It’s time to pull it all together.

Appropriately enough for a man whose concerts routinely top three hours, this list is long. Fifty covers long, and even then we still found ourselves left with dozens of killer bonus tracks for our Patreon supporters. The hits are all here, of course, but Bruce’s catalog runs deep. This list includes many covers of lesser-known cuts and more recent songs – even one from his just-released solo album Western Stars. Though he turns 70 today, the man is not slowing down, and neither are the artists paying tribute to him. As Bruce famously sang, he learned more from a three-minute record than ever learned in school. Well, here are fifty artists who learned something from his three-minute records.

The list starts on Page 2.

Mar 112019
 
dido a star is born

When Jason Isbell was asked to contribute a song to A Star is Born, after reading the screenplay he dug deep into his well of past demons to guess the struggles Bradley Cooper’s character Jackson Maine might have been going through. Drawing on his own path to becoming sober with help from his wife Amanda Shires, Isbell sums up the journey perfectly in 2:40 of near-perfect song: “I’m glad I can’t go back to where I came from / I’m glad those days are gone, gone for good.” Continue reading »

Mar 302018
 
best cover songs of march

Disclaimer: Our monthly “Best Cover Songs” aren’t ranked, and the “Honorable Mentions” aren’t necessarily worse than the others (they’re just the ones we had the least to say about).

Angelique Kidjo – Born Under Punches (Talking Heads cover)


Goddammit, Angelique. We spent weeks compiling our Best Talking Heads Covers post, and only days after we finish, you announce a full Remain in Light tribute album. Judging from this first single, it’s going to be pretty amazing too. Continue reading »

Mar 292018
 

‘The Best Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

talking heads covers

Let’s start by defining our terms: This list concerns the best covers of the Talking Heads. Because the best covers by the Talking Heads is a very short list.

Here is that list, in its entirety: Continue reading »

Nov 272017
 
eddie vedder zevon

“Dave, let me thank you, because if it weren’t for you, I probably wouldn’t have known who Warren Zevon was,” Eddie Vedder told David Letterman at the Mark Twain prize ceremony. He’s not the only one. Letterman championed Zevon for years when few else would, inviting him back again and again to perform, sit in, and even lead the band when Paul Shaffer was away. In Zevon’s last Letterman appearance before his death – one of the greatest moments in late-night history (certainly one of the most tear-jerking) – he called Dave “the best friend my music’s ever had.”

So when Vedder showed up to honor Letterman at the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor ceremony, he wasn’t going to run through a standup routine. Instead, he paid tribute to Dave by paying tribute to Warren, covering “Keep Me In Your Heart” with Shaffer and his band. Zevon wrote any number of songs that would have been poignant under the circumstances – “Mutineer,” “Don’t Let Us Get Sick,” “Accidentally Like a Martyr,” etc – and “Keep Me In Your Heart” proves a beautiful choice. Watch it below. Continue reading »

Apr 172017
 
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Eddie Veder and Brandi Carlile are two artists that just exude cool. Whether they are banging out a heavy rock song or waxing poetic with a melancholic ballad, the result is always something heartfelt and musically satisfying.

It stands to reason that Pearl Jam would be among a very solid lineup of talent covering Carlile’s 10-year old album The Story for charity tribute album Cover Stories. On the heels of their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Pearl Jam shows no sign of slowing as they continue to produce fantastic music such as their new version of “Again Today”. Continue reading »