Mar 292024
 

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

best sheryl crow covers

Sheryl Crow is having a real moment. After years of being (unfairly) dismissed as music for moms in minivans, her cool credentials have been ratcheted up in recent years through praise by younger singers who grew up hearing her songs. Just last week, Olivia Rodrigo invited Crow onstage to sing “If It Makes You Happy.” Covers have flown in from Phoebe Bridgers, HAIM, Soccer Mommy, and any number of other hip young female singers. And—oh yeah—she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last fall.

For the Rock Hall induction, we did a feature on Crow, but devoted our big Best Covers Ever: Rock Hall Edition list to Kate Bush. But Crow’s got a new album out today, so we wanted to dedicate one to her now. A few of the covering artists we feature below are her contemporaries (and one is several generations older), but a large portion of the list comes from Millennials and Gen Z singers. That’s where the Sheryl energy is coming from these days, and they’ve given us a ton more great Crow-vers (sorry) than existed even a few years ago.

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Feb 232024
 
fidlar running on empty

“Running on Empty” is a song that has always been laden with nostalgia. It has lyrics that talk of the time and road slipping away from you. But in alt-rock band FIDLAR’s hands, it has become more modern and clear. The band has taken Browne’s words and made them feel more mournful, something tinged with navy blue. The combination of the laid-back vocals, mellow bass, and fuzzed-out snare make this version charmingly new.

The group’s tour-footage music video is a collage of memories and moments, much like the song. As we listen and watch the flashes of being out on the town, the graffiti bathrooms, and time passing, we can’t help but reminisce.

For more great Jackson Browne covers, be sure to check out this link!

Mar 292020
 

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

billie eilish covers

Billie Eilish’s debut album When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? came out just one year ago today. It seems like much longer. Her success now spans from Gen Z to boomers; she’s become omnipresent on every channel of the internet while also scoring the old-music-biz coup of sweeping the four top categories of the Grammys – the first person to do so since Christopher Cross in 1981. Continue reading »

Jul 312019
 

Check out the best covers of past months here.

best new cover songs july
Anais Mitchell & The Staves – Strong Enough (Sheryl Crow cover)

For a few years now, long-running French video company La Blogothèque has been filming a series they call “One to One” at Bon Iver’s various European festivals. They blindfold one audience member and bring them into a private room for a concert for one. Bon Iver did one, and Damien Rice’s is a must-watch. Personally, that experience sounds more awkward than enjoyable – especially with all the cameras in your face – so I’d rather just watch someone else’s personal concert on video. This one is a gem, feature The Staves with Anais Mitchell delivering a gorgeously-harmonized Sheryl Crow cover. Continue reading »

Nov 242015
 
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As a songwriter, Stephin Merritt doesn’t need any testaments to his prolificness or originality – the sheer scope of his sweeping, three-disc Magnetic Fields album, “69 Love Songs,” on top of the rest of his discography, is testament enough. And yet, other artists continuously remind us of the enormous scope and degree of his influence with covers from throughout his oeuvre. Recently, Bully and FIDLAR demonstrated this with a cheery take on “Absolutely Cuckoo,” the opener to the aforementioned triple-album. Continue reading »

Jan 192015
 

When FIDLAR covers a song, you know you are in for a ride. The skate rockers often cover songs in an abrasive, in-your-face manner, but still manage to expose a certain sincerity that often gets lost in overt punk attitudes. Their rendition of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy,” is no exception. Continue reading »