Feb 282019
 
best cover songs february
Andrew Leahey & the Homestead – Lips Like Sugar (Echo and the Bunnymen cover)


Nashville Americana musician Andrew Leahey first heard “Lips Like Sugar” a couple years ago while touring through Texas. Dozing in the van, he woke up to a bandmate blasting the Echo and the Bunnymen hit. “I remember thinking, ‘I hope we don’t crash right now, because I absolutely need to learn how to play this,'” he said. “We’ve been playing it ever since.” He recorded it for his new album Airwaves, out tomorrow.

Bill Frisell and Thomas Morgan – You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra cover)


Guitar great Bill Frisell first recorded the classic James Bond theme a couple years ago for his album (one of our favorites of that year). He revisits it now for a live album with bassist Thomas Morgan. Like any jazz musician worth his martini, Frisell changes and expands the Bond song the second time through. It’s barely recognizable much of the time, but would still be worth a spot on our Best Bond Covers list. Continue reading »

Jan 132017
 
Joey McGee

Earlier this week, the famously nostalgia-averse U2 announced a rare look back with a tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of their iconic album The Joshua Tree. To celebrate, Texas songwriter Joey McGee has released an advanced track from his new album Terlingua Taproot, a folksy Americana cover of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” McGee’s sincere and sparse delivery sounds like Bono in the Dust Bowl or if Woody Guthrie was covering ’80s power ballads.

“I encountered U2’s Joshua Tree at a pivotal time in my life,” McGee tells us. “Bono’s lyrics resonated with me: having already accomplished much in life, I still yearned for something richer and deeper. This cover is my attempt musically to relay that struggle – contentment with what-is vs. hope for what-can-be – with a folksy Americana vibe.” Continue reading »