Mavis Staples has released the title track of her upcoming album, a cover of a Sparklehorse song. Staples’ cover of “Sad and Beautiful World” is subdued, and features more instrumentation than the Mark Linkous original. Her version includes a pedal steel and horns on top of a steady drum beat. That said, the somber, reflective mood of the song remains, and both versions are incredibly effective. Continue reading »
Benson Boone gets clowned on, but dude can sing (and, yes, backflip). “When We Were Young” is not exactly an easy song to nail. But, at a tour stop in Columbus, he did just that—one of many covers he’s been doing on the road.
Every summer comes, inevitably, more “Boys of Summer” covers. This metal-ish version comes from German power-metal vets BRAINSTORM (all caps so you know they’re serious). Singer Andy B. Franck says: “Even though ‘The Boys Of Summer’ deals with rather nostalgic themes of ‘summer love’ and the memory of a past relationship, for me – at the time a 13-year-old – it was, beyond the metal anthems of the 80s, a great song that I associated with summer, girls and the corresponding feeling for many, many years…Even today, this song still evokes great memories for me, and since it’s also a song about questioning the past, this track fits perfectly into our times.” Continue reading »
Kevin Morby pulled no punches when describing hearing Mavis Staples‘ cover of his song, “Beautiful Stranger,” on her new album, Sad and Beautiful World. “Mavis also wields that extremely rare power to take a song somebody else wrote and make it entirely her own,” said Morby. “As the person who penned ‘Beautiful Strangers,’ I feel I have every right to say; her version is better.” Continue reading »
Four years ago, Australian singer/songwriter Alex Lahey topped our year-end list with a truly phenomenal cover of Faith Hill’s 1998 hit “This Kiss.” She made the Top 10 again in 2023 singing Mama Cass’s Make Your Own Kind of Music.” At this point, whenever Lahey drops a new cover, we’re immediately interested. Her latest, the b-side to a new single supporting trans rights, tackles indie-rockers The Subways 2005 single “Rock & Roll Queen.” Unlike some of her other covers, Lahey doesn’t change it that much (no need to make the already loud-and-rocking song louder and rockier like “This Kiss”). Still, it rips. Continue reading »
For over 60 years, the voice of Mavis Staples has been ringing out with some amazing covers (The Band’s “The Weight,” or Funkadelic’s “Can You Get to That”). And now, with her latest single, she continues the tradition, taking on Frank Ocean. Staples’ cover of “Godspeed” is, no surprise, warmed by her voice, and the support feels strong when she sings “I will always be there for you.” That warmness is equaled by the backing instruments, a warm fuzz of a guitar and a much smoother piano than the organ that appears in the original. Continue reading »
Welcome to Cover Me Q&A, where we take your questions about cover songs and answer them to the best of our ability.
Here at Cover Me Q&A, we’ll be taking questions about cover songs and giving as many different answers as we can. This will give us a chance to hold forth on covers we might not otherwise get to talk about, to give Cover Me readers a chance to learn more about individual staffers’ tastes and writing styles, and to provide an opportunity for some back-and-forth, as we’ll be taking requests (learn how to do so at feature’s end).
Today’s question comes from staff member Tom McDonald:
What’s your favorite cover of a traditional song?