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 »
You’re going to notice a theme here. We have the usual grab-bag included below (see “Best of the Rest”), but, for our featured covers up top, it’s all Sinéad. There were so many wonderful tributes performed, often in concert and always powerful and moving. Many did “Nothing Compares 2 U,” technically a Prince cover but really a Sinéad song now and forever, but others selected from elsewhere in her catalog. Of this one, which just came out Tuesday, Amanda Palmer wrote, “This song means a great deal to me, as does the artist who penned it, along with everything she still stands for.” A portion of the money from sales will be donated to The Irish Women’s Survivor Support Network. Continue reading »
Sparklehorse’s debut, Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot, is one of the iconic records of the ’90s lo fi, “slacker” indie folk/pop/rock explosion. Basically, a bunch of singer-songwriters made and released what sounded like home-recordings of deliberately mixed quality. The homespun quality was the appeal. Mark Linkous aka Sparklehorse was one of the main figures of the movement. Only in the case of his debut, he was actually backed on many of the tracks by Cracker. “Cow” is the centerpiece of Vivadixie…. Far and away the longest song the record, it is propelled forward by its insistent beat, its numerous guitar solos and its refrain. Unlike some of his music, the only really lo-fi or slacker thing about this song is Linkous’ delivery. Continue reading »
For their recent Like a Version performance, Confidence Man, a duo of Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, covered Bryan Adam’s “Heaven.” Well, sort of. They really took their cues from the hit club cover of “Heaven” by DJ Sammy. “We didn’t actually know [it was a cover],” said Planet. “Stu, our manager – who’s old – told us that. We listened to [the original], and it’s not that good.” Ouch! But their cover is a blast to watch, all charisma, choreography, and energy from the two of them in front of an ominously veiled band. As NME points out, Confidence Man are the third act a a cover of a cover on the show. In 2017, Alex Lahey covered Natalie Imbruglia’s hit cover of Ednaswap’s non-hit “Torn” (we wrote a feature explaining the backstory there). And in 2018, garage-rock septet West Thebarton covered Florence + The Machine‘s cover of The Source and Candi Staton’s “You’ve Got the Love.” Continue reading »
Adia Victoria recorded this powerful Badu cover for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. She said of the time she discovered the song, “I was looking for something that was bigger and deeper and felt more warm than the idea of a Christian God. And I dove into my imagination. And the first time I heard ‘on and on’ it felt like Erykah Badu was waiting for me to be her there.” Continue reading »
Sorry, Beyoncé; the biggest surprise release of the year might be Al Green’s sudden return after a decade away. Well, not totally away; he still conducts weekly services at his Memphis church and, when I attended, was liberally sprinkling quotes from “Love and Happiness” and “Take Me to the River” into his sermons. Best of all: This Freddy Fender cover sounds like Al hasn’t lost a step. It’s apparently a one-off, but hopefully recording it will whet his appetite to do more. Continue reading »