The Best Cure Covers Ever

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May 312019
 

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

the cure covers

For a band now in its fourth decade, The Cure has enjoyed a surprisingly big year in 2019. Most notably, after fifteen years of being eligible for but mostly ignored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, The Cure were finally inducted in April. Then May saw two big anniversaries: The band’s debut album Three Imaginary Boys turned 40 and their most-beloved album Disintegration turned 30. For a band firmly affixed in the classic-rock firmament at this point, they’ve suddenly found themselves back in the spotlight – even if, by all indications, they prefer the dark.

The Cure has never gone out of style in one area though: covers. Whether the band’s in the news or not, every year delivers dozens more versions of “Lovesong,” “Boys Don’t Cry,” and the rest. We whittled them down to the 30 best ever, dramatic reimaginings that veer from gorgeous orchestral ballads to dark post-rock drones. Listen below (and join our new Patreon for MP3 download and playlist versions of the full set).

Dec 162011
 

When people look back in 2011 in music a decade from now, one name will come to mind: Adele. In our little world of cover songs, she dominated. Everyone covered Adele this year. It’s not just that we saw more covers of “Rolling in the Deep” than any other song; they beat out second place (probably “Pumped Up Kicks”) by like a factor of five! We generally try to look for larger cover trends in these annual wrap-ups, but it’s hard to remember anything else from this year except the year-long onslaught of Adele covers hitting our mailbox.

There’s only one “Rolling in the Deep” cover in this year’s list though. The rest are all over the place. Some of the artists listed built their covers with lush soundscapes, thick beats, and intricate string work. Others just took guitars or pianos and bowled us over with the emotion in their voices. There may not be much of an overarching “Year in Covers” narrative, but that means there’s a cover or two for everyone. From feel-good takes on rap songs to kill-yourself versions of pop songs, this year’s list features flips, flops, and genre switcheroos of all sorts. A good cover should be informed by the source material but stand on its own, and we’ll be unrolling the 50 finest examples of songs doing just that all week. Start with #50-41 on the next page and check back daily as we count down to the best cover of 2011.

Apr 182011
 

Though identical sisters The Watson Twins first broke through as backup for Jenny Lewis on Rabbit Fur Coat, they’ve stepped into the spotlight on their own with three albums of ethereal indie-folk. They follow up last year’s Talking to You, Talking to Me with the eclectic, literally-named EP Night Covers. The Kentucky-born duo revealed an intriguing range of artists in the tracklisting when they chatted with Cover Me last week. On Night Covers, they create a cohesive mini-album from diverse source material, staying true to the style established on their previous releases. The sisters told Cover Me that they “ha[d] a lot of fans asking for recordings of [live] covers” after playing the tracks on tour, which prompted them to take the pleasant, restrained, and occasionally quirky arrangements on Night Covers into the studio. Continue reading »

Apr 122011
 

Though they’d already been active in the Los Angeles music scene for nearly a decade previous, indie/alt-country duo the Watson Twins made a big splash in the music world in 2006 with a pair of major releases. Alongside their debut EP Southern Manners, the Twins provided magnificent backing vocals on Rilo Kiley frontwoman Jenny Lewis‘ first solo record, Rabbit Fur Coat. A high-profile project like that surely warrants some serious attention, and since ’06 the Twins have continued to bestow records on a loving fanbase, knocking out the full-length Fire Songs and Talking to You, Talking to Me in the next four years.

Cover Me’s discussed the Watson Twins before (check out this write-up of their beautiful rendition of “Just Like Heaven” from Fire Songs), but their latest release has them on our radar big-time. On April 18, they’ll self-distribute a six-song covers EP, appropriately titled Night Covers, that sees them interpreting artists from the Black Keys to Sade (we premiere the full tracklist below). Leigh and Chandra Watson graciously took the time to chat with us via Skype about their impending release. Continue reading »

Nov 162010
 

Song of the Day posts one cool cover every morning. Catch up on past installments here.

Looking at Robert Smith’s exterior, you wouldn’t peg him as a romantic. Yet, behind the eccentric disheveled hair, past the purposely-pasty skin, and beyond the Goth guy-liner, Smith is a pretty sentimental dude. The Cure frontman penned “Just Like Heaven” after an inspiring trip to the seashore with his girlfriend, Mary Poole. The song not only won over the girl who became his wife, but became the band’s first song on the Billboard Top 40. Continue reading »