Top Cover Versions
- Say You Don’t Mind (Colin Blunstone – orig. Denny Laine) – beautiful cover, very much in the style of Nick Drake, who may or may not have been influenced by Blunstone’s singing style in the first place.
- Carry Me Home (Primal Scream – orig Dennis Wilson) – sometimes credited as a Beach Boys effort – this is one of Dennis’ darker songs, swung down to a new low on this Primal Scream B-Sider.
- Sunshine Of Your Love (Ella Fitzgerald – orig, Cream) – she kicks its ass.
- Hey Joe (Sparklehorse – orig, Daniel Johnston) – If Daniel doesn’t break your heart, Mark Linkous will.
- Son of a Gun (Nirvana – orig. The Vaselines) – this track was the affirmation that the punk world needed to let them know they were right to like Nirvana.
- Life’s A Gas (Teenage Fanclub – orig. T-Rex) – I think Marc would’ve dug it.
- Let’s Spend The Night Together (David Bowie – orig. The Rolling Stones) – just amazing.
- Beginnings (Astrud Gilberto – orig. Chicago) – not a huge departure from the original, but very funky and weird for Astrud!
- Journey To The Center Of The Mind (Ramones – orig. The Amboy Dukes) – the Acid Eaters album is all cover versions, and all of them are great. Never realised how much Joey is influenced by Jagger until I heard their cover of ‘Out Of Time‘. This one’s sung by latterday bassist C.J. Ramone.
- Southern Man (Merry Clayton – orig. Neil Young) – I’ve ranted about her before – if you haven’t heard her – don’t miss this!
Tribute Songs
I don’t really like tribute albums, but the occasional track is awesome:
- Getting Better (The Wedding Present with Amelia Fletcher – orig. The Beatles) – this proto-grunge version appeared on tribute album ‘Sgt. Pepper Knew My Father’ (1988). After hearing this, the original became among my most hated Beatles songs.
- Follow Me (The Innocence Mission – orig. John Denver) – ‘Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver’ is a brilliant album, far better than the one that came out in 2013. This track is my favourite, but check out Will Oldham’s amazing cover of The Eagle and The Hawk,
- Going Underground (Buffalo Tom – orig. The Jam) – punk anthem into emotive masterpiece. From a fairly obscure Jam tribute album.
- Velouria (Weezer – orig, Pixies) – Again, not a stretch for Weezer, but they do the seemingly impossible and give this amazing song even more emotion and power. From the ‘Where Is My Mind’ Pixies tribute album.
Music Corner w/ Archive 