Got it Covered: A Playlist Devoted to the Art of the Cover Version

So...the best way to start off this playlist of interesting cover versions is with Tina Turner's take on the Creedance Clearwater Revival's Proud Mary. I don't know about anyone else, but as much as I have a lot of time for CCR, Tina absolutely made this song her own and as well as being my favourite version of this song, it's my favourite Tina song.

The above performance is from 2009, proving that the late, great diva was still rocking it in the later years of her life.

Covers are an interesting thing. While I am not a big fan of the reality TV thing, especially when The X-Factor winner's would release a single that was a drab ballad, whether the song was a ballad or not.

Covers though, are not the problem. There are some covers that are clearly a quick cash grab. However, there are covers that are an opportunity to experience a classic song in a completely different way. A chance for artists to pay tribute and homage to others while putting their own stamp on things.

Sometimes, cover versions even transcend and become one of the go-to versions. For instance, Hurt, the sad and reflective ballad that closes out Nine Inch Nails' incredible concept album The Downward Spiral, was covered by Johnny Cash and took on new meaning.

I will let the man himself explain this in perhaps the best way ever heard:

"A few weeks later, a CD shows up with the track. Again, I'm in the middle of something and put it on and give it a cursory listen. It sounded... weird to me. That song in particular was straight from my soul, and it felt very strange hearing the highly identifiable voice of Johnny Cash singing it. It was a good version, and I certainly wasn't cringing or anything, but it felt like I was watching my girlfriend fuck somebody else. Or something like that. Anyway, a few weeks later, a videotape shows up with Mark Romanek's video on it. It's morning; I'm in the studio in New Orleans working on Zack De La Rocha's record with him; I pop the video in, and... wow. Tears welling, silence, goose-bumps... Wow. I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine any more. Then it all made sense to me. It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. Some-fucking-how that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning – different, but every bit as pure. Things felt even stranger when he passed away. The song's purpose shifted again. It's incredibly flattering as a writer to have your song chosen by someone who's a great writer and a great artist." — Geoff Rickly interviews Trent Reznor, Alternative Press

I love cover versions because of all of the reasons above.

Now for my playlist. There are some notable omissions, such as the above Johnny Cash version of Hurt and Jeff Buckley's version of Leonard Cohen's incredible Hallelujah. I love both these songs but feel they are quite well-known, so wanted to save their spaces for other songs that many people may not know. For anyone that hasn't heard those songs, here are two links:

Now, on with the list.

Covers, Covers, Covers Galore

Marilyn Manson - Prelude (The Family Trip) (Originally performed by Gene Wilder from the film Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory as the song called "The Wondrous Boat Ride")

Starting off this playlist in truly creepy fashion is the intro to Marilyn Manson's first album, Portrait of an American Family. I don't know about anyone else, but the boat ride scene in the original Willy Wonka film is already quite unnerving. Marilyn Manson takes it and ramps up the creepy in lovely fashion.

Marilyn Manson - Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) from the album Smells Like Children (Originally performed by Eurythmics)

As the first was just a short piece, I felt it was fair to give Marilyn Manson another space. Now, I am not so big a fan of MM anymore, but one thing the band did such a good job of was taking classic, normally 80s songs and transforming them into creepy gothic-industrial-rock anthems.

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) was one of the songs that put the band on the map and it's not hard to see why. It takes the sinister feel of the original and pairing it with all the strange imagery in the promo video, and creates something really quite different.

Mindless Self Indulgence - Bring the Pain (Originally performed by Method Man of Wu-Tang Clan)

A fitting track to follow Marilyn Manson would be Mindless Self Indulgence's take on Bring the Pain by Method Man. For anyone who does not know, Mindless Self Indulgence is, at best, an electropunk band (though that definition doesn't really describe the full diversity of the band, as they tap into industrial, punk rock, electronica, techno, hip hop, breakbeat hardcore, and alternative rock) from New York City that often feel like a joke.

Led by Jimmy Urine (yeah, that's his stage name - his mother knows him as James Euringer), the band need to be heard to be understood. Not to everyone's taste, they make for an interesting listen. This take on Bring the Pain has a very stop-star, jibber-jabber, scatterbrain sound that is a big difference from the smooth-as-butter Meth's original. There is also an alternative "new wave" version, which you can hear by clicking here.

Shame - System of a Down (Featuring RZA of Wu-Tang Clan) (Originally performed as Shame on a N***a by Wu-Tang Clan)

Moving onwards from the above, we have another Wu-Tang Clan cover, this time taken on by metallers System of a Down (with a verse by Wu leader RZA). The original is a riotious piece of hardcore rap that has been tranformed into a crazy SOAD-style metal attack. It sounds like it may not work on paper, but trust me, this has remained one of my favourite covers for a reason.

Devo - (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction (Originally performed by The Rolling Stones)

New Wave Ohian oddballs Devo have their own unique sound. Even when taking on such a classic Stones song, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, they have taken it apart and put it back together differently. One of the phrases that was used to describe their approach was "correcting it" not "covering it". The lyrics seem to jump out more when all the Jagger swagger is removed. It's a shorter and faster take than the original.

The Flaming Lips - Can't Get You Out of My Head (Originally performed by Kylie Minogue)

Can't Get You Out of My Head was a big club banger of a hit and reinvented Kylie a little. Psychadelic indie darlings The Flaming Lips took the house-like seductive tune and turned it into a melodramatic ballad full-of forlorn and desperate longing.

Hayseed Dixie - I Don't Feel Like Dancing (Originally performed by Scissor Sisters)

Hayseed Dixie are a band that have made a career out of taking classic chart topping songs, often by hard rock, metal, rap and other genres and transforming them into bluesgrass numbers. This is no different and although much of the camp-greatness has gone, as a bluesgrass-line-dancing-hoedown of a tune it still slaps!

The White Stripes - Jolene (Originally performed by Dolly Parton)

Jolene is a classic song for a reason - Dolly is the queen of country, without any doubt and this plea to a woman that has her eyes on Dolly's man is very emotional. What I love about The White Stripes version though is that Jack White just takes that emotion and the rather level-headedness of the original and turns the song into a more desperate and anguish-fuelled plea.

Jeff Buckley - Back in N.Y.C. (Originally performed by Genesis)

Back in N.Y.C. by Genesis was already a sonic masterpiece. One of the finest from the Peter Gabriel-led years. However, this take by Jeff Buckley that was featured on his posthumously released sorta-second album Sketches for My Sweetheart, The Drunk, is dazzling and stirring. Due to the nature of that album and its incompleteness, the song sounds a little rough around the edges and has no drums, but I really like it that way...it gives more life to it as Jeff spits and wails the lyrics with meaning and purpose.

Dinosaur Jr. - Just Like Heaven (Originally performed by The Cure)

This is perhaps the most straightforward cover on the playlist, but I've included it because it's just perfect. Just Like Heaven is one of my favourite songs by The Cure and while J. Mascis and co. do very little to change it aside from it sounding a little more aggressive at places, I still find myself listening to this version as much as the original.

Muse - Feeling Good (Originally performed by Cy Grant on Broadway, but the version most people know is by Nina Simone)

This song has been covered by a great number of different people and while any have done a nice job of it, my favourite versions are either Nina Simone's stunning take or Muse's modern and heavier version. Just perfect, in my humble opinion.

Foo Fighters - Have a Cigar (Originally performed by Pink Floyd)

I was originally going to include Baker Street by Foo Fighters, but as I can't find it on Spotify for some unknown reason, I've opted for this. Not that this is by any means a bad choice, really. While not much has been done to change it, this is a great cover that highlights the late great Taylor Hawkin's voice. It has that smokey, sinister feel that the Pink Floyd original had, too.

Glen Campbell - Times Like These (Originally performed by Foo Fighters)

Yep, following nicely on from Foo Fighters and their take on a PF song, I've picked out Glen Campbell's take on their poignant and deep Times Like These. I think similarly to Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails, Glen Campbell's take on this song has just a little added life experience that gives greater depth and meaning to the lyrics.

I was going to include the Radio 1 Live Lounge Allstars version, which is also a great version you should check out, that was released during quarantine in 2020, but went with this instead.

Rage Against The Machine - The Ghost of Tom Joad (Originally performed by Bruce Springsteen)

Originally by Bruce Springsteen, The Ghost of Tom Joad took inspirationg from a Woodie Guthrie song called The Ballad of Tom Joad and is based on the main character from The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

Rage Against the Machine took the song, which had become a live staple of The Boss's shows, and amped up everything. Although there are still quiet bits and the desperation and hope. As much as I love the original, I love this version too.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground (Originally performed by Stevie Wonder)

From the moment that bass is slapped, this song, slaps. I am not saying this version is better than the Stevie Wonder classic, but it is a close second. Really, it was a choice between this and Fire (originally by Jimi Hendrix), but settled on this because it makes me smile.

Placebo - Running Up That Hill (Originally performed by Kate Bush)

Placebo, the punky-hard rock bruisers, released an album full of A-Grade covers and this gem was on it. What I love is that it never really kicks in and turns into a full-on Placebo song. Brian Molko's voice gives an extra weight to Kate Bush's stunning lyrics.

Tori Amos - Raining Blood (Originally performed by Slayer)

Yep, the chaotic, riff-laden heavenly battle end to Slayer's Reign in Blood, was given the chamber ballad touch by Tori Amos. The singer-songwriter released a concept album in 2001 called Strange Little Girls (named after The Stranglers song, Strange Little Girl, that she also featured a cover of on the album). The idea behind it was that all 12 songs were covers of songs written and performed originally by men, that were then reinterpreted by Amos taking on a female POV. She created female personae for each and was photographed for them.

Kerry King, of Slayer, did not recognise the song when he first heard her version.

The cover of "Raining Blood" was suggested by bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who told Amos that she "had tried pretty much every other genre of music, from rap to new wave to punk to country to pop, why not some metal?"[28] Meldal-Johnsen chose the album Reign in Blood, and after listening to it, Amos agreed to make a cover version of "Raining Blood".[28] In an interview, she stated that upon first hearing the song, the imagery she thought of was "this beautiful vulva [laughs] ... raining blood over this male abusive force".

King states the cover was odd; "It took me a minute and a half to find a spot in the song where I knew where she was. It's so weird. If she had never told us, we would have never known. You could have played it for us and we'd have been like, 'What's that?' Like a minute and a half through I heard a line and was like, 'I know where she's at!'" In response, Slayer sent some T-shirts to Amos, which she said was appreciated. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_Blood

Well, yes.

Pheobe Bridgers - Friday I'm In Love (Originally performed by The Cure)

This is just a beautiful version of a beautiful song. Pheobe Bridgers breathes so much life into this stripped back version. On the playlist, it's a live version. Apparently the song was used on the soundtrack for the Netflix show Money Heist. I have never seen it. Great song and great version, nonetheless.

Travis - Baby One More Time (Originally performed by Britney Spears)

This is a great song, simple as. And the Travis live acoustic version proves it. I also love the fact you can hear Mark Radcliffe in the background and some laughing when they nearly lose it, but pull it back.

Steven Wilson - Thank You (Originally performed by Alanis Morissette)

Steven Wilson, of English progressive rock band Porcupine Tree, did this great cover of the beautiful Alanis Morissette song. I only discovered this when researching a little for this playlist and article. Although not terribly different, the fragility in his voice lends a certain weight to the proceedings.

Reel Big Fish - Hungry Like the Wolf (Originally performed by Duran Duran)

From a very beautiful song to a sexy song about sexy stuff that has been ska and punked up within an inch of its life by Reel Big Fish. The band have covered a hefty amount of great songs, but as this is one of my favourite songs by Duran Duran and I love this version, I've opted for this one. I also love the awkward introduction too...

Tricky - Black Steel (Originally performed by Public Enemy as Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos)

Tricky, from Bristol, was one of the pioneers of the Trip-Hop sound in the 90s. This is a bit different from the rest of the album, which is a lot more laidback, reflective and introspective. With Martina-Topley Bird (a regular collaborator at the time) taking the lead vocals, it has a punk rock slant that gives Public Enemy's Chuck D's lyrics a sense of urgency.

Peaches - Search and Destroy (Originally performed by Iggy Pop & The Stooges)

Taken from the War Child Heroes charity record, Peaches records a sassy and very Peaches-esque version of this classic Iggy Pop & The Stooges song. That is all you really need to know.

Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer - Redemption Song (Originally performed by Bob Marley & The Wailers)

Just. bliss. One of my favourite songs performed by two of my favourite singer-songwriters. Joe Strummer originally did a beautiful rendition of this song with his group The Mescaleros, but this song with Johnny Cash sharing vocals is even better.

Skerryvore - Caledonia (Originally performed by Dougie MacLean)

While I absolutely adore the original by Dougie MacLean, this version is a great take on the song that makes me think most about home. I love the trad. arrangement and Alec Dalglish's amazing vocals give extra life to Dougie's introspective lyrics.

Well, there you have it, some of the more interesting cover versions I love. I've included the link to the Spotify playlist, for you to give it a listen to at your leisure.

What do you think? Do you have a favourite cover song, whether it's an interesting one or a more faithful one?

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Thanks for reading!