I’ll be honest, before i downloaded this the only contributing artists i’d heard of were Keep Shelly In Athens and Laki Mera. I’m glad to have been introduced to We Are Enfant Terrible and the rest. As a whole the album is worth the download but my favourite track is the dream like take on the JMC classic by Keep Shelly In Athens.
It’s been a while since i dedicated a post just straight down the line to the wonder that is cover versions……well it’s been a while since i did a post at all actually! But here are some absolutely sublime cover versions that have been tickling my ears recently.
Some are old ones i’ve had lying around for a while and some are ones i’ve just discovered. For example, i was unaware of MBV covering THAT classic! Anyways, have a listen and feel free to download.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG – WE HAVE ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD
No, this is not what the title may portray it as. This isn’t some disastrous homemade bestiality video featuring Bugs Bunny and Roger Rabbit…….
Now we’ve gotten that out of the way i’ll get to the point. Last week when i was bored and randomly perusing the, hugely time consuming and downright distracting, website that is known as YouTube i happened upon this cover of “Sextape” (a Deftones original) by a band called Bad Rabbits. I had never heard of the band before so this was my first listen to them and i was taken in right away by the amazing voice of Dua Boakye.
They have an EP out entitled “Stick Up Kids” and it’s available for free download at their website. I’d highly recommend giving it a listen.
Their debut full length is due to drop in early summer or maybe, hopefully, earlier. They’ve even managed to bring Deftones’ Chino Moreno to guest on a track on said album. Which exact track he guests on is a mystery but the little snippet on display in this video promises a lot.
Bad Rabbits are a band i look forward to hearing a lot more from in the future.
There are an unbelievable amount of Christmas covers that i could have chosen for this post but i’ve picked out a select few. They’re not necessarily the best ones or my favourite ones though……no, i’m keeping them for my Christmas Mixtape! These ones are some more traditional/classic Christmas songs that have been covered.
I couldn’t end this without posting the always slightly disturbing video of David Bowie and Bing Crosby doing “Little Drummer Boy”. Don’t ask me why but there’s something about it that always freaks me out. It’s not the song itself but the video. The conversation in the build up also makes me uneasy for some reason.
It’s been a while since i did a good old fashioned cover post without a theme or main focus on one artist. So without further ado here are a few random covers that have been pleasuring my ears recently. And of course the originals for you to compare too.
7 Years ago today the late, great Elliott Smith died. There is still some debate as to whether he committed suicide or not. But that’s another matter altogether. This post is to celebrate the life of Smith and the never ending legacy that he left behind.
I’m a huge fan of his songwriting skills and voice but i’m simply in awe of the raw emotion he could pluck and strum out of 6 simple guitar strings. There are only a handful of people in this universe of ours who can somehow make me feel the way i do when i listen to Elliott Smith tracks. His albums aren’t ones that i listen to when i’m company of friends. No, Elliott Smith is best experienced alone and dare i say it when you’re feeling down. If you know his back story and the struggles he went through then you’ll know what i mean. The words he sings, the way he sings them, the guitar he strums and the way he strums it can inspire anyone, no matter how down you are, to find that little extra bit of strength to pull through the darkest of times.
He was and still is an inspirational figure to myself and many my friends but it’s not just us who love him…….
His songs have been covered by a wide variety of artists and through a huge spectrum of genres. Here’s a select few.
On the 1st of November, Domino Records release a best of Elliott Smith CD simply entitled “An Introduction To……Elliott Smith”. The tracklisting is pretty flawless. Elliott Smith isn’t the easiest person to make a best of compilation for as he has so many songs that are worthy of making the cut but the album has been whittled down to 14 tracks from this supremely talented and gifted artist.
Live he was a phenomenal force. Quiet yet loud. Happy yet sad. Weak yet somehow strong. All the while very shy and very endearing.
You can download a live Elliott Smith set from Stockholm in 1998 here.
Here’s the setlist:
1. Angeles 2. Division Day 3. Clementine 4. Alameda 5. Between the Bars 6. Pictures of Me 7. Waltz #2 8. Rose Parade 9. Some Song 10. Say Yes 11. Needle in the Hay 12. Roman Candle 13. Independence Day 14. Speed Trials 15. 2:45 AM 16. No Name #1 17. Thirteen
I’ve never seen him live in the flesh but i’ve seen a lot of YouTube videos and this one in particular gives me chills every time. You feel like he’s in the room alongside you playing for only you.
Two weeks ago i bought my ticket for the Deftones. They’re playing the Glasgow Academy on the 12th of November. I’ve seen them every time they have visited these shores since around 2002. If they’ve played Glasgow i’ve been there. Obviously it’s been a while since their last visit here. One of the main reasons being the serious car accident involving bassist Chi Cheng in November 2008. If you would like to know the full story or even donate money to help the stricken bassist then go on over to oneloveforchi.
Deftones returned to our ears with a new album in May this year and after having a good few months of listening to it i’m ready to hear it live. I’m sure they’ll play the majority of the album but they’ll also play some oldies which i’m really looking forward to. I love hearing the likes of “Around The Fur” and “My Own Summer” live, they still sound fresh after all these years.
But the point of this post was to get some Deftones cover tracks up. Deftones have recorded a massive variety of covers since their formation in 1988. They’ve tackled everything from new romantic pop (Duran Duran) through to thrash metal (Slayer) amd everything and anything else inbetween. I’ve got most of them on my hard-drive.
The band have been the subject of many a cover themselves by lots of different artists and styles. One of the most intriguing is the String Quartet version of “RX Queen”. I have a lot of the String Quartet tribute albums and CD’s lying around, they’re mostly compilations i’ve made including covers of my favourite bands. I’ll do a post on the String Quartet sometime in the near future.
The second part of the cover versions special is 60% Scottish. Mitchell Museum, WWPJ and Sons and Daughters make up the Scottish contributions, doing covers of M.I.A, Bon Iver and Adamski respectively. There is another Scottish element amongst the tracks in the form of Blue Boy, the track “Remember Me” was written by ex Shamen member Lex Blackmore and is covered here by Aussie rock troops Tame Impala. the final track is courtesy of Passion Pit, who do an outstanding version of The Cranberries hit “Dreams”.
ORIGINAL: Blue Boy – Remember Me
This is a messy yet steady cover of Blue Boy’s 97 huge pop hit. Loud and brash from the offset. The best thing i can say is that Tame Impala definitely make this song their own. That’s a compliment by the way.
MP3: Tame Impala – Remember Me
ORIGINAL: M.I.A – Paper Planes
Done for Radio 1 and Vic Galloway, this is an indie pop masterpiece. Mitchell Museum take the rhythms from the original and push them around, throw them out the window then drag them back in and in the process put their own stamp all over this. The naive, young Scottish vocals sit neatly on top of the repetitive backing beat. A strange choice as a cover but one that was carried off very uniquely and commendably. A must hear.
MP3: Mitchell Museum – Paper Planes
ORIGINAL: Adamski feat Seal – Killer
Wow. This version of the Adamski classic starts as it means to go on. It’s a sleazy, adrenaline fuelled sounding number that rumbles along nicely for the full duration of the track. It barely pauses for breath and when it does the vocals keep it going. Strong effort from the cult Scottish stars.
MP3: Sons and Daughters – Killer
ORIGINAL: Bon Iver – Blinsided
Yet another track done for Vic Galloway. There are many artists who cover Bon Iver but to be honest i never imagined We Were Promised Jetpacks would be one. When i heard about them covering this i must admit i wasn’t too confident that it’d be any good. How wrong was i? They’ve carried it off with aplomb. Showing that sometimes the unexpected can prove exciting and fresh sounding. After listening to this i could imagine it appearing on the Jetpacks debut album as one of their own tracks if i didn’t already know it was a cover.
MP3: We Were Promised Jetpacks – Blindsided
ORIGINAL: The Cranberries – Dreams
I absolutely adore this cover. The vocals of Michael Angelakos do more than justice to Dolores O’Riordans dreamy (no pun intended) work on the original. It’s more tinkly and electronic than the original but it keeps the main components together whilst adding that perfect pop factor that Passion Pit do so well. The breakdown sounds magical, i could imagine Passion Pit releasing this as a single and it doing really well. I’d love to see them make a video for it. One of the most perfect covers i’ve heard in a while. In fact i’d go as far to say that out of the 10 covers i’ve posted over the past two days this is the best by a mile.
MP3: Passion Pit – Dreams
Recently i’ve been randomly listening to and enjoying a lot of cover versions from my music collection and realised that i haven’t really done a post about covers in quite a while. So to make up for it i’m gonna do two.
Straight to the point then….
ORIGINAL: Tom Petty – I Won’t Back Down
The first song is a Tom Petty cover courtesy of Dawn Landes. A respected artist in her own right but maybe unfairly mainly known for her appearances alongside the likes of Alexi Murdoch, Jose Gonzalez and her husband Josh Ritter. The Kentucky native has put her own relaxing Americana tinged spin on this already American rock classic. There are a few cover versions of this song floating around but this is my favourite one.
MP3: Dawn Landes – I Won’t Back Down
ORIGINAL: Queen and David Bowie – Under Pressure
I love this song. I love the original but i love the uniqueness of this cover. It manages to stick quite close to the original version yet somehow manages to throw in all sorts of jangly,chimey, instruments/weird noises that fit in perfectly. Yet another track that has been covered several times. The most famous of which are probably the Keane version and the My Chemical Romance/The Used version. Both of which were comprehensively shit and not worth mentioning. Even though i just did. Shit. But let’s try and imagine those ones never existed. The only one worth checking out is Xiu Xiu’s version.
MP3: Xiu Xiu – Under Pressure (Feat. Michael Gira)
ORIGINAL: Dee-Lite – Grrove Is In The Heart/Beach Boys – California Girls
This is essentially two covers. As if hearing the scuzz merchants use their filthy guitars to do THAT catchy lead line from Dee-Lite’s disco classic wasn’t enough they then go and mash it up with the Beach Boys track “California Girls”. The Crocodiles deserve your love and praise simply for the fact that they were brave enough to attempt this track and the fact they’ve successfully transformed a disco anthem and a sunshine pop gem from the 60’s into a groovy, disturbingly good cover.
MP3: Crocodiles – Groove Is In The Heart
ORIGINAL: Erma Franklin – Take Another Little Piece Of My Heart
Jaguar Love hid this track away as a bonus song at the end of the album “Hologram Jams”. They decided to take this ode to heartbreak from Aretha Franklins big sister Erma and turn it into a mad psychedelic synth and guitar filled shriek fest. The vocals certainly take centre stage followed closely by the slightly deranged solo around the 2 minute mark. Bonus points for replacing the line “I’m going to show you baby that a woman can be tough” with the line “I’m going to show baby that a JAGUAR can be tough”. Brilliant.
MP3: Jaguar Love – Take Another Piece Of My Heart
ORIGINAL: Dolly Parton – Jolene
Treading safe water here. Ellie Goulding has the perfect voice to tackle the legendary Dolly Parton number. The guitar plucks steadily alongside the fragile yet assuring voice. It’s nothing new and doesn’t really add anything extra to the original but is a good cover nonetheless. I love The White Stripes version as well.
MP3: Ellie Goulding – Jolene
Remember if you wanna download any of the MP3’s just right click and save as.
In the last week or so i’ve been having something of a musical reshuffle. I’ve been clearing space and putting some cds into boxes etc in preparation for next years big move. During this time i’ve came across some albums, singles, demos, remixes and vinyl that i realised i hadn’t listened to in a while. One of these albums was Depeche Modes “Black Celebration”.
I remember the day i got it like it was yesterday. It was my 17th birthday back in 2002. Me and my sister have a habit of getting each other random albums for each others birthdays and Christmas. We know each others preferred tastes very well so they always turn out to be good choices.
I’m not ashamed to say that in 2002 i never really knew much about Depeche Mode, i was Queens of the Stone Age and Deftones through and through back then. If it wasn’t “alternative” rock i pretty much wasn’t interested (with the exception of course of the majestical Boards of Canada, who accompanied me through many a stoned evening). My, how times have changed though, whilst QOTSA are still my favourite band and always will be now i’ll also listen to anything and everything else. And that particular birthday on the 16th of July all those years ago is probably one of the reasons i opened up to new music. Like i said, i never knew much about Depeche Mode back then. I knew a few songs, the obvious ones “Personal Jesus”, “Just Can’t Get Enough” and “Enjoy The Silence”. But none of them sparked a particular interest in me. I mean, i liked the songs but i never had any real desire to search further into the band. Then one night i was bored and asked Lisa if i could just sit with her in her room and chill with her for a bit. “Only if you don’t mind watching this dvd with me?” she joked. Of course, i didn’t even bother to ask what the dvd was as i just wanted to chill with my sister for a while so i just sat down and expected nothing special. How wrong was i? It was a Depeche Mode live dvd, i still can’t even remember the name of it but i remember loving pretty much every song they played and thinking “Why haven’t i checked this out before?”. One song in particular struck me from the moment the intro kicked in till Dave Gahan took his last breath. The song in question was “Stripped”. I remember telling Lisa how much i loved the dvd and then scrambling back downstairs into my joint-smoke filled room and sticking on White Pony at full volume. I think i almost felt ashamed at liking Depeche Mode! A few weeks later my birthday arrived and wrapped up as a gift from Lisa was my very own copy of the album “Black Celebration”. The album was released in March 1986 when i was 8 months old! And here i was at 17 getting my first taste of it. The tracklist includes the likes of “Question Of Lust”, “Sometimes” and “World Full Of Nothing” but my favourite song on the album and in fact favourite Depeche Mode of all time is still “Stripped”. Have a look and listen to a live performance then download the MP3 of the album version below if you like it.
There’s also been more than a few cover versions of the song. Some i hate, some i like and two i absolutely fucking love. “Stripped” has been covered by the likes and dislikes of Rammstein, Longview, Statemachine, In Strict Confidence, Brainclaw, Scooter (yes, Scooter) and my favourite two cover versions of the song are done by Shiny Toy Guns and She Wants Revenge.
The Rammstein one i actually found quite disturbing at first but i’ve grown to like the guitars in it. The live version is better than the actual recorded version they did right enough. Much better. Even if Till Lindemanns voice can be a bit annoying.
The Scooter one i can just about stand. Let me make one thing clear, i DETEST Scooter but a certain Mr Keane has managed to convince me that this song is…..OK. It’s not as bad as some versions put it that way.
The Shiny Toy Guns one i love. I like the whole boy/girl vocals going on. The band included the song as a bonus track on a special edition of their debut album “Pilots”. I couldn’t find an official video for the song, only live versions but i did find a pretty cool fan made video with some guy and girl (not from the group) in it.
This is the newest cover of this song i’ve heard. She Wants Revenge covered “Stripped” more than a few times on their live tour in 2006. It is quite literally amazing. They captured the atmosphere of the song perfectly but in a totally different way that the original does. Unfortunately i don’t have an MP3 of this one so it’s video only i’m afraid.
All audio content is provided strictly for evaluation purposes and to promote the artist. If you like what you hear, please support the artist(s) by buying their albums/merch and going to their shows. If you're a copyright owner and would like any content deleted, please feel free to ask.
Someones In The Wolf 