What makes a good cover? You might as well be asking, what makes a good remake. It has to take the source material and render it near unrecognizable. A new coat of flesh on the skeleton. Some of these songs I find the original to be as good as the cover, and some I find the cover to be superior.
Bridge Over Troubled Water by Roberta Flack (Simon and Garfunkel)
The whole album has a Sunday driving feel to it. This song in particular has gospel music shining through like light through a stained-glass window. When I first heard the Roberta Flack cover, it wasn't a single window, it was an entire cathedral of them. What Simon and Garfunkel helped start, Flack embellishes with her backing choir, piano melody and soulful voice to bring it all on home.
Avalanche by Aimee Mann (Leonard Cohen)
The theme song to a riveting true crime doc I'll Be Gone In the Dark. The opening chords remind me of spiders crawling across a wooden floor in the dark. Leonard's song is a goosebump raiser and this cover is somehow more eerie.
One by Aimee Mann (Three Dog Night)
Another beautifully rendered cover from Aimee. This time for the film Magnolia. This version feels more wistful than the original. Inseparable from the feeling the introduction of our cast of characters gives you.
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction by Devo (The Rolling Stones)
A complete deconstruction of the Stones song and building back up with Devo DNA. This is what a cover should sound like. Devo manages to change the aesthetic sensibilities of a 60's pop song into those of the 80's.
Across the Universe by Fiona Apple (The Beatles)
One of the very first Beatles songs I was addicted to. Fiona's smile as the chaos abounds around her as if to say "If we can achieve inner peace, nothing around us can hurt us".
Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon by Urge Overkill (Neil Diamond)
To be played right after you win a trophy for dancing at Jack Rabbit Slims and before you find a baggie of cocaine in your dance partner's coat pocket. Like many on this list, I first heard it in a movie. Urge Overkill updates the Diamond classic with 90's attitude.
People Are Strange by Echo and the Bunnymen (The Doors)
I have to thank The Lost Boys for introducing me to this cover. I can't listen to it without thinking of amusement parks. And mohawks.
White Wedding by Roland S. Howard (Billy Idol)
Producer: Hey could you make this sound like Billy Idol's song was found in an alley next to a dumpster? You know, that bedraggled, weary look after you were kicked out of a bar for starting a fight.
Roland: I'm your guy!
Immigrant Song by Karen O, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (Led Zeppelin)
First teased with one of the sharply edited trailers, Reznor gives the Zeppelin song an industrial makeover. Complete with Karen O's Plant-like vocals. When we finally heard the whole thing, it played alongside what I consider Fincher's best opening credit sequence since Se7en.
Where Did You Sleep At Night by Nirvana (Leadbelly)
Of the 90's grunge bands, Alice In Chains was the one that always had my heart. Maybe because they weren't entirely grunge. But what is? Nirvana was a band with a fresh sound for teenagers waiting for a new idol after they became sick of their parent's big hair and jean jacket wardrobe. Record labels took advantage. I don't count myself as a fan insomuch as throwing them on regularly. But if I'm going be honest, the vocal performance here from Kurt is the best he's done and proof he was the real deal.
Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees (The Beatles)
My favorite cover of a Beatles song and I love the original dearly. While it doesn't quite surpass the original, Siouxsie gives it a new life entrenched in 80's goth pop.
Sinnerman by 16 Horsepower (Nina Simone)
16 Horsepower are one of those hidden treasures of the 90s. A band who feel like they crawled out of a Flannery O'Conner or Harry Crews Southern Gothic novel.
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