Coverville

A playful RANT about cover songs

Cover art by Bob Hoke

Why? Why cover a song that has already been cemented into the legacy of the music-loving population? For artists like myself, it's a chance to add something to that beloved song or, in some instances, subtract or replace something to said song. I've always looked for interesting interpretations of songs I love and consider "sacred" to the artist's catalog.

For instance, Mark Kozelek (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon), one of my favorite singer-songwriters, has always added his original spin on cover songs. When I first heard his raw, emotive, and extraordinary take on The Cars' majestic ballad, "All Mixed Up," I was gobsmacked. He completely reinterpreted the song, making me think long and hard about using this approach on the songs I covered.

Mark even released an entire album of AC/DC songs—What's Next To The Moon—that completely reimagined their songs into his alt-tuning acoustic guitar style. Check out "If You Want Blood." Unless you know the lyrics, you'd never suspect he could make this song or any of their beloved hard rock songs his own. As a peer, it's inspiring. 

Suffice it to say; his cover style influenced my reimagined cover of Brian Eno's leftfield classic "Baby's On Fire" (Here Comes the Warm Jets), which remains my favorite song to cover live. Late last year, I re-released it on my compilation album Songs, Vol. 1. It has hypnotic quality with all the chiming electric 12-string guitars and Matt Goeke's stabbing cello lines and loping drum beat sample. My goal was to make it my own.

Take a moment to dwell on your favorite cover songs… perhaps you love "All Along The Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix more than Bob Dylan's original. Why is that? Did he improve the song, or did he make it his own? Or was it meant to be covered by someone else? Perhaps you prefer "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" by Paul Revere & The Raiders over The Monkees' version. After all, The Raiders covered it first, though it was written by the songwriting tandem of Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart. I love 'em both.

Some cover songs are nearly rote readings, but the artist's voice and approach to the song can breathe new life into it. Back in 1976, Todd Rundgren released an album called Faithful. One side featured "faithful" note-perfect renditions of '60s classics like The Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations," Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9," The Beatles' "Rain" and "Strawberry Fields Forever," plus two more gems. Last year, Cat Power released her version of Dylan's The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. The entire concert! And, it's fantastic.

Many artists cover Dylan. In fact, outside of The Beatles, he's the most covered singer-songwriter in popular music. Perhaps Oscar Wilde was correct when he stated, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness." Take a moment and listen to one of my favorite Dylan covers by singer-songwriter Thea Gilmore's reading of "Last Night I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine" (2011). She recreated the entire John Wesley Harding album. (I covered Dylan on my new album. And Lou Reed, too.) And speaking of Lou, check out Bob Seger's cover of Reed's "Busload of Faith." I first heard it this past year. I find both covers equally enthralling. 

In 2010, American soul singer Bettye LaVette released an album of '60s and '70s covers. Listen today if you've not heard Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. Perhaps you saw her devastating performance of The Who's "Love Reign O'er Me" at The Kennedy Center Honors Show. That live rendition is the final track on the above-mentioned album. Watch the video below. And pay attention to the reaction from The Who's Roger Daltrey and Pete Townsend, watching her "make it her own." Priceless. She, Joe Cocker, and the very righteous Richie Havens are my top three favorite singers to interrupt classic rock songs and own them. 

All this songwriting hero-worshipping led me to cover my favorite songs. But, my cover fixation started long before I met Brian Ibbot, who operates the most excellent podcast, Coverville (thanks for letting me cover it as the title of this essay). Brian has the most comprehensive selection of cover songs you'll find anywhere! (And he's been generous enough to play some of mine over the years.)

My obsession started when I was listening to my little round green Panasonic AM radio in bed one night, and I heard the regional garage-rock classic "Little Black Egg" by The Nightcrawlers for the first time. That insane guitar hook instantly infested my young brain. I knew I had to "cover" it, even if I could barely play my new acoustic guitar. (I finally recorded it last year. It's the lead track on my new album.) 

Other benchmark cover song moments? When my mother played me Al Green's version of the Bee Gees "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." I became hooked on Reverend Al right then and there. And because I loved his music, imagine my delight when, in college, I heard the Talking Heads' funky-art rock version of his evergreen R&B classic "Take Me To The River" (More Songs About Buildings and Food).

Last week, I released my new album, Dusted Off, with nine of my favorite covers. Most of the songs I've played live over the years. They are as vital as my original material, and I love playing them. If you know my catalog of work, you may have noticed that I include cover songs as bonus tracks on most of my albums and release them as stand-alone singles. 

Take cover. More to follow, I suspect. What are your favorites?