"Covers Gallery" Part II

Another dozen (plus two) of intriguing, imaginative and just plain fun covers. Feel free to post comments below.

                                     

1.     I Want You Back by The Civil Wars from Barton Hollow. This folk duo re-invents the Jackson 5 classic as a ballad. Beautiful, breathtaking and sensual.

2.     It Don’t Come Easy by Bettye Lavette from Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook. Soul singer Lavette covers the Ringo Starr classic; from her fantastic collection of soulful re-imaginings of rock classics from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and more. Highly recommended.

3.     Babe I’m Gonna Leave You by Great White from Greatest Hits. The hard rockers do a faithful adaptation of the Led Zeppelin song.

4.     Make You Feel My Love by Adele from 19. There have been many covers of this Bob Dylan song, but Adele’s is the most emotional, heartfelt and beautiful.

5.     Los Tiempos Van Cambiando by Franky Perez & Los Guardianes del Bosque from Songs of Anarchy. Speaking of Dylan, here’s a wonderful version of The Times They Are A Changin’, which was used on the TV series Sons of Anarchy.

6.     I Can’t Make You Love Me/Nick of Time By Bon Iver from Bon Iver. Another folk rocker who totally re-works a song (actually, two songs) to his advantage, re-doing the Bonnie Raitt hits from Nick of Time.

7.     Cry Me A River by Michael Buble from Crazy Love. Yes, Michael Buble! He takes the Julie London hit and turns into a lost 60s era James Bond theme.

8.     Only The Strong Survive by Elvis Presley. In 1969, Elvis went to Memphis and recorded with some great R&B and gospel musicians and producer Chips Moman. They created the classic album From Elvis in Memphis. This is an excellent version of the Jerry Butler ballad, which was recorded during those sessions.

9.     To Love Somebody by Nina Simone. The amazing Nina takes The Bee Gees classic to new heights. From The Very Best of Nina Simone.

10.  When You Were Mine by Cyndi Lauper from She’s So Unusual. Cyndi’s excellent cover of the Prince original. It’s always been one of my favorite performances by Ms. Lauper.

11.  Mona Lisas & Mad Hatters by Mandy Moore from Coverage. From her collection of 60s & 70s covers, Mandy does a nice job with the Elton John song. Reportedly, Elton himself liked this version, and contacted Ms Moore to let her know.

12.  Needles & Pins by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers from Pack Up The Plantation! Live. Tom & the boys (with guest Stevie Nicks) cover The Searchers hit.

13.  Dead Flowers by Jerry Lee Lewis from Mean Old Man. One of the original wild men of rock & roll tackles The Rolling Stones classic, with a little help from Mick Jagger.


Bonus Track: Since we ended with a Stones cover, another wonderful one is The Sundays version of Wild Horses, from the album Blind. More covers playlists to come in the future!