Reader Richard White details an obscure (less than 1,500 views on YouTube) but certifiably solid cover of a hippie anthem:
My nomination is “Let’s Get Together” by soul/psych band Smith, their amazing cover of “Get Together” by the Youngbloods, an American rock band led by Jesse Colin Young. The L.A. blues-rock band Smith (whose version of “The Weight” appeared on the epochal Easy Rider soundtrack because, due to contractual reasons, The Band’s version, which appeared in the movie, was unavailable) featured Gayle McCormick on lead vocals, and released this transformative cover of “Get Together” on their 1969 LP A Group Called Smith.
Smith was discovered by ‘60s rocker Del Shannon, who arranged the Burt Bacharach song “Baby It’s You” for the group and got them signed to the ABC-Dunhill label. This disc sold over one million copies between July and October 1969, out-charting popular versions by The Beatles and The Shirelles, and received a gold record awarded by the R.I.A.A.
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One of the best reader contributors to our cover series, Marcus Wong, flags another one—from the The Civil Wars:
It’s hard to imagine what would a folk duo have to do with a fast Michael Jackson number. It’s even harder to imagine the great music they would come up with had they stuck together, because I’d like to think it would exceed my expectations. Not only did they have great voices, they had a remarkable chemistry when they performed live. It’s a shame they lived up to the band name and had to deal with a civil war—some internal conflict that ultimately led to the demise of the band.
Personally I prefer the more mournful version from Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell. If you can top either, let us know. Update: Chris Daly delivers:
I’d be remiss if I didn't point out two additional Billie Jean covers worth, um, covering. This version by Aloe Blacc, with a full string quartet, speaks for itself. Then there’s this version by The Roots w/ Erykah Badu, most notable for the background lines Ms. Badu drops.
And here’s Rob Henig, a “loyal follower of Notes, first time writing in,” and I think his version wins the award for most transformative:
Okay, so I listened to your Billie Jean covers and they’re all just so gimmicky. Here’s one that should garner repeat listening. It’s by the reggae artist Shinehead. I came upon it by way of the British hip-hop/rave/gospel outfit Faithless, as the closing track on their Back to Mine compilation.
(Track of the Day archive here. Earlier archive here.)
Once, on a flight from Australia, I watched three Wes Anderson films back-to-back and gave myself a bad migraine. But can you blame me? Clever and whimsical, Wes Anderson’s music choices are as colorful and precisely-exacted as his cinematography. One of my favorite examples is the scene in Royal Tenenbaums where Richie meets his adopted sister Margot at a bus station (also, he’s secretly in love with her).
“These Days” has a strange story behind it. Although the song was first released in 1967 by singer Nico, she didn’t write it. Instead, it was plucked from a demo that 16-year old Jackson Browne recorded and sent in to the same publishing label. Browne went on to release his own version of it, six years later. Nico’s cover, with its addition of strings, has an lush urgency to it that Browne’s version doesn’t convey, but nevertheless, it’s his lyrics that make the heart of the song.
Maybe it’s the slow-motion of Margot Tenenbaum stepping down from that funny green bus in her fur coat, or Browne’s young lyrics, or Nico’s deep croon. Whatever it is, in this film, the song drops us right in the middle of an indie romance. It’s a tribute to capturing that gut-punch, unable-to-breath moment—you know, the one when you really see someone you love for the first time.
Another reader, Noam, adds: “The fragility of the music and characters matches perfectly. It’s a perfect scene.”
Speaking of the fragility of those two characters, Margot and Richie, a subsequent scene shows Richie shaving his head and beard and then calmly slitting his wrists. It’s a dark complement to the scene above because Richie is in psychological turmoil over his love for Margot and discovers that she’s been sleeping with his best friend and a string of other men. The wrist-cutting scene is all the more macabre because Elliott Smith’s “Needle in the Hay” is playing in the background. Smith died in 2003—two years after the release of Royal Tenebaums—from knife wounds to the chest that were likely self-inflicted. But even without that tragic irony, the song selection for Richie’s scene was fitting given Smith’s long, well-known struggle with depression.
(For a far more inferior example, there’s the artless, heavy-handed scene in The Rules of Attraction where a young woman, devastated by an unrequited crush, opens her wrists in a bathtub while Harry Nilsson sings in the background “I can’t live if living is without you.” That movie was released a year after Royal Tenebaums, so it makes me think the sensationalist scene was a cheap knockoff.)
Update from reader Tim, who cheers things up a bit:
When I saw your “These Days” headline, I immediately thought it referred to this gem by English singer-writer-artist Ron Sexsmith (no, for real, that’s his name). Same title, different song, but it would have worked at least as well as the Nico in Tenenbaums.
Even better, here’s reader Nathan:
A nice rejoinder to the darkness of Nico’s “These Days” is Drake’s surprisingly lighthearted cover of the song, an under-the-radar pre-Views leak. Drake’s take borders on silly, but its wistfulness actually ends up capturing his Views-era M.O. in a way that much of his actual album does not. “I had a lover / It’s so hard to risk another these days” just works better than “Wonder if they’re second guessin' their decisions / I hate the number 2, that shit is unforgiven.”
(Track of the Day archive here. Earlier archive here. Submit via hello@)
This entry from reader Ivey Glendon on Father’s Day is really poignant, especially for those who have complicated relationships with their dads:
I saw your call for transformative cover songs and wanted to add this one for your consideration: “Bruised Orange (Chain of Sorrow)” by John Prine. It’s Father’s Day weekend, so I’m thinking about my father—a John Prine superfan who counts that song among his favorites. The original recording is a standard folk/country affair, juxtaposing a love story against a true and terrible tragedy. I’m a big fan of covers by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver [embedded above], whose indie, haunting version contextualizes the loss in the song, and by Todd Snider, whose stripped-down version recalls more of the romance (so it seems to me).
In any case, they all nail the chorus:
For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own chain of sorrow
It’s pretty much excellent advice for transcending the tough times, no matter the genre.
(Track of the Day archive here. Earlier archive here. Submit via hello@.)
I wish I had gotten this note from reader Scot Cooke prior to my long road trip to Provincetown last weekend:
I don’t have a creative story for this submission; I just think it’s an outstanding cover of an artist who probably doesn’t get the recognition as a songwriter that he deserves. Gram Parsons wrote many solid songs, and the cover of “Ooh Las Vegas” by the Cowboy Junkies is a great song to hear over the last few miles of a long road trip home. It just seems to get you through the home stretch, and at the same time get you looking forward to the next excursion ...
Here’s the original from Gram Parsons, whose much jauntier version is better for the beginning of the road trip, when you still have the energy to sing along.
Harris also joined Gram Parsons for an “Ooh Las Vegas” duet on his album Grievous Angel, which was released posthumously in 1974 after Parsons overdosed from morphine and alcohol. The pair’s cover of “Love Hurts” is their most famous duet.
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A reader named Charity Quick picks “one of Bob Dylan’s most iconic tunes, all psyched up”:
What Roky Erickson and the 13th Floor Elevators did with “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue” is nothing short of magical. Countless covers of this song have been done (Grateful Dead, Van Morrison, Joan Baez), but they all pale in comparison to Bob Dylan’s version … until the 13th Floor Elevators completely transformed the song. The rhythm had a drag/slip shuffle to it that makes the whole song sound like it’s about to go off the rails. And the psychedelic guitar just sings its own song over the top. Amazing. My favorite cover ever.
(Track of the Day archive here. Earlier archive here. Submit via hello@.)
A reader, Robert Clark, recommends a revamped version of a Bob Dylan song:
I love that you gave Richard Thompson’s rescue of a fine pop song [“Oops! … I Did It Again”] the recognition it deserves. One of my favourites. Another is Patti Smith’s disquieting version of Wicked Messenger. Not even Dylan could express his contempt more powerfully. From the chilling opening bars, it builds. “For his tongue it could not speak but only flatter.”
Robert adds as a bonus track, “I also love how Bob Dylan’s ‘Yesterday’ breathes life and credibility into an overworked standard.”
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It really surprised me when I found out that José González’s song “Heartbeats” is actually a cover. I went to listen to the original version [by the Swedish group The Knife] and almost immediately decided his version was better (no disrespect to the original artists). José’s version is velvety smooth and it really brings out the emotions in the words.
I tend to think the original is better, but as far as visuals go, the Sony Bravia ad that uses González’s cover (embedded above) edges out The Knife’s music video, which features crudely animated crows and kids riding vintage skateboards. But both are hypnotic in their own way.
(Track of the Day archive here. Earlier archive here. Submit via hello@.)
I was tooling around in the car today and Lucinda Williams’s cover of AC/DC's “It’s A Long Way To The Top” came up. Her tone screamed out to the trip that Hillary Clinton is on. And the content, along with the Mavis Staples-like voice helping out in the background, had me thinking about Elizabeth Warren, her line of work, and her possible outspoken support for quite possibly the first woman POTUS. I didn’t think Warren was going to do that until next week, but she had probably announced very shortly before the tune came up for me.
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Gary in Saskatchewan keeps our cinema series alive with two dramatic scenes from The West Wing, one of which features one of the most iconic cover songs ever, Jeff Buckley’s “Hallelujah” (so I filed this note under the cover song series instead). But first Gary goes with Dire Straits:
Hope you’re still getting submissions. I just wanted to plug another couple of possibilities from The West Wing that were standouts in terms of embedding a song within a scene. The first one is the use of “Brothers in Arms” by Dire Straits (for context, this scene immediately precedes that one):
The original track begins with the sounds of a stormy sea, which the scene editors combine with an on-screen storm and the political storm after the revelation of the presidential cover-up. Everyone knows that a battle is coming—“Some day you’ll return to // Your valleys and your farms // And you'll no longer burn // To be brothers in arms”—but for now, everyone arranges themselves in formation around the president. And with perfect timing, Mark Knopfler’s lyrics end as the President steps up to the podium, and the guitar solo gets mixed in with the flashbulb sounds and dialogue and reaction shots of everyone waiting for the answer to the burning question.
There are many reviewers who cite this as one of the very best episodes of the West Wing. Here’s Jeremy Grayson of Critically Touched talking about the use of the track:
The buildup of this episode all on its own paves the way for a bravura culmination, but the episode grants its last few minutes an even higher pedestal by scoring them to Dire Straits’ “Brothers in Arms.” I have mixed feelings about song endings in general – if not overused, they can provide a strong emotional close, but they always run the risk of coming off as heavy-handed. But “Two Cathedrals” soars with its soundtrack choice, a song that is simultaneously solemn and liberating, matched up perfectly with Bartlet’s walk to the press.
Given how well things worked out at the end of season two, it was only natural that the West Wing folks attempt to duplicate their feat at the end of season three. There have been many covers of Leonard Cohen’s iconic song “Hallelujah”(I’m partial to k.d. lang’s myself), but Jeff Buckley’s is the one that seems to be the one most frequently used to accompany visuals:
Here again, timing is impeccable, with a distinct strum to coincide with the appearance of CJ in the audience, and Buckley’s vocals floating up as she is told the bad news. The song playing over CJ’s crying is powerful enough, but the real kicker happens when the song rises up again when Josh is told the news, stopping his argument with Amy dead in its tracks.
The only problem with drafting this note? I can’t stop myself from pulling out my DVD sets of the seasons to watch the full episodes ;)
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A grunge rock anthem gets the swing jazz treatment, courtesy of reader Jim:
Paul Anka covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” and I actually like it better than the original—no kidding. He captures the vibe but absolutely does it in his own style.
Especially the “entertain us” lyric. For more Anka covers, check out the whole album Rock Swings.
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This reader, Bill, lauds a Left Banke song reimagined by Rickie Lee Jones:
“Walk Away, Renée” is one of those pop mysteries: A teenager writing a half-song about a crush that somehow shifts daily life into a dream and summons up all the sadness of the world. One time I heard Rickie Lee Jones apologize in concert for her extended version of a song. She explained that songs for her were like houses, “I go through the front door and just wander all around.” In this cover song, she checks out the depth of every room.
I embarrassed to say I haven’t heard of Jones or The Left Banke, so if you haven’t either:
The Left Banke is an American baroque pop band, formed in New York City in 1965. The band often used what the music press referred to as “baroque” string arrangements, which led to their music being variously termed as “Bach-rock” or “baroque rock.” The band's vocal harmonies borrowed from contemporaries such as the Beatles, the Zombies, and other British Invasion groups.
And Jones, according to her Wiki page, “was listed at No. 30 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women in Rock & Roll,” and her songwriting has been characterized as “a blend of bravado and vulnerability [that] wavers on indefinable borders.” The video that YouTube recommends following her version of “Walk Away Renée“ is another cover, “Down on the Boardwalk,” if you want to follow her there.
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