Rave: Best Cover Songs

Let’s just preface this whole thing by making two things
clear. The first thing is when we say we love covers, we don’t mean you should attempt to perfectly
imitate your favourite artist or song (we are looking at you, guy at a house party with an acoustic guitar and a roster full of DMB). Second thing, Glee doesn’t count and if you’ve
ever said “I like the Glee version more” then we’re going to have to clear our
schedules for a little sit-down music appreciation talk. So while it’s true
that we aren’t anti-remake,
we are a little picky about  them. We like to think of a well-executed cover as an homage: a piece that honours the integrity of the original
while still putting a unique or personal spin to it. That’s why these are some of our
favourite cover songs.

Hugo – 99 Problems

If you’ve ever needed a sexy banjo, boot stomping anthem
about the problems you may or may not have, this bluegrass Jay Z reinterpretation is
exactly what you’re looking for. While it may not exactly be considered a
“cover” by some since it only shares a chorus, it is one example of how
well a song can translate across genres.

Civil Wars – Billie Jean

One does not simply do
a Michael Jackson
cover. To try and emulate the King
of Pop would be a mistake. Instead, the folk duo took the iconic tune and
spun it into a sultry, harmonic acoustic jam that is more like the Chris Cornell version
than the original. It’s the most fun we’ve had with questionable paternity
since, well, any episode of Maury.

Ben Taylor – I Try

Macy Gray’s signature raspy voice is what made the song
famous, but is nearly impossible to replicate without giving yourself a vocal
polyp. When Ben Taylor’s pretty lullaby version appeared in a Cheerios commercial, the world was finally able to sing along.

Hey Ocean! – Sprawl II

If somebody came to us and said “You’re going to love this cover of an Arcade Fire song” we’d
probably be like “Yeah, and you’re going to love
this over the top eye-roll” but Hey Ocean! pulls it off with a goose-bumpy,
harmony-layered version with a full band (including horns!) that they filmed in somebody’s basement.

Ray Lamontagne – Crazy

“I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind” because we could not have listened to the radio for more than ten minutes without hearing this Gnarls Barkley song and by the end of it, yes, it did make us
crazy. But along comes ol’ rumbly voice Ray with a soulful, bluesy rendition
that we have yet to get enough of. 

Did we miss anything? If you know of any cover jams that are as good as (or better) than the originals tweet them @rockitpromo for our next instalment!