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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!