Cover Versions - Part 4

[angelophile]

It's been a while coming, but here's another bunch of covers that have caught my eye over the past few weeks.

For anyone that missed out on previous entries, parts 1, 2 and 3.

The usual mix of the sublime and the odd in this entry, including the traditional Lady Gaga cover, some Killers, Animals and Katy Perry. Sounds like a normal weekend in the Brand household.

First up:

Inactive Messiah – Beat It (Michael Jackson cover)

Take one Greek death metal band. Throw in a full orchestra. And an epic classical choir. Sprinkle lightly atop a Michael Jackson song and you get this. I don't know what it is, but I like it.

Amy MacDonald – Mr. Brightside (The Killers cover)

I find Amy's voice to be amazing and no more so than on this live cover of The Killers' track. Yes, it follows her usual instrumentation pattern of stripped down guitar and vocals to start, with everything kicking off bout half way through the song, but, while it's predictable from that point of view, it's still magnificent.

The Rescues – Teenage Dream (Katy Perry cover)

I'm on record as loathing everything Katy Perry touches, so the fact that I actually like this plaintive and occasionally rocky cover of her song by "indie supergroup" The Rescues (Kyler England, Rob Giles, Adrianne Gonzalez and Gabriel Mann) is rather impressive. The four part harmonies on display are pretty damn impressive.

Tom Waits – Sea of Love (Phil Phillips cover)

Has to rank amongst one of the greatest covers of all time, surely?

Muse – House of the Rising Sun (The Animals cover)

The Animals made this song famous and Muse give their own take on it here, transforming it into a magnificent, soaring and swaggering, chainsawing bastard of a tune.

Lissie – Bad Romance (Lady Gaga cover)

Lissie's been making an impact on the music scene this year, but even so, tackling songs by bands like Metallica and Led Zep is a risky business. She's probably likely to get less flack for this rocked up version of Lady Gaga.

Pet Shop Boys – Viva la Vida (Coldplay cover)

Okay, so the world already has several thousand covers of this track, but I have a fondness for the Pet Shop Boys version after seeing them play it live, which, like their cover of U2's A Street With No Name transforms the track into a glorious electronica dance anthem meshed with their own classic Domino Dancing.

The Jolly Boys – Rehab (Amy Winehouse cover)

Hailing from Jamaica, The Jolly Boys have been recording mento (the precursor to reggae) since the 1950s. Here they reappropriate the Amy Winehouse track and make it their own. Marvelous.

The Divine Comedy – There is a Light That Never Goes Out (Smiths cover)

If Scott Walker had covered Morrisey, this is how it would sound. In an impressive move, Neil Hannon manages to make the song sound even more maudlin than the original, and twice as epic in the process.

Sheezer – El Scorcho (Weezer cover)

Sheezer is, as you may have guessed, an all female Weezer covers band made up of members from Toronto’s indie rock scene.

Other than that, this is… kinda indescribable. In a good way.

Sinead O'Connor – Ode to Billie Joe (Bobbie Gentry cover)

The original has to go down as one of the most inexplicably creepy songs of all time and Sinead's voice makes it even more haunting in this cover.