How’s that subject line for a mouthful? Neil Young‘s cover of “Oh Lonesome Me,” written by country artist Don Gibson, came on my iPod today, and I realized that among all the Neil Young-composed songs I love, his cover of “Oh Lonesome Me” is among my Top 5 Neil Young Recordings. Excluding artists I really don’t care for who happen to have a cover song that I do like (eg, REM and their cover of “Superman”) and producer-driven artists, like my favorite Motown and Stax musicians, who may have done some writing themselves but just as likely sang songs crafted by other writers, I didn’t immediately come up with another artist I like who fit this criterion for me. Elvis Costello, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones, for instance, have recorded their share of choice covers, but none of them makes my Top 5 for that artist. I’m sure I would have credited a Led Zeppelin cover, but they preferred to steal songs by other artists rather than cover them.
How about you, is there a prolific artists of original material for whom a cover song ranks among your Top 5 recordings by said artist?
Great topic, Mod.
REM “Superman”
I know there are others, have to think…
As usual I got so excited about my selection that I didn’t read all the way through and see that you had already mentioned “Superman”. And I haven’t touched the wine. Yet.
OK, maybe not top 5, but close “Jersey Girl” covered by Bruce Springsteen”
I’m just going to have a conversation with myself here…
Hmm, I think I would have to, hands down, go with The Doors’ version of “Gloria.” Already a great tune in its own right, Morrison & Co. took it to a whole nother plane(t) entirely. “Orgasmic” isn’t the word. Wouldn’t be at all out of place as the soundtrack to one’s next “rumbledy-pumbledy” session, heh-heh…
Having said that, I am also quite fond of a cover of Thin Lizzy’s “Wild One” done by the great Damien Dempsey, Ireland’s answer to Bobs Marley and Dylan (with a few bits of Leadbelly, Springsteen and The Dubliners thrown in for kicks), rolled into one giant package. While it doesn’t top the man’s own output for me, it is certainly a great offering, fitting in right along with the rest. Deffo worth checking out.
BB
Emmy Lou Harris, Wrecking Ball
Does Harris do more original material these days, BigSteve? I thought it wasn’t until she started making albums with Lanois (that one?) that she wrote anything. Nevertheless, I’m sure you know what you’re talking about, so your answer is accepted until we shockingly learn otherwise:)
The Clash “Police & Thieves”
That’s a good one, jeangray. I could see their cover of “I Fought the Law” making someone’s list as well.
jetlagged, but…
doesn’t “peace love and understanding” make the top 5 for the prolific EC?
bah…maybe suggesting so is heresy, smacking of casual-fandom (and not MANdom), in these here halls. i’m all post-berlin jetlagged, and i’m certainly not the EC completist, so i’ll defer to the collective wisdom of RTH (aka the “cworth”, pronounced like the word “worth” but with a “kwuh”sound at the beginning, which needs a glossary entry).
there might be some who would argue that ‘twist and shout’ is a top five beatles song. i know i wouldn’t, though.
maybe fu manchu’s cover of devo’s “freedom of choice” is one of their best known tunes, but none of their tunes are really well known.
is “hey joe,” which hendrix didn’t write, one of his five best?
hmmmm…..
at the moment i can’t think of anything good for this thread!
mod, the phils have lost 8 of their last 11. what’s your take?
hey…did i mention i’m jetlagged?
forgive the lack of coherence. this dismal phils outing (jamie moyer deserved better support today), hasn’t exactly got me on my toes, either.
oh…HEY, WAITAMINUTE.
i just realized that “i shot the sherrif” is probably the only clapton song i don’t turn off if i hear it on the radio.
that’s gotta count for somethin’.
and mod…you are SO RIGHT about Neil’s version of “lonesome me.” i think covering that song really taught him something about who he wanted to be (as a rock persona, that is), and how to go about conveying it. in other words, covering that song is part of how he found himself.
Am I allowed another one after two of them, lol?
After a little soup and toast, I’ve remembered that I always get pings of excitement coursing through my skin whenever I hear Husker Du’s version of the Byrds classic “Eight Miles High.” No, one can’t ever understand what the fuck Bob Mould is screaming about (well, if you know the original words, maybe you gotta chance. I don’t always remember them), but it doesn’t matter. No one’s ever done that kind of white-man-with-a-pocket-protector-and-an-axe- to-grind bellowing better than he, and it’s all over the Huskers’ version of that song, not to mention the all around blissful noise surrounding him, courtesy of Hart and Norton. An absolute top fiver. Wish I could have seen them do this live before it was said and done.
**Ditto on the REM version of “Superman.”
***saturnismine, I hope you feel better. Jetlag sucks fer sure…
BB
brenda,
the fatigue comes in waves. i’m just fighting to get back on the East Coastin’ clock. thanks for the well wishes.
i think some on here will argue about ‘8 miles high,’ and with a catalog littered with beloved songs like ‘pink > blue’, ‘it’s not funny’ (etc. etc. etc., ad nauseum), it’s hard to say conclusively one way or the other.
but i *can* vouch for your claim in this way: ‘8 miles’ was a bona fide live showstopper. i saw them a ton of times. consistently, before they recorded it and after, ‘8 miles’ was THE song that took the crowd and band to new levels of energy. this was true no matter where it was in the set, even on nights when they were on fire *before* they started playing THAT song. it was even true when they were playing entire sets filled with gem after gem after gem.
in other words: nice call!
Two that come to mind are Los Lobos and their cover of La Bamba, a huge injustice and irony. Another one may be a stretch, but George Harrison’s “I got my mind set on you”, being possibly one of his best known solo hits.
I don’t know maybe ELH didn’t write as much as I thought she did. I’m really not big a fan of hers, except as a harmony vocalist. Maybe you put this in my head by starting out with Neil Young.
How about The Band’s version of Marvin Gaye’s Don’t Do It?
Just curious, che, but why would Lobos’ cover of “La Bamba” be “a huge injustice and irony?”
And saturnismine, you’re a lucky bum to have been able to experience the Huskers live. I was always too poor as kid, even for them, but I had my left- of-the-dial radio to keep me in line.
Maybe one of these days, before one of them chokes on a sandwich or something, they’ll bury the hatchets and get that much rumored reunion tour up and running. If the Police could do it, anybody could.
Thank you for the endorsement; “Broken Home, Broken Heart” might be my fave fave Husker tune, but there are so many, sigh…
BB
i was also thinking ‘hüskers’ reunion as i was plunking out that last post, bb.
there’s probably medium sized to big bucks waiting for them (and pavement) if they do it.
bb, i think cher meant that it’s an injustice that many would put “la bamba” in los lobo’s top five because they have so many great originals that many people have never heard. if so, i agree.
and that’s a subtext for all of these suggestions. the casual fan’s top five is likelier to have that cover that reached a wider audience the hard core fan’s.
oh, wait a minute…here’s the BEST example i can think of right now:
the fall’s cover of ‘mr. pharmacist’ is definitely a top fiver for me, and i’m damn near a fall completist. and man are they ever prolific.
In case anyone like our jetlagged friend Satunismine is wondering, we don’t need consensus here, just YOUR OPINIONS. If “Peace, Love, and Understanding” is among Sat’s Top 5 Costello songs then it counts.
Yeah, saturn, I can think of a few groups of folks who could probably make a mint if they announced a reform and/or a big tour: Dead Kennedys (that would never happen, lol), Birthday Party, and the grandpappy of them all, the Smiths (though that would probably never happen, either. Not through lack of trying by some very deep pocketed folks in the industry, though). Just a few…
Not sure if Fugazi is broken up or just being quiet or what. Will have to go to the site one of these days. A happy moment was when I heard that Swervedriver had done so, though I missed them last year in NYC (and it had sold out, weee…).
Let me know if I’m going too fast for you… 🙂
***Los Lobos–“Good Morning, Aztlan,” great song.
BB
I always think of poor Harry Nilsson when these things come up. For such a wonderful writer in his own right, two of his best known and loved songs are covers: “Everybody’s Talkin'” and “Without You.” Both are great, but there’s an incerdible injustice here.
TB
Good Call cherguevarra, I got my mind set on you” is certainly a top-7 Harrison song for me. You could also add “If Not for You”
Costello’s version of “Getting Mighty Crowded” is a top 10 song for me.
NRBQ’s version of Get Rhythm kicks ass.
Does NRBQ’s cover kick Top 5 ass, mockcarr, or just Top 7 or Top 10 ass?
Re: Los Lobos – What Saturn said… but to further respond Brenda’s question, I think it is also an injustice because if you were to suggest that Lobos should cover La Bamba, outside of the context of that movie, I would almost think it would be insulting to them, a bit of pigeonholing. IE, “You should cover this song, because it’s in Spanish, and you guy speak Spanish!”
This is a great topic, one that I had to think about for a little while (also needed to scroll through my iPod some).
Not all of these are necessarily in my Top 5 for said artists. They’re probably in my Top 10, though.
Stevie Wonder’s “We Can Work It Out” — Best Beatles’ cover? I say yes.
Is Gram Parsons considered a prolific artist of original material? If so, I’d throw “Sleepless Nights” and “Love Hurts” into contention.
Again, this may be crossing a line for “prolific” and “original,” but I love the Isley Brothers’ covers, particularly the way they miraculously made songs like “Summer Breeze” and “Listen to the Music” sound awesome.
X- “Dancing with Tears in my Eyes” and/or “Soul Kitchen”
The Pixes- “Head On”
The Ramones- “Needles and Pins”
How about Rod Stewart’s “Reason to Believe”? Or, again, was he not a prolific enough writer?
Oh, forgot to add: Neil’s “Oh Lonesome Me” is a killer. Amazing stuff.
The X songs you note, Oats, are great examples for my tastes as well.
I don’t consider Rod Stewart a prolific-enough songwriter; he was always 50% covers, no? Graham Parsons may be close to that status too, but I’ve never done the math.
Yes, I think that NRBQ cover makes it in my top five, below I Want You Bad, You Can’t Hide, and probably a couple of slow Spaminato ones. I know I like it more than some other of their hits like Me And The Boys and Wacky Tobaccy. And that’s no knock on the band either, because there’s a lot of good stuff.
Oats, it doesn’t make my five for them, but I like Do You Wanna Dance by the Ramones as their best cover. I just think they re-did that template on their own with funnier lyrics.
You Really Got Me’s got to be in Van Halen’s top five.
How about James Taylor, with his covers of “How sweet it is to be loved by you” and “you’ve got a friend” ?
Those Taylor covers work for me. I’m watching that Classic Albums episode on the first Doors album, and their cover of “Back Door Man” ranks near their Top 5 recordings for me, although probably not quite Top 5.
Man, despite my increasing appreciation and even love for The Doors as I age, Morrison is really annoying, maybe even moreso than Manzarek.
I love these, but my favorite X cover might be their version of The Small Faces’ “All or Nothing” even though they hate it and the record company forced them to put it on Ain’t Love Grand.
Ramblin Rose by MC5
All Along the Watch Tower by Hendrix.
And either I Stand Accused or Getting Might Crowded is in my top 5 for Costello.
All Along the Watchtower is a good one.
I’d pick Graham Parker & the Rumour’s version of I Want You Back.
“All Along the Watchtower” is a GREAT choice. Yes!
Door also do “Alabama Song,” perhaps in the upper echelon of their oeuvre, much as I can’t really stomach that band.
Doors. Must… proofread… better.
I love it, but I think his version of The Trammps (or however they spelled it) song “Hold Back the Night” is even better. It’s definitely not in my GP Top 5, though, but that’s not through any fault of its own.
Hey BigSteve:
Thanx for the heads up on the Band’s version of “Don’t Do It.” I’ve always thought it was just a LIVE cover, but to my suprise iTunes had a studio version of it, and it RAWKS!
I love this song!
Can we shoehorn Squeeze’s Tempted into this category? Difford & Tilbrook wrote most everything for this group but short-term member Paul Carrack’s Tempted is surely their most well-known song as well as being a Top 5-er.
Nope. Difford and Tillbrook wrote it.
Correct, Oats.
I love it when RTH polices itself!
I stand corrected. But what the hell am I thinking of? Did Carrack just sing it?