The Weekend Playlist #6: Cover Songs (Part 1 of 4)

14 October 2011

Welcome back to The Weekend Playlist, where we provide a mix-tape of songs tied together with a certain theme.

This week, we're kicking off a mini-series looking at 50 of our favourite cover songs of all time.

There'll be some you've heard (Johnny Cash's 'Hurt'), some you haven't (Steel Panther's take on 'I Want It That Way') and some you didn't even know were covers ('Respect' by Aretha Franklin).

We'll be taking breaks in-between (for Halloween and other surprises), but there'll be four parts to this.

This first edition has 15 songs for your listening pleasure, part two will have the same, and the final two parts will have 10 tracks each.

As always, you can listen to the playlist while you read our thoughts, or listen to a full, exteneded playlist (with 117 cover versions) here.

We'll also be publishing the final playlist with our favourite 50 with part four.

Disclaimer: This isn't meant to be a definitive "Best Of All Time" list - it's just our favourites, in no particular order. Live versions don't count, nor does unreleased demos etc. With that said, here we go.

1. A Little Respect - Wheatus (originally by Erasure)

Along with 'Teenage Dirtbag', this cover of the Erasure hit is just about all power-poppers Wheatus are known for by most people.

Stripping away the synthpop tone and giving it a more tender, acoustic, pop-rock sound, Wheatus paid tribute to the original without making too many big changes.

2. Chain Reaction - Steps (originally by Diana Ross)

With Steps announcing a huge return tour earlier this week, we couldn't not include one of their big covers from the first time round.

They gave the track a bit of a Euro-pop twist, but handled the song surprisingly well in one of the quintet's better moments.

3. Monkey Man - Amy Winehouse (originally by Toots And The Maytalls)

We could've picked a number of versions for this - The Specials and Reel Big Fish did fantastic ska-reggae covers of this classic track.

However, Amy Winehouse surprised us with this, as she paid tribute to 2 Tone whilst showing a fun (yet still talented and soulful) side to her music.

4. Brown Eyed Girl - Reel Big Fish (originally by Van Morrison)

Speaking of Reel Big Fish, the faces of contemporary ska gave their take on this Van Morrison classic on 2009's cover album Fame, Fortune and Fornication.

A ska twist can make any song instantly happier, and Reel Big Fish took a risk covering this classic, but it certainly paid off.

5. Redemption Song - Joe Strummer (originally by Bob Marley)

Keeping up with the ska/reggae theme, up next is Joe Strummer's beautiful cover of Bob Marley's 'Redemption Song'.

It loses a bit of the reggae edge, but works just as well here as a chilled-out, acoustic number.

6. Thunder Road - Frank Turner (originally by Bruce Springsteen)

The Boss is a brilliant storyteller, and unfortunately some people still doubt his credibility as a tender songwriter.

This song is one of his best, and Frank Turner's stripped-down acoustic cover keeps the atmosphere and mood of the original while adding the folk-punk singer's own twist to it.

7. You Shook Me All Night Long - Hayseed Dixie (originally by AC/DC)

Hayseed Dixie have somehow consistently married seemingly incompatible worlds of hard rock/metal and bluegrass, and it all began with the band's love for AC/DC.

This song typifies Hayseed Dixie's style, as they put a country/bluegrass spin on this hard rock AC/DC standard.

8. Linoleum - Streetlight Manifesto (originally by NOFX)

We start to round off the acoustic-heavy part of this week's playlist with ska band Streetlight Manifesto's take on NOFX's fast-paced, gritty punk number.

Here, it becomes a very chilled, beautiful reggae nuumber as Streetlight Manifesto bring out the melody that was somewhat hidden in the original. It's not often that covers are better than their source material, but they manage it here.

9. Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit (originally by The Who)

Limp Bizkit do get a lot of (often warrented) criticism, and this cover is very devisive itself.

However, we think it deserves an inclusion for showing a different, softer side to Fred Durst and the band, if nothing else.

10. Feel It - Scroobius Pip (feat. Natasha Fox) (originally by Kate Bush)

Showing that a cover can still give room for creativty, Scroobius Pip once again stands out from the crowd with this interesting take on Kate Bush's ballad.

As Natasha Fox sings Bush's original part (with some stunning vocals), Scroobius raps along with the man's point of view, with subtle changes to the lyrics reflecting his thoughts.

11. Respect - Aretha Franklin (originally by Otis Reading)

Almost everyone associates 'Respect' with this widely-known version by soul legend Aretha Franklin, but it was actually an Otis Reading original.

As can often be the case, this has almost entirely eclipsed the popularity of the original, and is regarded as the definining version - with good reason.

12. The Tide Is High - Blondie (originally by The Paragons)

It's generally accepted that the Atomic Kitten version is a cover of this Blondie hit, but it went back further.

Originally written in 1967, Blondie took this reggae tune and gave it new-found popularity in 1980, spawning a number of other cover version.

13. Dancing in the Moonlight - Toploader (originally by King Harvest)

There have been numerous covers of this King Harvest track, but none saw the success of Toploader's attempt in 1999.

It became a huge hit for the band, who were relatively faithful with their interpretation, updating it slightly whilst keeping the heart of the song.

14. Rainbow Connection - Weezer feat. Hayley Williams (originally by Kermit The Frog)

Written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher, this beautiful ballad was originally performed by Kermit The Frog in the The Muppet Movie in 1979.

Seen as one of the greatest movie songs of all time, it's performed faithfully and brilliantly by Weezer and Paramore's Hayley Williams, who both pay a fitting tribute to the song.

15. 1985 - Bowling For Soup (originally by SR-71)

We're finishing the week with another surprise - Bowling For Soup's hit '1985', which was actually a cover of SR-71's song.

The band did give BFS permission to record it and change it as they see fit, but it stays largely the same outside of some lyric changes, and it's easy to see why it was such a huge hit for the band.

That does us for another week. We'll be back next Friday with more covers in a playlist featuring Alien Ant Farm, Cyndi Lauper and Johnny Cash.

What did you think of this week's playlist? Any tracks you liked, or maybe your favourite didn't make it this week? Let me know in the comment section, and any suggestions will be added to the extended playlist.

Female First - Alistair McGeorge