of "Gimme Shelter". Amazing.

Isaac Hayes did some wonderful covers, this is my favorite:

https://youtu.be/1UkNR83UIfg?si=vTrbgWTJTen8Fi8Q

And I love this metal cover of Joan Baez:

https://youtu.be/Hm25FhH9vqs?si=nECoi5-sINKn47nf

- No text -

A few to add to the mix:

Dinosaur Jr. "Show Me The Way" - They were already referenced below for JLH, but IMO J. Mascis' incendiary guitar solo on the intro here is one of the highest peaks of the entire 'alternative' movement, absolute perfection.

Blondie "The Tide Is High" - Never realized this was a cover until I started to get into old Rocksteady shit. But her take remains a classic.

Black Keys "She Said, She Said" - Back when they were still raw & loose and not the facking Black Keys Good Time Orchestra. And frankly, you could sub in most any track from their remarkable Junior Kimbrough EP Chulahoma and it would be every bit as deserving.

The Isley Brothers "Summer Breeze" - Not enough 'o's in smooth. No notes.

Sturgill Simpson "The Promise" - His choice and execution of this 80s synth chestnut sealed diehard fandom for me.

CCR "I Heard It Thru The Grapevine" - It's a gold-standard among covers for a reason.

Local H - Cities
Joe Cocker - A Little Help from My Friends and Lawdy Miss Claudy
Bonny Rait - Bluebird (the Stephen Stills song)
Johnny Cash - Hurt
The Killers - Romeo and Juliet
Townes Van Zandt - Dead Flowers
Linda Ronstadt - Poor, Poor Pitiful Me
Pogues - Dirty Old Town
Faith No More - Warpigs
Van Morrison - the fast version of his own song, Warm Love
The Band - When I Paint My Masterpiece and I Shall Be Released
Drive By Truckers - The KKK Took My Baby Away
David Bowie - White Light, White Heat
Ike and Tina Turner - Proud Mary
Charles Bradley - Changes (the Black Sabbath song)
Radiohead - Nobody Does It Better
Ace Freehly - Back in the New York Groove

Bonnie Prince Billy - Just to See You Smile (Tim McGraw)
Clem Snide - Clem Snide’s Journey (Eef Barlazey et al cover Journey's hits)

Springsteen doing Trapped.

He changed everything about it.

and a few years ago, three of us started a trad Irish side project just for fun. We played the Irish American Heritage Center tonight and Bill Murray showed up. So I've got that going for me, which is nice.

Made me think of this old favorite:

https://youtu.be/0OkbhmhOtNQ?si=e9LcqGWMyOy0OixE

REM, Superman https://youtu.be/IxQS6lfn0yU?si=K1CuQYkptWLPYn3-

Dinosaur, Just Like Heaven https://youtu.be/UT7IpRx08tE?si=rmkjTYmVMOykQxtA

Camper Van Beethoven, Pictured of Matchstick Men https://youtu.be/wAkcSd5l9Qg?si=7HoSyCxTqZnmb2XV

Galaxy 500, Ceremony https://youtu.be/Ss1MbL4NYf0?si=j9qZ3DQhnux3Qtw_

Husker Du, Love Is All Around https://youtu.be/Ks0to2QuJtM?si=pJuDkT-J7Ves0IF_

Husker Du, Eight Miles High https://youtu.be/xBKyBlJ_JN8?si=TNElNkGXRkPNnk1O

Husker Du, Sunshine Superman https://youtu.be/W3dRhlHT908?si=eQ2_KcieHIPTRV1N

Pixies, Head On https://youtu.be/oKKdylxI1YE?si=xCO2tPbeMFBTC26U

Sinead O'Connor, Nothing Compares 2 U https://youtu.be/0-EF60neguk?si=2oq8hWF39_bKY5Zw

Johnny Cash, Hurt https://youtu.be/8AHCfZTRGiI?si=i6xnI0kCrxMeiquA

Johnny Cash, Down There by the Train https://youtu.be/s63OAJHr9Us?si=5RzUjNRCAwYxpF1v

Whitney Houston, I Will Always Love You (seriously) https://youtu.be/3JWTaaS7LdU?si=GoO8Va5oDDfSNKrK

Soft Cell, Tainted Love https://youtu.be/XZVpR3Pk-r8?si=bYNNtnHbukRUkM3u

Calexico, Alone Again, or https://youtu.be/54Zrhtc08_o?si=MiZhND5XP1vEP80E

Superchunk, In between Days https://youtu.be/OG44We-SXAI?si=aT2HUIF0SRJ5HESM

Portastatic, St. Elmo's Fire https://portastatic.bandcamp.com/album/scrapbook

Minutemen, Ain't Talkin''Bout Love https://youtu.be/31p-E2wtpMM?si=NVl9CzAFRys1RevN

Tom Waits covers and is often covered in ways I enjoy.

Etc.

Van Halen Diver Down. They wanted to take a break, but once Warner Brothers had Oh Pretty Woman, they were forced to hurry another album. Which meant covers. Pretty Woman was solid, but an easy layup.

Where Have All the Good Times Gone is excellent.

Big Bad Bill is Sweet William Now is a fun little off kilter number. It allowed the Van Halen brothers to have their Dad Jan play clarinet on one of their songs. Definitely a DLR song, he loved doing those strange covers.

Happy Trails is so Dave it's crazy. Dude was born too late for Vaudeville, which is too bad. An entertainer, not a singer haha.

And the biggest waste of a great guitar innovation in the history of music: Van Halen covering Dancing In the Street. Probably my most hated VH song. That guitar work could have been on a darker song and it would have been excellent.

As usual, I have no idea how to link any of this stuff. Look it up if you care haha!

The crazy thing is, the originals are some of my all time favorites. Little Guitars is the happiest song since the Beach Boys. Probably my all time favorite. Full Bug and Hang em High are great. Secrets is a sneaky good song. And then you have Intruder, where Eddie makes the guitar sound like a Church Organ. Which was included in his live solos til he passed.

But it all made Eddie build the 5150 studio and take control of the rest of the albums. No more covers. Cheers to mighty VH on a Friday night!!!

In addition to "Money" (on the list Jay posted), there's

- Till There Was You (probably the definitive version of it?)
- You Really Got a Hold on Me
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Please Mr. Postman

Probably an unpopular opinion, but... as innovative and pioneering as Rubber Soul, St. Pepper, etc. are, my favorites Beatles material is their early stuff when they were steeped in Motown and R&B.

New covers of the entire Buckingham Nicks album from 1973.

Foo Fighters - Baker Street
The Sundays - Wild Horses

--
"F--- everyone who isn't us."
#Team128