Lou Reed and Me
The cover song – it is a medium that has existed at the forefront of modern music in some way, shape, or form for decades if not centuries. Some of the most unanimously adored songs of all time are reimagined versions of others, justifiably toppling their predecessors and launching their re-interpreters to the peaks of stardom.
Occasionally though, from the noisy rubble of an already successful original an inspired artist will quietly rise, reinventing the tune better than it’s ever been strung, ever so slightly slipping through the dogmatic fingers of general consensus. The following five artists make a strong case for their reinterpretation’s consideration as the definitive version of a track, infusing their render with an electric new sense of life and emotion:
The Feelies: Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me And My Monkey (The Beatles)
From the jump, the Feelies’ twangy opening onslaught of scattered guitar chords grabs the listener and makes it known that they’re not here to play around. The Feelies’ trademark controlled chaos mix of incessant percussion, flying guitars, and thumping bass lines are on full display here, ceaselessly driving their no-frills take on a Beatles classic forward in a way that leaves Lennon and McCartney scrambling in the dust.
Siouxsie and the Banshees: Dear Prudence (The Beatles)
Don’t get me wrong—the original is a tremendous song. But translating the source material through Siouxsie Sioux’s now-iconic goth rock and post-punk lens feels like a match made in heaven. The Banshees’ version feels like an atmospheric fever dream doused in nostalgia, further accentuated by Sioux’s lush, lullaby-esque vocals. The cover’s dynamic chorus ties everything together with its layered instrumental swirling and phasing out of this world, onto the pedestal as the definitive version of this song.
The Slits: Heard It Through the Grapevine (Gladys Knight & the Pips)
This song is an interesting case as it’s been covered to death, with the debate over the definitive version already being a firm contest between the Creedence Clearwater Revival and Marvin Gaye interpretations. Cue the Slits’ version, which with its scratchy, funk-inspired guitar riffs and bouncing yet ominous rhythm section makes a compelling case for at the very least its inclusion in the discussion. Slits vocalist Ari Up steals the show with a yelpy, contempt-filled vocal performance that gives this interpretation a feeling of disdain no other version quite captures.
The Raincoats: Lola (The Kinks)
The Raincoats take a different approach to reimagining this classic tune, dialing the source material down a few notches, producing a stripped-back version that fully retains, if not enhances the original song’s charm. Sections of this scrappy version devolve into tense, primitive groves that ingrain the song with an innately raw feeling of passion and intensity that feels so human. As the song unceremoniously closes, the Raincoats remind us that sometimes less is more.
The Favourites: S.O.S. (Abba)
It isn’t easy going toe-to-toe with one of the most successful pop groups of all time on one of their songs, but boy do the Favourites rise to the challenge, producing a crisp power-pop version of S.O.S. that demands at least a consideration. This cover starkly opens with a Morse transmission of the S.O.S. distress symbol via guitar riff, this version’s main guitar line. The song then bursts into a whirlwind of infectious energy, boldly driven forward by the band’s flashy guitars, punchy drums, and lead vocalist Daryll Hunt’s best ABBA impersonation.
Feature image by Franky Rodriguez