When Peter Gabriel decides to do an album of covers, he doesn’t just do the expected. He gets an orchestra and completely reworks the songs he’s covering. You can find the entire amazing collection of covers on the album “Scratch My Back“. Its almost impossible to choose one, but since Season 2 of Stranger Things was just released, I’ve chosen the goose-bump inducing cover of David Bowie’s Heroes featured in Season 1.
This cover is pretty well known, there are no surprises here. But Marilyn Manson’s cover of the Eurythmics Sweet Dreams definintely meets all the criteria for an awesome cover. Funny story: years ago, I was working at a bar in Toronto called Savage Garden. This was at the height of the popularity of this song. The DJ played the original version of Sweet Dreams, and this dude leaned over the bar to say “I didn’t know Annie Lennox covered Marilyn Manson!” The bartender just walked away, shaking his head.
Back in the 80s, I was not a fan of Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill. It was only in much laterĂ‚Â that I started to appreciate the song itself. The first time I heard Placebo’s 2003 cover of the song, I stopped what I was doing to listen. The cover has an edge that appealed to me at the time. I still dig it.
Now had never heard of the Hillbenders until I started doing this “awesome covers projects” thing. But I really dig this cover of Pinball Wizard. They really get the feel of the original, while still making it 100% their own. I mean come on, a bluegrass Pinball Wizard? You’ve got me from the opening chords.
One of my criteria for a great cover is when a band takes a song and makes it theirs. That’s why Dick Brave and the Backbeat’s cover of Avril Lavine’s Complicated makes the list. I mean…50s styled cover of a 90s pop song? Genius. And this is years before Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox started giving modern songs an early 20th century jazz makeover.