I Did It My Way: 5 Songs That Offer Radically Different Takes on Iconic Songs
This weeks songs are from Mark Kozelek, Billy Swan, The Fleetwoods, Fruit Bats, and Junior Parker.
What makes a good cover?
That’s a loaded question. If I told you Devo’s version of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” is my favorite cover, you might question my sanity, or think I’m being deliberately provocative. To which, I’d say: what are your criteria?
A good cover might be a faithful interpretation with slight adjustments that turns the power up a few notches—better production, maybe a singer with a voice more suited to the times, maybe a slight adjustment into a new genre (“punk covers!”). The Fugees’ version of “Killing Me Softly” was a huge hit, and is a great version of the song, but what it really does is remind you how much you like Roberta Flack’s version. A great cover makes you forget there was anything before it—like Roberta Flack’s version of “Killing Me Softly,” which turned Lori Lieberman into an answer to a trivia question.
A great cover enriches the original material by revealing new meaning. This is usually accomplished when a performer brings unimpeachable authenticity. Look at Johnny Cash’s version of “Hurt.” The Nine Inch Nails original looks like teenage navel-gazing in comparison. Not much changes musically, but you sure feel a lifetime of regrets and the weight of a person outlasting many of their friends and peers facing the end of their life, alone.
“I feel like I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone…That winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era and genre and still retains sincerity and meaning—different, but every bit as pure.” - Trent Reznor
How a song is performed and presented can recontextualize every assumption you’ve had. If you disagree, my opening and closing argument would be this Billy Joel in the style of Leonard Cohen experiment. It may seem like a goof at first, but halfway through “Uptown Girl,” it sounds less like a hammy pop song and more like Raymond Carver.
You know I can't afford to buy her pearls
But maybe, someday, when my ship comes in
She'll understand what kind of guy I've been
And then I'll win
A great cover enriches the original material when a performer can infuse their persona into it. Whether that be by reshaping the material to their sound, or how the song thematically fits so well into the personal mythology they’ve established as a public persona. Does the listener believe this person actually feels this way?
A number of Bob Dylan covers offer examples here: Jimi Hendrix’s “All Along the Watchtower,” and Adele’s “Make You Feel My Love.” Hendrix’s version speaks for itself; Dylan has said when he performs it live, it’s in tribute to Jimi. As for Adele, her interpretation shows how sharp she can be at communicating a very specific emotion, while her words are expressing another. It also shows how truly great a songwriter Dylan still is—no historical allusions, hidden musical references, or interpretations of other forms. You can set aside all the intellectual bullshit, and the guy can write a song. But I digress….
It is a difficult balance; how much do you want to recreate, or present the same magic of the original? How much do you want to make something your own? If you do too much of the latter and not enough of the former, will people hate it? Can you take out what most people would argue is the best thing about a song and still make a good cover? I used to think the answer was “Absolutely not.” But I’ve been convinced otherwise over the years.
Here are 5 songs that stripped out what made the original great, and offer a memorable, unique take on a classic.
“Bon Scott was one of the best singers who ever lived. He could scream, sing the blues, write lyrics, and he had what very few rock singers have. A warm, soulful tone.” - Mark Kozelek
Mark Kozelek - “Love Hungry Man”
The Unplugged series allowed artists to reconsider their own work, in the best cases revealing a new dimension of musicality. Nirvana recorded their seminal Unplugged in New York just two months after releasing the thunderously abrasive masterpiece In Utero. So it’s not unheard of that music known for its volume and voltage can be interpreted in quiet beauty.
But the only place “AC/DC” and “Unplugged” actually make sense together is on an instruction manual.
Enter Mark Kozelek. The singer-songwriter is known for his fairly lethargic, occasionally languorous music (Sun Kil Moon, Red House Painters). It’s everything AC/DC is not. Kozelek recorded Walk Next to the Moon, a full album of Bon Scott-era AC/DC songs as a tribute to a childhood friend who died from leukemia. Apparently the friend had a pretty solid Scott impression. Kozelek has also released an EP of Modest Mouse covers (“Ocean Breathes Salty” was almost my pick; it’s incredible), Christmas songs, and even some standards. While acoustic covers of AC/DC sounds like a gimmick, it’s actually quite successful; I had a hard time picking which song to include. “Love Hungry Man,” of all of them, shifts not just the sound, but the meaning of the song. AC/DC’s lascivious, kind of funky original sounds like Tex Avery’s Howlin’ Wolf cartoon, preying on whoever happens to be on the dance floor. The singer in Kozelek’s version sounds more of a Lloyd Dobler type—sincere, romantic, and longing for a meaningful connection; he’s hungry, but looking for something more nourishing than fast food.
“I think Buddy Holly said it: a lot of us wouldn't be doin' it if it wasn't for Elvis, and I think that is so true. I'd never—I don't think get into music if I hadn't a been an Elvis fan. So he kinda gave me something else in life I could do besides maybe working in a filling station or being a policeman or a fireman or whatever.” - Billy Swan
Billy Swan - “Don’t Be Cruel” (Elvis Presley Cover)
Billy Swan sold a few songs and decided to move to Memphis in 1963. As fate would have it, his first stop was Graceland, where he met Elvis’ uncle, who took to him rather quickly and took him on as a tenant. Swan worked (and apparently still works) as a producer/songwriter/sideman, most notably as a member of Kris Kristofferson’s band. His songs have been recorded by Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and Kristofferson. He also had a #1 hit of his own, the Marshall Crenshaw-like “I Can Help,” which Elvis recorded in 1975—the same year Swan released “Don’t Be Cruel.” Swan has a bit of the southern soul boogie (he recorded in the famed Muscle Shoals studio), but lacks the looseness to make it swing like it should. He sounds like a teetotaling Leon Russell.
We’ve previously discussed how Elvis’ “Don’t Be Cruel” is basically a cover of Otis Blackwell’s original demo. At face value, it’s a plea for his romantic partner to be forgiving and stay true. But Elvis waltzing in with the swinging rockabilly riff and “aah-aah-bop-bop…bop-bop” backing vocals, the King is fooling nobody. When he gets to “I really love you baby, cross my heart,” you can practically hear the other woman giggle as she sneaks out the back door. Swan on the other hand is dead serious. The descending triad rockabilly riff and back-up singers are cast aside for a few gospel piano flourishes and an organ. The bass and drums carry the pulse of this man’s “heart that’s true”—clearly one that’s been broken a few times before. It’s not all serious though, Swan shows he knows how to have a little fun, dropping in the guitar lick from “Son of a Preacher Man,” when he gets to the “Let's walk up to the preacher” line.
“The Fleetwoods started with silence, and as close as they could return to it without giving in completely was as close as they got to nirvana.” - Greil Marcus
The Fleetwoods - “Unchained Melody” (Righteous Brothers Cover)
Anyone with ears in the last 70 years has heard The Righteous Brothers “Unchained Melody.” Elvis, U2, and 668 other artists have recorded the song and made it a hit many times over. AFI ranks the song’s use in Ghost as the #27 Music-Movie moment in their 1998 100 Years… series. Despite its massive popularity, few ask (or mention) where the “Unchained” comes from in the title. Turns out, it was originally written for a prison movie called—yes—Unchained. It’s the type of song that’s hard to ruin, but even harder to offer anything fresh. Most try to capture that sense of bigness within the Righteous Brothers’ version, which has the touchstones of Phil Spector’s famous “Wall of Sound” technique (Spector is credited on the track, but his involvement is disputed). If you’ve heard The Fleetwoods version, you’ll join me in thinking that chasing the feeling in the original is a fool’s errand.
The Fleetwoods broke into the music business at the same time as rock & roll was hitting. The singers recorded songs a cappella with the impression that a record company would add in a backing instrumental track. Somewhere along the way, some genius realized that instruments weren’t just unnecessary, but ruined whatever magic their recordings had. Who needs a wall of sound when you’ve got harmonies like this? The Righteous Brothers aim for longing and romance, hitting their crescendo asking “Are you still mine?” twice, and ending the song with it. They’re after a sense of romantic possession. But the Fleetwoods arrangement and phrasing repeatedly shortens and elongates parts of each line, underscoring the sense of whiplash that time away from a loved one can have. Then their voices coalesce around the core theme of the song (which the Righteous Brothers leave out):
Wait for me, wait for me
I'll be coming home, wait for meMy love
I try to avoid arguments of “better” or “best” around here, but I’ll take the Fleetwoods 10 out of 10 times on this one. They’ve knocked out a classic.
“If I get on the Billy Corgan hate-list, I’ll at least be in good company.” - Eric D. Johnson
Fruit Bats - “Cherub Rock” (Smashing Pumpkins Cover)
The Smashing Pumpkins, as they should be remembered, were a wall of distorted guitars and frenetic drumming. Once they drifted from that formula, even if it yielded some good pop songs, was the beginning of the end of the Pumpkins for me. Siamese Dream, “Drown,” and maybe Gish are the two albums of theirs I’d ever care to go back to. “Cherub Rock” is the only track of theirs I do actually go back to. Wall of distortion and frenetic drumming. I’ve heard this song countless times and I couldn’t tell you what any of the lyrics are. It could be Billy Corgan singing his favorite tea recipe for all I know—his whine is buried in the mix where it belongs.
Eric D. Johnson of the Fruit Bats took on a full album cover of Siamese Dream during the pandemic, playing all the instruments himself. If you can’t crack Corgan’s foamy wave of a guitar tone, or play drums like Jimmy Chamberlin, don’t bother trying. This means that Johnson stripped out 100% of anything noteworthy from the original. But it works! Johnson has the higher-pitch to match Corgan’s nasally whine, and at the front of the mix. Like Billy Swan, he slows the pace down to a steady pulse, is in no rush to do too much, and throws in a sonic wink to match the lyrics at one point. And unlike Corgan, it sounds like Johnson is actually having fun.
“Junior probably enjoyed doing his thing as much as any musician I’ve ever seen. He had an uncanny ability to take the lyrics of most any song and make them fit the rhythm or beat of the group playing behind him. He was one of the truly great blues artists to come out of the South” - Sam Phillips
Junior Parker - “Tomorrow Never Knows” (Beatles Cover)
The song that launched a few million acid trips. We’ve talked a bit about the song’s recording, specifically tape loops and backwards elements. We’ve also touched on Junior Parker and the role he played in turning Elvis into Elvis. So it’s kind of a strange kaleidoscope to listen to the man who helped define Elvis Presley’s sound covering songs by the Beatles, who piggybacked off of the ground Elvis established into their own fame. But Parker recorded a lot of Beatles tunes, none particularly obvious.
Parker’s version drops any of the tape loops, the busy and splashy drums, and any sense of forward momentum. If the Beatles original articulates “a trip,” Parker’s trip is one where not only are you “not leaving,” but you’re wondering how long the eternity will last. It gets rid of all of the touchstones, but somehow retains a unique psychedelia. The slow pulsing bass line feels like a heartbeat in your ears reminding you that you are, in fact, alive and breathing. But aside from that and a little guitar noodling, you have to trust Parker’s smooth and steady voice. In the Beatles version, you’re on Willy Wonka’s Boat; in Junior Parker’s version, you’re riding in Jules Winnfield’s car.
Chill out, Honeybunny. It’s going to be alright.
Thanks for reading. Enjoy listening. Share some good covers.
Full playlists of songs featured in 5 Songs: