Bright Eyes has recorded a kick-ass new cover of Thin Lizzy‘s original 1976 hit song, “Running Back.” What a wonderful pairing.
Visit our Cover Songs page for even more of the best covers anywhere, including PLs, news, articles, features and cover song blogs.
The recording is part of the Secretly Canadian record label’s SC25 series which has been unveiled to celebrate the label’s longevity while simultaneously striving to raise $250,000 for community housing in Bloomington, Indiana.
The campaign was established in cooperation with New Hope For Families, an organization that provides housing and other services to families experiencing homelessness in Bloomington and Monroe County.
The SC25 series will feature reissues of some of the label’s biggest albums in addition to the exciting new singles collection, as well as limited merchandise, creative partnerships, and other surprises, connecting the label’s “past and present to its future, linking what’s known and loved to what’s newly imagined – for us, our artists, and our home,” the label’s statement read.
Phish’s song, “Sleep,” landed as the ninth track on their 2000 album, Farmhouse. The band first performed it live on October 17, 1998, at the first of two Bridge School Benefit Concerts held by Neil Young and his late ex-wife Pegi Young at Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, California.
Neil and Pegi co-founded northern California’s Bridge School for severely disabled children in 1986. The couple was motivated to improve the life of their son Ben who was born with cerebral palsy. Bridge School Benefit Concerts were held annually from 1986 through 2016 (despite Neil and Pegi’s divorce in 2014 after 36 years of marriage). Phish, like the scores of all-star acts that played the Bridge School School Benefits, performed acoustically at Shoreline and thus “Sleep” was introduced during an “unplugged” set.
Full band acoustic renditions of “Sleep” followed when Phish taped an episode of PBS’ Sessions At West 54th on October 20, 1998, and when the band opened their Fall Tour 1998 a show on October 29 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. “Sleep” went electric during the show on November 11, 1998, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Guitarist Trey Anastasio, who co-wrote “Sleep” with lyricist Tom Marshall, was the only member of Phish go acoustic when “Sleep” was played two more times on Fall 98 Tour. Another full-band acoustic delivery came on December 28, 1998, when a mini-stage was set up in the first set at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Quickly falling into rarity status and remaining fully electrified, “Sleep” was performed by Phish only two times in 1999. Another three performances came in 2000, one of which was part of a taping for another PBS program, Austin City Limits. Phish, who went on hiatus from late-2000 through 2002, brought “Sleep” out just once in 2003, and it stayed in hibernation the following year. When Phish ended a second hiatus that spanned mid-2004 through early-2009, “Sleep” emerged at two shows in summer 2009. After taking 2010 off, “Sleep” came back just one time in 2011 before being tucked away for several years.
“Sleep” ended a 289 show absence when Phish busted it out on July 3, 2019, at Saratoga Springs Arts Center (SPAC) in New York. The most recent Phish performance of “Sleep” came during the encore on November 29, 2019, at Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence, Rhode Island — the same night they busted out fellow Cluster Flies song “Bye Bye Foot.”
”Sleep” was covered by Amy Helm for Cluster Flies. Helm was accompanied by Daniel Littleton (acoustic & electric guitars, dulcimer, harmonium) and Pete Hanlon (Moog) for her version of “Sleep” that more than doubles the 2:07 running time on Phish’s Farmhouse recording.
Listen to Amy Helm’s Cluster Flies cover of Phish’s “Sleep” below:
Amy spoke to JamBase’s David Onigman about her participation in Cluster Flies. The interview is featured in today’s episode of The JamBase Podcast.
The new hit HBO series Vinyl is yet more evidence that the revivalist spirit for the days when rock and roll was king hasn’t lost any steam.
Bands & Artists Featured in Vinyl Series
The following is the official track listing for Volumes I & II of the Vinyl series. Many of the artists and bands are not exactly well-known, but the ones that are, and the best tracks, are included in our custom playlist below, featuring the new Julian Casablancas‘ cover of The Velvet Underground‘s 1967 track, “Run Run Run.”
Other artists and bands featured, or mentioned, in the series include Led Zeppelin, David Bowie (RIP), Lou Reed, David Johansen, Alice Cooper, MC5, The Kinks, Black Sabbath, Grand Funk Railroad, Elton John, T. Rex, Iggy Pop, among many others.
Sidebar: Velvet Underground’s Rare RRR Vid and ‘Rock & Roll’
Here’s a 1967 live version (not best video/audio quality, but better than expected for almost 50 years ago!) of “Run Run Run” (and “Loop”) by Lou Reed The Velvet Underground.
And the iconic rock and roll song, simply titled, “Rock & Roll,” from The Velvet Underground.
In celebration of Led Zeppelin‘s 40th anniversary since the drop of their ground-breaking album, Physical Graffiti, England’s MOJO Magazine curated a dozen contemporary and indie/alt. rock musicians to record cover songs from the rock gods’ 1975 masterpiece.
The Zep covers CD, Physical Graffiti Redrawn, was available exclusively in the UK editions of MOJO for the month of February. However, some of the tracks from the covers CD leaked onto the web.
The following UK site, GreatMagazines, apparently has a limited number of the covers album available in vinyl; a vintage replica of the 1975 Led Zeppelin Express poster; an original copy of MOJO‘s Zep edition, featuring a recent interview with Jimmy Page, and an exclusive singed magazine cover by Page.
The exclusive tribute release features the iconic packaging of the original album release, including the die-cut album sleeve housing the double vinyls.
In addition to the covers listed below, the tribute includes covers from artists like Blackberry Smoke (“The Rover”), Sun Kil Moon (“Sick Again”), and Songhoy Blues (Kashmir), among others.
“Custard Pie” (Led Zeppelin) – White Denim from Physical Graffiti Redrawn
“Bron-Yr-Aur” (Led Zeppelin) – Laura Marling from Physical Graffiti Redrawn
“Ten Years Gone” (Led Zeppelin) – Laura Marling from Physical Graffiti Redrawn
On their awesome 2004 album, 'Rubber Factory,' The Black Keys covered The Kinks' "Act Nice & Gentle"
We absolutely love cover songs. It’s probably because, most of the time, they are like something that is familiar but new, which is an interesting dichotomy in and of itself. Plus, recording cover songs can be a risky venture for almost any artist; the more well-known and beloved the original song, the more scrutinized any cover song will be. On the most part, at least in our experience, most cover songs just do not work, and others are absolutely dreadful. But there are others that stick out.
We have two different types of cover songs playlist mixtapes that we’ve been posting for years. We’ve put together playlists of classic cover songs, but mostly new, and lesser known, cover songs. This installment includes cover songs (except for music fanatics, of course) by The Black Keys, The Golden Bloom, The Laureates, My Jerusalem, The Afghan Whigs, Sun Kil Moon, Nada Surf, Guards and others.
Note: Many covers were not officially released, and therefore, we don’t have an album link to offer, but where they’re available, we have, including the album links for the originals as well. Enjoy.
The rather little known band, The Motion Sick, are covered by indie musician, The Golden Bloom
The original: “30 Lives” – Motion Sick from The Truth Will Catch You, Just Wait… (2008)
“Baby’s On Fire” (Brian Eno) – Shearwater from unreleased single (circa 2008)
“You Got Lucky” (Tom Petty) – Setting Sun from single release (2009)
“Call Me (Blondie)” – Franz Ferdinand from War Child – Heroes Vol.1 [+Digital Booklet] (2010)
The original: “Call Me” – Blondie from Best of Blondie (1983)
“Kaleidoscope World” (The Chills) – People Press Play from Not Given Lightly – A Tribute To the Giant Golden Book Of New Zealand`s Alternative Music Scene (2009)
“66” (The Afghan Whigs) – My Jerusalem
The original: “66” – The Afghan Whigs from 1965 (1998)
Cover songs are only worthwhile when they put a different spin on a great original song, and do so with respect and admiration for the original song. Cover songs are not easy to do, and there are more bad to downright hideous covers in the world of music than there are good to magnificent cover songs.
Hopefully you’ll find this mixtape of indie cover songs falls into the good to magnificent covers. It’s been a while since we’ve put together a covers mixtape (the last was the first Covers Uncovered 2010 back in June). Over time, more and more awesome covers have surfaced that we want to share with you.
Recently, Alison Mosshart took a break from The Dead Weather and joined up Jamie Hince, the other half of the awesome UK rock duo, The Kills, to do a cover of Velvet Underground‘s “Pale Blue Eyes” for Levi Sessions. Other great covers include The Harvey Girls (covering The Flaming Lips), Little Girls (Beach House), Telekenesis (ELO), Nada Surf (Bill Fox), The Morning Benders (The Smiths), Amazing Baby (The Raveonettes), The Laureates (The Breeders) and The Mae Shi (Mates of State).
Nirvana cover of Meat Puppets “Lake of Fire” from 1993 MTV Unplugged Broadcast
We love cover songs. The following playlist represents the seventh mix of fantastic cover songs from splendid artists and bands who we feel do justice to songs we already love from some of the best bands ever. Hopefully, you’ll agree, especially if you browse the previous cover mixes.
This new mix includes an eclectic batch of songs from Green Day (covering The Kinks), Radiohead (Oasis), Venice is Sinking (Okay), Blind Man’s Colour (Animal Collective), Pavement (Echo and the Bunnymen); Trappers Cabin (Simon and Garfunkel); Atlas Sound (Fleetwood Mac); The Harvey Girls (The Flaming Lips), plus electrifying live covers from Gnarls Barkley, Prince and Keane. There are also covers of Passion Pit‘s “Sleepyhead” (done magnificently by Run Toto Run), and covers of King Harvest and Fiery Furnances.
But first up, Green Day delivers one of the best covers ever of The Kinks‘ classic “Tired of Waiting.” Listen to the original in the YouTube video above from 1965.
Does anyone know why all the girls back then screamed so much? That’s one of the reasons The Beatles gave up on touring after only three years, according to Paul McCartney. Anyways, Green Day’s cover version of “Tired of Waiting” demonstrates their immense musical talents and the respect they have for one of their favorite bands.
Brandon Cox of Deerhunter and Atlas Sound highlighted the YouTube video above that features a cover version of a recent Deerhunter track “Rainwater Cassette Exchange,” calling it “fantastically superior to the original. It actually sent shivers up my spine.” It’s not everyday that a popular musician declares a random YouTube cover of his/her own song better than their original version. Here is the original of “Rainwater Cassette Exchange.”
In a live clip of Snow Patrol covering Oasis‘ “Wonderwall” you’ll first notice the loud roar of boos from the crowd when Oasis is mentioned, and yet they sing along to every word of the song shortly afterwards. Interesting.
Kyle Wess of Blind Man’s Colour has just released a very mellow and hazy-like cover version of Simon and Garkunkel’s classic hit “I Am A Rock” and Coconut and The Duke deliver their own subdued version of Vampire Weekend‘s otherwise upbeat song, “Walcott.”
The relatively unknown band Holy Ramos present a decent cover of a rarely known yet 1981 great song by The Kinks, although the subject matter did create some stir among some critics at the time, even though Ray Davies said years later it was metaphoric expression, not an actual song about a dirty old man in the park. Also check out cover songs from She & Him, CFCF, Pedro The Lion, M. Ward, Little Girls, Carlos Pesina and Xiu Xiu
“Wonderwall” (Oasis) – Snow Patrol
“I Am A Rock” (Simon & Garfunkel) – Chromatic Flights The Original: “I Am A Rock” – Simon & Garfunkel
“Walcott” (Vampire Weekend) – Coconut and the Duke
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want (The Smiths) – She & Him
“Art Lover” (The Kinks) – Holly Ramos The Original: “Art Lover” – The Kinks
“Forbidden Colours” (Sylvian & Sakamoto) – CFCF
“Let Down” (Radiohead) – Pedro The Lion
“Let My Love Open The Door” (Pete Townsend) – M. Ward The Original: “Let My Love Open The Door” – Pete Townsend
This cover song mix kicks off with a cover of the klassic Kinks’ song, “Victoria” by the amazing UK post punk band, The Fall. The original is just another example that demonstrates the genius songwriting of The Kinks’ Ray Davies, and the talent of the band has one of the greatest bands in the history of rock (which was only fully realized in the past two decades).
Check back in a few weeks because we’re going to publish a playlist of cover songs of The Kinks’ songs from artists and bands like Stereophonics, Of Montreal, Frank Black, Elvis Costello, Sonic Youth, The Jam and more.
Also featured in this mix is a fantastic cover by Ruby Weapon of Grizzly Bear’s “Two Weeks,” plus cover songs from Radiohead, Broken Social Scene, Au Revoir Simone, Band of Horses, Pennywise, Dr. Dog, Venice is Sinking, and Her Space Holiday. Thanks to CaptainObvious and CoverMeSongs blogs for some of these musical rarities.
“Victoria” (The Kinks) – The Fall Original: “Victoria” – The Kinks
Indie rock pioneer Beck and his Record Club is now well into their recordings of cover songs honoring the great Leonard Cohen as seen in the video above for “Sisters of Mercy.” The Record Club is a collection of musicians, lead by Beck, that include Devendra Banhart, MGMT, Wolfmother and Little Joy, who set out to highlight certain artists and bands that have influenced their musical careers. During the summer, the Record Club’s first series featured covers of Velvet Underground songs.
To kick off this playlist of cover songs, the Record Club present the first classic VU song the recorded, “Sunday Morning,” followed by another VU track, plus cover songs by other artists of Vampire Weekend, Pavement, Radiohead, The Strokes, The Smiths, MGMT, Bob Dylan, LCD Soundsystem, John Lennon and Oasis.
“Sunday Morning” (The Velvet Underground) – Beck and the Record Club (2009)
Who doesn’t love a great cover version of an awesome song by a band they like, of a band they like? That’s a recipe for an awesome cover song, most of the time. It’s been a while since we put together a playlist of hot covers. This playlist comprises some of the best covers we’ve heard in some time, and hopefully you’ll agree. Afterall, did you ever think that the Arctic Monkeys would be singing a cover version of a track in a James Bond movie? Or Vampire Weekend doing Fleetwood Mac?
Plus, ex-Concrete’s vocalist Victoria Bergsman and her new band Taken By Trees have a brand new LP out featuring a slightly altered cover version of Animal Collective‘s “My Girls,” titled “My Boys.” Born Ruffians deliver one of the best cover songs ever of Bruce Springsteen – it’s addictive, huh? Canadian super indie band Broken Social Scene cover “Puff The Magic Dragon” that includes dialouge at the end of the song as well.
Don’t miss the covers of Bat For Lashes doing Big Star, Asobi Seksu belting out Leonard Cohen, Radiohead covering Neil Young, Venice is Sinking‘s cover of an Okay song, plus other hand-picked covers from Drive By Truckers (Jim Carrol, RIP), The Feelies (Rolling Stones), Black Keys (The Kinks), Paramore (Kings of Leon) and Local H (Led Zeppelin).
“Diamonds Are Forever” (007 Cover) – Arctic Monkeys
In celebration of Led Zeppelin‘s 40th anniversary since the drop of their ground-breaking album, 
