I can name one–he took the Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat” and really spiced it up, albeit with a lot of help from Reed, and it was practically a Bowie song to begin with. But really, there aren’t any songs Bowie covered that he didn’t absolutely butcher.
Little Drummer Boy, Across the Universe, Alabama Song–all terrible, terrible stuff. I’m a diehard fan, and Bowie will always have a special place in my heart, but really, David, stick to your own stuff. You’re so weird, it just doesn’t work unless it’s your own stuff.
Anyone heard his cover of Bruce’s ‘it’s hard to be a saint in the city’? I recall reading a biography of the Boss saying that he wasnae impressed - but I’ve not heard it myself.
I liked his cover of “It Ain’t Easy” from Ziggy Stardust. It’s a Ron Davies tune I first heard done by Three Dog Night a few years earlier. Their version was good, too - good enough to name the album after.
When he did the live duet of “Let’s Dance” with Tina Turner, they mixed in the 1962 Chris Montez song “Let’s Dance” (“we’ll do The Twist, The Stomp, and the Mashed Potato too, any old dance that you wanna do”). I thought it was pretty cool.
Also, he occassionally covers songs by this defunct 70’s band, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Spot on, too.
