Cat Power’s cover of the Stones’ “Satisfaction.” is bizarre… because I’m pretty sure she never sings the actual chorus just the verses. Its been awhile snce I’ve heard it.
Toris Amos’ cover of Eminem’s “Bonnie Clyde” manages to be even more creepy than the original.
The Scissor Sisters’ cover of Pink Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” sounds like The Bee Gees got hold of it. (I love both the original and the remake.)
For an album worth of wild covers, check out the Detholz! EP, Jukebox of the Dead. I’ve heard their music described as something like “pissed-off Devo meets the soundtrack from Mars Attacks!” and that’s a pretty good description. Tracks on this album: “Life After Love” (Cher), “Sussudio” (Phil Collins), “Dancing on the Ceiling” (Lionel Richie), “Hot 4 Teacher” (Van Halen), “Like a Virgin” (Madonna), “Celebration” (Kool and the Gang), “Sultans of Swing” (Dire Straits), “Rock the Casbah” (The Clash).
Each song gets twisted far out of its original sound, tempo, and anything else they can manage to do. “Rock the Casbah” is done as a very mellow, almost gentle song, while “Sultans of Swing” is a standout for the sheer menace that the singer brings out in his interpretation.
I’ve always loved the Stranglers’ take on Bacharach & David’s “Walk on By” (with Dionne Warwick’s face grafted onto Hugh Cornwell’s body on the picture sleeve) done as a punked-out “Light My Fire”-styled rave-up, with the most vicious bass sound ever put on record.
There was a group that did lots of covers of pop songs that were on the charts in the 70’s and 80’s. Their thing was that they had been trapped in a time machine for a few decades. When they got out, they heard these songs, but they only had 50’s-style techniques and arrangements available.
I don’t remember their name, but they turned out some really wonderfully, but weirdly, done versions of songs like “Welcome to the Jungle,” and “Same As it Ever Was (Once in a Lifetime.)”
They were a staple on Dr. Demento for a while, but, for the life of me, I can’t remember the band’s name. But I’m sure some Doper far smarter than I am will know who these guys are.
Very early in her career, Barbra Streisand did an unusual cover of the old classic, “Happy Days Are Here Again.” Streisand’s version was done in a slow, sardonic manner which suggested that happy days weren’t really here at all.
I am partial to Richard Cheese’s covers. He does sorta-lounge type covers of songs like Nirvana’s “Rape Me”, Rage Against the Machine’s “Guerilla Radio”, Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up”, and my favorite, the Dead Kennedys’ “Holiday in Cambodia.”
In the early 60s, he recorded “Breakin’ Up is Hard To Do” in an early 60s style. Poppy and peppy, it had a great beat and you could dance to it, as Dick Clark used to say. Perfect Top 40 AM radio fare.
Then, in the mid-70s, Sedaka covered “Breakin’ Up is Hard To Do” on his Hungry Years album. This time, he made it into a “cocktail piano” song; slow and sultry, reminiscent of small jazz clubs late at night.
Interesting to hear the same song by the same artist, but in two different genres.
I like his version of Closer. Although I like the censored version he had on his web-page as a preview when Lounge Against The Machine came out better. Replacing ‘fuck’ with a dog bark made it even funnier.
Collide does a pretty funky cover of “White Rabbit” that’s pretty danceable.
The Candy Skins did an interesting cover of “For What It’s Worth” that starts out sampling the opening of “Sympathy for the Devil” and keeps the sample running through the whole song.
There was a band in the mid-80’s, The Coolies, that covered a bunch of Simon & Garfunkel songs, plus a mash-up of Paul Anka’s “Having My Baby” with another song (Lou Reed’s “Walk On The Wide Side”?)
Any discussion of weird covers has to include Dread Zeppelin; a reggae band doing covers of Led Zeppelin songs. Oh yeah, their lead singer is an Elvis impersonator…
Then there is Hayseed Dixie, who does bluegrass covers of AC/DC songs.
