I play in an old-fashioned, good-time, beer-drinkin’, rock and roll cover band. We play just about every weekend in little bars around my little city. We have a pretty diverse list of songs, new and old, but lately we’ve been getting the best crowd response from 1980’s songs. If you were out having a few beers (or cokes,) and listening to a group of extremely average musicians play, what cover song would you like to hear that would make you feel so very happy?
mainly hollies or kinks stuff
There’s a song on Don Henley’s “Building the Perfect Beast” that I consider a nearly perfect cry-in-your-beer country song. It’s called “You Must Not Be Drinkin’ Enough.” I’m continually amazed that I’ve never heard anyone cover it.
“The perfume she wore you can buy down at the five and dime,
But on some other woman it won’t smell the same in your mind.”
“You’re tellin’ yourself you don’t need her, tellin’ yourself that you’re tough.
But you still want to hold her; you must not be drinkin’ enough.”
I guess it depends on how you look and act. I find covers that are complete opposites of the original in style very entertaining.
Like a metal band doing a cover of a disco tune or vice versa. Marilyn Manson´s cover of Tainted Love is a good example of something completely different in style from the original and so is the Laibach cover of Life is Life.
Do you do your covers pretty much note-for-note, or do you you rework them?
I agree with Coil. I really appreciate a different take on a famous song. For example, R.L. Burnside does a great blues cover of Chain of Fools.
I’ve always wanted to hear a punk version of Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”
Try some Hunters and Collectors songs - especially Throw Your Arms Around Me - it’s a very well known and often requested song over here in Oz.