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Underground > Radio & Music >

Cover Albums. Art or Fart?

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22:34 / 05.12.01

I only know of only a couple of these. Tori Amos did one, which I hear is good (although I may never actually hear it due to my ongoing Tori problems).

Fish did one, notable for a brilliant cover of "Fearless" by Pink Floyd.

Any more for any more?

The Return Of Rothkoid

23:26 / 05.12.01

Gerald Collier's cover of "Fearless" is pretty first-rate, also.

Of course, many cover albums are shite. Those "a tribute to..." discs can be dire as hell (the Tom Waits ones in particular suck arse), but I do remember hearing some good stuff on the goth tribute to Madonna one...

The Sinister Haiku Bureau

02:10 / 06.12.01

are we talking about individual artists/bands doing covers of their favourite songs (like guns n roses spaghetti incident), or tribute albums (multiple bands covering the works of an individual artist (like if i were a carpenter)? Or both? or even a compilation album of covers (can't think of any offhand, probably some film soundtracks though).
The first case could be seen, in some theoretical cases, as a waste of time, which the band/musician in question should have spent working on original material... the second... often a good thing, i suppose, especially when the covering artists are generally of a different genre to the covered artist...i often find myself wondering what, for example an Atari Teenage Riot cover of a smiths song would sound like...and i probably wouldn't give a damn about the carpenters were it not for the 'if i were a carpenter' album....

The Return Of Rothkoid

08:49 / 06.12.01

I like the idea of the cover tune in terms of something that a band does at a gig as a bit of a thrill or a tribute, or whatever - You Am I used to play covers all the time at their gigs (prolly still do) and would occasionally stick 'em on as b-sides on singles. However, to release a cover as a single on its own - for some reason, that doesn't really work for me. Don't know why - it just irks me. Especially albums full. They sound more like contractual obligation than anything else. I know there's exceptions, but generally they just seem ... odious... to me.

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

08:49 / 06.12.01

Laibach's cover of "Let It Be" (the album) is fantastic.
Nick Cave's "Kicking Against The Pricks" is (of course) wonderful.
Siouxsie & the Banshees "Through The Looking Glass"
For individual songs, I'd have to say the following are all equal faves:
Spell: "Seasons In The Sun"
Diamanda Galas: "Gloomy Sunday"
Strawberry Switchblade: "Jolene"

10:23 / 06.12.01

*Sliiightly off-topic*
Here in Brazil the molochs at the record industry are desperated for the big next thing that will sell 2 million records in a summer and disappear in well-deserved obscurity in the next.
While this doesn't happen, they flood the market with tributes, covers, unpluggeds and live records from a lot of insipid "artists".
We had about 7 unpluggeds, 4 cover records, 5 live records, 3 tribute ones... and so on. All utter crap. It's really irritating.

14:16 / 06.12.01

Cat Power - The Cover's Record

Admittedly I'm only familiar with the original version of one of the 11 songs, but this is a wonderful, wonderful album.

14:16 / 06.12.01

We were having this discussion over lunch yesterday, and I didn't bring it up then but I will now:

One of the best albums ever recorded was Yo La Tengo's "Fakebook." Best name for a cover album, too (a "fakebook" is a book of sheet music for hit songs not licensed by the musician or publisher - it's someone's best guess at how the songs should be arranged.)

It's all covers from a wide variety of sources (John Cale to 50s doowop to 90s indiepop) and it all sounds like Yo La Tengo and no one else.

I loooove covers. Hate close covers, love the bizarre, twisty ones. I think the Cramps' first album (EP, really) was all covers. And it was the Cramps, no one else.

That's what I look for in tribute disks, too. Love 'em, love 'em.

15:37 / 06.12.01

quote:Originally posted by Rizla Year Zero:
Cat Power - The Cover's Record

Dammit, you beat me to it! From the hefty "I've not heard it, but would give my eyeteeth for a mint copy" file:

Pussy Galore's unabridged "Exile On Main Street". I mean, how cool would it be to hear Jon Spencer yowling "Rocks Off", y'know?

08:54 / 07.12.01

I've always wanted to hear that too.

In a similar, but more pointless, vein, there was this record released earlier this year which consisted of this lo-fi guy re-rceording the whole of Fleetwood Mac's 'Rumours' in his bedroom on a budget of about 10p.

There an absolutely brilliant review of it here.

20:11 / 07.12.01

Riz, you can hear a bit of Pussy Galore's cover of the Exhile On Mainstreet album on their cd Corpse Love which I'm pretty sure is still in print. Their version of "Turd on a Bun" is a lot of fun...if you like Pussy Galore, at least.

Jack The Bodiless

11:08 / 08.12.01

The best covers album ever? I'm pretty sure it's that one where loads of awful no-song eighties hair guitar bands covered Van Halen tunes (horrible, horrible idea)... and then somebody had the amazing idea of getting goth and industrial acts to remix the cheesy versions of classic VH. And then they decided it was ready to release. Haven't heard it yet, am ordering it... doesn't that sound beautiful?

11:24 / 08.12.01

There's always Anthrax's Attack of the Killer B's - some original stuff but some Kiss, Thin Lizzy etc covers. Sweet.
Or Garage Days re-revisited by Metallica featuring covers of Killing Joke, Diamondhead and Budgie. Whooo!

...and I like Wyclef Jean's version of Wish you were here. Actually managed to make that wank that Pink Floyd specialise in sound interesting.

11:31 / 08.12.01

quote:Originally posted by Jack The Bodiless:
doesn't that sound beautiful?

Yes. What is it called?

[ 08-12-2001: Message edited by: Cholister ]

13:15 / 08.12.01

I hated Fish's cover album. He seemed to take good songs and turn them into eighties pop nonsense.

mr. y - wank? Pink Floyd? Them's fightin' words!

Men Without Hats did a great cover of I Am The Walrus, and George Martin's last album where he had diverse artists (Jim Carey to Celine Dion) do remakes of Beatles songs had some bright spots. Robin Williams and Bobby McFerrin doing Come Together is sublime.

I think cover albums are a bit dodgy in general. Didn't Bowie do one? He covered See Emily Play on it. Anyone heard it? That's one I'd be interested in listening to.

Zoom.

13:18 / 08.12.01

Oh, and what is the criteria for it being a cover album. When Eric Clapton recorded From The Cradle, which was a collection of blues standards, did that count as a cover album? A lot of bluesmen do, or did, that, playing other people's music. What about a jazz singer doing an album of jazz standards? Perhaps the definition of cover album that we're looking for here is an album that is done by a "pop music" (read popular) group, covering "pop music".

Yes? No? Albatross?

Zoom.

The Return Of Rothkoid

09:14 / 09.12.01

Good point. Same's true with jazz tunes; how far back do you have to go for a version not to be a cover? Is any song you didn't write yourself a cover?

Matthew Fluxington

09:42 / 09.12.01

quote:Originally posted by The Return Of Rothkoid:
Is any song you didn't write yourself a cover?

Simply put: yes. That is the definition of a what a cover is, unless the song was written especially for you to perform. You can call it a remake, or an interpretation, or whatever. It's a song by someone else that someone other than the author(s) (or the performer the song was written for)is performing.

We can all thank Bob Dylan and The Beatles for permanently changing the focus of the record industry from performers interpreting the works of songwriters to performers being expected to write their own material... and we'll thank them by making two of the most ubiquitously covered artists in the history of popular music...

[ 09-12-2001: Message edited by: Flux = Traffic Tiger ]

The Return Of Rothkoid

09:42 / 09.12.01

Flux: dang, unclear wording. Though you've answered it, I did mean that anyone who performs a song that wasn't authored by them (ie: everybody who ever sang a songwriter's song, rather than their own three-chord chunker) could be considered as having performed a cover, even if the song were made popular by them...

Actually, it's a bit of a cack point. Gah.

15:40 / 09.12.01

Jack: that VH cover/remix album sounds like the best idea anyone's ever had (besides EVH's parents deciding to bump and grind that blessed night). Can I get a copy when it arrives?

Jack The Bodiless

16:30 / 12.12.01

It's called Hot For Remixes, Cholister.

13:11 / 13.12.01

I was listening to some of Tricky's covers yesterday. Awesome: everyone usually sites "Black Steel," but for sheer screwed up gender-bending effect I have to lay my money on "Bad Dreams" from the PMT album (can't remember who did the original off the top of my head).

pointless and uncalled for

13:26 / 13.12.01

Wedding Present - Come up and see me (make me smile)

Excellent cover.

If remixes count - and I don't think they do - Chemical Brothers did great work on a Spiritualised track and a Mercury Rev track.

The names elude me momentarily.

To me a good cover is when an artist/group etc takes a track and totally makes it their bitch. Emulation is just sad.

13:35 / 28.03.02

Sorry to bring back this long forgotten thread but the Tori Amos cover album is just fantastic- listen to her version of Beatles' Happiness Is a Warm Gun and to Slayer's Raining Blood and weep.

But then I am biased, I think Tori is a genius.

14:23 / 28.03.02

I mentioned this over in the Current Musical Obsessions thread. Luther Wright and the Wrongs recorded a cover album devoted to Pink Floyd's The Wall. It's all country/bluegrass and it kicks ass. Standouts include a kick ass version of Comfortably Numb and the incredibly creepy Empty Spaces.

Also, Hayseed Dixie put out an album of hillbilly versions of AC/DC songs. Highway to Hell and You Shook Me All Night Long are tops.

14:25 / 28.03.02

And I just said kick ass twice in one post. Welland Buds are Number One!

14:36 / 28.03.02

The Bruce Willis album. That rocked. Plus lots of covers. Staple of my mid-teenage listening experience.

14:59 / 28.03.02

moriarty, where did you find it? I've been after that fucker since I heard about it. I saw the video for Another Brick p.2 and I must have the album. Tell me, dammit!

Zoom.

16:34 / 28.03.02

Well, on the subject of covers of entire albums (rather than covers or cover albums)...

Pitch-a-tent records (web site) will be releasing Camper Van Beethoven's cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" next month. The website says March but Victor Krummenacher has confirmed that it'll be April. Apparently, it's an old Camper project that got dusted off.

Can't wait to hear it, myself.

In a similar vein, they're also working on finishing up a Monks of Doom covers album, with songs by a dizzying and bizarre variety of artists...more info at www.magneticmotorworks.com...they say it'll be done this summer, but...

18:35 / 28.03.02

Shit, I just came under my desk.

Again.

TUSK???

Nelson Evergreen

22:46 / 28.03.02

Some idiot by the name of Senor Coconut did an album of Kraftwerk tunes latin style. The damn thing rocked, amazingly.

05:36 / 29.03.02

most appropriate cover ever -- SLAYER playing Inna-Gadda-Da-Veda on the less than zero soundtrack. reduce the 25 minute album side wondering riff-a-thong into 2 minutes of ultra-compressed brutality.

there was a velvet underground cover album, had nirvana's here she come's now, which was fine, whatever, but it had the MELVINS doing VENUS IN FURS and they get halfway through the first "shiny shiny, shiny boots of" and then start shrieking uproriously and conjure the devil's cock with feedback. it's called making it your own while sticking to the spirit.

oh wait no, actual favorite -- hearing kim gordon going, "now i wanna be your dog" cannot be beat.

10:59 / 29.03.02

Grant: more details for you...(grab a tissue, hey?):

from www.magneticmotorworks.com
Victor Krummenacher, Jonathan Segel and David Lowery have completed the restoration of an old old Camper project....a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Tusk" (all 20 songs)... due out in April.

The Monks of Doom are in the studio off and on, trying to finish the covers record. Immergluck, Lisher and Krummenacher will be in the studio in April for a couple of days. We are discussing some touring based on David's availability away from the Counting Crows.

MAG0020 - Monks of Doom - The Covers Album (title tbd). Monks fans watch out - A combination of live/studio/old/new covers of tunes by The Soft Machine, The Kinks, Joy Division, Wire, Nino Rota, Raymond Scott, Rold Kirk, The Red Krayola, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac and more. Coming Summer 2002. Proof of what music geeks we actually are.

Yes...TUSK

A

13:08 / 29.03.02

The Ramones did an album (Acid Eaters), which was all covers of 60's acts like the Troogs, the Who, the Rolling Stones etc. Some of the songs sound really good, but generally the ones they just turn into Ramones songs. When they go too close to the originals, it sounds kinda lame.

There's also been a series of bands doing entire Ramones albums put out by Clearview records. The Screeching Weasel one is okay, the Mr. T Experience and Queers ones are pretty lackluster, and i haven't heard the ones by the Parasites, McCrackins or Beatnik Termites. The two really good ones are Boris the Sprinkler's version of End Of The Century, which seems to be how they think the Ramones SHOULD have done it), and the Vindictives version of Leave Home, which really screws with all the songs and adds new bits and changes them around and stuff.

The Vindictives also put out an album called Party Time For Assholes featuring a whole bunch of covers of everyone from the Archies to the Sonics to the Bangles.

18:12 / 29.03.02

My favorites are the split singles that have cover versions of the other bands songs.

There were actually three volumes of that VU tribute from Communion Records as well as an album of Kiss covers that included Nirvana and the Melvins.

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