I am a huge fan of covers, even though they can sometimes go terribly wrong (see The Fray's hilarious cover of hips don't lie) but when they do work they create a perfect, two worlds colliding, piece of music. Below is my top five covers of all time, in no particular order:
1) 30 Seconds To Mars- Stronger
This is an amazing mix of two worlds with 'Kanye West' and '30 Seconds To Mars', not to mention 'Daft Punk'. The slow pace gives the song more strength and let's be honest it makes it better although, it does go on for a while, but then again so did the original. I particularly like the echo effect used in the song, and Leto almost drawls the verse which gives it such an innovative edge. Quite a relaxing and uplifting song, even drawing me to check out the 'Kanye West' version which is definitely also worth a listen. Before I heard this song on the 'Radio One Live Lounge' cd I hadn't listened to much '30 Seconds To Mars' or Kanye, and that hasn't changed since so I know this song can be enjoyed even if you're not a fan of either of their music. I couldn't find a proper video of '30 Seconds To Mars' singing the song so instead below is just a lyric video:
2) Bastille- No Angels
This cover is brand new and when I hear it I get goosebumps; it's just amazing. A mixture of 'Angels' by 'The XX', 'No Scrub' by 'TLC' and even some 'Rihanna' thrown in there, not mention 'Bastille's own unique twist on it. It's an amazing clash of three worlds and a thoroughly enjoyable listen. I love it and just want to share it with everyone. The slow beginning which really puts me off 'The XX' I'm sorry to say, is changed to a building of tension as all the instruments slowly join in.
3) Ed Sheeran- Swim Good
A homage to the original Sheeran does an excellent job of a creating a more melancholy and acoustic version of 'Frank Ocean's song 'Swim Good'. He adds an twist to the song and makes the words more powerful by making the song just him and his guitar. And, no offence to Frank Ocean but I much prefer Ed Sheeran's cover.
4) Marina and the Diamonds- Starstrukk
Marina slows down the song and makes it more fun to listen to with her impressive vocal range and unique style. The instrument change also changes the song a lot, giving it a different angle than the '3OH!3' version.
5) Daughter- Get Lucky
I don't know what it is about Daughter's soft tones but they change the song and make it so much better. This is still that kind of element of tragedy as is present in all Daughter's songs, even when singing such an upbeat song as this. But this 'tragedy'-like style only improves the song and making the repetitive and annoying words stronger and more powerful. This is one of my favourite covers because I really couldn't stand the original by 'Daft Punk', yet I've listened to this repeatedly for the past few weeks!
Thank you for reading, please comment with your own favourite covers and I'll give them a listen. Also you can now follow me on twitter and I'll be making a 8tracks mix of all the covers listed above, and maybe even some more, so check out my 8tracks account too.
xxBeth
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