Six Interesting Cover Songs You May or May Not Know

Cover songs! The backbone of many a band's success (or career, in some cases), we've all heard covers a-plenty: Like Hollywood, the music industry is quick to repeat a winning formula, so covers are almost de rigeur, especially for young artists looking to make an impression. Taking on a known song is one quick and easy way to do that, but these usually are terrible. Let's not dwell on those.

Then, there's the funny kind. These aren't as common, because it takes a ton of skill to do them right. Some might count the songs of Weird Al in this group, but he's an out-and-out parodist and usually doesn't do covers per se. This type of cover is exemplified more by groups like Richard Cheese or Hayseed Dixie, folks that cover songs in new ways that simultaneously make you laugh and applaud their skill.

Finally, there's the category that most covers fall under: songs that artists truly love and pay tribute to by performing them and putting their own stamp on them. These are the best kind, and they often overshadow the originals. Some of the charter members of this last and best group would be Jimi Hendrix's cover of Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower," Sinead O'Connor's take on Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" and Manfred Mann tackling "Blinded by the Light" so the Boss didn't have to.

Following below are a list of six interesting covers that a casual music fan may or may not know. They aren't ranked in order, because there isn't one per se. These aren't necessarily better or worse than any others, but I find them pretty cool, and here's hoping that you might find one or two of them cool as well. They are:

1. "Heigh Ho" by Tom Waits - Recorded for a late-1980s Disney tribute album called Stay Awake, this version is far too creepy to ever be used in any film from the Magic Kingdom, much less the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Waits uses mining equipment, a subdued electric piano, and his own inimitable growl to put a disturbing twist on the lyrics. It's almost unrecognizable until the famous chorus, and virtually everyone I've ever played this for couldn't believe it when recognition dawned. Great stuff from a modern master.

2. "Song to the Siren" by This Mortal Coil - This song, for me, is the very definition of haunting. Some might find the vocal acrobatics (courtesy of Elizabeth Fraser from the Cocteau Twins) annoying, but it adds to the otherworldly quality. It's a Tim Buckley composition, and listening to Tim (father of Jeff) work his way through the song is an intense experience, but in its eerie yearning and frustrated distance from the object of the singer's love, no other performer has ever taken possession of this song the way This Mortal Coil did. Utterly beautiful, and yes, it sounds pretty much like the kind of song Odysseus might have tied himself to the mast to hear, even if it cost him everything. This classic cover can be found on the band's first release, It'll End in Tears.

3. "Train in Vain" by Annie Lennox - In 1995, Annie Lennox released Medusa, her second album as a solo artist. Every song on the album is a cover, and she ranges far and wide over a number of different genres and artists. Most of the songs on the disc fall under the category of soul, either in their original form or Lennox's interpretation, and the best of these is her take on The Clash's great heartbreak song "Train in Vain." Using a Motown R&B groove and backup singers that could have been stolen from an Aretha Franklin session, Lennox plays up the sadness of the song's narrator without losing herself in heartbreak. Her voice is in fine form on the whole album, but she really reaches deep for this one, and it's a wonderful listen. Scotland has a little blue-eyed soul in it too.

4. "Always on My Mind" by Willie Nelson - For me, Willie's sad croon is the definitive version of this song. More than anyone else, the Red-Headed Stranger manages to capture the magnificent sense of regret and longing in the lyrics. He'd probably be the first to admit he doesn't have the greatest of voices, but nobody can place a feeling like he can; between the plaintive tone of his vocals and the precise emphasis he puts in every word and line, everything comes out dead on. I've heard many versions of this classic ballad, including of course the King's, but Willie's take on that song, from his 1982 covers album of the same name, is still the best in my heart.

5. "Ol' 55" by Sarah Maclachlan - The winsome Canadian lass covered this Tom Waits beauty for the soundtrack of the 1995 film Boys on the Side (pretty forgettable film, but it had great music), and despite the seeming incongruity of Ms. Maclachlan, for years the embodiment of all things feminine in popular music, tackling a song from the rough-and-gruff oeuvre of the mighty Mr. Waits, this version works. The music is professional but loose, and Sarah slips in a note of weariness, as if everybody had been up all night and managed to get this last song recorded as the sunrise filtered through the dusty tavern windows. Considering the subject matter of the song, it's perfect. And, for people who have spent a lot of time in fluorescent-lit C-store lots and steering between painted lines in the middle of the night, it's an anthem. Wonderful.

6. "Midnight Rider" by Patti Smith - Patti Smith is, simply, a legend. One of the most influential musicians of the last 30 years and a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she's still exploring new takes and new directions. She released Twelve, a covers album, in the spring of 2007, and while there is lots of fascinating work on this disc, one of the best is her take on this Allman Brothers classic. She sounds so weary singing this one, and it's perfect. I think she improves on the original; the Allman Brothers sound like they're drunk doing this song, and the insouciance they bring to the tune (though they do a good job) blunts the hope and defiance that underlie this lovely ditty. Love the guitar work on the bridge, too.