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As far as I’m concerned, Brandi Carlile’s “The Story” is one of the great songs of the 21st century. Recorded for her 2007 album of the same name, I’ve listened to it a couple hundred times at this point and yet I still get shivers listening to parts of it because of the quaking emotion she packs into it.
But then there’s Dolly Parton’s cover of “The Story”. It’s from a 2017 charity album COVER STORIES, which is a re-recording of the entire THE STORY album by various artists.
Give it a listen, and you might be struck as I am by how Parton somehow transforms the song by simple virtue of her long and very lived life and what it imbues her performance with. You believe every line she sings. Then there’s her voice, which, while no longer as strong as Carlile’s, is nevertheless as devastating — if not more so — because of the trauma those lived years have inflicted. If you want to get extra specific, contrast the two singers’ delivery of the second “All of these lines across my face” at the top of the final verse. Devastating.
There are good covers, there are bad covers, there are covers that don’t even justify the attempt given their lack of perspective of any kind on the material. Then there are those that transcend as I think this one from Parton does.
What are some of your favorite cover songs and why?
This is an easy one and I'm sure i won't be the only one mentioning this... Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt." It was already my favorite NIN song, but Cash takes it, hollows it out and makes something haunting, deviating and yet somehow uplifting all at the same time.
My lady looooovvvves Brandi Carlisle and I only recently discovered her, but I'll be damned if we don't listen to "The Story" once a week, if not more. Thanks for sharing that Dolly Parton Cover. It's really special, as well.
Jules's take on "Mad World" is better than the original, I think. I've periodically contemplated doing a sort of oral history of how it happened. Might have to return to that idea.
"Man Who Sold the World" by Nirvana is one of those covers that leave me torn...because I think it might be better than Bowie's original version. I know I prefer listening to it, though I don't know if I have a good reason for that. It's an unusual position for me, too, because I'm a Bowie fanatic. But the other side of this argument is the original is Bowie and what can be better than that?
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by O'Connor leaves me similarly perplexed because it's clearly more beautiful than and superior in every possible way to the original...and yet after so many years of O'Connor's cover as the "standard", I've spent the past few years relishing the very different version Prince recorded. I'm sure this feeling will pass.
As for "No Quarter", I have to admit Led Zeppelin has never spoken to me like other bands of the era. No explanation why. I enjoy them when they're on the radio, but very rarely have I ever felt the need to play something by them. Consequently, no real opinion on Tool's cover.
I really like Tears for Fears, but I also prefer Jules version.
To be honest, I haven't heard Bowie's version of Man who sold the world. The only Bowie song I am very familiar with is "Space Oddity", which I love.
I didn't know "nothing compares to u" was a cover until she passed away recently and heard about Prince's version. I definitely prefer O'Connor's version, but Prince's version is fun.
I love Tool, so I have a soft spot for this one. If I remember correctly, the song appeared in a live album but not in any of their normal albums. They stretch out the song in a way that I enjoy greatly.
I'm actually going to write a bit about "Hallelujah" at some point. Maybe I've discussed this with you before, when you brought up your father's death. But my siblings and I played several versions of it as my father's drifted from consciousness for the last time. In so many ways, the song has become too painful to listen to as a *pure* experience. Buckley's wonderful cover falls into that feeling, for some reason I can't explain. But inexplicably, Brandi Carlile's cover of "Hallelujah" threads the needle for me. Not to oversell Carlile here - heh.
Oct 30, 2023·edited Oct 30, 2023Liked by Cole Haddon
That Dolly cover is BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for sharing, Cole.
A top one for me is Shawn Colvin's stripped down, voice-and-guitar version of This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads. It made me realise what an incredibly beautiful love song it is ("Out of all those kinds of people/You got a face with a view/And I am just an animal looking for a home/To share the same space for a minute or two"). Byrne's lyrics are so poetic and when Shawn sings them, it feels like she's saying wedding vows. I find it very moving.
It's from her album Cover Girl, which was produced by Larry Klein - whose work I *adore* and includes another favourite cover of mine: Madeleine Peyroux's version of Bird On A Wire by Leonard Cohen. Peyroux has such a vulnerable crack in her voice of course, that always gets to me, and the gorgeous strings just make me melt (they're arranged by Vince Mendoza, of similarly heartwrenching Both Sides Now strings fame, so no surprise I guess!).
Another cover song I love is Glen Campbell's version of Times Like These by Foo Fighters. Partly because Campbell's age brings an extra depth and emotion to the lyrics - but mainly because I just love the whole vibe of the arrangement, which is basically my vibe. And that soaring violin refrain (clearly I have a thing for violins!) is just glorious.
I love the "This Must Be the Place" cover by Colvin, for all the reasons you cited! The Peyroux cover of "Bird on a Wire" is utterly lovely; I'd never heard it before, so thank you for sharing it. It's made it to my personal covers playlist, in fact. As for Campbell's "Times Like These", I have very mixed feelings about it, if only because it sounds to me maybe a bit over-produced for his voice. I just want to hear *him*. That said, I've just relistened to it twice, and it's growing on me.
This is an easy one and I'm sure i won't be the only one mentioning this... Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt." It was already my favorite NIN song, but Cash takes it, hollows it out and makes something haunting, deviating and yet somehow uplifting all at the same time.
This cover haunts me. The moment you hear it, every cell in your body begins to vibrate. Excellent choice. I'm going to go listen to it now.
My lady looooovvvves Brandi Carlisle and I only recently discovered her, but I'll be damned if we don't listen to "The Story" once a week, if not more. Thanks for sharing that Dolly Parton Cover. It's really special, as well.
Here are some I love:
"Mad world" by Gary Jules (Tears for fears song)
"No quarter" by Tool (Led Zeppelin song)
"Man who sold the world" by Nirvana (David Bowie song)
"Nothing compares to u" by Sinead O'Connor (Prince song)
Thanks for these thoughts!
Jules's take on "Mad World" is better than the original, I think. I've periodically contemplated doing a sort of oral history of how it happened. Might have to return to that idea.
"Man Who Sold the World" by Nirvana is one of those covers that leave me torn...because I think it might be better than Bowie's original version. I know I prefer listening to it, though I don't know if I have a good reason for that. It's an unusual position for me, too, because I'm a Bowie fanatic. But the other side of this argument is the original is Bowie and what can be better than that?
"Nothing Compares 2 U" by O'Connor leaves me similarly perplexed because it's clearly more beautiful than and superior in every possible way to the original...and yet after so many years of O'Connor's cover as the "standard", I've spent the past few years relishing the very different version Prince recorded. I'm sure this feeling will pass.
As for "No Quarter", I have to admit Led Zeppelin has never spoken to me like other bands of the era. No explanation why. I enjoy them when they're on the radio, but very rarely have I ever felt the need to play something by them. Consequently, no real opinion on Tool's cover.
Thanks for your thoughts. Some further thoughts:
I really like Tears for Fears, but I also prefer Jules version.
To be honest, I haven't heard Bowie's version of Man who sold the world. The only Bowie song I am very familiar with is "Space Oddity", which I love.
I didn't know "nothing compares to u" was a cover until she passed away recently and heard about Prince's version. I definitely prefer O'Connor's version, but Prince's version is fun.
I love Tool, so I have a soft spot for this one. If I remember correctly, the song appeared in a live album but not in any of their normal albums. They stretch out the song in a way that I enjoy greatly.
And thank *you* for yours!
Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah, can’t think of a better cover.
I'm actually going to write a bit about "Hallelujah" at some point. Maybe I've discussed this with you before, when you brought up your father's death. But my siblings and I played several versions of it as my father's drifted from consciousness for the last time. In so many ways, the song has become too painful to listen to as a *pure* experience. Buckley's wonderful cover falls into that feeling, for some reason I can't explain. But inexplicably, Brandi Carlile's cover of "Hallelujah" threads the needle for me. Not to oversell Carlile here - heh.
That Dolly cover is BEAUTIFUL. Thanks for sharing, Cole.
A top one for me is Shawn Colvin's stripped down, voice-and-guitar version of This Must Be The Place by Talking Heads. It made me realise what an incredibly beautiful love song it is ("Out of all those kinds of people/You got a face with a view/And I am just an animal looking for a home/To share the same space for a minute or two"). Byrne's lyrics are so poetic and when Shawn sings them, it feels like she's saying wedding vows. I find it very moving.
It's from her album Cover Girl, which was produced by Larry Klein - whose work I *adore* and includes another favourite cover of mine: Madeleine Peyroux's version of Bird On A Wire by Leonard Cohen. Peyroux has such a vulnerable crack in her voice of course, that always gets to me, and the gorgeous strings just make me melt (they're arranged by Vince Mendoza, of similarly heartwrenching Both Sides Now strings fame, so no surprise I guess!).
Another cover song I love is Glen Campbell's version of Times Like These by Foo Fighters. Partly because Campbell's age brings an extra depth and emotion to the lyrics - but mainly because I just love the whole vibe of the arrangement, which is basically my vibe. And that soaring violin refrain (clearly I have a thing for violins!) is just glorious.
I love the "This Must Be the Place" cover by Colvin, for all the reasons you cited! The Peyroux cover of "Bird on a Wire" is utterly lovely; I'd never heard it before, so thank you for sharing it. It's made it to my personal covers playlist, in fact. As for Campbell's "Times Like These", I have very mixed feelings about it, if only because it sounds to me maybe a bit over-produced for his voice. I just want to hear *him*. That said, I've just relistened to it twice, and it's growing on me.