Weekender playlist: From Hendrix to Nirvana, Whitney to Winehouse... some iconic song covers

News24

2 days ago

In this edition of The Weekender's playlist, Joel Ontong has you covered. He takes a look at some of the best and most iconic covers of all time.
When Nine Inch Nails' Trent Reznor first heard country legend Johnny Cash cover his song, Hurt, he said it was like 'someone kissing your girlfriend'.
'I knew where I was when I wrote it. I know what I was thinking about. I know how I felt,' Reznor told The Sun in 2008. 'It felt invasive.'
But, after watching Cash's music video, Reznor was floored:
'It really, really made sense, and I thought, what a powerful piece of art.'
'I never got to meet Johnny, but I'm happy I contributed the way I did. It felt like a warm hug. I have goosebumps right now thinking about it.'
Cash's version of Hurt is hailed as one of the best covers of all time. What made it great was that he sang as if he meant every word, like it was coming straight from his heart.
This raises the question: What makes a great cover? It's not better or more theatrical vocals or upscaled production, but rather the ability to make a song one's own and find ways to reinterpret, not just redo.
News24's Weekender playlist looks at some great or notable covers.
Another iconic cover is Jimi Hendrix's take on Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower. Hendrix's recording is the stuff of guitar legend. Midway through the song, he delivers arguably the greatest guitar solo put to wax.
The song showcases what happens when cutting-edge guitar technology falls into the hands of a visionary. Plenty of Hendrix's peers had access to wah-wah pedals, reverb, and delay effects, but none of them could play like him.
If Hendrix hadn't covered All Along the Watchtower, and Dylan hadn't written it, rock music wouldn't be the same. Dylan was also so impressed by Hendrix's version that he even changed the way he played the song live.
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Sometimes, a bit of theatricality can help make an iconic cover – case in point, I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston, written by Dolly Parton.
Parton's original is lovely, but Houston's version is monumental. Though the 1992 version is backed by a dated adult contemporary instrumental, Houston gives a vocal performance for the books.
In the song's coda, Houston lets it rip, but not at the expense of emotional rawness.
A similar case is Aretha Franklin's cover of Respect, originally by Otis Redding. In an era where everyone was covering each other's songs without really adding much, Franklin's performance defined the Southern Soul sound of the 1960s.
Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson's cover of The Zutons' Valerie is, to many, the definitive version of the song. The Zutons might not have known it at the time, but Valerie was made for Winehouse.
A great cover can also simply highlight great songwriting, especially when it's overlooked. When Nirvana decided to add David Bowie's The Man Who Sold the World to their MTV Unplugged setlist, they probably didn't put that much thought into it. Their raw and rugged rendition is simple but brilliantly highlights Bowie's compelling songwriting, much better than the original ever did.
Mainstream jazz music has also been noted for artists frequently doing covers, and there are many great ones by the likes of Miles Davis, Bill Evans and Abdullah Ibrahim. For our playlist, we included John Coltrane's take on Sound of Music's My Favourite Things. It's a significant departure from the original, but it is one of the best cool jazz recordings ever.
We also included two songs you might not have known were covers: I'm a Believer by Smash Mouth (used in Shrek) and Red Red Wine by UB40. Both songs were written by Neil Diamond and appear on his debut album.