More Creative Interpreting
Yesterday I posted pretty much exclusively about my love for Deep Purple and the new Deep Purple tribute album. Today I’m going to share a few more of my favourite, unexpected cover tunes.
When I was a kid, my mom had a fantastic record collection. We had one of those blond wood cabinet stereos – an entire piece of furniture! – where the lid lifted on top and everything was laid out like a little bar. A bar that served music. I loved to lay in front of it, drawing and listening.
The first unexpected cover I ever encountered was through this stereo, and it was Aretha Franklin‘s version of Simon and Garfunkel‘s Bridge Over Troubled Water (click here for the original). Honestly, if I’d been Paul Simon hearing this for the first time, I probably would have fainted dead away:
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Of course, most people know CSNY‘s Woodstock, but not a lot of people know it was originally written by Joni Mitchell (click here for Joni’s original). Curiously, Joni couldn’t actually be at Woodstock, due to a previous gig commitment.
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One of the most mind-blowing covers I’ve ever heard is from the Seattle, WA-based band, Heart. Growing up in Vancouver, BC, where Heart temporarily migrated to, I experienced a lot of their music in my youth. Heart has a long tradition of covering Led Zeppelin songs like only they can, but I still think this is the best (click here for the original):
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A few years ago, I was equally blown away when a co-worker shared the intensely creative cover of Jimi Hendrix‘s Voodoo Child (click here for Jimi), by Beninoise singer-songwriter, Angelique Kidjo. This song has become a staple in my own sets since then.
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Last but not least – last year I met up with another musician at a jam, and we shared these two creative covers with each other. Since he jammed Radiohead‘s Creep that night (click here for original), I suggested he check out the Pretenders‘ cover:
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I pretty much grew up with the Beatles‘ music all around me, but never in my life had I heard this amazing version of Eleanor Rigby by Godhead that my fellow jammer encouraged me to check out (click here for original):
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If you have any unusual or super-creative covers of favourite songs, please feel free to share them in the comments below!
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Dodie Goldney
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related posts by Dodie Goldney:
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The Treehouse by Dodie Goldney 
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