20. Right Down the Line by Aldous Harding (Gerry Rafferty). The smooth AM radio staple is transformed into a smooth modern pop classic. See also: “Voices Carry” (Til Tuesday) by Kat Myers—another cover that slows down a famous pop song to make it more moody and smooth. And now that we’ve got ‘70s and ‘80s, you could go ‘90s and check out Lana Del Rey’s cover Sublime’s Doin’ Time.
19. Complicated by Graace. Unlike so many other covers of the much, much covered Avril Lavigne song, Graace seems to unlock the song’s potential on the sad side (versus the aggro side that’s been explored to death). God bless Triple J’s Like a Version.
18. Don’t Give Up by Greg Laswell and Molly Jenson. Laswell’s Covers II album wasn’t bad, but wasn’t great, but this cover…This cover…
17. Lodi by Dallas Moore. A traditional country take on the CCR classic.
16. Good Times, Bad Times by Dirty Nil. Punk Led Zeppelin.
15. Inside Out by Bernard Fowler. He’s performed with The Rolling Stones for years, and now he’s got a collection of Stones covers that turn the blues genre upside down and form truly unique versions of a bunch of classic rock songs you have most definitely heard before.
14. She Bop by Jamie Lenman. I had no idea that what Cyndi Lauper’s ode to masterbation really needed was to go garage disco.
13. Bonerama Plays Zeppelin. Brass funk takes on Led Zep from the Big Easy. See Also: Dirty Nil’s punk cover of LZ’s “Good Times Bad Times.”
12. House of the Rising Sun by Emma Beau. The traditional folk song is a showcase for vocalists, and Emma Beau rises to the occasion in a truly powerful way. If you like this kind of thing, The Young Fables did a nice cover of Ain’t No Sunshine. Worth tracking down.
11. Hazy Shade of Winter (Simon and Garfunkle) by Gerard Way. The emo rocker, turned writer, turned TV producer turns back to music with this cover song, from the soundtrack to Netflix’s adaptation of his comic Umbrella Academy.
Next: The Top 10!
