I love cover songs, usually. If done right they can rival the original or,   in some cases exceed them. 

 Here are a few of my favorites from throughout the years.

 Of course, in the usual list fashion, there are some rules I set for  myself: 

 

1 - I have to also really like the original version. This means Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" and Naked Eyes "Always Something There To Remind", two songs I can listen to and never tire of, can not be on the list because I barely know the original Goria Jones or Niel Sedeka versions, Agnostic Front's "Crucified" because I am not really fond of Iron Cross's original. 

2- No songs from the album that were all covers or from tribute albums. There are some I really like Sonic Youth's version of The Carpenter's "Superstar" ( itself a cover of a Delaney and Bonnie song) would be on this list but was usually recorded for the purpose of being on that collection. These were all done because the bands just liked them.

1- 7 Seconds - 99 Red Balloons (NINA)  - Walk Together, Rock Together LP (1985,

BYO Records) - There was a time when I had a 45 of Nena's hit which had the German version on one side and the English on the other side. I used to play one side, flip it over, and repeat.  I'm sure there are many fans of the Reno, Nevada melodic hardcore band 7 Seconds who are not aware this is a cover since they have been playing it for so long. For me it was seeing this on a cassette copy of their Walk Together, Rock Together Ep  (before it was extended to a full album) that brought me to be a fan of the band. 

2 - Botch-  O Fortuna (Orff) - John Birch Conspiracy EP (1997, Excursion Record) - An opera opus turned into a math/metal anthem. Pretty cool that Botch took on such a task so early in their career. 

3 - Breeders  - Happiness is a Warm Gun (The Beatles) -

Pod Album (1990, 4AD Records) - Being a humongous Pixies fan, I, of course, picked up bassist Kim Deal's (now on guitar) side project The Breeders, with Tanya Donnelly (Throwing Muses), bassist Josephine Wiggs (Perfect Disaster), and drummer Shannon Doughton (who was really Britt Walford from Slint, who I would not hear until the next year when Spiderland was released).. A couple songs in, as the producer Steve Albini called them, "The Bangles From Hell" debut album Pod was a cover of The Beatles' darkest song "Happiness is a Warm Gun" (off "The White Album"). Somehow the Breeders version was even darker fitting the mood of the album. Side Note: Kim's sister Kelly would not be a part of the band until 1992's Safari EP

4 -Down By Law - Best Friend (The Outlets) - S/T LP  (1991, Epitaph Records) - On Down, By Law's debut album they were Dave Smally, of course just off a stint fronting my favorite band ALL (as well as Dag Nasty and DYS, but I have to admit I had not heard either of those bands yet), backed by Dave Naz, Ed Urlik, and Chris Bagnozzi of The Chemical People. Two bands are part of what I call "The Big Three of Cruz Records" ( The third being Big Drill Car). Of course, I bought their self-titled debut album on the day it was released. The album has twelve powerful surf-influenced melodic punk songs. Right dab in the middle is "Best Friend", a song the liner notes say was originally by The Outlets. It would be almost 25 years until I would finally hear the Outlets's version when a comp of theirs popped up on Spotify. 

5 - The Futureheads - Hounds of Love (Kate Bush) - The Futureheads LP (2004, Rough Trade

Records) - Kate Bush is such a great and classic singer, with very complex song parts (check out the strings in her original version of this song) I am sure covering her song is not an easy task. The only other ones I've heard are Red Kross doing "Wuthering Heights" (on the Freedom of Choice comp) and Placebo doing "Running Up That Hill" years before Stranger Things gave the song new life. Somehow this XTC meets Stiff Records UK band pulled it off turning it into a fast-paced sing-along tune on their 2004 debut self-titled album. 

6 - Juliana Hatfield - Raisans (Dinosaur Jr) - Forever Baby EP ( 1992, Mammoth Records) - While in her previous band The Blake Babies, Julianna Hatfield had covered "Severed Lips", off Dinosaur Jr's self-titled debut album. That song would have probably made this list if as a seriously deep cut, Juliana hadn't covered a song off of my all-time favorite album Dinosaur Jr's You're Living All Over Me. Probably very hard to find a physical copy so search this song out on Spotify, YouTube, or wherever else you listen to music. While there check out the all-electric version of the song "Nirvana", which was previously recorded acoustic on The Blake Babies Rosy Jack World EP (where the "Severed Lips" cover was also located). 

7 - Helmet - Oven (Melvins) - Smells Like Smoked Sausage 2x7" (1992, Sub Pop Records) - I am

not a big Melvins fan at all. The only two albums I have by them are Gluey Port Treatments and Ozma, because they happen to be on the same CD. I still really listen to them but "Oven" off of Ozma would make it on a lot of my mixtapes. So I was pretty excited when Helmet covered it on one of the releases I received during my one year as a member of the Sub Pop Single club. This song is also Born Annoying, their collection of singles and B-sides 

8 - Killdozer - "I Am I Said" (Neil Diamond) - Little Baby Buntin' ( 1985, Touch and Go Records) - A band that does great cover versions. Each one is sung in bassist Michael Gerld's gravily voice. Even though I love this cover of Neil Diamond's classic tale of "Lost Between Two Shores" I actually like their cover of Coven's "One Tin Soldier" about equally. But that one was on an album of all cover songs entitled This One's For Ladies Only (also previously available on picture disc and 5x7" box set) which excludes it from being considered for this list. 

9 - The Melvins - Goin' Blind (KISS) - Houdini LP (1993, Atlantic Records) - Besides the first

two  Melvins albums are mentioned in the Helmet entry, sometimes I will pull out the 1993 Houdini album. Sometimes to listen to the whole thing but most times is just to blast this awesome version of the Kiss classic. Another cover by the Melvins I can listen to over and over is The Beatles "I Want to Hold Your Hand" but that, like Dinosaur Jr's almost equal version of "Goin' Blind", is on a record of all covers.  

10 - The Damned - Alone Again Or (Love) - Anything LP (1988, MCA Records) - Last but not least is the song that finally brought me to check out the band Love. (You can read about that here: here). Make sure to check out the video where at the end a plane flies by at the exact right moment. 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4MfR7z5EfdcX6H28lWAbDI?si=bdce13f710a24498

Numbers 29 - 20 of My Top 100 All-Time Favorite Albums

Numbers 29 - 20 of My Top 100 

All-Time Favorite Albums

* means I bought the album right when it was released or at the latest a few months

# means I discovered it later 

29 - Agnostic Front (1984, Rat Cage)- Agnostic Front wasn't included on my list of best punk/hardcore releases here because that was for more overlooked releases that don't get as much attention as they deserve. I do consider Victim in Pain to be the best hardcore album of all time. Eleven short, fast, urgent songs, and one slower one, in just fifteen minutes. All of them crammed with good lyrics about unity within the musical scenes, getting stabbed in the back, and the usual hardcore subjects. Agnostic Front would take a real turn towards metal on their next album never really returning to the fast hardcore style but live you can safely assume they will play all the songs from Victim in Pain. (The cover shown is the Combat Records cover because I never really liked the original) (#)

28) The Wedding Present - Seamonsters (1991,

RCA) - On Seamonsters, The Wedding Present took a darker sound than on their last few albums with much shorter song titles too. They also added tidal waves of still melodic guitars framing singer/guitarist David Gedges thick Leeds accent resulting in a lot of seriously intensive moments. Seamonsters is also hands down one of the most perfectly recorded albums. Every instrument can be heard perfectly. Just like he did on The Jesus Lizard's Goat album earlier on this list, Steve Albini's production brings the album louder and quieter in just the right moments so you don't have to. (*)

27) Killdozer - 12 Point Buck (1989, Touch and Go) - In the Twilight Zone episode "Time Enough at Last" where banker Henry Bemis reads in the bank vault only to come out and find the world has been wiped out by nuclear war. I always thought Killdozer's loud heavy sludgy music would have been the perfect soundtrack for the smoldering world Henry finds as he walks around exploring the damage. Add Micheal Gerald's growly singing stories of pop culture and local twisted events which occurred in their hometown of Madison, Wisconsin makes up one of the most perfect albums out there. Hearing this album was also the reason Billy Corgin and Kurt Cobain picked Butch Vig, who recorded most of Killdozer's work, to produce their upcoming albums Gish and Nevermind. (*)

26) Subhumans - Incorrect Thoughts

(1980,Friends/CD Presents) - The Canadian band, not the British one of the same name. I posted a whole entry on this album here so I am not going to into it. Let's just say these guys were one of the first bands which showed punk rock can also be filled with tons of driving melodic guitars and hooks. If you check it out make sure its the CD Presents version which includes one probably my third or fourth all-time favorite song ( a list too hard to make) "Behind My Smile", which wasn't included on the original Friends Records release.(#)

25) Suicidal Tendencies - S/T (1983, Frontier) - This is another album I won't get to into because I wrote about it here. However I have to add it was an album that changed my life when someone gave me a third-generation tape of it sometime in 7th grade. Hardcore punk rock but with metal guitars here and production greater than almost any other album of its genre. It's also the only real punk album the band released. Like Agnostic Front and so many other bands of the time, they moved a more metal sound after this. I also have to add while I write this I am drinking a Pepsi. (#)


24) The Clash - London Calling (1979, CBS) - May make some enemies but I consider The Clash our generations Beatles and  London Calling our Sgt Pepper. Up until this point The Clash had released some awesome albums filled angry punk rock albums before exploring other types of music on London Calling, just like The Beatles did with timeless rock and roll albums before they recorded their masterpiece. Whether it the band's originals or songs they are covering, every note on every song is perfect and in just the right order for the London Calling to always be listened to straight through. The iconic cover photo seals the deal.(#)

23) The Replacements - Let it be (1984, Twin

Tone) - Whereas London Calling is our generations Sgt Pepper,

The Replacement's Let it Be would be our Exile On Main Street. Like the Rolling Stone's masterpiece, Let it Be is where The 'Mats perfected their sound but still kept the songs varied and gritty before cleaning them up on their next album, the almost equally as great Tim. The cover photo of the band sitting on the roof of guitarists and bassist brothers Bob and Tommy Stinson's mother's house has become almost as iconic as the one of Paul Simonon smashing his bass on the cover of London Calling. (#)

22) Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker (1993, Dischord) - 1990's Repeater would normally be in this slot but since I wrote about it here I'll add my second favorite Fugazi album. In On The Kill Taker is the last album that still contained a few anthems Fugazi was known for before moving in more of an experimental phase which was hinted on their previous album Steady Diet of Nothing and will go full force on the follow-up Red Medicine, my least favorite Fugazi album. In On the Kill Taker was produced by Ted Nicely, who had previously worked with the band, but it was originally recorded by Steve Albini. Those recordings were shelved because both the band and Steve were not thrilled with the outcome. A few of those mixes can be heard on Youtube. (*)

21) The Cure - The Head on the Door (1985,

Fiction)  - I would probably include the 1980 "album" Boys Don't Cry as my favorite release because it includes so many of my favorite songs but technically it is a compilation of singles not available in the States at the time. Instead The Head on the Door takes the place. Just like U2's Unforgettable Fire this was the ultimate Cure album. From the poppy opening track "Inbetween Days" to the closing darker  "Sinking" at the end, this is what I feel The Cure was supposed to sound like. This also pertains to an album by another band that will be appearing about ten more down the list. (*)

20) The Descendents - Milo Goes to College (1982, New Alliance) - The Descendents (and ALL) are my all-time favorite band(s) and I like almost all their albums equally. As far as a favorite though I have to go with the debut. Each song on the album shows the individual musical personality of each band member who wrote them, The album also includes so many of their awesome classics in "Hope", Bikeage", and "Suburban Home" but also has a few that have been forgotten over the years like "M-16", "Parents", "Statue of Liberty", and "Marriage".(#)

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