9 Great Covers Albums That Are Worth Listening To
Covers albums are hit and miss. The cynical view would be that bands release them to satisfy a recording contract or because they’ve run out of original ideas, and certainly that’s the case sometimes.
But sometimes bands record an album of covers because it’s damn fun. It can be less pressure - a band can get loose and interpret their faves. They can call attention to an artist who influenced them and give them some love. And when a band really puts their heart and soul into it sometimes magic happens.
Some ground rules here as usual… I’m sticking to albums or EPs that are all covers with a couple of exceptions, such as an EP that was released as an extended single release - a single from an album to lead off but with a solid half hour plus of covers that all come from the same sessions. These aren’t tribute albums of covers of one artist’s work by various artists - that may be a different list. This also isn’t a “ranking” since there are really some apples and oranges here. Just some releases you should check out - you won’t be disappointed.
*If you are interested in purchasing any of these albums you can click on the artwork and it will take you to my affiliate link on Amazon, where I may get a small commission on the purchase.
9 Great Covers Albums That Are Worth Listening To
Anthrax - Anthems - Megaforce
Anthrax - Anthems (2013) Not into thrash metal? No problem. Anthrax is indeed one of the “Big Four” of thrash with Metallica, Slayer, and Megadeth, but they are obviously classic rock fans and they’ve cranked out some KICK ASS but very faithful covers that will have you smiling the whole way through. It’s awesome to hear Joey Belladonna taking on such iconic vocalists as Steve Perry, Brad Delp, Geddy Lee, Robin Zander, Phil Lynott and Bon Scott! Joey has such a powerful voice, the band sounds tight and the selections are perfect. My favorites here are Boston’s Smokin’ (with legendary session keyboardist Fred Mandel) and Rush’s Anthem. Well worth it. Two versions of the Anthrax original Crawl are tacked on to the end.
The Church - Box Of Birds - Thirsty Ear
Box Of Birds - The Church (1999) A covers album can be great for the faithful renditions like Anthems, or it can be great because a band makes the covers so much their own it pretty much ends up working as an album by that band. Box Of Birds by The Church is one of those. The thing is it’s not like these songs don’t sound like the originals - they do. But the selection, the sequencing, the performances, the vibe - is everything that’s great about The Church. The sum of the parts here content wise and personnel wise make this as good of a covers album as has ever been recorded. I saw them tour in support of this album at 7th House in Pontiac, MI on 9/29/99 (probably one of the first shows I saw after my daughter Lacey was born in July) and I met Steve Kilbey for the first time briefly on the sidewalk in front of the venue earlier in the evening. They played 4 songs from Box Of Birds - awesome. My favorite track here is probably The Beatles’ It’s All Too Much - feedback drenched like the original but with more punch and a fun little Electric Avenue Easter egg towards the end. The Faith Healer by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band is the opener. The track is more intense than the usual Church song. But this one is a bit obscure and I had never heard it before - very cool. The Endless Sea is also a fantastic selection from the awesome Iggy Pop album New Values - IYKYK. Great lineup of tunes from Neil Young, The Monkees, Television, Hawkwind, and Ultravox with the fabulous track Hiroshima Mon Amour which was inspired by the 1959 French film of the same name that explores love, loss and the lingering effect of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I swear it did not occur to me that I’d write a post today about an album that had this title on it…..it’s the 80th anniversary of that day - today. That’s a little um….weird?
Rage Against The Machine - Renegades - Legacy
Renegades - Rage Against The Machine (2000) The last full length recording by the mighty RATM. Not everything on this album works but the stuff that does? Whoa. Exactly the type of mix you’d expect from these guys of rap, rock and really anything disruptive, including Bob Dylan on the awesome version of Maggie’s Farm. But first is the opener of the song that has been my primary ringtone for many years - Eric B & Rakim’s Microphone Fiend. What a pick, and what a kick ass version! They turn it into a RATM banger that is classic Rage with Zach de la Rocha turning Rakim’s “E-F-F-E-C-T, A smooth operator operating correctly” into an effective refrain. The others here that kill are How I Could Just Kill A Man by Cypress Hill, Pistol Grip Pump by Volume 10, and Renegades of Funk by Afrika Bambaata and SoulSonic Force. Kick Out The Jams by MC5, Beautiful World by Devo, Street Fighting Man by The Rolling Stones - these are all great songs but don’t really work here… Still enough material worth checking out though.
Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich - In The Red Records
Ty Segall - Fudge Sandwich (2018) Ty Segall loves him a good cover. It’s not unusual to find them here and there on his albums such as the fantastic Every 1’s A Winner on the Freedom’s Goblin album. But this collection turns some classics inside out with some wild interpretations - starting with the opening track, War’s Low Rider, which keeps the cowbell but ditches anything else that resembles the original. And that’s kinda what makes this album cool, because it’s as typically adventurous and unpredictable as you might expect any Ty Segall album to be. The Spencer Davis Group’s I’m A Man is a treat just because of the relatively faithful but lo-fi ragged and noisy nature of the performance. Same goes for Funkadelic’s Hit It And Quit It and really everything else here. Segall goes deep and obscure too covering Archangel Thunderbird by West German krautrockers Amon Düül II. At least I thought it was obscure. I now know they were West German krautrock pioneers, but only because Wikipedia told me so. I guess that’s a blind spot for me - have you heard of them? Tell me in the comments and be honest. But John Lennon and Neil Young songs are here too even if they aren’t the most famous songs in Isolation and The Loner respectively. There’s also a revved up punk version of the Dead’s St. Stephen here that is a total blast. Very cool album.
Smashing Pumpkins - Aeorplane Flies High - Virgin
Smashing Pumpkins - The Aeroplane Flies High (Bullet With Butterfly Wings CD) (1996) When the Pumpkins released the collection of singles and all the extras from Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness they included 5 covers on the first disc. And what a selection! Each one is cool and fun especially for us Gen Xers. You’re All I’ve Got Tonight is just drums and Billy Corgan during the verses with the crunchy guitars kicking in on the chorus. Clones (We’re All) was probably my favorite Alice Cooper song growing up and was kind of a lost gem for a while that I think made it out of exile - this certainly helped. James Iha gets the lead vocal on The Cure’s A Night Like This before they finish with two of my all time favorite female vocals in Missing Person’s Destination Unknown and Blondie’s Dreaming. The Pumpkins have recorded plenty of fantastic covers outside of these 5 as well. Billy is a huge fan of music himself.
The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome - Interscope
The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome (2016) The Stones pretty much started out as a cover band, so for them to return to this idea with a spontaneous jam session of blues covers - the last one with Charlie Watts before he passed - was really cool to hear. I included this one in my Stones album ranking which I don’t always do. I guess this one feels more like a Stones album than some stop gap or contract fulfillment. Intent is important, and while this is just kind of a live-in-the-studio document and not a thoroughly planned album, the spontaneity of jamming and the purity of the results makes up for it.
Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited - Rhino/Blackened
Metallica - Garage Days Re-Revisited (1987) Another one that appeared in my album ranking for this band only because it was included in Garage Inc. - more on that in a minute lol. But as a stand alone EP this has to be the GOAT of covers EPs. It could even be my favorite Metallica release in some ways. So aggressive in the very best way. The band at their most ferocious and it’s not very produced which gives it an immediate and raw feel but still tight as can be and it sounds awesome. The Diamond Head cover and opening track Helpless is a BANGER. Destroying everything in its path, and the thing never lets up with The Small Hours, The Wait, Crash Course In Brain Surgery and the insane Last Caress/Green Hell. Metallica loves to cover and champion their faves and Diamond Head has been the beneficiary of that love over and over throughout their career. Somethings I think Metallica is actually at their best as a cover band. They’ve recorded dozens of incredible covers…
Metallica - Garage Inc. - Rhino/Blackened
Metallica - Garage Inc. (1998) ….like these. Yes Metallica appears on this list twice. Here I’m referring specifically to the first disc of this Garage collection that reissued Garage Days Re-Revisited on disc 2. This was an entire full length set of 10 covers they recorded for this release and they kick ass. They needed this to get back on track after the Black Album, and the Loads which were kinda…..loads. Covers - they energize this band. They start roaring out of the gate with Discharge’s Free Speech For The Dumb and they bookend the proceedings with another Discharge rager The More I See. In between we get a wild range from Bob Seger to Mercyful Fate, from Nick Cave to Black Sabbath. And it all sounds really good. The Black Sabbath medley of Sabbra Cadabra and A National Acrobat is FANTASTIC. I couldn’t have made better picks for Sabbath. And of course, there’s another Diamond Head cover with It’s Electric.
Patti Smith - Twelve - Sony Legacy
Patti Smith - Twelve (2007) This album is really cool. I’ve always been a little curious about Patti Smith even if I’ve not spent a lot of time with her music. The thing that made me take a second look at her catalogue was when her drummer Jay Dee Daugherty joined The Church for one of their best albums Priest = Aura. The arrangements here just feel organic, creative and natural and I love the selection. Patti and her band bring a cool mellow groove to The Doors’ Soul Kitchen. And the version of Smells Like Teen Spirit with John Cohen on banjo is so cool! I need to do a deeper dive into John Cohen. She gives Gimme Shelter a cool treatment too with Tom Verlaine on slide guitar and Flea on bass - lots of guest musicians here but Patti is the star of the album. You get the sense that the vision is all hers. Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears has an appropriately dreamy feel and is a pretty faithful rendition and her vocals are really nice. My favorite track here might be the reinvention of The Beatles’ Within You Without You, stripped of the George Harrison far Eastern sitar stylings of the original without losing its majesty. This album is a great listen all the way through.
So there they are. This list was supposed to be 10 but I honestly couldn’t find a tenth I liked enough. And some of my favorite bands have done this but as I said many are hit and miss. Bowie’s Pinups isn’t bad, it’s just not good enough. Slayer’s Undisputed Attitude is not good. Cat Power, Peter Gabriel, and Tori Amos’s collections had me sleeping in the first 10 minutes. Bryan Ferry’s is too weird. Simple Minds’ is just a bit boring. I considered many of these believe me. I’m sticking with these 9. Let me know what you think in the comments!
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