I ended 2018 with a series of song selections that were great cover songs. There was one more I never got to because of the holidays.
Lauryn Hill popped up on my music radar as a member of The Fugees, specifically with their great cover of "Killing Me Softly". Her solo album that proceeded "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" was critically and commercially lauded. One of the record's great singles was the above "Can't Take My Eyes off of You" originally sung by Frankie Valli.
She has occasionally performed a live version that has a different tempo and feel but is still special in its own right.
We'll keep our feature of Best Covers Ever going for a few more weeks. Today, we'll feature some classic covers of Christmas songs - three in fact by three different artists. We certainly could include choirs and larger ensembles, but I landed on three individual artists whose renditions of familiar carols stick out to me. First up, Chris Tomlin and "O Holy Night".
I featured this over 5 years ago and everything I thought then still stands. This song has been done excellently by some greatperformers, but I absolutely LOVE how his rendition invites us to sing it as a song of praise, which is what it is. Next, I'm going to break the rule I established for the song above. Beyonce's version of "Silent Night" is a performance. But it is a great one at that as she gives us a glimpse of her black-church-gospel-music roots with this version:
Finally, let's jump from "Queen B" to the CCM queen and queen of Christian Christmas music, Amy Grant. This version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" is a bit of a compromise between Tomlin's contemporary corporate worship and Beyonce's solo performance. A great version with enough newness to keep you from switching to auto-pilot while listening or singing along.
This week we are drastically changing moods from last week's selection to feature what may be the best cover ever. Johnny Cash singing Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt":
Like many I suppose, my interest in Cash was rekindled with the biopic Walk the Line. Like the movie, this video symbolically captures Cash's life in powerful ways. The song's meaning has been interpreted in different ways, but this rendition seems to capture the struggle to move forward when faced with the emptiness of so much in this life. I find beauty in this in the way I see beauty in the book of Ecclesiastes especially knowing that Cash had found answers and meaning in a relationship with Jesus. Next week, we'll begin feature some Christmas covers that are my favorites.
Last week, I featured a cover that I didn't know I needed but turned out to the a perfect match between artist and song. This week is a recent cover that lots of people were calling for and turned out to be the perfect match people were hoping for and expecting. The story is fascinating, with a young fan pestering the band Weezer over social media to do a cover. The clamor grew and grew until...
The fact that the video features Weird Al taking the lead vocals is wacky but pitch-perfect genius. And of course, Weezer, a band who's popularity - let's be honest - peaked when I was in high school proves they are still great and that their fan was absolutely right about their ability to make a great cover of this 80's classic.
Some covers become classics because the second artist(s) offer an original take on a song that is not originally theirs. Many covers become classics because the song and the secondary artist fit perfectly in style and tone.
This week's selection is one of the latter category. After Rich Mullins' tragic death, a tribute album was produced featuring many other CCM giants recording their versions of many of Mullins' hit songs.
I was a college student at the time and as soon as I heard of the album, I purchased it through my Columbia House CD club (remember those?). I remember being thrilled to see and then hear that Jars of Clay were covering "If I Stand". It was the perfect marriage of the right artist paying homage to the right song. My only disappointment was that I let a friend borrow the CD a couple months later and that friend had it and a bunch of his own CD's stolen out of his car.
Thankfully we have the internet and Youtube now to revisit those things we once lost:
There's no other way to describe this cover song other than "haunting". Twenty One Pilots employ a musical style that can often be foreboding, brooding, and even dark. Their re-imagining this My Chemical Romance song seems pitch perfect though, considering it's subject matter (i.e. the title).
It comes with the my profession as a pastor to be with people in uncomfortable circumstances. Hospital visits are usually not super-pleasant, but as much as I can, it is my duty to point people to the hope of Christ. And yet part of my responsibility in those times is also just to sit with people. Empathize and sympathize with them. I cannot feel their discomfort and I cannot feel the same distress that their family members feel. I can listen, I can give them space to vent and ask impossible questions. God does that with us (google "lament Psalms"). And songs like this one remind me of the importance of compassion and empathy.
Needtobreathe has become one of my favorite bands for a whole bunch of reasons. I love their arrangements, their sound, and the subtle ways their music is honest about the complex journey of faith. Their cover of "Stand By Me" has been something they've included in sets for awhile but their unique twist on the classic song is just about perfect.
Here's a bonus video of them tying it on the end of one of their mellow original songs:
This upcoming Tuesday is Election Day. Participating in our representative democracy through voting is of the great privileges and freedoms we enjoy. In honor of this special week, I thought I'd pull out my favorite rendition of our National Anthem. It is one I learned of only through the magic of the internet and video recordings. At the 1983 NBA All-Star game, Marvin Gaye put his own spin on "The Star Spangled Banner" that gives me chills every time and clearly moved many who heard it.
I was recently in a conversation where some friends remarked "we don't watch musicals", admitting those just aren't their thing. I would typically say the same thing. Except, I really liked Les Mis. And man if the hype around "The Greatest Showman" didn't prove to be well founded. So this week's cover is more or less an excuse to feature one of the really good songs from that movie. Here's This is Me covered by a Chicago youth choir called "Musicality".
Btw, here's an incredible rehearsal performance by movie cast that according to later interviews, was the moment when actress/singer Keala Settle really embraced her role.
Can you get nostalgic when you're 20? I feel like that's what happened to me when I heard this song for the first time. I vaguely remembered the original from my youth as a "sports jam" type song that went well with highlights of dunks and big hits. Along came a Christian rock band from Canada who altered the lyrics to "Christian-ize" it a bit and I was hooked.
This was a musical era that probably doesn't hold up for a lot of people these days. Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park were all the rage. And "rage" is an apt description in some ways given the vocal bent of many of these groups. Tfk's lead singer Trevor McNevan could venture into that territory but the group's larger body of work has still remained a favorite of mine. And this song is right up there as the one that put them on the map for me.
For no real reason other than it was an idea that popped into my head, I'll be featuring my favorite cover songs. I can't really define exact criteria but if an artist takes a song and makes it their own, it qualifies. One of the first that jumps out to me is Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's version of "Over the Rainbow". You've probably heard it featured in a TV show or movie. I can't remember exactly the first time I heard it (Scrubs maybe?). But it's such a beautiful rendition of the classic Wizard of Oz track. The video wasn't what I expected but clearly celebrates the life of the late artist.
