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What are your 'most-wanted' cover songs?
Do you have a song, band or artist that you can't find a satisfying cover of? I have a couple of musical white-whales of my own that I'll post as a seperate comment below.
A few months back @kacey posted an excellent thread on cover songs which I'm still working my way through to this day (and may shamelessly bump shortly to add a few tracks of my own). This post is inspired by that thread and is absolutely worth checking out if you missed it.
I’ve got a “soft” spot for ‘70s soft rock hits that don’t get much airplay these days. Understated songs with real earworm value, like Ventura Highway by America, Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts, What a Fool Believes by the Doobie Brothers, or Still the One by Orleans. Pretty much the eternal soundtrack of (white) boomer dads like mine.
I’d love to hear these reinterpreted in a melancholy bedroom pop / hyperpop style by some current artists like Oklou or BENEE or OVSKY. I think a little youth and diversity could breathe new life into these old songs, playing to their strengths while taking them in some unexpected directions too.
It's surprisingly difficult to find many studio covers of anything by Meatloaf/Jim Steinman, especially considering the critical and commercial success of 1977's Bat Out Of Hell. In particular, I would have thought Paradise by the Dashboard Light and You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth would be better represented.
Another oldie in desperate need of some good covers is Slice of Heaven by Dave Dobbyn, It's a jam with a great hook, but I'm guessing it's not so well known outside of New Zealand/Australia. There's a great rerecording in Maori, though!
Lastly, while there are an incalcuable number of covers of tracks by The Beatles, I've found that many artists tend to play them straight and don't stray too far from the arrangement of the original. If anyone has any more transformative covers I'd love to hear them.