Monday, March 05, 2007

Canadian Cover Content #2


Time for another round of Canadian cover content.

Sarah McLachlan - Dear God [originally by XTC]
DMC feat. Sarah McLachlan - Just Like Me (will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas Mix)
[a variation on Cat's in the Cradle by Harry Chapin]
Originally I was just going to post the Dear God cover (which I love, by the way), then I read this remarkable story of how Sarah McLachlan saved the life of Darryl "DMC" McDaniels (yes, THE DMC of Run DMC), which led to this unique collaboration. In DMC's own words, read this IGN interview from last year. The unlikely end result is. . . curious.

Styx - Summer in the City [originally by The Lovin' Spoonful]
Styx themselves are an American band, that is until Canadian Lawrence Gowan took over vocal duties from Dennis DeYoung a few years back. In 2005, they recorded an album of covers called Big Bang Theory, which is not as horrible as one might imagine. In fact, I quite dig this Summer in the City cover.

Shirley Bassey - Spinning Wheel (DJ Spinna remix) [originally by Blood, Sweat & Tears]
BS&T are another American band fronted by a Canadian, David Clayton-Thomas (who incidentally was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1996).

Blood, Sweat & Tears - Sympathy for the Devil [originally by the Rolling Stones]
This is unlike any Stones cover you've ever heard. Blood, Sweat & Tears put their distinctive psychedelic jazz-rock stamp on this song, though the degree of success is open to debate.

Dread Zeppelin - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes [originally by Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young]
Speaking of bands with a Canadian in their midst, there's of course Mr. Neil Young who put the Y in CSNY. Here's proof that Dread Zeppelin can also belt out some pretty sweet non-Led Zeppelin covers. I posted this a couple years ago, but I like it so much it's getting another round in the spotlight.

The Allman Brothers Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down [originally by The Band]
Now here's a band that's predominantly Canadian with American Levon Helm on drums 'n vocals. Ah, The Band, the "Who's on First" of rock music (probably moreso than the Who).
I can just hear it now:
"What band is this?"
"The Band."
"Who?"
"No, not the Who. The Band."
"What the deuce?"

Duane Allman & Aretha Franklin - The Weight [originally by The Band]
Apparently the Allman Brothers like The Band.

1 comment:

Janna said...

Thanks so much for linking to that IGN article about Sarah & DMC. Very interesting!