It's Wednesday and you know what that means: vids!  This week I want to return to one of my favorite topics: cover songs.  We've discused a few in the Monday Showdown from time to time, but I wanted to revisit them here.  I don't know what I like so much about cover songs, really.  Perhaps it's hearing something you already like in a totally different way?  Or maybe it's that they let me enjoy songs I already like for longer by ensuring I won't get sick of one version?  Whatever it is, I love cover songs and I've selected three of my favorite for this post.  And hey, if you have some of your own, please let me know so I can A) check them out and B) post about it again.

Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends

Cocker could have picked any Beatles song to cover but he was smart; he went for a Ringo tune (probably the most easily improved-upon of all the Beatles).  But Cocker does so much more than just cover a Beatles song, he totally re-invents the pop song as a soulful, blusey jam.  His version is so far superior to the Beatles I wouldn't even put them in the same league.  However, you have to give Lennon/McCartney credit for crafting the base of what turns out to be a fantastic song when put in the right hands.  I think you can hear the difference in the bridge.  The call and response is excellent and so, so soulful.  So Joe Cocker, you've done the impossible, you've made a Beatles song better.  Congrats. 

Ben Harper - Sexual Healing

Like a Beatles song, a Marvin Gaye song is tough to improve upon.  However, I believe Ben Harper has done just that with his version of "Sexual Healing."  The original is great - on that we can all agree - but something about the stripped down style Harper brings to the song makes it somehow sexier.  When you strip away the backing band you really hear just how damn sexy this song is.  Harper's breathy take on the song works beautifully with his simple guitar part and I for one really enjoy it. 

The Clash - I Fought The Law

For many, many years I did not know this was a cover song.  Then one day I was cruising around radio stations and I heard a much older version by Bobby Fuller.  It's not that the original was bad, it was just so cheerful.    Something about it didn't really capture the terrible story being told in the lyrics.  With Joe Strummer's "liberal" approach to singing on key and the driving music supplied by the rest of The Clash, I think they did the song justice.  Although I will give Bobby Fuller credit for the triplet on "robbing people with a six gun."  That was just a brilliant little piece of percussionry.