Caemeron Crain
Cat Power, “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
What if you took one of the most iconic rock songs ever written, slowed it down, and removed the chorus, along with its most recognizable riff? Cat Power provides an answer with her rendition of “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” from 2000’s The Covers Record.
Keith Richards’s guitar riff drives the original Rolling Stones version, and was almost certainly a large part of what established the band as at the forefront of rock and roll in 1965. In its place, Cat Power offers rather slow arpeggios on each chord, which makes the song both more melodic and more melancholy.
And instead of Mick Jagger’s vocals ringing out with the chorus of the song from the off, we get Chan Marshall singing in a voice that is both somber and subdued, with the chorus occurring…never. This brings the lyrics of each verse to the fore, and honestly might make you truly hear them for the first time, even though you’ve probably heard the Stones song countless ones.
The chorus exerts its power by its very absence in Cat Power’s cover. We’re deprived of the satisfaction of hearing it, but also forced to ponder how the lyrics of each verse relate to it. This makes Cat Power’s rendition haunting, sad, and I think one of the best covers of all time.
Nirvana, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”
If you wanted to quibble, it might be questionable as to whether “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” is a cover song. Kurt Cobain credits Lead Belly on Nirvana Unplugged, but the song actually predates him, and its author is unknown. Nonetheless, Nirvana didn’t write it, and I would be remiss not to mention at least one cover from Unplugged on this list.
Most of them I heard from the first time through Nirvana, which can make them hard to assess as covers in a certain way, but “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” stands out as not just one of my favorite cover songs, but one of my favorite songs, period.
The Lead Belly version is also great, of course, and clearly serves as the inspiration for Nirvana’s rendition. But in Cobain’s hands the song comes to feel all the more sorrowful. The guitar chords are fleshed out in line with the grunge style that Nirvana defined, and as Kurt wails you can feel the desperation of being uncertain and alone in the world.
One of my favorite covers is Pretty Woman by Van Halen, original by Roy Orbison. I think Broken Bells did a very good version of And I Love Her, The Beatles classic. And Joan Jett made a strong, healthy version of the skinny puppy that was the original Crimson and Clover.