Difference in Repetition: Cover Songs That Transform the Original

Maynard James Keenan and Steve Drozd, “Rocket Man” aka “Rocketmantastic”

Speaking of Maynard, it’s been about 10 years since he and Steven Drozd teamed up to release a cover of Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” Alternately titled “Rocket Mantastic” and sometimes credited to Puscifer, this cover almost didn’t make my list. But then it was stuck in my head for about a week after I listened to it again, so I couldn’t leave it off.

It’s a little hard for me to pin down what exactly I love about this rendition beyond Keenan’s voice, but I think the overall ambience of the instrumentals, along with the various blips and bleeps, help to bring this track together into something that (for me at least) surpasses the original. And there is also the throbbing drumbeat that resembles a pulsating heart.

I wouldn’t call Elton John’s original “happy” but Drozd and MJK have teamed up to give us something that I think is a step more poignant. Probably you should just give this one a listen and decide for yourself which version you like better.

Marilyn Manson, “I Put a Spell on You”

Marilyn Manson has done several covers that theoretically could have made this list, but for my money there is none better than the rendition of “I Put a Spell on You” that is featured in Lost Highway. The song is perfect for Manson, who brings the darkness of its lyrics to the fore through his vocal style. Of course, this song was dark at the beginning, and if you aren’t familiar with Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, you should check him out. His version of “I Put a Spell on You” may actually be weirder than Manson’s, depending on your metric.

But here we get pounding drums and sweeping distorted guitar to accompany those lines that really should strike you as vaguely creepy even if you are listening to Nina Simone.

Hawkins put out “I Put a Spell on You” in 1956, and it was quickly banned. He was a progenitor of shock rock, and so it is only fitting that Marilyn Manson would pay him tribute with a cover of the song some 40 years later.

Faith No More, “I Started a Joke”

As with Manson, there was more than one cover from Faith No More that I considered for this list. If “I Started a Joke” won out, it is in part because I not only love the song, but the video for it, which features The Divine David. Plus it’s presented as a man doing karaoke when in fact David Hoyle is lip-syncing, which I find to be pretty funny.

As for the song itself, Faith No More’s version simply feels more robust than the original the Bee Gees put out in 1968. Whereas Robin Gibb’s vocals are a bit thin and tinny (no offense intended—it’s a great track!), in Mike Patton’s hands it becomes properly operatic. Beyond that, Faith No More of course made the track heavier. The guitar is thicker, the bass deeper and more resonant, and the drums more driving.

So those are my favorite cover songs. What are yours? Let me know in the comments!