Back to the subject of cover songs. I've been looking for songs for my band WWSP to cover. Not easy. Yesterday I went through the complete Beatles chord book and realized that there is really no song in their catalog worth covering. Nothing worth adding or subtracting. They did those songs so definitely (I mean, definitively!) - there's just no point. I think it's pretty much the same with the Stones and the Who.
I know a few Dylan and Neil Young songs, but I play them mainly for the hell of it, I love their songs so much, it's okay with me if I do them sort of lamely. But our band will not be adding them to our set lists any time soon. I'm on the hunt for some obscure gem that we could give new life.
Anyway, I'd like to add another one of my all-time favorite covers to my previous list. It's Jeff Buckley doing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." Buckley makes the song his, completely. It's absolutely beautiful. Here's a stunning live version that will make your heart skip a beat.
Now for a contrast. Here's Leonard Cohen doing the same song (he wrote it) on a European TV show sometime in the late sixties or early seventies. Unintentionally (I think) hilarious.