SUPERIOR COVERS: I Refuse to Believe He Did Any Acid

If the finale to Superior Covers Week is an obvious choice, it's because some records are so good they're destined to be buried in praise. Jimi Hendrix's performance of "All Along the Watchtower" has been used in basically every stock 60s montage ever made, as The Simpsons hilariously pointed out. It's easily Hendrix's best single, containing some of his most inventive guitar work and his most passionate singing. I can't get enough of it.

For a long time, though, I was partial to Dylan's original version. Sparse and quiet, it has a spooky power unique to even Dylan's work. As with most of the tracks on Dylan's John Wesley Harding, it's full of vaguely Biblical language and a palpable feeling of dread, with howling wind, wildcats, and mysterious riders approaching. It's one of Dylan's better performances, and if you're not familiar with it, it's worth a listen for its low-volume intensity.

But nobody did intensity better than Hendrix. Hendrix's cover, recorded a mere two months after John Wesley Harding's release, is all electric rage and wah-wah theatrics. (Connection to yesterday's post: Dave Mason played on it). Hendrix re-worked the song without obscuring it, which is tricky. Dylan's recording is a creepy old black and white movie; Hendrix's is a technicolor nightmare. It's a shame we'll never see what was happening in Jimi's head. Luckily, we can hear it.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "All Along the Watchtower" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
AVAILABLE ON: Electric Ladyland; iTunes

SUPERIOR COVERS: He Is So Beautiful. To Me.

Joe Cocker may be the only man who can make flailing look masculine. There's just something badass about the guy, even if he sometimes looks like he might have cerebral palsy. Well into his 60s, he managed to steal his Across the Universe scenes from much prettier young co-stars. Many have tried to imitate the great screamer from Sheffield, but he's just too unique. He also might be the all-time covers champion.

I bestow this honor upon him because he not only does great covers, but he consistently improves upon the original versions. Cocker's classic records from the late 60s and early 70s showed him to be an unparalleled interpreter. He never resorts to mimicking the phrasing of the original singer. He climbs inside the song and takes it for a drive.

He's covered the best. Joe loves the Beatles, and has managed to put his stamp on "With a Little Help From My Friends," "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window," "Something" and many others. He's also poured some soul into a number of great Bob Dylan tunes. But the best example of Joe's genius is also one of his best-known: "Feelin' Alright."

Dave Mason wrote "Feelin' Alright" while still a member of Traffic. Their recording is a loose, folky jam, led by Mason's mellow warble. Steve Winwood's harmony vocals add some energy, but the whole thing seems awfully restrained.

Cocker gives it life. Longtime sideman Chris Stainton kicks it off with an immortal piano lick, achieving the impossible: giving a song a hook it didn't have before. Cocker's vocal has all his usual grit, but also great control. He's not just shouting. It's a carefully calibrated performance, more nuanced than you probably remember. His falsetto shudder before the piano solo is one of those sublime little touches that mark true greatness.

Cocker is one of a dying breed: the interpretive rock singer. The current generation needs another Cocker, or even a Linda Ronstadt. Someone to put an original spin on on the work of songwriters like Ryan Adams, KT Tunstall and Jeff Tweedy. Or better yet, just let the old guy take a crack at it. Coming soon, in my dreams: Cocker Sings Wilco.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Feelin' Alright" by Joe Cocker
AVAILABLE ON: With a Little Help From My Friends; iTunes

SUPERIOR COVERS: A Toast to Absent Friends

The "Comments" section of this blog is the place for suggestions, arguments, and criticisms, and I encourage you to take advantage of it. Every week, I'm bound to omit something blindingly obvious. What's that? I'm an idiot because I forgot to mention the Zombies during Best Rock Harmonies Week? Go ahead, point it out. It'll make us all feel better to get it out in the open.

For instance, during last week's exploration of posthumously released albums, I failed to mention Roy Orbison's hugely successful Mystery Girl. Luckily for me, one track off of Mystery Girl fits in with this week's topic.

"The Comedians," written by Elvis Costello, originally appeared on his LP Goodbye Cruel World. The album, which Costello has identified as his worst, was an overproduced, synthesizer-soaked '80s mess, and its failure inspired the former Declan MacManus to stay silent for a couple of years. He rebounded in 1986 with not one but two of his best records: Blood and Chocolate and King of America. Goodbye Cruel World is remembered, if at all, as the album that forced Costello to get his act together.

Costello's recording of "The Comedians" is early '80s pop with some lite jazz touches thrown in. Costello sings the song too quickly, and its sweeping melody never takes hold. The lyrics are obtuse without being interesting.

Orbison's version, produced by the great T-Bone Burnett, is grander and more dramatic. Costello's rewritten lyrics tell the story of a romantic loser (the Orbison archetype) stuck on a metaphorical ferris wheel, while his rival on the ground gets the girl. The song starts slowly with shuffling drums and elegant electric guitar, building to a stunning, orchestrated crescendo. And of course, Orbison's magnificent croon is what really sells it.

Johnny Cash once advised a young Roy Orbison to sing in a lower voice, and for God's sake, change that awful last name. Good thing Roy was too stubborn to listen.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "The Comedians" by Roy Orbison
AVAILABLE ON: Mystery Girl; iTunes

SUPERIOR COVERS: Though It Wasn't In "The Big Chill"

If you're a music supervisor for films and television, and you're very lazy, you're probably scored a scene with Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah." Not since James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" has a song been slapped on so many soundtracks. Every television series from One Tree Hill to The West Wing has used the song to underscore an emotional on-screen moment.

But a great overused song is still a great song, and there's a reason Buckley's remarkable recording has so many fans. Buckley's gentle voice, suggesting a more relaxed Bryan Ferry, floats above soft electric guitar arpeggios with superhuman agility. Leonard Cohen's lyrics, full of sexual innuendo and Biblical references, fascinate more with each listen. It's so intoxicating you don't even notice that it's almost seven minutes long.

Buckley recorded "Hallelujah" for his 1994 album Grace, which turned out to be the only album he completed before his death. He gave the song its finest reading, even better than Cohen's spooky (but overproduced) original. Rufus Wainwright, John Cale, and many others have produced worthy versions, but Buckley's blows them away with its understated majesty. Next time you hear it, just try not to think of a cheesy episode of The O.C.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley
AVAILABLE ON: Grace; iTunes

SUPERIOR COVERS: Echoes of His Mind

If you think about the movie Midnight Cowboy, you might recall Dustin Hoffman's famous line, "I'm walkin' here!" You may think of that sad last scene on the bus . You may even remember seeing Bob Balaban do something you never thought Bob Balaban would do. Most likely, though, you recall the gentle, lilting voice of Harry Nilsson singing "Everybody's Talkin'." The song brings us to this week's topic: Superior Covers.

"Everybody's Talkin'" first appeared on a 1966 album by folksinger Fred Neil, who composed it. Three years later, the producers of Midnight Cowboy asked Harry Nilsson to perform the song for their film (after rejecting his original composition, "I Guess the Lord Must Be in New York City.") Nilsson's recording became the film's theme-- this is back when movies had themes, instead of soundtracks jammed with incongruous pop hits-- and moviegoers have since been unable to forget the song, or the sad fate of Ratso Rizzo and Joe Buck. Midnight Cowboy went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture, despite being rated "X" for its gay themes. (Interestingly, Fred Neil was a homosexual).

Neil's recording of the song is a fine showcase for his smooth baritone and crisp 12-string guitar. But Nilsson really ran with it. His pure voice, with its four-octave range, wrings every ounce of emotion from Neil's lonely lyric. The arrangement, with Glen Campbellesque acoustic guitar and sweeping strings, is pure '60s schlock, but Nilsson's eccentricity makes it distinctive. No matter how many times you hear it, the yodeling is still odd, but it's also perfect.

Midnight Cowboy, a groundbreaking film in its time, has dated. Nilsson's Grammy-winning recording of "Everybody's Talkin'" remains evergreen, a career highlight of a vastly underrated talent.

TODAY'S RECOMMENDATION: "Everybody's Talkin'" by Nilsson
AVAILABLE ON: Nilsson: All Time Greatest Hits; iTunes