Post-'1989': Check Out These Other Track-for-Track Album Remakes
On Monday, alt-country genius Ryan Adams broke the Internet and hearts with his stunning track-by-track remake of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album, which rocketed to No. 2 on iTunes and won the support of Swift herself (this despite the fact that Adams’s version of 1989 is available on Spotify!). Adams’s 1989 is a truly remarkable feat, with “Shake It Off” reimagined as a slow-burning Springsteenian road song and “How You Get the Girl” transformed into an Elliott Smith-esque weeper; if imitation is indeed the best form of flattery, Taylor should feel very, very flattered right about now.
But Adams’s 1989 is just the latest continuation of a long and sometimes strange recording tradition. Many other artists have remade full albums; below, check out a primer of some of the best, or at least some of the weirdest. (Warning: Some recordings contain profanity.)
Beck - The Velvet Underground and Nico
In 2009, Beck’s Record Club – which included esteemed producer Nigel Godrich, W.A.S.P.’s Chris Holmes, superstar drummer Joey Waronker, Fields’ Thorunn Magnusdottir, and Beck’s brother-in-law, actor Giovanni Ribisi – recorded the Velvets’ classic debut album in a single day. The experiment was a sonic success, and Beck and friends later did song-for-song covers of albums by Leonard Cohen, Skip Spence, INXS… and Yanni. We’re still waiting for Beck to remake Kanye West’s Yeezus. He’d probably win a Grammy.
Pussy Galore - Exile on Main Street
The D.C. garage band that spawned Jon Spencer, Boss Hog’s Cristina Martinez, and Royal Trux’s Neil Hagerty got its start with a limited-run, cassette-only cover of what is arguably the Rolling Stones’ greatest masterpiece. The whole thing was recorded on a dare from Sonic Youth and was impossible to find, even in bootleg form, for years – elevating what could have been a silly, ramshackle experiment to truly legendary status.
The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips & Stardeath and White Dwarfs With Henry Rollins and Peaches Doing The Dark Side of the Moon / With a Little Help From My Fwends
Hey, rock fans! What’s more blasphemous: Wayne Coyne covering all of the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band with Miley Cyrus and Moby, or doing all of Pink Floyd’s classic with the guy from Black Flag and the woman who once sang “F— the Pain Away”? We’ll let you decide. Both albums are at times borderline-unlistenable, but they’re fascinating.
Laibach - Let It Be / Sympathy for the Devil
These Slovenian avant-garde industrialists certainly didn’t “Get Back” on their Beatles tribute, but they definitely seemed to have sympathy for Satan on their Stones disc. Crude, aggressive, and almost melodically unrecognizable, these albums are not for ‘60s rock purists. But props to Laibach for, as they might say on American Idol or The Voice, “making the songs their own.” Their Stones remake makes Pussy Galore’s sound like something by Josh Groban.
Cheap Trick - Sgt. Pepper Live
Beatles traditionalists put off by the Lips’ and Laibach’s wildly experimental remakes might prefer Cheap Trick’s more faithful concert version of Sgt. Pepper’s, engineered by famous Beatles associate Geoff Emerick. The Abbey Road medley at the end of the disc is a nice bonus.
Claw Hammer - Q: Are We Not Men? A: We Are Not Devo!
If you didn’t think the music of Devo could get any weirder, you were wrong. In 1991, snotty SoCal punks Claw Hammer gave in to the uncontrollable urge to cover the new wave pioneers’ Brian Eno-produced debut album. Claw Hammer covering Devo’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction”? It must be heard to be believed. Laibach and Pussy Galore would approve.
Easy Star All-Stars - Radiodread
Reggae A-listers like Toots & The Maytals, Horance Andy, and Morgan Heritage came together in 2006 for this skanking and surprisingly solid cover of Radiohead’s breakthrough, OK Computer. The result actually kind of sounds like Gorillaz, and that’s not a bad thing by any means.
The Walkmen - “Pussy Cats” Starring The Walkmen
There was more to Harry Nilsson than “Without You” and “Everybody’s Talkin’,” as proved by NYC indie-rock band the Walkmen’s respectful recreation of the late singer’s John Lennon-produced “Lost Weekend” album, Pussy Cats. This project may have started out as a joke, but it’s seriously good. Behind-the-scenes footage of the 10-day recording process was later released on DVD as the aptly titled documentary In Loving Recognition.
Camper Van Beethoven - Tusk
Tusk, the 1979 follow-up to the gazillion-selling Rumours, is probably Fleetwood Mac’s most misunderstood album. David Lowery and company’s 2001 remake, which was released as a fake “lost oddities” compilation that the band falsely claimed had been recorded on a 4-track in 1987, probably didn’t help fans understand it any better. But it’s still pretty freakin’ cool.
The Smithereens - The Smithereens Play Tommy
The New Jersey powerpop band’s version of the Who’s over-the-top rock opera trades blustery pinball-wizardry and acid-queeniness for folksy, stripped-down acoustic balladry. The result is surprisingly charming.
Petra Haden - Petra Haden Sings: The Who Sell Out
Predating Glee and Pentatonix by several years, in 2005 the triplet daughter of jazz great Charlie Haden and former member of That Dog stripped back the Who’s songs even further on this whimsical a cappella remake. The album actually won the praise of the Who’s own Pete Townshend, who told the Boston Globe: “I was a little embarrassed to realize I was enjoying my own music so much, for in a way it was like hearing it for the first time. What Petra does with her voice, which is not so easy to do, is challenge the entire rock framework… When she does depart from the original music she does it purely to bring a little piece of herself – and when she appears she is so very welcome. I felt like I’d received something better than a Grammy.”
Japancakes - Loveless
During the two-plus decades when everyone was waiting for reclusive U.K. shoegaze legends My Bloody Valentine to finally follow up their seminal 1991 LP Loveless, American instrumentalists Japancakes tided fans over with this MBV remake that replaced Kevin Shields’s dreamy vocals with steel guitar. MBV finally returned to the studio in 2013, but there’s still a lot to love about Japancakes’ tribute.
Follow Lyndsey on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, Amazon, Tumblr, Vine, Spotify
