One of the coolest things about the Canadian music scene is that musicians aren’t afraid to honour other musicians who inspire them by covering one of their songs. The thing is though, if you aren’t already aware of the original, you might not know it’s a cover in the first place. So we here at Mixtape decided to help out your Friday with a playlist of some pretty awesome cover songs.
Japandroids covers Gun Club’s “For the Love of Ivy”
In a live version on Youtube singer Brian King says “this is the best song we know how to play,” and they feature it on their 2012 album Celebration Rock. The original version is done by California punk blues band The Gun Club in 1981 for their Fire Of Love album.
Fiest covers The Kinks “Strangers”
Fiest covers a lot of artists and she usually does it well. And her version of Strangers – originally from The Kinks’ 1970 album, Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One – is no exception. Her airy vocals breathe new feeling into the classic song.
Austra covers Robyn’s “None of Dem”
Robyn’s original version is a dance tune suitable for a warehouse rave, but Austra makes a more magical-sounding spin on the song. Austra originally covered it for Australia’s music radio station, Triple J, in 2012 and it got so popular it scored her a nod from the Huffington Post as one of the best covers in 2012.
Elliott Brood covers Fiest’s “Graveyard”
Alright, so this one was released as a cover through Paper Bag Records, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to find out it’s a cover. What is cool is how the Toronto-based trio seemingly didn’t change much about the song, but it feels completely different than the original.
Hayden covers Neil Young’s “Tell me Why”
This is an oldie, but a goodie. Found on Hayden’s 2002 album Live at Convocation Hall, this version of a not-so-well-known Neil Young song is a treat.