Cover Charge #26: Nancy Sinatra to Morrissey

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Soft Cell to Nancy Sinatra

I thought long and hard about whether to include this cover. For some, Morrissey is done, and understandably. Even I, a long=time apologist, am tired - disappointed and tired - but I can't leave the music that has been so much to me, for so long, behind. Here then is Nancy's cover of SPM's Let Me Kiss You, complete with the man himself on backing vocals during the chorus and middle eight. If I remember correctly, his band of the day accompanied her on this too. Perhaps no surprise it's such a Straight Bat, then.

Because this is the way Cover Charge works, and with apologies to those that don't anymore, here's Steven's original version, from 2004's You Are The Quarry. Music by the quiet genius that is Alain Whyte.

Next time: well, he was a Smith...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #25 - Soft Cell to Nancy Sinatra

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Nine Inch Nails to Soft Cell

I sometimes wonder how bands decide what songs by other artists to have a crack at. Just something they love, or that influenced them? A straw-grab when inspiration is lacking? Or a stab at something thematic? Like... let's record a Bond theme! I have no evidence one way or the other, but I do wonder if that's how this slightly lumpen Straight Bat interpretation of You Only Live Twice from Soft Cell came to be. Either way, it saw the light of day as a B-side to their 1983 single Soul Inside.

Notwithstanding 80s synth reworkings, this is one of the greatest Bond themes, in my book. Here's Nancy Sinatra's original, as it was meant to be seen and heard - introducing Sean Connery and Donald Pleasence to a packed cinema.

Blofeld: James Bond. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Ernst Stavro Blofeld. 
They told me you were assassinated in Hong Kong.
Bond: Yes. This is my second life
Blofeld: You only live twice, Mr Bond.

And so on. Brilliant. Screenplay by Roald Dahl, you know!

Next time: Nancy puckers up...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #24 - Nine Inch Nails to Soft Cell

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Johnny Cash to Nine Inch Nails

I love it when a cover takes you by surprise - I never expected X to cover Y, that kind of thing. And that's certainly true of today's entry in the chain, as Trent Reznor and his Nine Inch Nails industrial rock buddies give us their take on one of my favourite slices of early-80s synth, Memorabilia. The result is a proper Own Stamp, in the best possible way, and was released as a B-side to their 1994 single Closer. Listen carefully: this version contains audio samples that include a prank phone sex call, amongst other things.

I love the original, of course. I had a home-taped copy of Soft Cell's Singles compilation that I played to destruction in the 80s; the run of tracks on side one (Memorabilia, Tainted Love, Bedsitter, Say Hello Wave Goodbye and Torch) was as good as anything anyone was doing at the time. And as for this track, there are loads of remixes doing the rounds that are worth exploring. But here's the vanilla original.

Next time: a second life for Marc and Dave...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #23: Johnny Cash to Nine Inch Nails

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash

The Man in Black made a habit of covering other artists throughout his career, but rarely with more success or critical acclaim than on the last album to be released during his lifetime, the Rick Rubin-produced America IV: The Man Comes Around, from 2002. Sounding world-weary and resigned to his failing health, Cash reinterpreted songs from Depeche Mode, Sting, Ewan MacColl, Simon & Garfunkel, The Beatles and Nine Inch Nails. The latter, a cover of Hurt, was released as a single, sold by the bucketload and so moved NIN's Trent Reznor that he later said, "That song isn't mine anymore." The promo for it, featuring an ailing and ravaged Cash front and centre, later won a Grammy for best music video. Speaking of which, here it is.

Trent might feel this is Johnny's song now, but let's not take anything away from the Nine Inch Nails original.

Next time: no hard sell from NIN...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #22 - Bob Dylan to Johnny Cash

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan

A dilemma for Mr Zimmerman - who do you cover, when everyone else is covering you? Well, the answer, in this instance at least, is none other than The Man In Black. No, not The Gunslinger's Dark Tower nemesis, but Mr Johnny Cash. Here's Bob providing a live cover of Train of Love for a late-90s televised Cash tribute. I've chosen this rendition for the lovely spoken word dedication at the start, when Bob thanks Johnny for sticking up for him, "waaay back when." Everything about this is excellent.

As you just heard, Bob said he was singing this before he was writing songs himself, and that's because Johnny recorded and released it in 1958... making Train of Love one of the oldest songs to ever feature on New Amusements. Also excellent.

Next time: maybe predictably, The Man inflicts self-harm.

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #21: Joni Mitchell to Bob Dylan

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Leonard Cohen to Joni Mitchell

To pivot away from Joni, I'm going to have to rely on some of her friends, such is the number of collaborative covers featuring Joni that seem to exist. Here's an example: from an episode of The Mama Cass Television Program first broadcast on January 18th 1969, Mitchell joins Mary Travers and Cass Elliott to launch three-part harmonies in the direction of Dylan's I Shall Be Released.

It's inevitable, of course, that I've arrived at Bob. In the world of cover versions, all roads lead to either The Beatles or Dylan. Frankly, it's amazing it's taken 21 instalments to get to one or the other. Anyway, let's push on. Here's Bob's original non-Band version, from 1967.

Next time: Bob pays homage...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #20: Leonard Cohen to Joni Mitchell

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Andrea Bocelli to Leonard Cohen

Somehow this series has already run to 20 posts, in (for me, at least) fairly short order. It's been quite easy so far, although I have started to rub against the problem inherent in this premise: the acts and songs featured get older and older. I'm having to deliberately look for acts that have been around a long time but also recently active, so that when someone covers them I can pull the timeline back towards something more recent. But not today. Today I feature Leonard Cohen, in collaboration with Herbie Hancock, covering The Jungle Line by Joni Mitchell, for Herbie's 2007 album of Joni covers, River. Luxuriate in Leonard's delivery and tell me I don't spoil you.

That rolls us back to 1975 for Joni's original, from her album The Hissing of Summer Lawns. See the in-built tendency this series has, to go further and further back in time?

Next time: Joni and friends take us even further back...

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Abject fAIlure

First off, let me promise to you that this is the last post I'll write about AI in 2025. I've got a longer-term AI-related project on the go, but the outcome of that, if indeed there is any kind of outcome, won't be known until May next year. So, honestly, this is the last post on AI for a good while, which is good because, after all...

Keep seeing this pinging round the internet with the creator unacknowledged. Anyone know who did it? Oh God please let it be AI-generated.

[image or embed]

— Ian Martin (@ianmartin.bsky.social) March 21, 2025 at 4:45 PM

With those wise words ringing in our collective ear, cast your mind back to last month when I wrote about Suno, the scary AI music generation platform. And for latecomers, that's not an app for generating scary music, minor keys and Psycho-strings, no, no - Suno is scary because of how quickly and easily it generates anodyne, MOR pap, the sort that fills supermarkets aisles and hold-please phone lines and mid-afternoon commercial radio stations and song contests and more. It's a technological software marvel, no doubt about that, but it's also somewhat worrying, to say the least.

The "success" of my little Sunovision Song Contest last month did make me wonder though. Could Suno create a good song? What if it was fed decent lyrics, rather than merely prompted with a theme to write its own? And what if the music prompt was specifically targeted, with a predetermined end-result in mind?

You can already tell where I'm heading with this, can't you?

A quick copy and paste supplied the lyrics to one of my favourite songs, by one of my favourite bands. I added prompt keywords to Suno for the music - "british accent, male vocal, mod, revival, new wave, beatles-inspired bassline, strong beats, power pop, open chords, electric guitar, bass, drums, weller, foxton, buckler" - and clicked the ironically labelled "Create" button, and this... there's no other word for it, this abomination is what it came up with. Ladies and gentlemen, with profound apologies, I present Thin As Thieves by The Conserve. Give it until the first chorus, at least.

The Conserve · Thin As Thieves

I think we can all agree that is just appallingly, abysmally awful - a festering turd of a pseudo-song. Unadulterated, unmitigated crap, and you are, of course, most welcome to hate me for inflicting it on you. Okay, you might justifiably question my prompting skills, but that's not the real problem here, is it? Either way, I won't do it again.

To redeem myself, here's the untouchable source material, from 1979's almost-a-concept-album Setting Sons - this is a proper song, and a damn good one at that. Think of it as an aural sorbet, after the travesty above. AI is undoubtedly getting more sophisticated at an alarming rate but for now, at least, there's no substitute for fire and skill.

And some final thoughts from a long-time fan of this very blog:

Cover Charge #19: Andrea Bocelli to Leonard Cohen

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Vampire Weekend to Andrea Bocelli

How to veer back into familiar musical territory, after last time's thematic diversion into Bocelli-land? Well, that might sound challenging but is actually easy, firstly because Andrea has covered lots of songs, and secondly because he has offered up an interpretation of what must be one of the most covered songs of all time. In short, here is Andrea Bocelli's version of Hallelujah, from his 2020 album Believe.

Although there are more covers of this than even the most branch-endowed man could shake a stick at, it's hard to imagine many hold a candle to Leonard Cohen's original.

Next time: Leonard discovers the junglist massive. Maybe.

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.

Cover Charge #18: Vampire Weekend to Andrea Bocelli (yes, really)

Cover Charge is simple: A covers B, B covers C, C covers D and so on, until I loop back to where I started, Ouroboros-style.

Last time: Peter Gabriel to Vampire Weekend

I like it when a cover is unexpected, and today's certainly surprised me. From the 2014 compilation album Sweetheart, here's Vampire Weekend's take on Time to Say Goodbye...

...which of course is better known by the original Italian title of Con Te Partirò, made famous by Andrea Bocelli. Now there's a left turn for this blog that no-one saw coming, right?

Next time: Bocelli has recorded many reinterpretations, praise the lord!

The Cover Charge "chain" to date.