Day Tripper - The Inmates
Well, it's a great song, of course, but this cover is a real stonker. Loud and lively and quite thrilling.We Can Work It Out - Stevie Wonder
Not for the first time, great artist plus great song equals mediocrity. But fair play to him, Stevie had a modest US hit with this.Paperback Writer - The Charles River Valley Boys
No cover album is worthy of the name unless it has a contribution from the talented River Valley Boys. Another blue grass offering played at top speed - indeed it may even be a fast polka !Rain - Petula Clark
This is a pretty brave effort from Pet, taking on a heavy Lennon B-side. It would be interesting to know whose idea it was. I mean, she gives it a go but, really, Pet Clark doing Rain, well, you know, it wasn't really on, was it ?Lady Madonna - Fats Domino
Paul sang this in his best Fats Domino voice and Fats returned the favour by covering it. It jogs along happily enough but it's not as good as the original, which in my view was pretty good indeed.The Inner Light - Jeff Lynne
This is taken from the excellent and moving Concert For George. It is on the Indian first disc of the double CD set, for obvious reasons. The artists play it as a pretty straight copy of the original record. (In fact, my favourite from the concert is Joe Brown doing I'll See You In My Dreams, which would bring a lump to anyone's throat.) Ooh, this is a clever one. Hey Jude to the backing of Dear Prudence, You Never Give Me Your Money, Let It Be, Because, Maybe I'm Amazed, The End, I've Got a Feeling and She Loves You - and there may be others lurking in there somewhere. Definitely worth a listen or two.Revolution - Billy Bragg
Bragg goes punk on this breathless cover of Lennon's classic rock song. Reggae covers are sometimes a trifle on the boring side. Indeed, reggae is sometimes a trifle on the boring side. But this is a goodie and the treatment gets something different out of the song.
Don't Let Me Down - Marcie Griffiths
Was it just me or was something out of tune on the Beatles' recording of this ? Maybe the bass ? I was looking forward to hearing a version with tuned instruments but, alas and alack, everything sounds out of tune in this reggae cover. Particularly the bass !The Ballad of John and Yoko - Teenage Fan Club
It has to be said, I thought Ringo was a better drummer than Macca, and I think it shows on this track, when Ringo was otherwise engaged (filming). Quite what Teenage Fan Club thought they were doing encroaching on this tale of Lennon's private woes, we don't know. But they do it well enough. If there's one type of song that comes out of the cover process consistently well it's apparently average Harrison tunes. Here's another which transcends its origins becoming a gruff, authentic slice of blues.Across The Universe - 10cc
If you recall the version on Past Masters was the one with the girlie vocals, not the Phil Spector orchestral rehash. This passes as a cover of that version because there are no strings and the girl's part is played by a synthesizer. It's a solid (live) performance from a band whose fan club I used to be a member of.Let It Be - Tom Jones
There is no doubt in my mind that Tom Jones possesses the best voice in the history of popular music and he belts out this classic song with his customary aplomb.You Know My Name (Look Up The Number) - Fly Ashtray/Rats Of Unusual Size/Youth Gone Mad/Sea Monkeys
This was the B-side of Tommy in 7 Minutes, a collaboration of punk bands who, wait for it, do Tommy in 7 minutes. This is also such a collaboration and, in my view, it outshines the A-side quite comfortably.Free As A Bird - Yukio Yung
Enough already ! Surely there can't be more ! But there are, of course, two posthumous Beatles' recordings. Yukio Yung, whatever that is, does this as an uptempo pop song, to reasonably good effect.Real Love - Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
And this really is the end. As we stream towards the exits, hungry and exhausted, the RPO plays us out in typical symphonic style. It has been quite a journey and, if you've enjoyed it half as much as I have, then I've enjoyed it twice as much as you.