Awesome Covers

While Kaboom Percussion seems perfectly capable of playing songs without such trickery, they decided to skip a traditional performance for this clip, instead recording each note of Toto’s Africa individually, then chopping it all together in video editing software.

Musician Luna Lee is back to play us another wonderful interpretation of a rock and roll tune, this time taking on the 1970 Creedence Clearwater Revival track Have You Ever Seen the Rain. There’s just something so soothing about the sound of the gayageum.

Look at the stars. Look how they shine for you. Musicians Marnie and Patrick Laird aka the Brooklyn Duo are back with another heartfelt performance, this time bringing their piano and cello talents to the Coldplay track Yellow. Even if the original didn’t give you the feels, this version surely will.

From Dr. Dre to Eminem to Biz Markie, here are 40 popular rap and hip hop songs as you’ve never heard them before. Listen as musician Florian Mohr tickles the ivories in this toned-down, one-take piano medley of these classics.

During a recent guest spot on The Tonight Show, Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend joined Jimmy Fallon and The Roots in the green room for perform their 1971 classic Won’t Get Fooled Again on a bunch of kid-sized classroom instruments. Naturally, Pete ends up smashing his ukulele to bits.

We always thought The Beatles’ track Because a trippy and haunting tune to begin with, so it’s no wonder that the otherworldly sounds of the theremin suit the song so perfectly, especially in the capable hands of Cihan Gulbudak, one of the true masters of the unusual electronic instrument.

Musician David Gray sat down in the BBC Radio 2 Piano Room and turned in an absolutely fantastic cover version of the 1986 Peter Gabriel hit Sledgehammer. The purity of the acoustic performance truly shines a light on Gray’s oh-so-warm and ever-so-raspy vocals.

Pianist Samuel Fu kicks things off with a rousing rendition of the Green Hill Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog, then moves on to Mario, Zelda, Halo, Undertale, and more of our favorite game themes, all sounding stellar as he tickles the ivories.

Marnie and Patrick Laird of Brooklyn Duo turn in a wonderfully emotive and pared-down acoustic arrangement of the 1983 Tears for Fears classic, based off of the Gary Jules and Michael Andrews version which gave the track a second life back in 2001. Also, that carbon fiber cello is sweet.

Ska Tune Network takes a break from performing songs in ska style, and instead plays a ska tune in 12 other styles. We’re not sure that The Mighty Mighty Bosstones’ track works so well as an R&B song, but we’re suddenly convinced that Owl City could pull off a cover.

Musician Francesco Parrino splashes a shiny coat of paint on the Bee Gees’ disco classic Stayin’ Alive, giving it a vibrant and jazzy new sound from his piano bench. Be sure to give his arrangement of Elton John’s Rocketman a listen too.

Symphoniacs play orchestral arrangements of popular and classical music with a modern flair. Here, they perform an excellent cover version of Daft Punk’s Aerodynamic, on violin, cello, piano, and electronics. We also rather enjoyed their rendition of Coldplay’s A Sky Full of Stars.

What goes up, must come down, even in Russia. Musician Leonid Vorobyev and his bandmates crank out a fantastic cover version of the Blood, Sweat & Tears R&B classic Spinning Wheel, complete with the big, vibrant horn section that makes the original so damned good.

An awesome cover version of Coldplay’s hit track, performed by Scary Pockets. The combination of funky instrumentals with the phenomenal lead vocals of Maiya Skyes make it the best version of the song we’ve heard since the original.

Musician Luna Lee is back with another fun cover track performed on the Gayageum – the 1983 pop/rock hit Sharp Dressed Man. We like to imagine there’s a Korean version of ZZ Top somewhere with similarly long beards, hot-rodded Hyundais, and spinning gayageum in place of guitars.

Musician Cihan Gulbudak turns in an epic performance of Radiohead’s 1997 hit Paranoid Android using a theremin to replace the main vocal track. The spooky alien sounds suit the song just perfectly. Be sure to check out his cover of Massive Attack’s Teardrop too.

Musician Dave Rucci (the man behind that awesome SVU cover) turns in a great performance of The Rolling Stones’ 1980 track Waiting on a Friend, with some excellent acoustic guitar work, and a well-executed multi-track vocalization.

Tommy Lee Depp creates bass-only arrangements of popular songs which sound phenomenal, despite only including a single 4-string instrument. Listen as he performs Heart-shaped Box, Come As You Are, Lithium, and Smells Like Teen Spirit.

Musician Clemens Wenners‘ YouTube channel is loaded up with impressive cover versions of tracks from the 1970s and 1980s, accompanied by perfectly selected analog synthesizers and other period-accurate instruments. Tracks include The Bee Gees Nights on Broadway, The Cars’ Drive, and Phil Collins’ In the Air Tonight.

Resident metalhead Leo Moracchioli takes on Dolly Parton’s classic country ballad about her marital insecurities in the only way he knows how – with lots of blood-curdling screams and headbanging. Though the acoustic guitar was unexpected.

With the powerful vocal stylings of Rett Madison leading things off, Scary Pockets succeeded at breathing new life into Cat Stevens’ early ’70s classic Wild World with an ample dose of soul and a dash of funk.

In March 2019, The Prodigy vocalist Keith Flint died from an apparent suicide. In tribute to the musician, the Kaleidoscope Orchestra of Manchester, U.K. performed this wonderful medley of songs including Out of Space, Omen, Spitfire, No Good (Start the Dance), Breathe, and Firestarter.

Serial screamer and contact wearer Leo Moracchioli’s takes on one of the most infectious earworms of all time, OutKast’s Hey Ya! Leo’s version will almost certainly have the song rattling around your head for the rest of the day too.