Awesome Covers

Musician DØVYDAS likes to take requests during live shows. But when he was asked to play All Along the Watchtower, he had apparently never played it before. So what’s a talented musician to do? Look up the tabs on his smartphone, then perform it anyhow.

Musician Marc Martel busts out another awesome one-take Queen cover, this time taking on their 1974 hit Killer Queen, complete with incredible falsettos, and an amazing whistle that will make all the dogs in your house perk their ears up.

Students from Bosnia and Herzegovina music school JU muzička škola Prijedor turn in an energetic performance of Michael Jackson’s 1983 classic, played on more than a dozen accordions. Just one question: are these kids all agents for the Men in Black?

PAB_Music pulls off a impressively accurate cover version of Radiohead’s 1997 classic, performing each of its instrumental and vocal parts, then layering them together. He previously worked his magic on Under Pressure and Where the Streets Have No Name.

Musicians Grayson Erhard and Morning Bear present a powerful acoustic arrangement of Gnarls Barkley’s 2006 hit Crazy. Their arrangement changes things up a bit, but the perfect counterpoint to the lyrics about the protagonist’s mental instability.

We’re off to Never-never Land with singer Anthony Vincent as he turns Metallica’s Enter Sandman into a totally different song by performing it in the a variety of unlikely styles ranging from The Doors to Haddaway to Owl City. The David Bowie version is our favorite.

If you ask us, Jonathan Coulton’s Still Alive is one of the greatest video game songs of all time. Now sit back, relax, and enjoy this vibrant and jazzy version of the track, performed by The 8-Bit Big Band, with singer Benny Benack III doing his best Frank Sinatra.

It Burns Burns Burns! Leo Moracchioli lights his studio on fire with his rendition of the Johnny Cash classic Ring of Fire. While he adds his typical growls and grunts, he preserves the song’s mariachi-inspired brass sounds.

Funkmasters Scary Pockets take The Police track Every Breath You Take and give it a fresh coat of paint with this wonderful rendition of the 1983 hit, led off by the soulful vocals of Sarah Dugas, and paying tribute to the syncopated reggae beats of the original.

The idea of an AC/DC tune being played on flute seems like an unnatural fit, but in the able hands and lips of musician Miquelmar, it works perfectly – with the help of a loop box to amp up his rhythm section. His Bohemian Rhapsody cover is worth a listen too.

Musician Peter Bence previously wowed us with his cover of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now. Now, he’s back to blow us away with an incredibly energetic version of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, performed on the grand piano, with the help of some looping and effects pedals.

Cy Ho is a master of the harmonica. Among the tracks you’ll find on his YouTube channel is this live cover version of Lalo Shifrin’s classic theme song from Mission Impossible. Be sure to check out his performances of Billie Jean and Flight of the Bumblebee too.

A fantastic take on the Deadmau5 track Gula, as performed on brass, drums, glockenspiel, and other traditional marching band instruments by Hamburg, Germany-based techno band MEUTE, while on the streets of Lisbon, Portugal.

Following up on the success of their hit cover version of Toto’s Africa, Weezer dropped a surprise release featuring that track, and nine other solid cover versions, including songs from Eurythmics, A-ha, ELO, and Michael Jackson.

Musician Marc Martel has wowed us before with his incredible vocal impression of the late Freddie Mercury. His latest performance is a powerful and heartfelt rendition of the song Mercury wrote for Mary Austin. We’ve seriously got chills. (Thanks Jason!)

There’s quite literally something electric in the air with this high voltage performance of Queen’s rock opera. Electronics wiz Fabrício H. Franzoli programmed a duo of solid state Tesla coils to “sing” a portion of the track. His take on Daft Punk is pretty awesome too.

Musician Taylor Davis presents a beautiful multitrack violin version of the famed theme from Doctor Who, ready to send us on a journey through space and time without leaving the comfort of our desks.

World-famous computer parts orchestra The Floppotron is back with another meme-worthy tune, Kenny Loggins’ track, Danger Zone, best known for its appearances on the Top Gun soundtrack – and its even better use in Archer.

Get Schwifty with musician Scott Bradlee (of Postmodern Jukebox fame), as he performs his arrangement of the theme song from Rick and Morty, played in a smooth, jazzy style. We’d love to see the versions of Rick and Morty that exist in the jazz quadrant of the multiverse.

By now, you’ve heard a thousand and one cover versions of Toto’s Africa, and it’s starting to wear out its welcome. But we couldn’t resist posting Toni “Pupsi” Patanen’s version, in which he performs the track using some delicious veggies and fruits. More edible fun here.

Aussie string quartet Dolce Ensembles provides their own upbeat interpretation of Walk the Moon’s 2014 pop hit Shut Up and Dance, performed on violin, viola, and cello. We especially enjoyed the plucky pizzicato bit.

While it’s in no way a comprehensive collection, musician Marcos Kaiser’s compilation of 12 classic movie themes performed on his acoustic guitar will bring back lots of memories, and occasionally tug at your heartstrings.

Miserlou was made famous by Dick Dale and Pulp Fiction. But it originated as a traditional mediterranean song. Here, the track both returns to its roots and gets a fresh coat of paint courtesy of violinist Caroline Campbell, pianist William Joseph, and cellist Tina Guo.