Awesome Covers

Jump back, what’s that sound? It’s a banjo and an upright bass! The bluegrass wizards of Finland’s Steve ‘n’ Seagulls turn in another insanely delightful cover, this time taking on Van Halen’s hit Panama with their trademark rapidfire twang.

Leo Moracchioli intensifies Michael Jackson’s already taut pop-rock track by infusing the 1987 mega-hit Smooth Criminal with his trademark blend of gravely, headbanging heavy metal that puts Alien Ant Farm’s rock cover to shame.

Pomplamoose continues to infect our ears with joy with yet another awesome performance, mashing up Jamiroquai’s Virtual Insanity and The Bee Gees’ Stayin’ Alive. If you don’t want to get up and dance to this right now, we don’t know what’s wrong with you.

Jimi Hendrix was a master of the electric guitar. But we could never imagine one of his fiery hot tracks played on something so jangly as a ukulele. Well color us impressed. Sit back, crank up the speakers, and enjoy this fantastic uke cover of Voodoo Child, played by James Hill.

Scary Pockets teamed up with vocalist Mario Jose to perform a funky interpretation of of Guns N’ Roses’ hit Sweet Child O’ Mine, unlike any we’ve ever heard before. Between the Rhodes keyboard, horns, and Mario’s soulful voice, it’s a truly special listening experience.

Violinist “Danielle” discovered that the acoustics of a tunnel produced a dramatic echo. Listen as she plays a passage from John Williams’ Burning Homestead. We can vividly picture Luke coming home to the smoldering corpses of Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru.

(PG-13: Language) The 3+1 members of the Warp Trio perform an energetic and enthralling arrangement of the entire 2017 Gorillaz album Humanz on piano, cello, violin, and percussion. It’s definitely well worth the next 32 minutes of your time.

“All day long, wearing a mask of false bravado…” The eclectic Sydney, Australia band Ocean Alley dusts off a 1970s classic – Player’s 1977 hit Baby Come Back, making us feel all warm and fuzzy inside thanks in no small part to Baden Donegal’s soulful lead vocals.

The original Sonic the Hedgehog was loaded with some of the most memorable music in the history of video games, including the classic opening level Green Hill Zone. Banjo Guy Ollie turns in an equally memorable performance of the tune on banjo and mandolin.

Musician Alexandr Misko hangs tough, stays hungry, and rises up to the challenge of his rivals with another awesome fingerstyle acoustic performance, as he takes on the 1980s juggernaut that was Survivor’s hit theme from Rocky III, Eye of the Tiger.

Brooklyn, New York’s High & Mighty Brass Band gives Portugal. The Man’s big hit a shiny coat of paint, infusing the tune with a rich, layered, and jazzy new sound. This arrangement would work great for a football halftime show.

We’re really digging the bigger sound of Pomplamoose these days, now that they’ve expanded from a duo to a full band. Their latest track is a fantastic cover of the 2009 La Roux electro-dance track Bulletproof.

Heavy metal musician and arranger Leo Moracchioli makes yet another track uniquely his own, transforming The Verve’s 1997 hit Bitter Sweet Symphony into a rough-edged, hard-rockin’, head-bangin’ new tune.

Tristan Clarke and Joe Buono aka The Melodica Men present a fun full-length cover of Queen’s classic rock opera Bohemian Rhapsody, doing the fandango, thunderbolt and lightning on their silly mouth-blown instruments.

We’ve heard more than a few of cover versions of a-ha’s 1985 hit Take on Me, and now we can add bluegrass to the list. The guys from My Brother’s Keeper do the track proud with their jangly sounds and layered harmonies. Bonus points for hitting that impossibly high note.

Musician Jon Gomm presents an acoustic guitar cover of Radiohead’s 1995 track High and Dry that will pull you in and won’t let go. If you liked what you heard, be sure to check out Passionflower, which put him on the map for his ability to retune his guitar while performing.

Leo Moracchioli proves once again that even the most unlikely of tracks can be covered in his growly heavy metal style. Here, he takes Dee-Lite’s big 1990 dance hit Groove Is in the Heart, and powers it up, while still retaining the whimsical slide whistle.

Headed up by the silky smooth vocals of entertainer Maiya Sykes, the guys from Postmodern Jukebox offer up a soul-stirring soul cover of The Cranberries’ haunting 1994 track Zombie. Man, that song always gives us the chills.

Leo Moracchioli belts out an extreme remake of Hansen’s 1997 teeny-bopper pop hit MMMbop which is pretty much what the song would have sounded like if the young brothers have been possessed by very angry demons whenever the chorus kicked in.

Tricked out in its current full band incarnation, Pomplamoose has been cranking out some great tracks, the latest being this unlikely, but just perfect mashup of Foster the People’s Pumped up Kicks and Radiohead’s Everything In Its Right Place.

Just in time to get us in the mood for Season 2 to debut, musicians Brooklyn Duo and Cicely Parnas turn in an amazing live performance of Ramin Djawadi’s intense main theme from HBO’s Westworld. Be sure to check out their Bach Cello Suite No. 1, if you get a chance.

Think your neighbors are noisy? They guys from Apartment Sessions managed to cram 100 musicians into an apartment building where they performed a cover version of Arcade Fire’s classic Wake Up. Still, we’re pretty sure they have fewer members than the real Arcade Fire.

During the UK launch event for the Mazda MX-5 RF, THePETEBOX teamed up with The Pisces Rising’s talented string players and vocalists to perform a handful of unique covers, including MGMT’s Kids, Nirvana’s Lithium, and Pixies’ Where Is My Mind.