Since my friends and family know I love the Beatles' music, they will quite often recommend versions of Beatles songs by other artists to me. Every time, I warn them up front that I usually don't like covers of Beatles songs. When you love every little detail, quirk, and imperfection in the original recording, it's difficult to warm up to an alternate take.
Cover songs in general, but I think especially Beatles covers, have a difficult balance to strike. If they stray too far from the spirit of the original, they can "ruin" it, or at least imply a failure to understand and respect the material. On the other hand, a slavish recreation of the first recording makes the cover look like a pale imitation with no real reason for existing. So I think the best covers are those that somehow avoid these two pitfalls, honoring the original while having the courage to put their own spin on the song. The following are interpretations of Beatles songs that I think achieved this, resulting in covers I like at least as well as the originals-- possibly better in a couple instances!
"Ticket to Ride" by the Carpenters
This might not be the most popular choice, but I definitely have a soft spot for this version, which I actually heard long before the Beatles original. (I know, I know-- anathema.) It's a credit to the strength of Lennon and McCartney's songwriting that "Ticket to Ride" works both as a heavy, uptempo rock 'n' roll track, and here as a soft, slow ballad with Baroque touches. It doesn't sound like it should be effective, but Richard Carpenter's skillful arranging and Karen's incomparable voice more than pull it off.
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps" by Peter Frampton
The friend who pointed me to this cover actually thought it was the original and the Beatles' version was a cover-- an error I quickly corrected! I definitely prefer the more soulful vocal and cleaner production on the original recording, but the guitar solos here are AMAZING. It's a passionate, sensitive piece of music, and definitely a worthy cover of this incredible song.
"Eleanor Rigby" by Aretha Franklin
Remember what I said above about covers needing to not stray too far from the original? I lied. Here is a cover that works precisely because it is so drastically different from the Beatles' version that it becomes a completely separate entity. The angsty, edgy, haunting mood of the Revolver track is nowhere to be found in this energetic explosion of improvisatory soul music. But because it's Aretha Franklin, it absolutely works.
"Because" by Evan Rachel Wood and the cast of Across the Universe
At the other end of the spectrum from Aretha's "Eleanor Rigby," this is a cover that sticks pretty close to the original, with some minor tweaks that I would say are actually improvements. As much as I love the way the unique timbres of John, Paul, and George's voices combined when they sang three-part harmony, I think the ethereal nature of "Because" begs for some clearer, preferably female voices. This cover delivers that-- a most beautiful performance of an already beautiful song.
"The Long and Winding Road" by Himesh Patel
I was rather ambivalent about the movie Yesterday and most of the covers it featured, but this one stands out. "Winding Road," to me, needs sparse instrumentation to match the loneliness the lyrics discuss. This is why I greatly prefer the "naked" version to the rather schmaltzy one off the original Let It Be album. This cover is even more "naked" than that, with nothing but piano and Patel's lovely voice. It works especially well in the context of the film-- showing how the beauty of the song stands on its own, regardless of how it's produced or who is performing it.
"Here Comes the Sun" by Nina Simone
This is quite possibly my favorite Beatles cover-- and it's a song that I didn't think could be covered successfully. Every note and syllable of the original version of "Here Comes the Sun" is so iconic; the cover dilemma I described is magnified tenfold for this song. Somehow, though, this version strikes the magic balance. Perhaps the secret ingredient is the change to piano instead of guitar as the primary instrument, or the surprising resemblance of Simone's voice to George Harrison's. All I know is that this cover has a powerful draw and sense of significance that differs from the original while also delivering the same general mood, making it a classic in its own right.
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