3/30/2005 05:12:00 PM|||Robbie|||

Patty Griffin is arguably one of the most talented songwriters in the business, and it would seem that many of her fellow songwriters would agree. Her songs have been covered by the likes of the Dixie Chicks, Emmylou Harris and even Bette Midler.

Folk singer Melissa Ferrick has also taken a stab and recreates Griffin's 'Moses,' a spectacular song found originally on Griffin's debut, Living With Ghosts. Ferrick's is good; she enlists a strong, steady use of an acoustic guitar and sets the tempo high. But alas, no artist in my opinion can quite touch the power of Griffin's originals, but bless them for trying.


There are a few cover songs found on Jonatha Brooke's latest album, Back In The Circus, but it's her rendition of Alan Parsons' 'Eye In The Sky' that is particularly noteworthy. With her superb voice, Brooke adds a nice intimacy that sets her version apart from the original, carving the song to something the uneducated ear would consider to be penned by Brooke herself.


Although she performs under her married name now, Jessica (Riddle) Jacobs was only nineteen when her debut record, Key Of A Minor, was released. On it featured a slightly odd choice for a cover song in the form of Paul Westerberg's 'Sadly Beautiful.' Riddle has transformed the song from it's soft acoustics to a full-band foot-tapper, yet still managing to stay true. Possessing a 'wise-beyond-her-years' voice, in both this song and all of her others, one could never rightfully place Riddle next to sugar pop acts like Jessica Simpson or Britney Spears.


Before making musical history with Eurythmics, both Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart were making music with the Tourists, a pop outfit which lasted but a few years in the late seventies.

In just a short span of time, the band released three albums, but their version of 'I Only Want To Be With You, the song made famous by Dusty Springfield, was a true standout, reaching high on the British pop charts way back in 1979. The band dissolved a year later, but that wasn't the last time Lennox and Stewart would make an impression.


Downloads:

Melissa Ferrick - Moses
Jonatha Brooke - Eye In The Sky
Jessica Riddle - Sadly Beautiful
The Tourists - I Only Want To Be With You

|||111222790483105897|||Cover Girls, Vol. 8