The Top Alternative Beatles Covers
by 
acostill on October 4th, 2007
It seems like a prequiste to cover The Beatles if you’re in a band. Everyone from legends, (such as Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash and Stevie Wonder), to more diverse acts (Motley Crue, PM Dawn, Aerosmith), to the are you serious covers, such as Jim Carry’s take on “I Am The Walrus”, have covered the Fab Four. With that being said, I now present the best Beatles covers from alternative bands.
Ben Harper - “Strawberry Fields Forever”: This lovely rendition appears on the soundtrack for I Am Sam. It’s mellow and true to the original, with Ben Harper putting his own little spin on this classic tune.
Ben Folds - “Golden Slumbers“: Another selection from I Am Sam. Ben Folds makes this beautiful song even more beautiful.
The Black Crowes - “Long, Long, Long”: The Crowes perform this George Harrison song live and the duel vocals between the Brothers Robinson is fantastic.
The Black Keys - “She Said, She Said”: The duo do an awesome version of this earlier Beatles track. They keep it true to the original, while adding a hint of the blues.
Dave Grohl - “Blackbird”: The Foo frontman does a nice solo rendition of this beauty and then has some fun at the end.
Eddie Vedder - “You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away”: Yet another song from I Am Sam. This is probably my favorite Beatles cover; it’s sweet, simple and the addition of the harmonica at the end is all too cool.
Elliott Smith - “Because “: This appeared on the American Beauty soundtrack and was a perfect choice Elliott Smith to cover, he had such a great voice. The Beatles were a huge influence on him, you can listen to all of his live Beatles covers here.
The John Butler Trio - “Across The Universe”: One of my favorite Beatles songs, that many have covered, but this version from folky band takes the cake.
Pearl Jam - “I’ve Got A Feeling”: I don’t think these guys can do a bad cover. This appeared on import versions of the “Alive” single and it just rocks.
Oasis - “I Am The Walrus”: The sheer arrogance of Oasis to note how great they are in the notes to The Masterplan, by noting that they recorded this live and the Beatles never had, could turn people off. But, this is a flawless and kick ass version of the John Lennon penned classic.
Soundgarden - “Everybody’s Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey”: I think it took a lot of guts to cover this, but if anyone could, it would defiantly be the mighty Soundgarden.
Stone Temple Pilots - “Revolution”: STP originally covered this for the John Lennon tribute on TNT in October of 2001 to a standing ovation. The band liked it so much that they recorded a studio version and released it as a single, with proceeds going to the families of victims of September 11, 2001. Scott does an amazing job of harnessing the vocals of McCartney and Lennon; and the band got some help from Stephen Trask, the man behind Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Tenacious D - “Beatles Medley”: This is actually part of the Abbey Road melody, which contain “You Never Give Me Your Money” and “The End”, which the greatest band in the world do during live performances.
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2 opinions for The Top Alternative Beatles Covers
Oct 4, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Awesome post. I’ve talked about the I Am Sam soundtrack at my blog before. I don’t love covers tunes as a general rule (maybe some ska) but that album was really amazing and impressive. The artists took so many greats and made them their own. You may be right though, that Pearl Jam does not do poor covers. Maybe them and Sublime.
The John Butler Trio is so ringing a bell in my head but I can’t figure out if I know them or not. I LOVE Across the Universe though, so now I’ll have to find it.
Oct 5, 2007 at 9:52 am
I had a feeling that you would like this post : )
For the most part, the I Am Sam soundtrack is pretty decent, because I too am critical of covers, but the artists did a pretty good job.
The John Butler Trio are a newer band from Australia, their kind of a folk/jam band. Their cover of “Across The Universe” was on their What You Want EP.
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