The five best covers Father John Misty has ever given the world
Father John Misty, or Josh Tillman, is one of the finest songwriters we have right now, or at least one of the most unique. Across all his albums, both before and after stepping into the cult leader-esque cultural persona he’s known as now, his lyrics are deeply storytelling, sharp, humorous and then, in a split second, richly poetic. But beyond that, he’s also simply an incredible singer, with these five covers proving it best.
When someone is an amazing writer, it becomes easy to forget about their raw musical talent. Everything becomes so focused on what they’re saying that the actual greatness of how they sing gets lost. Father John Misty undeniably falls victim to that as he’s rarely given his flowers as a strong vocalist with a timbre that seems able to hold onto so much emotion.
But when he adopts the words of someone else, that becomes clear. In covers across his career, he’s touched on all genres and artists, from Bob Dylan to even the likes of Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails. Not only does each one reveal a little more about the artists he loves and is inspired by, but they seem to truly shine a spotlight on his worth as a vocalist and a performer.
Sometimes, that’s because he’s stripping the song back to nothing more than a guitar and his voice. But even on covers where he’s levelled it all up, adding new instrumental details and new melodrama to the track, his finest versions of other people’s songs only add to his legacy as an artist who deserves the respect and recognition he’d earned himself.
Father John Misty’s five best covers:
‘Everything Is Free’ – Gillian Welch
Recorded for Spotify around the time he was releasing God’s Favourite Customer, Father John Misty’s take on ‘Everything Is Free’ is so simple but so powerful. While his songs are often big productions with huge instrumental choices in play, any time he gives people a more stripped-back glimpse at his vocals, it is a reminder of just how raw his talent is, as there’s just something in the tonality and inflexion of his voice that’s able to hold so much emotion.
With nothing to hide behind or distract you, his take on the 2001 track is a reminder of the power of Welch’s original. Released right when streaming services were dawning, and artists were facing up to the coming era of financial strain when suddenly no one wanted to pay for music anymore, her lyrics deal with the conflict between being called to create and being exploited by the industry. Over a decade on, sung through Tillman’s voice, it’s as prevalent as ever.
‘I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)’ – Stevie Wonder
When Tillman released Chloë and the Next 20th Century, he went all in on a new character. That entire album feels like it’s sung out of an old-school Vegas ballroom with the singer on stage in his suit and dress shoes. It’s an album that feels narrated by a fading star crashing out but hanging on, powered by pure maximalism to almost a camp extent.
So what better cover to release alongside that than a huge, anthemic pop song that exists in that cheesy realm? Originally written and released by Stevie Wonder in 1972, the song was later covered and amped up even more by George Michael with his own melodramatic take. Tillman’s version goes even harder, seemingly merging all the covers that came before as the outro goes all out Wonder, while his emotive pop delivery could be the work of Michael. A perfect choice to suit the era, he carries it off expertly.
‘Trouble’ – Cat Stevens
‘Trouble’ was written during an intense period of exactly that. Cat Stevens was ill, really ill, and was forced to spend over a year recovering after being diagnosed with a collapsed lung and tuberculosis. He was stuck in hospital for months on end, spending that time scribbling in his notepad songs he would later record when he was well enough. ‘Trouble’ is one of them.
It’s a song so simple and so beautiful that it seems like it would be impossible for any cover to not be good. The bare bones of it are so great that it would be tough to rock, but as Tillman keeps it simple, too, only adding in some big angelic harmonies, he protects the heart of the song. Somehow, feeling reminiscent of his younger years in an intense Christian community, singing in the choir there, his cover feels hymn-like.
‘If You’ve Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Gotta Stay All Night)’ – Bob Dylan
Even Bob Dylan couldn’t decide how this song should be. Written in 1964 and first recorded in 1965, it never found a real home and bounced between different versions. Initially, it was recorded during the Bringing It All Back Home sessions, with that full-band take captured on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. But when he performed it live, it was often more stripped back, almost comical.
But his version was slow and balladic when Tillman took it on, released during his earlier years as J Tillman. While Dylan sang the begging lyrics as repeated jokes while trying to convince a lover to stay the night, Tillman brings out the romance and even the kind of sadness in the lyrics, slowing it down, stripping it back and replacing the wink-wink-nudge-nudge energy of Dylan’s original with a genuine tenderness.
‘One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong’ – Leonard Cohen
This is a huge and bold statement, but I’m going to bravely state – I think this version is better than Cohen’s original. Sitting on his debut album, Songs of Leonard Cohen, his original is as simple as the rest of the songs on the record. It’s just Cohen, an acoustic guitar player, and his great lyricism, and it works.
With no distraction, the story of the song comes out clearly as he moves through increasingly desperate scenes, encountering more and more people in love with the woman he’s also heartbroken over.
But in Tillman’s take, he levels it up. With horns and a bigger band behind him, the instrumental drama matches up to the lyrics, building a song that sounds exactly like the kind of tortured desperation that it sings of. It’s also a moment where he is going all out vocally. He’s singing from his chest here, giving this song his absolute all, and it benefits from it. Existing on the opposite end of the spectrum from Cohen’s simplicity, Tillman’s bigger take still maintains the heart of the song but amps it up into something as thrilling, conflicting and tense as the story deserves and demands.
