The five best covers of The Smiths
Despite only ever releasing four albums, The Smiths made an impact on musical culture that can still be felt today. It seems that indie nightclubs everywhere continue to play their music, while newbies to the genre stumble across their sound and listen intently. It has an incredibly moving effect, hence why they continue getting listeners.
What is it about their sound that continues to move people? There is the guitar playing of Johnny Marr, which is a massive contributor, as he plays cleanly but manages to create a melody that is unmistakable. There is also Morrissey’s singing voice, which is completely one of a kind and is the perfect tone for The Smiths.
If you ever question the cultural impact of The Smiths, all you need to do is look at how many excellent artists have previously covered them. Excellent bands from different genres have all taken their favourite songs from the bands in a bid to put their own spin on them. Some of the offerings are not so good, while there are some that rival the original.
Here, we will be focusing on the latter. After scouring through different covers of The Smiths, Far Out have put together our list of the best five covers out there.
The greatest covers of The Smiths:
Jeff Buckley – ‘I Know It’s Over’
Let’s just get this one out of the way. Whenever people start talking about good covers of The Smiths, it’s only a matter of time until they start talking about Jeff Buckley’s beautiful rendition of the track ‘I Know It’s Over’. So, without further ado, here it is, claiming the opening entry on our list.
What is it about this song that appeals to people so much? The answer is easy: it’s simplicity. The track is a gorgeous rendition of a gorgeous song, played on an acoustic guitar and sung perfectly. It’s incredibly hard to find any fault with something as stripped back and as perfect as this.
Xiu Xiu – ‘Asleep’
There are a lot of songs by The Smiths that we enjoyed nodding our heads to and dancing along with. They have a sweet serenity which instils something strange in the listener. ‘Asleep’ is different, as this is one of their songs which is incredibly slow and has a quality that feels almost dreamlike (which feels appropriate).
Xiu Xiu captures this quality wonderfully on their rendition of the track. Not a lot has changed; the tone of the song remains, even while the piano is swapped out for a clean-sounding guitar. It’s hard to find fault with this stunning track.
The Last Shadow Puppets – ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’
During their expansive touring schedule, The Last Shadow Puppets weren’t afraid to reel off a number of different, stellar covers. These include ‘Moonage Daydream’, ‘Is This What You Wanted’ and their serene rendition of The Smiths’ ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’.
Taking to the stage for an encore after one of their shows in Alexandra Palace, the band welcomed Johnny Marr onto the stage and paid homage to one of the best songs ever written. Marr’s guitar and Alex Turner’s vocals are a match made in heaven, and it’s impossible to deny the magnitude of this track.
Dum Dum Girls – ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’
The Smiths are a great example of how a knowledge of rhythm and melody, played cleanly, can have the same effect (if not better) than a complicated riff flooded with fuzz and wah. Dum Dum Girls manage to take that rhythm but add a hint of distortion and background guitar lines to breathe new life into the track.
They don’t overdo it in their adaptation of the song; if they did, then this cover wouldn’t land. They manage to take the original and give it a new look while remaining recognisable. A truly faultless rendition of a classic.
Stars – ‘This Charming Man’
The majority of the covers on this list stay pretty faithful to the original, so it only seems right that we include an entry which puts its own spin on the song. This funky and head-bobbing rendition by Stars fits the bill well, as it gives a whole makeover to a song that sounds like it can’t be changed.
It will no doubt divide opinion, as a lot of people get very precious about songs they love and don’t like to see them changed. However, this writer believes that Stars deserve some credit for their remixed version of The Smiths.
