A month of uncertainty – #17 Cover Versions – #4 – The Cure

There I was the other day wandering through the lounge.  The TV is on and my daughter is watching some American series about school students. By the look of things there has been a disco and something romantic has happened as two young students are walking back through some leafy park and are {shock horror} holding hands, as they do that, this plays away in the background.

Just Like Heaven – The Lumineers (2022, Dualtone Records)

Now. ‘Just Like Heaven’ is an incredible song, one of the greatest love songs ever recorded and that sadly has lead to a multitude of really bad versions of it, like this Lumineers version of it.  It’s become a bit like ‘Creep’ in that everyone thinks that they can sing it with the same degree of warmth and emotion that Robert Smith puts into it,  but always end up sounding schmaltzy or terrible, unless of course you happen to be J Mascis that is.

Just Like Heaven – Dinosaur Jr (1987, Blast First Records)

You see what J Mascis did was take the track in a new direction, by adding buzzing guitars and a frankly memorable scream to it that kind of set the track on fire and that’s why perhaps that all cover versions of the track since then have been largely terrible because Mascis perfected it a long time ago and Robert Smith now basically says it’s the best version of the song ever and when inevitably the No Badger Musical Jury vote on the Best Cover Version ever, I expect it to be in the Top Five. 

Here are some other decent cover versions of Cure songs, starting with Kate Rusby, who during the first lockdown back in 2020, recorded an album of cover versions.  It was an album where all the songs reminded her of touring, and every track was a song that she used to sing along to in her tourbus.  One of those songs is this tremendous version of ‘Friday I’m In Love’.  That album ‘Hand Me Down’ is pretty cool as it happens, and ends with a great version of the Bob Marley ‘Three Little Birds’.

Friday I’m In Love – Kate Rusby (2020, Pure Records)

Next up the Smashing Pumpkins, who back in 1994 tucked their version ‘A Night Like This’ away on the B Side to the ‘Bullet with Butterfly Wings’ single.  It was a slightly odd choice – but one that is worthy of attention.  ‘A Night Like This’ for those who aren’t big cure fans is an album track from the 1985 album ‘A Head on the Door’ and at a first glance it seems an odd choice, but the Pumpkins version see Billy Corgan hand over vocal duties to James Iha and as they fill the track with strings and make the guitars all lo fi and reflective.

A Night Like This – Smashing Pumpkins (2013, Virgin Records)

Back in 2008 a Cure tribute was released, I’ve only ever heard one song on that entire album and that was by Natasha Khan, who took the track ‘A Forest’ added a bit of sparkle to it and made it her own.   She stretched the song out, removed a bunch of the lyrics, slowed the beat down and just made it totally mesmerising.

A Forest – Bat For Lashes (2008, Manimal Records)

A year later, two of Supergrass (Danny and Gaz) formed an offshoot band called The Hotrats and released an album of covers of their favourite songs called ‘Turn Ons’ and alongside a garage rock version of ‘(You Gotta) Fight For You Right (To Party)’ was a rather excellent version of  ‘Lovecats’.  At first it sounds almost a note for note copy of the original, with Gaz Coombes even sounding a bit like Robert Smith, but as the song unfolds it all goes a bit crazy and psychedelic and excellent.. 

Lovecats  – The Hotrats (2010, G&D Records)

I don’t suppose any of you want to hear a reggae version of a Cure classic do you?  You do, well that’s lucky.  Depending very much on your definition of luck.

Lovesong – Freddy Matthews (2022, Lights in the Sky Records)