So my hombre Gordo requested that I name my 5 favorite “cover” songs as part of a little multi-blog list collaboration. Because I’m currently swept up in the many joys of working in the retail industry during the holidays, I decided to modify this assignment and name my favorite Xmas song covers. So here goes…
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Um, the definitive version of perhaps the definitive Xmas song. Along with Father Christmas by the Kinks, set the standard for rock n’ roll Christmas songs before they were big business. Perfect.
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), U2
Darlene Love’s original version is perhaps one of the finest pop vocal performances of all time, Xmas or not, but U2 amazingly creates a version that is, arguably, as good if not better.
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, John Mellencamp
I’ve always loved 12-year old Jimmy Boyd’s (who later appeared on PBS’s The Electric Company) poignant original, but I definitely prefer this cover. In perhaps the most drastic re-working of a Christmas classic, Mellencamp turns a ballad into an alt-country rave up, fiddle and all.
Last Christmas, Jimmy Eat World
I never would have expected to like a cover of Wham!’s admittedly guilty pleasure cheesefest, but they managed to infuse just enough modern rock to make it listenable again.
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Jack Johnson
Johnson’s laid back style doesn’t seem condusive to a quality Christmas tune, but he manages to mele kalikimaka the crap out of it. With the all the stress of the holidays, this mellow alternative to a classic story is just what the doctor ordered.