Since cover songs are so much fun to talk about, I thought I’d weigh in on a few well-known cover songs from the past few years – the good ones, as well as a few that we would rather forget.  My criteria is simple:  A good cover song should bring something new to the table, and the song should be treated in a way that is well-suited to the artist as well as the genre.  This list focuses specifically on country covers of non-country songs.

Click the original artists’ names in parentheses to hear the original versions.

Rosanne Cash, “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party” (The Beatles)
1989 | #1

Where it goes right:  Rosanne’s last career hit was a cover from a Beatles tribute album, and it didn’t sound quite like one might expect.  Though rarely one to use overt country instrumentation throughout most of her career, she delivers a brisk, upbeat take that’s layered in fiddling.  I’ll take it!

Grade:  B+

Mark Chesnutt, “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” (Aerosmith)
1998 | #1

Where it goes wrong:  It’s hard to imagine a worse pairing between song and performer.  Mark Chesnutt, the revered neotraditionalist behind “Too Cold at Home” and “Going Through the Big D” covering a rock power ballad?  It’s true – complete with apologetic steel guitar fills and a vocal smothered in autotune.  The end result is so cheesy that you might as well slap it between two crackers.  The fact that this is the top Mark Chesnutt iTunes download is very very sad.

Grade:  D

Dixie Chicks, “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac)
2002 | #2

Where it goes right:  The Chicks give a well-known Fleetwood Mac favorite a stripped-down bluegrass treatment, which is a great fit for the nature-related imagery in the song’s lyrics.  The Chicks elevate the song further with their gorgeous harmonies.  As much as I love Fleetwood Mac, I have to say that this version tops the original.  It’s one of the best cover songs I’ve ever heard, and one of the Dixie Chicks’ personal best moments, of which there have been many.

Grade:  A

Sara Evans, “I Could Not Ask for More” (Edwin McCain)
2001 | #2

Where it goes right:  Evans delivers a stunning and powerful vocal performance that holds nothing back whatsoever.

Where it goes wrong:  The arrangement is a bit syrupy, and it’s essentially a pop cover of a pop song.  Is a little fiddle or steel too much to ask for?

Grade:  B

Faith Hill, “Piece of My Heart” (Erma Franklin, Janis Joplin)
1994 | #1

(Watch the video)

Where it goes right:  The fact that Hill was unfamiliar with the Franklin and Joplin versions is telling.  You can easily tell that she is making no attempt to emulate the style of another artist, instead giving a performance totally her own, while the songs’s melody fits well with the countrified arrangement.

Where it goes wrong:  Again, the fact that Hill was unfamiliar with the previous versions is telling.  Her performance lacks the fire and fury of Joplin’s version, which makes it easy to see why one might consider Hill’s performance to be a bit too sugary.

Grade:  B-

Alison Krauss, “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” (The Foundations)
1995 | #49

Where it goes right:  Krauss takes a forgettable Motown tune, and delivers a slowed-down mid-tempo version that much more deeply accentuates the emotions conveyed in the lyrics.  In contrast, the original sounded like one big party, which is an ill-fitting treatment of a song about trying to stop one’s lover from leaving.  The track is made all the more sweeter by Kruass’ angelic vocals, and by the expert instrumental backup of Union Station.  The song went on to win Krauss a well-deserved Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance.

Grade:  A

Reba McEntire, “Cathy’s Clown” (Everly Brothers)
1989 | #1

Where it goes right:  It’s extremely effective as a reinterpretation, as McEntire slows the song down to an emotional ballad, and tweaks the lyrics to fit her feminine perspective.  Did I mention that she also gives a mighty fine vocal performance?

Where it goes wrong:  The production is a bit watered-down, which was not unusual for Reba’s late eighties and early nineties output.

Grade:  B+

Pam Tillis, “When You Walk In the Room” (Jackie DeShannon)
1994 | #2

Where it goes right:  Tillis could hardly have chosen a better song to countrify, as the lyric about a nervous encounter with an old flame fits right in with classic country music.  She even tweaked the instrumental opening so as to be better suited for the steel guitar, which demonstrates her strong commitment to the country genre.

Grade:  A

Travis Tritt, “Take It Easy” (The Eagles)
1994 | #21

Where it goes right:  The Eagles were about the countriest rock band you’d ever meet, and did a great deal to influence the evolution of country sounds and styles, so they were a fitting candidate for an all-country tribute album.  The centerpiece of the collection was honky-tonker Travis Tritt’s version of “Take It Easy” – an energetic performance that had even more body than the original, but that still felt reverent toward the legendary group’s classic version.

Grade:  A

Conway Twitty, “The Rose” (Bette Midler)
1983 | #1

Where it goes right:  Nowhere.

Where it goes wrong:  Everywhere. (Can you say bad karaoke?)

Grade:  D

Jimmy Wayne, “Sara Smile” (Hall and Oates)
2009 | #31

Where it goes wrong:  To put it simply… reinterpreting a song does not mean simply ”adding a banjo line.”  The fact that Hall and Oates even sing background vocals on this track only adds to the overall feeling of pointlessness.

Grade:  D+

Mark Wills, “Back at One” (Brian McKnight)
1999 | #2

Where it goes wrong:  If it made for an awfully cheesy pop song in the hands of Brian McKnight, it made a flat-out terrible country song when Mark Wills covered it a mere two months after the release of the McKnight version.  It’s a record characterized by superfluous genre-pandering steel guitar fills, and a lead vocal that sounds more occupied with grooving to the beat than making any sort of emotional connection.  The song peaked at #2, and then Wills tackled a Brandy song immediately afterwards.  Seriously, dude?

Grade:  C-

Dwight Yoakam, “Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley)
1992 | #35

Where it goes right:  Covering an Elvis song is a tall order, to say the least.  The fact that Yoakam’s version rivals the original, with its contemporized arrangement and knockout lead vocal, is hardly a small feat.

Grade:  A

What’s your take on these tunes?  What are your favorite cover songs?  What are your least favorite cover songs?

2009

• Rascal Flatts, Unstoppable – 669,000
• Keith Urban, Defying Gravity – 349,000
• Jason Aldean, Wide Open – 241,000
• Dierks Bentley, Feel That Fire – 189,000
• Martina McBride, Shine – 89,000
• John Rich, Son of a Preacher Man – 89,000
• Rodney Atkins, It’s America – 72,000
• Jake Owen, Easy Does It – 70,000
• Eric Church, Carolina – 66,000
• Randy Travis, I Told You So: Ultimate Hits – 59,000
• Randy Rogers Band, Randy Rogers Band – 57,000
• Pat Green, What I’m For – 54,000
• Willie Nelson & Asleep at the Wheel, Willie & The Wheel – 50,000
• Billy Ray Cyrus, Back to Tennessee – 29,000
• Jason Michael Carroll, Growing Up is Getting Old – 26,000
• Dean Brody, Dean Brody – 5,000

2008

• Taylor Swift, Fearless – 3,220,000
• Sugarland, Love on the Inside – 1,594,000
• George Strait, Troubadour – 860,000
• Alan Jackson, Good Time – 803,000
• Keith Urban, Greatest Hits – 737,000
• Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun – 696,000
• Darius Rucker, Learn to Live – 642,000
• Rascal Flatts, Greatest Hits Vol. 1 – 642,000
• Toby Keith, 35 Biggest Hits – 630,000
• Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum – 572,000
• Zac Brown Band, Foundation – 511,000
• Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song – 438,000
• Toby Keith, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy – 384,000
• James Otto, Sunset Man – 368,000
• Julianne Hough, Julianne Hough – 309,000
• Dierks Bentley, Greatest Hits – 244,000
• Brad Paisley, Play – 238,000
• Jewel, Perfectly Clear – 226,000
• Kellie Pickler, Kellie Pickler – 216,000
• Dolly Parton, Backwoods Barbie – 199,000
• Heidi Newfield, What am I Waiting For? – 197,000
• Tim McGraw, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 – 196,000
• Trace Adkins, X – 174,000
• Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew it All – 173,000
• Blake Shelton, Startin’ Fires – 152,000
• Joey + Rory, Life of a Song – 152,000
• Billy Currington, Little Bit of Everything – 133,000
• Chuck Wicks, Starting Now – 129,000
• Jimmy Wayne, Do You Believe Me Now – 127,000
• Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy – 94,000
• Eli Young Band, Jet Black and Jealous – 92,000
• Hank Williams III, Damn Right Rebel Proud – 76,000
• Craig Morgan, Greatest Hits – 73,000
• Lost Trailers, Holler Back – 65,000
• Randy Houser, Anything Goes – 58,000

2006-2007

• Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift – 4,129,000
• Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride – 2,852,000
• Trace Adkins, Greatest Hits Vol. 2 – 627,000

It’s not a particularly interesting song, but by design, it’s not supposed to be. “I’ll Be That” serves its purpose as a pleasing sing-a-long with a decent hook, packed with sweet albeit unoriginal promises: “The one that’ll stand and fight for you/A safe place you can run to/The truth in the words ‘I do’/I’ll be that to you.” Stacked against the crop of male regulars on country radio, Wayne has one of the better, more soothing voices, so the song automatically gets an added boost. Of course, it’s a little difficult to pick Wayne’s voice out from the over-produced chorus, but as clamoring radio releases go, it could be worse.

The singles off Wayne’s second album, Do You Believe Me Now, have yet to cross over into an even moderately traditional country sound, so those still hooked on Wayne’s original stylings, a la the potent “Stay Gone,” should move along – nothing to see here. But if you can settle for an energetic, toe-tapping little number that may or may not be forgotten when the leaves start to change, “I’ll Be That” is worth a listen.

Written by Kevin Paige, Bob Regan and Jimmy Wayne

Grade: B-

Listen: I’ll Be That

If Gaston’s sniffing around Nashville for a musical muse, he shall look no further. He bears a striking resemblance to Jimmy Wayne, that emotive purveyor of power-pop country. The pair share an ability to trade in their pretty-boy carriages and a connection with Taylor Swift (Gaston’s the Romeo in “Love Story”; Wayne records for Valory, an imprint of Big Machine).

Wayne’s glorious fist pumps and gaudy wailing made the video for “I Will” such a mess. The audio portion of the package fares no better.  “I Will” is in an overanxious rush to go nowhere, with crashing guitars and admissions of codependency.  Wayne is a capable vocalist; proof positive was his debut single, “Stay Gone.” But he’s straining like an early ’90s Michael Bolton here. With the song climbing through the 30s of the airplay chart, one imagines that country music is making some room for paperback-romance poetry (“I will give up my life for you if you want it/Give you my heart, you already own it”). Radio will spin the record in between Geico commercials, but will I remember “I Will” six months from now?  I won’t.

Grade: C-

Written by Dave Pahanish and Rory Lee Feek

Listen: I Will

Buy: I Will

It’s not all doom and gloom, as many artists go on to make their best music once they leave major labels.   But this Christmas, you can guarantee that some artists and record executives will be bracing for the New Year, while others are embracing it.

Here’s a look at some totals for albums released in 2008, ranked by total sales (rounded to the nearest thousand):

1. Taylor Swift, Fearless – 1,519,000
2. Sugarland, Love on the Inside – 1,179,000
3. George Strait, Troubadour – 693,000
4. Alan Jackson, Good Time – 628,000
5. Toby Keith, 35 Biggest Hits – 530,000
6. Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun – 479,000
7. Faith Hill, Joy to the World – 341,000
8. Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum – 337,000
9. James Otto, Sunset Man – 332,000
10. Rascal Flatts, Greatest Hits Volume 1 – 330,000
11. Darius Rucker, Learn to Live – 284,000
12. Julianne Hough, Julianne Hough – 260,000
13. Toby Keith, That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy – 224,000
14. Jewel, Perfectly Clear – 203,000
15. Dierks Bentley, Greatest Hits: Every Mile a Memory -  195,000
16. Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song – 183,000
17. Heidi Newfield, What Am I Waiting For – 162,000
18. Jessica Simpson, Do You Know – 153,000
19. Brad Paisley, Play – 137,000
20. Kellie Pickler, Kellie Pickler – 129,000
21. Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew it All – 127,000
22. Tim McGraw, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 – 127,000
23. Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be – 119,000
24. Zac Brown Band, Foundation – 118,000
25. Randy Travis, Around the Bend – 89,000
26. Ashton Shepherd, Sounds So Good - 84,000
27. Jimmy Wayne, Do You Believe Me Now – 81,000
28. Trace Adkins, X – 72,000
29. Billy Currington, Little Bit of Everything – 65,000
30. Blake Shelton, Startin’ Fires – 60,000
31. Hank III, Damn Right Rebel Proud – 47,000
32. Lee Ann Womack, Call Me Crazy – 45,000
33. Joey + Rory, Life of a Song – 44,000
34. Patty Loveless, Sleepless Nights – 38,000
35. Craig Morgan, Greatest Hits – 34,000
36. Craig Morgan, That’s Why – 31,000
37. Randy Owen, One on One – 22,000
38. Randy Houser, Anything Goes – 17,000

Country Universe is offering a free copy of Learn to Live to our loyal readers. To be considered, leave a comment and tell us your favorite #1 country song of 2008.

Billboard #1 country songs in 2008:

Taylor Swift – “Our Song”
Brad Paisley – “Letter To Me”
Rodney Atkins – “Cleaning This Gun (Come On In Boy)”
Carrie Underwood – “All-American Girl”
Alan Jackson – “Small Town Southern Man”
Trace Adkins – “You’re Gonna Miss This”
George Strait – “I Saw God Today”
James Otto – “Just Got Started Loving You”
Brad Paisley – “I’m Still A Guy”
Carrie Underwood – “Last Name”
Kenny Chesney – “Better As A Memory”
Montgomery Gentry – “Back When I Knew It All”
Blake Shelton – “Home”
Alan Jackson – “Good Time”
Sugarland – “All I Want To Do”
Taylor Swift – “Should’ve Said No”
Keith Urban – “You Look Good In My Shirt”
Jimmy Wayne – “Do You Believe Me Now?”
Brad Paisley – “Waitin’ On A Woman”
Jimmy Wayne – “Do You Believe Me Now?”
Darius Rucker – “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”
Kenny Chesney – “Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven”
Toby Keith – “She Never Cried In Front Of Me”
Carrie Underwood – “Just A Dream”
Taylor Swift – “Love Story”

Entries will be considered until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, November 23. Best of luck!

In any case, the awkward little details of this video are really too enjoyable to spoil, but suffice it to say that the concept seems utterly disconnected from the song, the direction does nothing new (note the Flattsian “dozens of golden spotlights behind the singer during the chorus” effect), and the dialogue…well, just watch it.

Altogether, the piece suggests that one of Jimmy Wayne’s greatest distinctions as an artist – his penchant for musical catharsis – may also become his greatest liability. I dug the unabashed emoism of “Do You Believe Me Now” (at least in its video incarnation), but this is just way too much drama for no good reason. Wayne has talent and passion to spare, but he needs handlers who will sit down with him and help him find the right way to channel those gifts; here, he just comes off as an indiscriminately energetic pretty boy.

Directed by Deaton Flanigen

Grade: D+

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0TfiqKtE9Y

Jimmy Wayne
Do You Believe Me Now

Jimmy Wayne is one of the comeback kids of 2008 after a long, hard road to country music success. Once he arrived in Nashville, he had minor songwriting success before landing a record deal two years later. But after the release of his self-titled debut disc and four subsequent Top 40 hits, record label affairs caused Wayne to move from Dreamworks to Valory Music, subsidiary of Big Machine.

Do You Believe Me Now is the first release from Jimmy Wayne in almost five years. In that time, the landscape of country radio has changed, but the lead single from the project (the title track) has just achieved Top Five status on the Billboard charts. It’s a realistic look at losing the battle of a lover’s heart, and Wayne gives it a convincing turn.

But the first track also highlights the detriments that make this album just average. Nothing about the song is traditional, much like the album. This is all fine and good, but the production detracts from a decent batch of songs. The performances are convincing, and the lyrics are interesting enough at times, but the production bleeds through most of the album. It’s the single biggest problem on Do You Believe Me Now. In an effort to put forth a polished, mainstream country album, Wayne (along with producers Mark Bright, Joe West and Dave Pahanish) has crafted music that, in most cases, fails to complement the songs. In turn, the whole album loses any sort of identity or distinction, even when the songs are worthy.

Some of the songs speak of love lost, including “I Will,” the pledge of undying devotion even after the last goodbye is said, but a great many settle into inspirational territory. “Brighter Days,” a plea to a drifting lover to find faith and hope even when life is hard, seems like a Keith Urban reject. Same goes for the preceding track, “I’ll Be That.” And “I Didn‘t Come Here to Lose,” loosely based on his experiences while striving for a country career, is meant to empowering, but loses its sting among the buoyant musical atmosphere.

It’s no surprise that the song quality picks up with “No Good for Me,” a duet with Patty Loveless. One of the most non-traditional settings ever for a Loveless vocal, the mid-tempo number explores the back-and-forth of many a relationship: “We make up, and we make love/It’s a habit/I’m the addict/And you’re my drug.” The pair blend well together on a genuinely honest performance of a seemingly simple lyric, but Loveless is mostly responsible for elevating the track. It’s followed by “True Believer”, a positive number penned by Liz Rose and Lori McKenna that is a solemn vow to keep composure through love’s tests and trials. It’s understated and highly effective, both lyrically and musically.

Two true-to-life tracks are the highlights of the albums due to their interesting stories, even though they both could stand a more rootsy musical treatment. “Kerosene Kid” is the portrait of a child’s hardscrabble life, drawn from Wayne’s difficult upbringing. The last song, “Where You’re Going” is an autobiographical tune about Wayne’s time as a delinquent dropout. Both are deep reflections on a troubled background, and Wayne would do well to follow this muse more often. Most of the rest of Do You Believe Me Now? simply caters to country radio, and the production value overshadows even the most potent messages on an album that will please most Jimmy Wayne fans, but will likely fail to attract a new audience. Wayne is an above-average singer with an above-average set of songs, but the equation just never quite adds up.