so lovely

as always in no particular order—

richie havens' cover of bob dylan's "sad-eyed lady of the lowlands"; i don't know what he put in this recording but i think it is genuinely one of the most magical and perfect covers of all time, havens really was one of the foremost interpreters and transformers of other people's work and his voice is just so incredible. one of my favorite recordings of all time

michael hedges' cover of bob dylan's "all along the watchtower"; this was the version i grew up hearing the most, even more than the hendrix or original recordings. michael hedges is an artist i wish more people were hip to, as his innovations on acoustic guitar using alternative techniques were so amazing (and he died far too young). this cover always felt cinematic in a way that other versions don't, and i love that it seems to have higher stakes in that way

nina simone's version of "pirate jenny" from brecht/weill's the threepenny opera; i wrote a chapter of my dissertation about nina simone's covers of songs by leonard cohen and bob dylan and how i think no one (except havens) really compares to her covers, and this is particularly true of her "pirate jenny." the way she repoliticizes this track, one which never fails to send chills down my spine, into a piece of protest art is spectacular. just go listen if you've never heard it. it's so haunting. nina 4ever

annie lennox's cover of joni mitchell's "ladies of the canyon"; it is near impossible to outperform joni on anything but this track belongs to annie now. i'm so grateful i've had the privilege of getting to hear her perform this live twice, and i used it as the curtain call music for the last show i directed. such a gorgeous cover that i think captures the essence of the magical world of the canyon so perfectly

jeff buckley's cover of leonard cohen's "hallelujah"; i mean. come on. including the live at sin-é cover here because it's just. otherworldly