Music, Pop Culture

Ten Best Covers of a Fleetwood Mac Song

Ok, so my blog has been on a Fleetwood Mac kick lately.

I’m just so excited that:

1.) The band announced they’re touring next year!

2.) A new Fleetwood Mac tribute album titled Just Tell Me That You Want Me  is coming out in August and featuring Best Coast, Lykke Li and MGMT.

3.) I’m doing a ticket giveaway to see Lindsey Buckingham at Antone’s on August 22nd! Check back soon for the giveaway.

As for the cover album, Pitchfork has leaked Lykke Li’s cover of  “Silver Springs” and The New Pornographers’ “Think About Me”. So far, the album sounds great! A lot of diverse talent including The Kills, Marianne Faithful and St. Vincent covering famous and obscure FM songs such as “Albatross”, “Storms” and “Sisters of the Moon”.

The tribute album got me thinking about my favorite Fleetwood Mac covers. What is your fave?

Who: Lykke Li
Song: “Silver Springs”
Why It’s Awesome: Lykke Li gives a nice shoegazey twist to this lyrically haunting song.

Who: The Kills
Song: “Dreams”
Why It’s Awesome: These new bands do an excellent job of capturing the ethereal quality of Nicks’ FM songs and taking ’em up a notch.

Who: Vampire Weekend
Song: “Everywhere”
Why It’s Awesome: Vampire Weekend’s light and poppy sound lends nicely to this equally light and poppy song.

Who: Best Coast
Song: “Storms”
Why It’s Awesome: Though Best Coast’s cover is not my fave, I give them props for covering this lesser famous (and my favorite) FM song. The guitar is a little too harsh for this soft melody, but Cosentino’s vocals are beautiful.

Who: PS22 Chorus
Song: “Landslide”
Why It’s Awesome: I’ve never been a fan of either the Smashing Pumpkins’ or Dixie Chicks’ cover of “Landslide”. PS22’s rendition is probably the most heart-warming one out there.

Who: Hole
Song: “Gold Dust Woman”
Why It’s Awesome: Love’s vocals give a nice gutteral edge to this gritty song about drug use. Fitting.

Who: Lissie
Song: “Go Your Own Way”
Why It’s Awesome: I’ll be honest, I’m not really familiar with Lissie, but her cover of “Go Your Own Way” blew me away. Spot on cover while making it uniquely her own.

Who: Camper Van Beethoven
Song: “Tusk”
Why It’s Awesome: Kudos to Camper Van Beethoven for remaking the album Tusk in its entirety. Though this cover of the song “Tusk” is a little too jammy, I enjoy its psychedelic edge. It’s also freakin’ creepy.

Who: Waylon Jennings
Song/Album: “Rhiannon”
Why It’s Awesome: It’s Waylon.

Who: Mates of State
Song: “Second Hand News”
Why It’s Awesome: Another faithful cover while being uniquely independent. The dueting male and female vocals work perfectly for this song.

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24 Comments

  • Reply carrie July 24, 2012 at 11:50 am

    Why It’s Awesome: It’s Waylon. YES:)

    • Reply hipstercrite July 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm

      😉

      • Reply Caleb June 5, 2013 at 1:00 am

        It makes me very happy that my video made it on this site. It’s Waylon that’s all that needs to be said.

  • Reply Elisa July 24, 2012 at 11:54 am

    Every time you do a Fleetwood Mac post I get a girl boner.

    1. I hope you get to see them when they tour! They still have great energy on stage. Lindsey and Mick are MANIACS.

    2. I’m really excited to get this album, everything sounds great so far. The Silver Springs cover is outstanding. I’m linking this to my friend right now. When we saw FM live in ’09 she screamed “Fuck you Travis HerExBoyfriend’sLastName!” out into the auditorium during Silver Springs. That song packs an emotional punch.

    3. Storms always makes me cry. I love that song so much. Jessie Baylin does a good cover of it too. Very Stevie-ish but also with a haunting echoing effect and a flatness that really works.

    4. Lissie is fabulous on her own albums too, worth looking into. I really love that girl.

    Thanks for putting this together Lauren!

    • Reply hipstercrite July 24, 2012 at 2:34 pm

      Elisa,
      I got to see them in the early 2000s and it was incredible. One of my all-time fave concerts! My eyes were glued to Lindsey and Mick! Are you going to see them again?

  • Reply tee hee July 24, 2012 at 2:30 pm

    The Smashing Pumpkin’s cover of Landslide is up there in the annals of all-time great covers, alongside Hendrix’s ‘All Along The Watchtower’, The Animals’ ‘The House of The Rising Sun’, The Beatles ‘Twist and Shout’… c’mon.

    Do you like anything that’s popular?

    • Reply hipstercrite July 24, 2012 at 2:33 pm

      Yes. I like your attitude.

  • Reply J Campagna July 24, 2012 at 3:23 pm

    Lissie does some great covers like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQMJCOT2wlQ
    Kid Cudi’s Pursuit of Happiness.
    The Kills are my fave though.

    • Reply hipstercrite July 25, 2012 at 12:06 am

      Lissie seems great. I will check out more of her! Thanks!

  • Reply Kait July 24, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    Dana Buoy does this fucking great cover of Everywhere that’s really totally worth checking out and oh my god I’m so obsessed with it and ahhhhh. It’s…very different from the original and the VW cover. But wonderful.

    • Reply hipstercrite July 25, 2012 at 12:05 am

      I’ll check it out! Thanks!

  • Reply Allison July 24, 2012 at 5:26 pm

    Stacy Dupree of Eisley does a haunting cover of Silver Spring. It is by far my favorite cover.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgGm0cHFrEQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

    • Reply hipstercrite July 25, 2012 at 12:05 am

      Beautiful! She sounds like Stevie, but clearer!

  • Reply Darkcat July 24, 2012 at 9:49 pm

    I saw Stevie in Boston this month and she was amazing. I’ve never seen Fleetwood Mac live, so I am really hoping to see them next year when they tour.

    • Reply hipstercrite July 25, 2012 at 12:04 am

      Oh man, FM is amazing live. I love Stevie, but Mick and Lindsey are awe-inspiring!

  • Reply Mademoiselle HauteMess July 24, 2012 at 10:07 pm

    Heartwarming is the perfect word for the PS22 cover of Landslide! Ah, a nice thing to watch right before bed. 🙂

    • Reply hipstercrite July 25, 2012 at 12:04 am

      I shall watch before bed again too!

  • Reply bard July 25, 2012 at 9:53 pm

    Not necessarily my favorite cover, but the most famous has to be Carlos Santana’s version of “Black Magic Woman” by the original incarnation of the band.

    Yeah, I had to be that guy. Sorry. But hey, what can I say? I love blues/blues rock, and the original Fleetwood Mac (with Peter Green and Danny Kirwan on guitar) is one of my favorites!

    • Reply bard July 25, 2012 at 10:26 pm

      Two additional points I feel obligated to make:

      1. The “original” original line-up didn’t include Danny Kirwan, but had Jeremy Spencer as a second guitar player. Eventually, they went on to have three guitarists. I’m okay with Spencer, but I prefer them with Kirwan’s contributions.

      2. I also love the latter version(s) of the band. I mean, how can you not? You would be hard-pressed to come up with a more commercially successful group than Fleetwood Mac in the mid-70’s (and for good reason), and Buckingham/Nicks were hugely responsible for that success.

      Also: Lindsey Buckingham is a monster guitar player in his own right.

      • Reply bard August 7, 2012 at 12:30 am

        Trivia fact:

        You know those balls hanging below Mick Fleetwood’s crotch on the cover of Rumors? They have their origins in the Peter Green version of the band.

        A little research will reveal all the perverted history!

    • Reply Young Urban Amateur July 27, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      I suppose technically “Black Magic Woman” is my favorite FM cover. I love the Green/Kirwan lineup (not as much of a Spencer fan). I listen to that stuff a lot, though I often forget that it’s Fleetwood Mac.

  • Reply Ian Credible July 26, 2012 at 6:30 pm

    How dare you miss this one?
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LL7CLRt-es

  • Reply chhavi January 21, 2014 at 5:48 am

    there’s also the ‘dreams’ cover by Bastille & Gabrielle Alpin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Zu7qJqDXQ
    Quite lovely.

  • Reply SwampDonky January 15, 2017 at 1:13 pm

    Waylon covered Gold Dust Woman as well. It should have definitely cracked this list!

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