Cover #121: The Beatersband cover "Be My Baby" by The Ronettes

 The Beatersband turn in a very faithful but updated version of the classic by The Ronettes.  Nobody could ever match the vocals of Ronnie Spector, but Donatella Guida, the singer, does a really good job not trying to mimic Ms. Spector (though she keeps the "whoa-oh-oh-ohs" intact).  The updates mostly feature a subdued garage rock arrangement.  I could see this version being used in a movie or tv show soundtrack.  ✅✅✅

Cover #120: The Todd Grubbs Group covers "Transylvania Boogie" by Frank Zappa

 Frank Zappa's music gets covered a lot.  Maybe not as much as The Beatles or The Rolling Stones or Bob Dylan, but still, a lot.  On the other hand, I'm not sure if even those big name artists have yielded as many full tribute albums as Zappa has.  I personally own over sixty CDs that are full Frank Zappa cover albums, and I know that is not even close to most of what's available in terms of Zappa tribute albums.  From a Zappa tribute album I just picked up yesterday, called Mappa Zappa, we have this hear cover song.  "Transylvania Boogie" is rarely covered; in fact, I'm not sure if I have heard anyone cover this instrumental from Chunga's Revenge before.  How is it?  Really good.  The guitar player in this band turns down the fuzz and turns up the wah pedal, so it sounds a bit like Joe Satriani on the guitar, but this is a satisfying version.  I can't give any points for originality for the performance, but extra credit for choosing this overlooked gem of a song.   ✅✅✅✅

Cover #119: Strange Relations cover "Disorder" by Joy Division

 This duo out of Minnesota (I think) turns in an interesting performance.  The music is pretty close to the original, but with female C86-era vocals that put me in the mind of The Primitives, The Sundays, or Motorcycle Boy.  The guitar work is quite good here.  The vocals save what would be a flat performance.  ✅✅✅

Cover #118: Elizabeth Setzer & La Tania cover "How To Disappear Completely" by Radiohead

 Well.  This cover is advertised as a "flamenco/balkan" version of the Kid A masterpiece, and I'll give them credit for trying.  What works?  The quiet guitar strumming in the beginning, and some of the background vocals in the second half.  What does not work?  The cacophonic castanets (or whatever flamenco percussion they are emulating), the rapid flamenco playing, and most of the vocals.  If this had been played with gentle Spanish guitar, no percussion, and softer vocals it might have been really good.  Unfortunately, it's not really good, or even good.  ✅✅

Cover #117: Extra Action Marching Band (ft. Robin Coomer) cover "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath

 Black Sabbath covers are numerous; indeed, this is at least the second marching band that I know of who has covered Sabbath (the other being Brown Sabbath).  I won't compare this group with Brown Sabbath, so let me focus on the cover at hand.  This is an entertaining, faithful cover.  The brass section mostly matches the original guitar solo, though not as faithfully or spectacularly as Frank Zappa's band did for "Stairway To Heaven" during his 1988 tour.  There is some really distracting "military radio traffic" that just about ruins the Luke's Wall part of the song.  The wind up at the end doesn't work either.  This cover is edible but not tasty.   ✅✅✅

Cover #116: Cowboy Junkies cover "Sweet Jane" by The Velvet Underground

 Cowboy Junkies have covered this song a lot, in several different arrangements.  They've performed it live on The Tonight Show and Saturday Night Live, where I first heard their version.  Unfortunately the SNL police are ruthless on YouTube, so for the moment at least I can't re-watch that performance, which I remember being scary good.  The Cowboy Junkies studio version is pretty good, which I'm listening to at the moment, but if you can find the SNL version, the "la-la-la-la" part toward the end will make the hair on your forearms stand on end.  ✅✅✅✅

Cover #115: Rufus Harley covers "Windy" by The Association

 You haven't really lived until you hear a contemporary jazz rendition of a soft rock hit in which the lead instrument is the bagpipes.  You heard me- a jazz ensemble led by a bagpipe player covering this tune of all things.  Does it work?  I can tell you I'd much rather hear this than the original.   ✅✅✅