Fleetwood Mac, 1977: original version from Rumours
From as early as I can remember I have always loved Fleetwood Mac. Their sound, their music, reading about the torrid love affairs between bandmates and declining marriages that created some of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard. I’m talking pre-Gwen Stefani and Tony Kanal (No Doubt) shit. True love and despair, threats to quit the band, drugs, world-wide tours, managing professionalism in the studio when you literally want to kill the very person you depend on to lace your lyrics with chords. The reasons to quit are trumped by the reasons to stay because although you were driven to new realms of heartbreak, at least you got a hit record (Rumours) out of it all and cemented your place in music history. Not to mention, Stevie Nicks can still say she knew a love that shook her very core and changed her life forever.
Speaking of despair, while Lindsey Buckingham wrote “Go Your Own Way,” Stevie Nicks wrote “Dreams” as her eight-year love affair with guitarist Buckingham was coming apart at the seams. Once considered a “package deal” when signing on as new members of FM, it seems years later Buckingham wanted his package shipped elsewhere, much to the dismay of both. But they chose to rise above petty break-up feelings and instead channeled their frustration into creating the beautiful song, “Dreams.” It’s somber, it’s sweet, it’s melancholy, it’s uplifting, it’s sad… it basically is the kind of song that encapsulates all the feelings people feel when their heart is breaking. Instead of keying your ex-boyfriend’s car, or spreading Rumours (get it?!), just put this song on in the background and those bad feelings will instantly disappear. I promise.
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Letters To Cleo, 1995: from Spirit of ’73: Rock for Choice
Much of my adoration for this version stems from the fact that it was the very first “Dreams†cover in my collection. Lead singer Kay Hanley is such a master of lacing sweetness with just a hint of edge during the chorus when she really begins to grow impatient with her dude’s trifling ways. The soft, jazzy guitars complement her during the tender vocal moments but wailing guitar riffs burst into a bout of heaviness with impeccable timing just as she begins to wax angry. Her vocals are perfect on this track and range from whispery, breathy, angst-ridden, yet sweet as she goes all out or holds back throughout the song.
Much like Hanley’s look in the 1990′s (blonde bombshell locks and ultra-feminine dresses that still manage to show off strategically placed tattoos), she is able to juggle lots of different personalities in her vocal delivery. She’s all girl next door with puppy dog eyes as she sings “it’s only me who wants to wrap around your dreams†that even I have a hard time resisting her pleas to stay and work things out. I especially like the intonation when she starts to string out a little during “have you any dreams you’d like to sell? / dreams of loneliness like a heartbeat / drives you mad.†And this continues when she gets angrier during “players only love you when they’re playing†in a way where she’s already predicting that he’ll be back when he comes to his senses, except it’ll be too late since she will already have come to hers.
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The Corrs, 1997: from Talk On Corners
If you have a jones for Celtic instruments, upbeat numbers, and top 40 sounds, then this track is for probably for you. Not only is Andrea Corr a ridiculously beautiful Irish woman, but she has a lovely voice too (where’s the justice?). Along with some flawless vocal harmony of her equally stunning sisters, they’ve created a danceable number that takes the classic “Dreams†to completely different heights of listening pleasure. This track makes me want to dance around the room, even if I don’t actually get up to do so. Gifted vocalists as well as musicians, I hear a whole mess of piano, guitars, drum beats and violins here. And since this is The Corrs, my instincts tell me someone is probably playing some tin whistle on this track. Andrea changes up the notes to steer their music to a more dance-friendly and happier place, thus venturing pretty far away from the melancholy and bittersweet nature of the original that I love so much. While this makes for a good upbeat number, I’m skeptical how this track fares as a cover because it takes away the beautiful sadness that made the original as good as it is. Readers, you decide.
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Cat Power (live): November 1998
I saw Cat Power open up for Interpol last year and was literally counting down the minutes until her set was over. Maybe Madison Square Garden is the wrong venue for her intimate and laid-back vocal performances, but I wasn’t ready to give her the benefit of the doubt just yet. Plus, she’s notorious for songs that start and stop with no real indication of when either is going to occur! I didn’t know whether to boo or applaud, but left realizing I’d eventually want to give her a fair chance and chalk this one up to inappropriate venue selection since she’s received much praise from respectable music sources of mine.
Well, she got her chance. Enter this live “Dreams†cover (wow!) that may as well be titled “Redemption Song†since I am now a believer. This minimalistic, raw, emotive performance is so intimate that I feel like I’m hiding in her bathroom, listening to her sing this in her shower with her acoustic guitar. Her voice, in its most primitive state, is bluesy and jazzy. And I like how I can actually hear every nuance in her intonation, every crack in voice. The sparse guitar only accentuates this slow, stripped-down, and bare-boned version, showcasing breathy vocals that somehow still manage fortitude. Her timing is completely off from the original and she changes Stevie Nicks’ notes completely, creating almost a brand new song that still resonates with the same magic of the original.
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The New Pornographers, 2005: live from NYC
Supposedly there’s some New Pornographers bootleg out there with a cover of “Dreams†on it, but they played this live version at Webster Hall a few years back and the crowd went nuts the moment that recognizable Fleetwood Mac bass line kicked in. Speaking of, that bass line is so awesome and I’d even be as bold to say it rivals that of David Bowie/Queen’s “Under Pressure.†But I digress…
Holy musical orgasm! Nothing excites me more than hearing one legendary female [Neko Case] covering another female rock goddess [Stevie Nicks] during an impromptu live cover. Case channels the trademark raw sexiness of Nicks so perfectly and does her an incredible amount of justice in this cover. Even the music increases the coolness factor in ways I don’t even feel like writing about because I’d rather just listen to this version again instead. Cool, calm, and unaffected, I like how Case casually laughs in between verses during a performance that plays like a musical “Fuck you, please. I don’t even need you.†And the backup male vocals of “lonely, oooh, ahhh†that tie in with Case’s “when the rain washes you clean, ohhh, you will know†are superb and just make me wonder why I wasn’t there? Damn.
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Snowden, 2006: from Fuel Of The Celebration (remix EP)
What the hell is going on here? I’m all for males covering this female empowerment anthem for the irony factor, but at least do it well. Lead singer Jordan Jeffares lends vocals here that are so removed, so strange, so stoic, so foreign I find it hard to believe this band even hails from Atlanta because I had my money on Z-list German electro-rockers aiming for the American musical market. There’s a whole mess of electronic beats here that are so scattered that I actually had to turn this mp3 down a few times since I thought I missed a phone call and the answering machine was recording someone’s message. But you guessed it, no one had called and it was just some errant electro-beats that Snowden forgot to lace in seamlessly with their others. If you’re into electronica give this a listen since I’m admittedly not the biggest fan of the genre, but please listen at your own risk. I can’t be held responsible for listener’s remorse.
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Yo La Tengo, 2007: live from San Francisco
Bombastic spoken-word vocals, an electric feel, edgy vibe and heavy distortion always makes the perfect noise-jam. Yeah, this pretty much sums up Yo La Tengo’s cover of “Dreams.†Known for a huge repertoire of cover songs, I’m not at all surprised they performed this during a live show at Bimbo’s 365 Club last year. Lead singer Ira Kaplan marries his raw vocals with (actual wife and bandmate) Georgia Hubley’s sweet background “ooh’s” and “ahh’s.” This might blow some minds of long-time Yo La Tengo fans, but personally this is not my favorite cover. Had I been to this show I might have been super excited to witness it, but the quality pales in comparison to the original and even the live cover versions of The New Pornographers and Whiskeytown (also a male vocal). There comes a point in this song where it just becomes too noisy that I start yearning for the clarity and simplicity of the original. Basically, Yo La Tengo fan or not… this one is only good for once in a while rocking out, but not everyday listening.
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The Morning Benders, 2008: from The Bedroom Covers
Where does the best indie dream pop hail from these days? Well, since I’m referring to The Morning Benders I guess the answer would be Berkeley, California. Lead singer Chris Chu has such innocent and resonant vocals that are so clean and clear. Toss in some equally dreamy background vocals and this acoustic cover shines in its sweet simplicity. I especially love the fret-tapping and gentle humming throughout the track that definitely help set this version apart from the rest. I’m really grateful that Popwrecker Bethany turned me onto this one since it’s been on loop ever since. There’s so much yearning, so much feeling, so much honesty in Chu’s musical sighs that I actually believe he’s mourning the loss of the person he is singing about. This song is arguably my favorite version of recent times and now I can’t wait to see if their original music delivers the same way this cover does.
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Whiskeytown, 2008: from Strangers Almanac (Deluxe Edition Reissue)
Oh Ryan Adams, can you ever do any wrong? Whining, soap operatic and drama queen ways aside, pre-Cardinals Adams took his well-known love of Fleetwood Mac to new levels of appreciation by covering “Dreams†in 1997 with his now defunct alt-country outfit Whiskeytown. With his husky vocals that wail, rock, croon, and moan all at once, he makes it impossible not to “feel†what he himself is feeling on this track. Plus, fans of The Replacements (like myself) will enjoy his particularly Paul Westerberg-esque voice here, since it’s no secret that Adams is a huge Replacements fan and has been greatly inspired by them. Save this alt-country number for a bad day when you’re feeling low and just want to lay on the couch, turn out the lights, kick off your shoes, and just dream… perhaps, about a Whiskeytown reunion tour? (Fingers crossed!)
*****
You have the facts and now it’s up to you. Which cover reigns supreme? And to which cover shall we say “In your ‘Dreams?’”
