10 Unheralded Covers That Deserve More Recognititon

The cover version is a strange beast. It's hard to think of another area of music that can produce such extremes in terms of both quality and reaction.

Some cover versions, such as All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix or the Johnny Cash version of Hurt, go on to supplant the original in the mainstream consciousness yet people will still decry them and say that the original is better.

Others that are popularly considered as bad or awful in the mainstream consciousness, such as Madonna's version of American Pie or the Scissor Sisters' version of Comfortably Numb, will still have passionate fans that defend them as the best thing ever.

Cover versions are an ever present part of the music industry and there are very few artists who get through their career without releasing one. Yet not every song reaches the mainstream consciousness like the ones previously mentioned.

But that doesn't make them any less worthwhile to check out. I often find a better appreciation of an artist's creativity after experiencing their take on another's song. Some might be quirky and some might be in drastically contrasting styles to the original, but, however they do it, these songs deserve more love.

Probably more commonly known as "the Scrubs version", as this was featured in one of its episodes and the band performing it played regular characters in the show.

A cappella group The Blanks take Outcast's hit and perform it in a way that not only shows off how talented they truly are but manages to blend both aspects of the original (as being a magical pop song with darker than realised lyrics) to provide a new experience of something that was almost ubiquitous in its time.

Lead vocalist Sam Lloyd proved throughout Scrubs what a fantastic vocal talent he is and his acting talent helps him to get his emotional connection on-point to moving effect in this effort. Being an older performer helps him to connect to the song's darker-than-delivered lyrics (about a man pondering whether his partner really loves him or is just afraid to leave him as they don't want to be alone) in a way that communicates those ideas more effectively than Outkast did.

The remaining members of The Blanks use their skills to keep it quirky with their trademark A capella style but that isn't the only genius in this arrangement. The real instruments (The Blanks, like many A capella groups, sing instrumental parts as well as vocals) are added slowly to the mix, timed perfectly and help bring in an element of the magic of the original version.

All these elements blend together and build to an uplifting crescendo that brings this version beyond its humble comedy song origins to a truly stunning reinterpretation.