Rod Tuffcurls & The Bench Press aren’t just a cover band. They’re cover artists.
Granted, the Chicago-based party animals (who play Live on King Street tonight and are regular guests at the Majestic) have achieved their success entirely on the strength of other people’s songs, but that’s not a negative. When done right, covering a beloved song can change an artist’s career. If you don’t believe me, just ask Weezer, who recently scored their first No. 1 hit in a decade with their Twitter-commissioned cover of Toto’s “Africa.”
But it’s not just the mix of reverence and creativity that sets Rod Tuffcurls & The Bench Press apart from other cover bands — it’s the diversity of their setlist. Sure, they still play Queen, Hall & Oates and other bands literally everyone sings along to, but they also do songs by folks ranging from Phish to Nine Inch Nails to Arcade Fire.
In keeping with that tradition, here’s a collection of cover songs that stand alongside the original versions (and in some cases, surpass them).Tracklist:
- Alkaline Trio – “Movin’ Right Along” (The Muppets)
- Alt-J – “House of the Rising Sun” (The Animals)
- Aretha Franklin – “Respect” (Otis Redding)
- The Ataris – “The Boys of Summer” (Don Henley)
- Ben Folds and Rufus Wainwright – “Careless Whisper” (Wham!)
- Bright Eyes – “Devil Town” (Daniel Johnston)
- Cake – “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor)
- Deftones – “Simple Man” (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- Dinosaur Jr. – “Just Like Heaven” (The Cure)
- The Dirty Nil – “Surrender” (Cheap Trick)
- Drive-By Truckers – “Everybody Needs Love” (Eddie Hinton)
- Elvis Costello & The Attractions – “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding?” (Nick Lowe)
- Frightened Rabbit and Craig Finn – “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” (Elton John and Kiki Dee)
- The Fugees – “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (Lori Lieberman)
- Guns N’ Roses – “Live and Let Die” (Paul McCartney & Wings)
- Iron and Wine – “Such Great Heights” (The Postal Service)
- Japanese Breakfast – “Dreams” (The Cranberries)
- Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit – “Like a Hurricane” (Neil Young & Crazy Horse)
- JC Brooks & The Uptown Sound – “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” (Wilco)
- Jeff Buckley – “Hallelujah” (Leonard Cohen)
- Jimi Hendrix – “All Along the Watchtower” (Bob Dylan)
- Joey Ramone – “What a Wonderful World” (Louis Armstrong)
- Johnny Cash – “Hurt” (Nine Inch Nails)
- Kurt Vile & The Violators and J Mascis – “Box of Rain” (Grateful Dead)
- My Morning Jacket – “Leaving on a Jet Plane” (John Denver)
- Nirvana – “The Man Who Sold the World” (David Bowie)
- Otis Redding – “Satisfaction” (The Rolling Stones)
- Pearl Jam – “Last Kiss” (Wayne Cochran)
- Queens of the Stone Age – “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” (Elton John)
- Screaming Females – “If It Makes You Happy” (Sheryl Crow)
- The Smashing Pumpkins – “Landslide” (Fleetwood Mac)
- Sonic Youth – “Superstar” (The Carpenters)
- Sturgill Simpson – “In Bloom” (Nirvana)
- Talking Heads – “Take Me to the River” (Al Green)
- The War on Drugs – “Accidentally Like a Martyr” (Warren Zevon)
- Wye Oak – “Strangers” (The Kinks)
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