I almost changed the direction of my post today given the sudden (sort of) passing of Gordon Lightfoot last night. Gordon has been looking pretty rough lately, but he still continued to perform and do shows. It is a bit sad that he was only 84. Based on the way he looked, I might have guessed he was in his nineties.
I am sure there are some who will disagree with me, but I do believe that Gordon is one of the best things to come from Canada in recent history.
Instead of Gordon, my #threetunetuesday post today sponsored by 
I am sure we have all been to some local bar and seen a cover band before. Most of them are mid talent and they do their best, but it's just kind of mediocre. Then you have those bands who either absolutely nail a song, or even better, a artist/band that is already famous and they cover a song so well they actually make it their own.
That's the kind of covers I am talking about.
Let's dig in!
I know Miley Cyrus gets a lot of disdain for some of her weird antics. The fact is though, she can sing quite well. I will admit her voice can be a bit nasal at times, but I really think when you take away all the flash and flair she is a pretty down to earth lady.
This song is from her early days before she took the deep dive into weirdness. It's a cover of a Bob Dylan tune and in my opinion it is absolutely exquisite.
I will admit, it helps when you have an amazing song to start with. Bob Dylan is certainly good at giving us those isn't he? The lyrics and tenderness in this song are just pretty amazing. I also like the fact that they stripped it down to an unplugged style.
I challenge you, if you have misconceptions about Miley, check this song out and then see if it changes your mind. Also, she has some other great covers on her YouTube channel. You should check those out sometime. The Crowded House duet she does with Ariana Grande is pretty amazing.
About a week ago I made a reference in one of my sports posts about Cleveland being cold. I offered a full upvote from my main account to anyone who caught the reference. Unfortunately, no one did. Either that or no one actually reads my sports posts. Maybe both.
In any event, the reference was to this song. Originally written and performed by Townes Van Zandt, I think this version by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard is one of the best.
It's one of those story songs that really gets in your head and takes you to a far away place. It's just a really great country song in my opinion.
I will admit the backing choir can be a bit cheesy, but there are countless versions of this song out there, so if you don't like this one, go ahead and look for another one.
Or, if you are looking for some more Bob Dylan awesomeness, Willie and Merle also did a cover of a Dylan song called "Don't Think Twice It's Alright". I highly recommend listening to that tune. It's pretty awesome.
Finally, if you joined me last week, you know that I am a fan of the Grateful Dead. I'm not one of those dead heads who would follow them all over the country, but I appreciate their music and what they did for the jam band genre.
You might also know, that one of my all time favorite bands is Counting Crows. It only felt right if I was going to talk about covers that I include this version of "Friend of the Devil" that Adam Duritz and the Crows did.
I don't have a ton to say about this one. It's just a great song. I think Adams voice really lends well to it and it's an awesome song to hear live. They added it to one of their compilation CD's. You should check it out if you get a chance.
They also do a killer cover of "Amy" of Pure Prairie League fame. While Big Yellow Taxi is the cover they did that got the most play time on popular radio, I think this song is a far better cover and never got the credit that it deserves.
I really like how this version is slower and kind of floats a lot more than the Grateful Dead version. I always kind of felt like the Dead version was rushed and over too soon, which is kind of funny to say when you are talking about a jam band...
Finally, as a bonus track, I felt it was only right that I share what I believe is quite possibly one of the greatest covers of all time. As much as I love the version of Tennessee Whiskey by David Allen Coe, Chris Stapleton took that version out behind the woodshed and killed it just about six ways to Sunday.
That's a good thing!
He totally made this song his own and I honestly don't think most people born after it was released will ever listen to the original versions again. He did it so well that I think it has become synonymous with him.
So there you go, my #threetunetuesday covers edition. I hope you enjoyed!
All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or 
