Tune du Jour: “Lust for Life” – Iggy Pop
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: The Damned vs. The Pretenders feat. Tom Jones vs. The Smithereens
VOTE, COMMENT, then DO SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF
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The Original
Co-written with David Bowie (oddly enough on a ukulele) in 1977, the song reached new heights when featured in the 1996 classic film, Trainspotting.
Iggy Pop:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
The Damned vs. The Pretenders feat. Tom Jones vs. The Smithereens
The Damned:
The Pretenders feat. Tom Jones:
In 1999, Tom Jones released Reload, an album in which he collaborated with many current artists on well-known tunes. It was to be Jones’ highest selling release of all time. As featured on CoverMeImpressed on July 28, 2025, Jones also collaborated with New Model Army on an impressive cover of Gimme Shelter. Not bad for an aging easy-listening artist!
The Smithereens:
SPACE
Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. It is your solemn responsibility to decide which cover song prevails. In other words … Which Side Are You On!??!
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
The Damned do a good job but there is nothing remarkable here. I think the most remarkable thing is that album cover. That is the most normal picture I’ve ever seen taken of those guys!
Tom Jones, what could you say? Rocking in his latter years. I love the back and forth between Tom and Chrissie. I also appreciate that their version is over a minute less than the other contenders, which aligns more with the original.
The Smithereens always knock out respectable covers. This one features some great guitar work. Very well done.
I’ve got to go with Tom and Chrissie on this one. It was more fun and interesting than the other two.
Tough decision today. Not much distance between first place and third.
I don’t think this song needs to be over five minutes, and The Damned and The Smithereens ran a little long.
Interesting to hear the familiar voices of Tom Jones and Chrissie Hynde, who are dissimilar, covering a song by an artist unlike either of them.
I voted Smithereens in a close race, although I almost voted Damned. If I was gonna nitpick, I’d say the vocals were a little muddied on The Damned’s version.
The original is one of the 50 best songs ever for me. One of the few that no matter how many times I’ve heard it, it always gets me going. No duds here. No great ones either. I like the extra sinewy guitar added by The Smithereens. Their vocals were third place though and it just sounded like a run through demo. And a minute too long. Chrissie Hynde helped Tom Jones out considerably. She was great and he was again surprisingly solid. The Damned was at the disadvantage of playing live so the sound levels were a bit off. After the intro I couldn’t hear any bass at all. But the guitars slashed and chopped and Dave Vanian did a good job with the vocals. The live excitement added just enough of an edge for my vote.
I remember very well when this song came out. First time I heard it was in Bleecker Bob’s, when the guy behind the counter put it on their turntable. I’ve always loved it, and I really enjoy the video.
The Damned version is too poorly recorded and sloppy for me to enjoy fully.
I love the Smithereens, and they always do a good job with their covers. I really liked their version, and it probably should have gotten my vote. But…
Somehow, the combination of Chrissie and Tom really works. They’re so different, but they sounded so in-sync here, so playful. A very enjoyable cover, fun enough to nudge the Smithereens into second place today.
Just th eidea of Chrissie Hind and Tom Jones singing together is enough to peak one’s interest. And they do a good job here. But I enjoyed the Smithereens version more. It’s clearly an early run-through of the song, with Pat DiNizio giving live directions to the band as they go along, which for me somehow makes it even more appealing.
For me, the original has some grit and energy that’s hard to capture..mainly Iggy Pop
Moves like Jagger? Piss on that …gimme gimme gimme gimme some Iggy
The Damned too damn slow on the intro, what was really going on there?
Smithereens version great stuff, clean and punky and just a little bit funky
love you guys, but how does anyone deny Christie and Tom the easy beat on this one???
(You can tell Mr Jones really dug into the Take it in the Ear refrain)