Tune du Jour: “Can’t Help Falling in Love” – Elvis Presley
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Bruce Springsteen vs. Pearl Jam vs. Chrissie Hynde feat. Mark Lanegan vs. Bob Dylan
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Love this short interview with Elvis before leaving on his tour of duty in Germany. He exhibits such boyish innocence and humility.
September 22, 1958:
Such a beautiful love song as evidenced by the many luminaries that covered it (Man did Bono ever butcher it!). Although none had the voice of Elvis …
Elvis Presley:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
Bruce Springsteen vs. Pearl Jam vs. Chrissie Hynde feat. Mark Lanegan vs. Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen:
Pearl Jam:
Chrissie Hynde feat. Mark Lanegan:
Bob Dylan:
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 
Tough call, as they are all about the same. Flip a coin.
Bruce and Eddie, thanks for trying, spirited efforts, but neither of you have the voices to pull off such a beautiful ballad.
Chrissie’s voice is beautiful and does the song justice.
But I love the fact that Bob, surely realizing he didn’t have the voice for the song, instead made it his own. With the harmonica, guitar and trademark delivery, this could have been a Dylan song. So, the other King, gets my vote.
I like the slow, sincere opening by Springsteen. Kept it simple yet stirring and evocative. Second place for me today. Pearl Jam but not a version I would look to revisit. My least favorite today. I shudder when I see the cover of Dylan, the 1973 scraps Columbia released without his consent but this was not bad. Very casual but fondly delivered. Chrissie Hynde and Mark Lanegan had every advantage possessing exceptional vocal talent and they didn’t disappoint. The gold
Great song! Nobody sings this like Elvis.
Many songs, including some we’ve reviewed on this site, are diminished by running too long. Even some of my favorite artists have sometimes had a tendency to run too long with a piece, whether adding one stanza too many, or one chorus too many here and there. This song is the perfect length, without a wasted note.
I’ve admitted I’ve never been into grunge in a general sense. But I’ve gotta say I’ve been pleasantly surprised by some of the material I’ve heard on this site that I might have dismissed in the past.
Likewise with Chrissie Hynde, having never been into The Pretenders, and only being familiar with their radio hits. I now realize I underrated her vocal talent.
Both Springsteen and Dylan take this seriously and perform admirably. Although both HOFers, they each exceeded expectations. Bruce wins in a close race.
I’ve never been all that wild about Elvis (yes, yes, I know—cue the angry mob), and this song has never really grabbed me. But wow… you served up four terrific cover versions here. Bruce’s take is wonderfully earnest, and Dylan reshaped the phrasing just enough to make it comfortably his.
But for this song, you need a real voice, and that made it a tough call between Chrissie Hynde & Mark Lanegan’s gorgeous rendition and Pearl Jam’s powerhouse version. In the end I went with Pearl Jam. I’m a total sucker for Eddie Vedder’s voice, and they’re such a reliably great live band.