Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 7:15PM Time for another cover by David Stewart - this week he has chosen to take on one of Phil Collins’ all-time greatest hits, and I’m glad to say that he’s smashed it once again. So much talent.
Acoustic, Cover, David Stewart, Phil Collins, Video Monday, April 25, 2011 at 5:49PM 
Aloe Blacc dropped into Maida Vale this morning to do a little live lounge session for Trevor Nelson. While he was there he performed I Need A Dollar and Loving You Is Killing Me, but it was his cover of 99 Problems that stole the show. This is just another example of why he is one of my favourite artists right now; way too cool. He is like a modern day James Brown.
Aloe Blacc, Cover, Hip-Hop, Jay-Z, Live Lounge, Soul in Aside Wednesday, April 20, 2011 at 4:54PM My mate David Stewart has been doing a number of covers over the past month or so, including Jessie J, Elvis Presley and Drake. He’s smashed every single one, but his take on one of my favourite tracks from 808s & Heartbreak is by far and away my favourite so far. This is amazing, and far more enjoyable than KanYe’s auto-tuned original.
Cover, David Stewart, KanYe West, R&B, Video Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 11:11PM 
Earlier today Example joined Wretch 32 in the live lounge studio to perform their new single Unorthodox, which is currently sitting at number 1 in the midweek chart. Wretch also performed a brilliant cover of Adele’s critically acclaimed hit, Someone Like You, putting a whole new twist on the meaning of the song. You can listen to both below and download HERE.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 at 10:08AM 
Here is the first taster from Soul UK, which is Beverley Knight’s upcoming 8th studio album. This is a promo-only version of my favourite Soul II Soul track, Fairplay, which features an intro from Jazzie B himself. Beverley’s version adds a fierce horn section and incredibly powerful vocals that we have come to expect. The album is a personal journey, curated by Beverley and delivered with her own unique soul/gospel style, through some of her all time favorite soulful tracks by British artists. The first commercially available single is a storming take on Junior’s classic, Mama Used To Say, which is out June 27th. Smacked it.
Beverley Knight, Cover, R&B, Soul, Soul II Soul in Aside Monday, April 18, 2011 at 9:45PM 
As part of their “They Never Shoulda Gave You Niggas Studio Equipment”, Zo! & Phonte have released this funny, yet brilliant, piano led cover of Mark Morrison’s classic, Return Of The Mack. Two of my favourite people in music.
Sunday, March 27, 2011 at 7:03PM
Jamie Woon covering Adele’s smash hit in preparation for the release of his debut album, Mirrorwriting. He is a beast.
Acoustic, Adele, Cover, Jamie Woon, Live, Live Lounge, Pop in Aside Thursday, March 24, 2011 at 12:57PM 
Now, I love Adele as much as anyone, but after hearing this it made me feel like the song was actually written for John Legend. I expected greatness when I saw he had covered Rolling In The Deep, but I never expected it to be this good. One of the best covers you will ever hear. I love John.
Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 3:43PM 
Here is Adele’s stunning cover of Cheryl Cole’s smash hit, Promise This. Pretty sure this is how it was meant to be sung originally. HERE is a link to download the performance in full.
Adele, Cheryl Cole, Cover, Live Lounge, Pop in Aside Friday, January 21, 2011 at 5:44PM 
Earlier in the week Corinne’s cover of Prince’s classic ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ leaked onto the web. Well, now I can bring you her beautiful take on one of my favourite ever Bob Marley songs; they will both be available on The Love EP, which is dropping on Valentine’s Day. Hit the jump to hear Corinne breaking down the EP track-by-track. I love this lady.
R.I.P. Bob.
‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’
I met Prince in London at his gigs at the O2 and he gave me loads of encouragement. I was amazed by the gig but even more impressed by the aftershow he did in a small venue where he tore up on the guitar and played other people’s songs too. This is one of my favourite Prince songs and gives me the chance to sing the kind of sexy, rhythmical music I love but never seem to write. Getting the chance to do this song was a dream.
‘Low Red Moon’
Belly were one of the prime influences on my first band Helen, where we had a real indie/DIY ethic. I was addicted to their album ‘Star’ as a teenager and learnt loads about guitar playing just listening to them. They made me realise the most important thing in music was to express yourself and get your ideas across, without worrying about playing like a virtuoso. We had such fun playing this song, it’s like an aggressive 60′s science-fiction soundtrack.
‘Is This Love?’
My mum was the Bob Marley fan in our house which I loved, because although my father is Caribbean, he didn’t much care for reggae. Little examples like this meant I grew up learning that you could be yourself and never had to be a cliché because of your ethnicity. And Bob Marley is such an incredible songwriter, which means you can approach his songs in so many ways. I wanted to put ‘Is This Love?’ into 6/8 and bring the tempo back to underline the poignancy of the lyric, and then Steve Brown arranged the piano part into something reminiscent of Carole King or Aretha Franklin’s gospel-soul piano style, which gave it a whole extra level. When guitarist John McCallum added in this Hendrix/Curtis Mayfield sound, it brought in a whole American doo-wop dimension too. So it’s like a whole bunch of my favourite influences in one beautiful song.
‘My Love’
I first heard ‘My Love’ at an event for Paul McCartney at the White House, where I was invited to play. A string section played the song and I was struck by the fragility of that ascending melody on “My love does it good”. I was also really touched by Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney’s relationship; their mutual respect and the fact they had known each other so long. When we recorded this song the harmonies and keyboards were definitely influenced by Stevie’s sound.
‘Que Sera Sera’ (live)
‘Que Sera Sera’ is a song we have been closing our gigs with all over the world. I love Sly and the Family Stone’s version, how he takes what feels like a nursery rhyme in Doris Day’s lovely hands and turns it into a philosophical outcry, declaiming “The future’s not ours to see”. Sometimes I attack this lyric angrily, sometimes I’m all peaceful and surrendered to it. What an amazing song. We recorded this super-long version in Washington D.C one night when the magic in the air meant we didn’t want to get off stage. I hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed playing it.
Bob Marley, Corinne Bailey Rae, Cover, R&B, Reggae, Soul in Aside 