I’ve had to check this has been officially released before posting this, for at the moment I have only “tried” but not yet actually “buyed”, but thankfully I can confirm that the album of cover versions of The Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico – is that what it’s even called? Most folks I know refer to it as either Andy Warhol (because he did the cover art) or Banana (which is what Warhol painted) – is officially out.
Here you can hear various contemporary artistes – Courtney Barnett, Sharon Van Etten, Andrew Bird, St Vincent, Thurston Moore and Fontaines DC to name a few – recreate each track from the ground-breaking original. And mighty fine it is too, but with such source material it’d be pretty hard to make it sound awful.
For example, here’s Michael Stipe – remember him? – covering the opening track and managing to slide a bass line which echoes Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side to rather wonderful effect:
Michael Stipe – Sunday Morning
Man alive, I’ve missed his voice way more than I thought.
More soon.
A History of Dubious Taste 