Top Five Beatles Covers

A friend of mine recently posted his top five Beatles covers, which caused me to do the same, either because I was really interested in the subject or incredibly bored.  Sometimes I can't tell the difference.  I dont really have a favorite among these five and I reserve the right to change them pending on the day.  But as of today, August 15th, 2011, these are my top five Beatles covers in no particular order:

-- "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - performed by Ben Folds, William Shatner, and Joe Jackson:

I think Shatner actually released a cover of this at some point in time, but I had the pleasure of watching the above three actually perform it at a Ben Folds show back in '05.  I'll say this:  they took a really cheezy concept/arrangement and fuckin' rocked it.  To the point where, during the chorus, the audience was hopping up and down as if they were on pogosticks, belting the lyrics back into the faces of the performers.  Amazing energy that I'm not sure would come across in a recorded version, but I'll never forget the performance.   I think it started out as a funny novelty and ended as a great cover. 

-- "Blackbird" - performed by Elliott Smith

Considering Elliott's incredibly troubled life, along with his untimely demise, this really is a perfect song for him to perform.  His version is broken and miserable, like most of Elliott's music, and is just ... I dunno, sad and effective for lack of a better term. 

-- "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away" -- performed by Eddie Vedder

I have a feeling I'm gonna get in trouble for mentioning this one, maybe because it's obvious as it still gets airplay on terrestrial radio.  But I always loved it, still love it, and actually only hear Eddie's voice in my head when I think of the song.  That's gotta count for something, though maybe I've just heard his version more than I've heard the original. 

__ "In My Life" - performed by Johnny Cash

This one is off American IV, which contains probably my favorite collection of covers.  Cash's laboring voice really lends itself to the power of this song.  The song is a reflective one and seems odd coming out of the mouth of 20 year olds, but not so much out of Johnny Cash.  It's a perfect song for him to sing at a perfect moment in his life. 

-- "Across the Universe" - performed by Fiona Apple

Love the song, love her version of it.  I don't really have much else to say about it.  Just a good tune.