What is a cover song?

It’s an act of devotion, an organic transmission from the essence of one soul into and through another. And, sometimes, by way of the revelations of time and lived experience, one might even surpass the original.

Prior to the era of electronic recording, no one “owned” their songs; they were passed on from generation to generation, and neighbor to neighbor - shared and mutating like the living organisms they were. We still retain an instinct to study art through imitation, but if the original exists, why bother? Because we are inspired - (meaning our beings are filled with the breath of their genius) - and we want to capture, and share a bit of that magic.

The Splendid Bohemians are proud to present a new series called “Cover Art - The Splendor of the Cover Song,” in which we’ll choose a selection of great covers of artists we cherish, by other artists that we love, or want to know more about, or have been surprised by. For our maiden voyage we chose Van Morrison - one of the most dynamic and multi-faceted songwriters of his generation. We’ll go beyond the expected choices like “Gloria” and “Brown Eyed Girl” (two of the most covered numbers in Rock) to explore the deeper recesses of Van’s catalogue, and excavate some precious musical gems. Enjoy!

Below is the list of selections, the artists, and the source material:

WILD NIGHT / JOHN MELLENCAMP AND MESHELL NDEGEOCELLO ( From: Tupelo Honey, 1971)

BRIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD / RAUL MALO (From: Into the Music, 1979)

INTO THE MYSTIC / ALLMAN BROTHERS (From: Moondance, 1970)

THE WAY YOUNG LOVERS DO / JEFF BUCKLEY (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

GLAD TIDINGS / MERRY CLAYTON (From: Moondance, 1970)

MOONDANCE / GREG BROWN (From: Moondance, 1970)

SLIM SLO SLIDER / JOHNNY RIVERS (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

MADAME GEORGE / MARIANNE FAITHFUL (From: Astral Weeks, 1968)

FULL FORCE GALE / ELVIS COSTELLO (From: Into the Music, 1979)

BRAND NEW DAY / ESTHER PHILLIPS WITH THE DIXIE FLYERS (From: Moondance, 1970)