Indie and mainstream artists record a track-for-track tribute to Rubber Soul. The formula goes like this: pick a seminal album, get indie and mainstream artists on board to record tracks, release it (see also Badlands: a Tribute to Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska). A lot of tracks on here stick fairly close to the original, but there are a few winners on here nevertheless. I’m going to assume you’re familiar with the original album here.
-Adrian
My picks: 4, 8, 10.
1. The Donnas: Drive my Car faithful to the original, down to the cow bell, and guitar solo. a little grrl rock thrown in.
2. Fiery Furnaces Norwegian Wood more disorienting than the original. lots of reverb and 70s organ.
3. Dar Williams You Won’t See Me straight ahead folk pop. strummed guitar. f vocals and nice f harmonies.
4. Low Nowhere Man pretty slow and sparse and low-like. gorgeous f+f harmonies.
5. Yonder Mountain String Band Think for Yourself the original except with banjo and mandolin flourishes
6. Mindy Smith The Word energetically and fast strummed acoustic. f vox and harmonies.
7. Ben Harper Michelle a reggae beat. some horns doing backgrounds
8. Sufjan Stevens What Goes On very different from the original. stops-and-starts with recorders, guitars, banjos.
9. Rhett Miller Girl pretty faithful to the original.
10. Ted Leo I’m Looking Through You imagine ted leo’s indie rock/ punk sensibilities doing this song and you’ve got it. looped and distorted parts near the end.
11. Ben Lee In My Life slow and pretty sparse, with guitar and atmospheric backing. Some piano enter midway through.
12. Ben Kweller Wait pretty faithful to the original.
13. Nellie McKay If I Needed Someone sort of a lounge jazz version. Bongos, plinky piano, etc.
14. Cowboy Junkies Run For Your Life Med-slow. heavy-ish bass, plodding drums, chorus-shouted vocals.