Neil Young’s music is truly legendary, and plenty of his contemporaries have tried their hand at performing some of his best songs. These Neil Young covers could arguably rival the original material, though we doubt any diehard fan of the Godfather of Grunge would agree.
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1. “After The Gold Rush” by Patti Smith
Patti Smith has always been great at performing a cover or two. In fact, she made an art form out of it. Her rendition of Neil Young’s “After The Gold Rush” comes as no surprise, considering the two artists know each other. She has covered this title track from Young’s 1970 folk rock album a few times, but you just can’t beat her 2012 version.
2. “Like A Hurricane” by Roxy Music
Like Patti Smith, Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music as a whole have rarely shied away from covers. One of the best Neil Young covers on this list, their cover of “Like A Hurricane” is particularly splendid. The English art rock outfit covered the track back in 1983 for their live EP titled The High Road. It doesn’t get more suave than this!
3. “Heart Of Gold” by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash could have probably covered any song on the planet and made it emotional. His American Recordings project in the 1990s more or less proves that notion. During that era, Cash covered Young’s “Heart Of Gold” beautifully, giving the song an extra dose of gravel and some added weight.
4. “Old Man” by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan and Neil Young are two sides of the same coin so to speak, so it’s not exactly surprising that the former covered the latter. Bob Dylan took on one of Young’s most reflective tunes, “Old Man”. Young famously wrote the song about his fears of aging when he was just 27 years old. Bob Dylan’s version is from 2002, and oddly, his aged voice seems to suit the song just as well.
5. “Cinnamon Girl” by Smashing Pumpkins
Neil Young is considered the Godfather of Grunge by many, so it makes sense that a grunge band or two would dish out covers of his songs. Alt-rock outfit Smashing Pumpkins once covered the song “Cinnamon Girl” from Young’s 1969 album Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere. That track is a fan favorite, likely due to Young’s unique guitar tones. That’s what attracted Billy Corgan to the song, and his rendition is quite lovely.
Photo by Michael Putland Hulton
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