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Cover Songs 4 - Even Better Than the Real Thing
First Published: Saturday, February 6, 2010 12:36 PM
Last Saved: Saturday, February 6, 2010 1:13 PM
I love cover songs, so I decided to do a regular column here on Murmur dedicated to just that. Once a week I highlight a cover band, album, or group of songs. This week I'm taking a look at the album series "Even Better Than the Real Thing". These were a series of cover albums recorded for charity. They were recorded on Today FM, by The Ray D'Arcy Show in Ireland with different Irish singers and bands. Head Minogue Party Started Dreams My LA Ex Stevens Harte Knowles Me Kennedy Us Whenever Timberlake Love Dempsey Darkness Doyle Iglesias
Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 1 was released back in 2003. For this album they gender reversed all of the artists. If the artist was a female they used a male for the cover, and vice versa. This album is my favorite of the trilogy.
Track no.
Title
Cover Artist
Original Artist
1
"Can't Get You out of My
Jack L
Kylie
2
"Get the
Damien Rice&Lisa Hannigan
Pink
3
"Sweet
Picturehouse
Rachel
4
"Underneath Your Clothes"
Kieran Goss
Shakira
5
"Crazy in Love"
Mickey
Beyoncé
6
"Ain't Nobody"
The Walls
Chaka Khan
7
"How You Remind
Maria Doyle
Nickelback
8
"Sound of the Underground"
The 4 Of
Girls Aloud
9
"Breathe"
Roesy
Blu Cantrell
10
"Wherever,
Mundy
Shakira
11
"Cry Me a River"
Glen Hansard
Justin
12
"I Believe in a Thing Called
Damien
The
13
"Escape"*
Kevin
Enrique
*Also features a hidden track of Picturehouse covering "Papa Don't Preach
Cry me a River is one of my favorite tracks from the album, mainly because I'm a Glen Hansard (Swell Season, The Frames) fan.Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 2 was released in 2004. There were a few gender reversals on this album as well, but not like the previous album.
| Track no. | Title | Artist | Made famous by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Toxic" | Juliet Turner | Britney
Spears |
| 2 | "Like I Love
You " / "Slow" |
Bell X1 | Justin
Timberlake / KylieMinogue |
| 3 | "Seven Nation
Army " |
Vyvienne Long | The White
Stripes |
| 4 | "Everytime" | Glen Hansard&Colm MacConlomaire | Britney Spears |
| 5 | "These Words" | The Walls | Natasha
Bedingfield |
| 6 | "Grandma's Hand" / "No
Diggity " |
Paddy Casey feat. Dublin Gospel
Choir |
Blackstreet |
| 7 | "Dry Your Eyes" | Brian
Kennedy |
The Streets |
| 8 | "Naughty Girl" | Roesy | Beyonce Knowles |
| 9 | "Saints
& Sinners " |
Dublin Gospel Choir feat. Paddy Casey | Paddy Casey |
| 10 | "I Don't Want You Back" | Mickey Joe
Harte |
Eamon |
| 11 | "Hole in the
Head " |
Ann
& David Blake |
Sugababes |
| 12 | "Sway" | Bic Runga | Bic Runga |
| 13 | "See It In a Boy's Eyes" | Declan
O'Rourke &Josh Johnson |
Jamelia |
| 14 | "Hey Ya!" | The Bogmen | Outkast |
Once again because I'm a Glen Hansard fan my favorite track is Everytime.
Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 3 was released in 2005. This is my least favorite of the albums because its completely full of U2 covers. I'm personally not a big U2 fan, but I know many people love them. This was also a double disc unlike the others.
Disc 1
| Track no. | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "All I Want Is You" | Mark Geary |
| 2 | "40" | The Frames |
| 3 | "When Love Comes to Town" | Declan
O'Rourke |
| 4 | "Seconds" | Mundy |
| 5 | "Mothers of the Disappeared" | Paddy Casey |
| 6 | "Heartland" | Bell X1 |
| 7 | "So
Cruel " |
Erin McKeown |
| 8 | "Even Better Than The Real
Thing " |
Jack L |
| 9 | "Running to Stand Still" | Mickey
Harte |
| 10 | "October" | Divine Comedy |
| 11 | "Sunday
Bloody Sunday " |
Lisa Bresnan |
| 12 | "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild
Horses " |
Tom
Baxter |
Disc 2
| Track no. | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "One" | Jerry Fish and the Mudbug
Club |
| 2 | "New
Years Day " |
Aslan |
| 3 | "With or
Without You " |
The Walls |
| 4 | "Still Haven't Found
What I'm Looking For " |
Juliet
Turner |
| 5 | "Love Is
Blindness " |
The Devlins featuring Sharon Corr |
| 6 | "Bad" | Luka Bloom |
| 7 | "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild
Horses " |
Picturehouse |
| 8 | "A Sort of Homecoming" | Hazel Kaneswaran |
| 9 | "Love Rescue Me" | Roesy |
| 10 | "Vertigo" | Elvis&Kevin Doyle |
| 11 | "Sunday Bloody Sunday" | Damien
Dempsey |
| 12 | "Van Diemen's Land" | George Murphy |
| 13 | "Sweetest
Thing " |
St Fiachra?s Junior School Choir |
After the third album was released they took a long break and haven't made another one until late 2008. I haven't had a chance to listen to it myself so I might cover that in the future. All proceeds from the sales of these albums go to the National Chidren's Hospital, and Barrestown. So when you buy these albums your not just getting good music, your also helping a cause.
