The artists we love and respect most have a tendency to drop a cover song here and there. It’s a perennial occurrence at this point, as performing renditions of other people’s art has become a steadfast exercise for musicians who are in-between albums. 2023 was no different, as we saw a heavy amount of tribute compilations, cover EPs and one-offs over the course of the last 11 months and change. What’s been nice about this year, though, is that the best cover songs are some of the best songs, period. Before January hits soon, we here at Paste want to pay our respects to the big, home-run winners. Without further ado, from Lana Del Rey to Cat Power to Mary Lattimore to Sparklehorse, here is our roundup of the 20 best cover songs of 2023. —Matt Mitchell, Music Editor
20. Lana Del Rey: “Take Me Home, Country Roads” (John Denver)
Already making her mark on the zeitgeist in 2023 with Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, Lana Del Rey had one more thing to say earlier this month with her take on John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” Now, I don’t really know if Lana has ever even been to West Virginia, but the way she sings this tune does its best to convince me otherwise. She brings a plainspoken hauntedness to Denver’s arrangement, substituting the acoustic guitar-driven checkpoints for a largely piano-based sublimity. It works because it’s Lana, and she can spin anything into her own. Is this version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” better than Denver’s? No, but when’s the last time anyone tried to make the song sound so spectral? It’s an anthemic, timeless release given a more grounded paintjob. —Matt Mitchell
19. Jeff Tweedy: “Filled With Wonder Once Again” (Bill Fay)
At this rate, Jeff Tweedy could sneeze on a song and it would sound great. His cover of Bill Fay’s “Filled With Wonder Once Again” is particularly arresting, though, as the Wilco bandleader makes good on a standout entry from the English singer/songwriter’s 2020 album Countless Branches. Tweedy and Wilco have been covering Fay live for years, but this take on “Filled With Wonder Once Again” causes a stir in me every time I put it on. Tweedy’s voice sounds better than it has in years, as he’s accompanied by an acoustic backing arrangement that is pierced by a sparkling synthesizer and romping snare drum. As the title suggests, Tweedy sounds plum brightened by all that surrounds him. —Matt Mitchell
18. Skullcrusher ft. Gia Margaret: “Harvest Breed” (Nick Drake)
In July, Chrysalis Records unveiled a 23-song compilation record of artists covering tunes originally conceived by the late Nick Drake called The Endless Coloured Ways. It has everyone on it, from Fontaines D.C. to Liz Phair to Ben Harper. But, it’s the work of Skullcrusher and Gia Margaret on “Harvest Breed” that stands out from the rest. Helen Ballentine’s airy, widened vocals are complemented beautifully by Margaret’s sublime, sparse instrumentation and field recordings. Emotionally charged just like Skullcrusher’s 2022 album Quiet the Room, this take on “Harvest Breed” sounds unlike Drake—which is exactly what you want from a comp of cover songs. Ballentine and Margaret make this track theirs, with a sonic tapestry that is as minimal as it is punctuated in divine beauty. —Matt Mitchell
17. Nick Shoulders: “Blue Endless Highway” (J.R. Cheatham)
Over the last five years, Arkansas country troubadour Nick Shoulders has covered a wide arrangement of musicians: Daniel Johnston, Blondie, Bill Halley and traditional, century-old standards. On his most recent LP All Bad, Shoulders takes a stab at Jim “J.R.” Cheatham’s country standard “Blue Endless Highway,” and the result is a magnificent mirage of yodelling and Western waltzes. “Foot upon the throttle, watching the old smoke roll,” he howls out in the chorus, “looking in the rearview mirror for the highway patrol.” The track falls nicely within Shoulders’ world—which merges romance, anti-cop sentiments and pained, lovesick portrayals of the wide open country before us. Some folks cover songs just to cover them; Nick Shoulders covers songs to better emphasize the stories he wants to tell. —Matt Mitchell
16. Kurt Vile: “Passenger side” (Wilco)
Philadelphia slacker-rock titan Kurt Vile returned in 2023 with an LP labeled an EP, Back to Moon Beach, which found the guitarist and singer/songwriting delivering pensive jams and exquisite cover tunes for nearly an hour. While we can’t overlook his rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Must Be Santa,” the real treat on the project is Vile’s cut of Wilco’s “Passenger Side.” He puts his vocal through a lighter register, famously straying from his slow-burn drawl with airy, Laurel Canyon-like banter. Tracked with an acoustic arrangement and tambourine-driven percussion, Vile flaunts his performative prowess so well on “Passenger Side” that you’d swear he wrote it himself. —Matt Mitchell
15. Crooks & Nannies: “Islands in the Stream” (Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton)
Back in April, months before releasing their breakthrough LP Real Life, Philly duo Crooks & Nannies put out their own spin on the Bee Gees-penned “Islands in the Stream”—the duet to end all duets, originally performed by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton back in 1983. Sam Huntington and Max Rafter bring a synthesized, club-like vibe to the track, trading in the soft rock inclinations of the original for a digitized, choppy, colorful backdrop. As Huntington moves through the second verse, you can’t help but expect some kind of grandiose beat drop—but it never comes. Instead, the music segues into Rafter’s own chorus and, then, a glitzy, glitchy breakdown. —Matt Mitchell
14. Colter Wall: “Evangelina” (Hoyt Axton)
Colter Wall is no stranger to populating his albums with cover songs. On his recent LP Little Songs, he includes the Hoyt Axton track “Evangelina” in the tracklist’s back-half. It’s a charming country jaunt that injects some pensive beauty into a rugged, soulful story about a man crossing the border to reconnect with the love of his life. “And the fire I feel for the woman I love is driving me insane,” Wall muses in his distinctive, whiskey-soaked bravado, “knowing she’s waiting, and I can’t get there. God only knows that I wracked my brain to try to find a way to reach that woman in old Mexico.” Between Wall’s E-string strumming and Patrick Lyon’s singing pedal steel, “Evangelina” is far-and-away one of the best country tracks of 2023 altogether. —Matt Mitchell
13. Courtney Barnett: “Different Now” (Chastity Belt)
Originally appearing on their 2017 album I Used to Spend So Much Time Alone, “Different Now” remains the one Chastity Belt song I return to more than any other—because it’s just one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The only person in the world who could cover it and do the record justice is Courtney Barnett, who called upon Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa to play drums and synths. Barnett’s vocals take a subdued, scaled back route, as she morphs the song into an ‘80s pop soundscape—all thanks to Mozgawa’s intricate yet bubbly contributions. This version matches the undeniable catchiness of the original by carving out its own space without stealing the thunder of Chastity Belt’s OG vision. That’s what the best covers do, and Barnett has constructed a perfect homage to the Washington band’s reflective and intimate classic. —Matt Mitchell
12. Sparklehorse: “Listening to the Higsons” (Robyn Hitchcock)
Not much Sparklehorse music has surfaced in the 13 years since frontman Mark Linkous’ passing in 2010 at the age of 47. However, 2023 saw the release of Bird Machine, a collection of songs Linkous was working on just before his suicide. His brother Matt and sister-in-law Melissa worked together to complete the LP, and it included a perfect rendition of Robyn Hitchcock’s “Listening to the Higsons.” The Sparklehorse attempt is full of distortion and mangled vox, as Linkous sounds like he’s channeling the Strokes from the center of a garbage dump. It’s got a punk DIY vibe that is unshakable, and Linkous recorded the track with Steve Albini at Electrical Audio in Chicago. Sparklehorse’s version of “Listening to the Higsons” is heavy, damp and awing. —Matt Mitchell
11. Cat Power: “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” (Bob Dylan)
I don’t think any other active, contemporary musician is more synonymous with the art form of cover songs than Cat Power. What Chan Marshall is able to achieve through translations of other artists’ work is truly baffling, if only because no one else in the world has seemed to harness the same perfection. Over and over, she remains in a league of her own. This year, she put out Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, her own re-imagining of Bob Dylan’s infamous show. You can pick any track from this setlist and it’d be a fine inclusion here, but I’m going with “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” because of the sheer weight of emotion Marshall instills in the arrangement. Pound for pound, it’s a rendition that stays largely true to Dylan’s original vision, but Marshall still gently adds her famous sultry, standalone vocal turns into phrases Dylan just couldn’t quite hit. —Matt Mitchell
10. Weyes Blood: “When You’re Smiling” (Traditional)
Natalie Mering had a big 2022, as she released her stunning fifth LP as Weyes Blood, And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow to much critical fanfare and devotion. In 2023, she hasn’t stayed silent, either. While touring the world, Mering managed to sneak a cover of Larry Shay, Mark Fisher and Joe Goodwin’s 1920s jazz standard “When You’re Smiling” into the mix. She recorded the song for the soundtrack to National Geographic’s A Small Light, a miniseries about Anne Frank. Mering has always had a penchant for traditional tracks, especially Hoagy Carmichael’s “Stardust,” so her work here comes as no real surprise. However, “When You’re Smiling” sounds so incredibly Weyes Blood that it arrives with a spiritual successor—or B-side—to And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow. If anything, this release proves even further that Natalie Mering can sing anything she pleases and I—along with many others—will be joyously seated. —Matt Mitchell
9. Mary Lattimore: “Blink” (Hiroshi Yoshimura)
Earlier in 2023, harpist Mary Lattimore released Goodbye, Hotel Arkada—a record that, for my money, gets the award for the most underrated project of the year. But, on the same day André 3000 released New Blue Sun, Lattimore put out her own feel-good instrumental. “Blink” was originally composed by the late Japanese ambient hero Hiroshi Yoshimura, and Lattimore manages to put her own spin on an already perfect composition—a feat that is as rare as it is challenging. “Blink” appears on the Light in the Attic & Friends compilation (and is not the only entry from that comp on this list, spoiler alert), and it showcases a celebration of Yoshimura’s steadfast ability to make a cosmos out of a Fender Rhodes and synthesizers. Lattimore lends her harp to the arrangement, removing the digitized garnish with atmospheric strings plucked ever so delicately. It’s the epitome of a song built to last simply for how easy it is to listen to it 10 times in a row. —Matt Mitchell
8. Mo Troper: “Citgo Sign” (Jon Brion)
“Citgo Sign,” the lead single from Troper Sings Brion is classic Mo Troper, as the Portland producer, singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist takes Brion’s sketch of dream pop goodness and fashions it into a jangly tune reminiscent of early Byrds albums. With soaring guitars and a worn-in tenor vocal that flirts with the pearls of a vintage falsetto, Troper takes this once underloved rarity and makes it into a contemporary powerhouse you won’t be able to stop yourself from playing over and over. If anyone’s gonna outplay Brion, I think we’ve found our man. —Matt Mitchell
7. Julia Jacklin: “Shivers” (Rowland S. Howard)
The first lines in Julia Jacklin’s cover of “Shivers” hit you like a truck: “I’ve been contemplating suicide / But it doesn’t really suit my style / So I think I’ll just act bored instead,” she croons, in her shimmering warble. Jacklin’s rendition, part of a tribute to late producer—and the song’s original recorder—Tony Cohen, highlights the desperate enamoredness of young love. As the track swells into a power ballad, a marching combination of piano and drums add a determined militance to Jacklin’s lilt. It’s an homage to her musical roots, and a cacophony of big emotion and sonic perfection. —Miranda Wollen
6. Al Green: “Perfect Day” (Lou Reed)
Al Green returned to the music world after a five-year hiatus with a cover of Lou Reed’s opus “Perfect Day,” bringing his buttery vocals to the sweet love story and giving it a modern, soulful gloss. The song translates beautifully into the world of gospel and R&B, with church organs and a choir-backing lifting the arrangement to a number that would’ve had a place in any old-school crooner’s repertoire. Green stayed true to Reed’s tune while adding his own “sauce and style,” turning a jazz-pop ballad into a piece of soul magic. Green’s voice adds an open excitement and candid emotion into the song, exercises that Reed chose to play down in his verses, switching around the violins and guitar thrums to match his silky, generations-spanning style. —Miranda Wollen
5. Vashti Bunyan & Devendra Banhart: “How Could You Let Me Go” (Madelynn Von Ritz)
Before releasing Lookaftering in 2005, English folk singer Vashti Bunyan returned to the studio in 2004 and sang a duet—“Rejoicing in the Hands”—with Devendra Banhart, who was just a young fan of hers trying to make a name for himself. Now, nearly 20 years later, she and Banhart reconvened to cover “How Could You Let Me Go,” a tune first written and recorded by Madelynn Von Ritz—an obscure folk singer who was a barber in 1960s Los Angeles under the name Lynn Castle. “How Could You Let Me Go” is one of the prettiest songs I’ve heard this year, and Banhart and Bunyan were meant to sing duets together. I just hope we don’t have to go another 20 years to hear the next one. —Matt Mitchell
4. jaimie branch ft. Jason Ajemian: “the mountain” (Meat Puppets)
Perhaps the most unique cover song of 2023, “the mountain” finds the late trumpeter jaimie branch riffing on a Meat Puppets song called “Comin’ Down.” It’s one of the sweetest moments on branch’s final LP, Fly or Die Fly or Die Fly or Die ((World War)), and it is much more like a folk hymnal than it is a jazz composition. branch and her collaborator Jason Ajemian retain the country tint of the Meat Puppets’ loose and earthy original jig. “I have seen the information on the lighter side of dumbness,” branch and Ajemian harmonize. “I have heard the new statistics in the stompin’ on the ground. It’s one of the only covers from this year that, very likely, outshines its source material in full. —Matt Mitchell
3. Blondshell: “Charm You” (Samia)
Hypnotically effervescent rising star Blondshell released a cover of Samia’s “Charm You” earlier this year, a part of a reimagining of her acclaimed sophomore LP Honey. The version is imploring and poutily enamored, the lovelorn best of Blondshell’s vocal range. As the track crescendos, the song’s hook, “I don’t wanna charm you,” gets more and more convincing. Blondshell’s singing drips with as much sugared emotion as it does alt-rock grit, while an infectious guitar hook loops in the background, fading in and out of sparkling electronic riffs. —Miranda Wollen
2. Ducks Ltd. ft. Ratboys & Mo Troper: “Invitation” (The Feelies)
Before announcing their third album a few weeks ago, Toronto duo Ducks Ltd. made their presence known in 2023 with a trio of covers. The most affecting of the three is “Invitation,” a song originally conceived by The Feelies back in 1991. Tom McGreevy and Evan Lewis turn the track into a beautiful post-punk balm tinged with a delicious pop oeuvre. McGreevy and Lewis also call upon Ratboys’ Julia Steiner, power-pop maestro Mo Troper and local players Paul Erlichman, Kurt Marble and Katie Ryan. What’s great about “Invitation” is that it feels so famously Ducks Ltd. now. McGreevy’s vocals pair with Steiner’s backing chops, and the result is a buoyant, unforgettable slice of jubilant heaven. —Matt Mitchell
1. Sufjan Stevens: “There’s a World” (Neil Young)
Originally track seven on Neil Young’s 1972 album Harvest, “There’s a World” is overpowered by the sheer ferocity of songs like “Heart of Gold,” “Old Man” and “The Needle and the Damage Done.” It’s maybe the weakest song on the record, depending on who you ask. But, as a closing track on Sufjan Stevens’ recent album Javelin, it’s a perfect, heartbreaking coda enveloped by a delicate, soaring choir melody. “There’s a world you’re living in, no one else has your part,” Stevens sings in a whisper. “All God’s children in the wind, take it in and blow real hard.” Stevens dedicated the record to his late, longtime partner Evans Richardson, and “There’s a World,” in that very moment, transforms into a portrait of afterlife and eternal togetherness. When he echoes out the lines “We are leaving, we are gone, come with us to all alone,” there’s not a dry eye in the building. This is Sufjan Stevens’ song now, and may it forever make us weep uncontrollably. —Matt Mitchell
Listen to a playlist of these songs below.