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Paul Weller - Thinking Of You (Sister Sledge)
Rigsy - ATL Presenter

My favourite cover versions are mostly alternative or stripped down versions of massive pop songs (Flaming Lips do Kylie, Travis do Britney etc) but this one is worth going on about simply because very few people seem to be aware of it. The original is, of course, one of the finest songs ever written and can never be bettered, but Weller's straight delivery and those big strings give a wonderful song a new lease of life. Strangely, it's probably my favourite thing the Modfather's ever done...

Local Natives - Warning Sign (Talking Heads)
Amy McGarrigle - ATL Content Assistant

There are too many to choose from, so I've gone for the most recent cover version to make me double take. Local Natives use their rhythmic, vocal harmony laden sound and wrap it round the Talking Heads 1978 tune, making it altogether more polished, but really just changing the vibe of the song completely. I won't say better than the original, but certainly bringing it into a different world. And I'll never hear Talking Heads doing it live, so this is a close second best!ÌýI have to add an honorary mention to Becks version of 'Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometime', even if it's cheating...

Ciccone Youth - Into The Groovey (Madonna)
Steven Rainey - ATL Buddy & Contributor

One of the most unexpected cover versions ever unleashed, 'Into the Groovey' is an assault on 20th Century pop culture, with Madonna as its high priestess. Over a boombox playing Madonna's 'Into the Groove', Sonic Youth (and The Minutemen's Mike Watt) unleash havoc, spitting out shards of the lyrics, layering an earthshaking bassline over the top of it, and letting unhinged guitars cut through the middle. All the while, Madonna lies at the bottom of this sonic cacophony, still trying to get into the groove. With Sonic Youth about to hit the peak of their powers, it was a groove that not everyone could manage to get into, baby.

Radiohead - Nobody Does it Better (Carley Simon)
Jimmy Devlin - ATL Producer

Somewhere in the back of my mind I remember Radiohead covering Carley Simon's 'Nobody Does It Better' on MTV's 'Most Wanted'. There is a strong possibility that it wasn't Radiohead, that it wasn't a Carley Simon song and no programme of that name ever existed. But in my head they covered it and it sounded amazing.


Elvis Presley - Polk Salad Annie (Tony Joe White)
Warren Bell - ATLÌýLord of the Web

I've banged on about glorious cover versions before, but easily my pick of the bunch is the King's takes on Tony Joe White's dirty, funky, if slightly pedestrian swamp blues number. There are plenty of live recordings of Elvis doing this track available, so I'll point you in the direction of the two best. First up, an absolute masterclass in style, groove, delivery and dynamics from the On Stage album of 1970 that takes the original to its logical conclusion. Secondly, a version from the As Recorded Live At Madison Square Garden album of 1972 that winds it up several notches, throws in a ridiculously brilliant fuzz-bass solo and just clean breaks the walls down.