Drawing on the Living Room Wall Songs

Björk - There's More To Life Than This (live) - sorry, couldn't find a better recording.

Fairouz - Habbou Badun
I don't know what she's singing about but I love this song.

Yehudit Ravitz with Gidi Gov live (1994) in a fun version of Coming from Love/באה מאהבה

Matti Caspi and Shlomo Gronich - Rocky Raccoon
This is a bonus track from the reissue of "Behind the Sounds/מאחורי הצלילים". Two twenty-something musical geniuses, just beginning their career at the time - they get together and sparks fly and out come wild brilliant improvisations. The album is amazing. You should buy it so Matti doesn't have to do any more TV commercials.

Shalom Chanoch - Maya

From the Desert to the Sea in a day

Going to California - Led Zeppelin tone it down some.

Africa - a jazz choir covers the song by Toto - and simulates a rainstorm with body percussion. (Thanks Clark!)

I Guess That's Why They Call It the Blues - my favorite Elton John song.

Waves of Last Week

Crazy Love by Van Morrison with Bob Dylan. The lyrics are almost embarrassing... but Bob Dylan's grating voice in the background rescues the song from its own corniness.

***

Come Together - the Beatles, from Abbey Road remastered.

This song always seemed to me like a moment of serendipity occurring entirely in John Lennon's drugged up head, hardly a classic cover song. So I was blown away when I found so many outstanding versions each of which absolutely stands on its own. Made for a long night =)

My favorites are listed below, or just go directly to my playlist on YouTube. Listen with headphones.

Impressive cover by Michael Jackson (live)

Tina Turner (live)

Joe Cocker - from the film "Across the Universe"

Cassandra Wilson and Diana Reeves

Elton John live at Madison Square Garden

Robin Williams with Bobby McFerrin singing the bass part!

Soundgarden

***

My Sweet Lord - Billy Preston in a tribute concert to the late George Harrison.

I've got to admit, it's getting better

"You love your lovin'... but not like you love your freedom." Joni Mitchell speaks pearls.
Help Me - K. D. Lang covering Joni's song from Court and Spark.

Helpless - Neil Young (Live)

Getting Better - the Beatles, from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

בתוך הצינורות - Algier. Wait for the guitar solo...

Joni, Joni

A Case of You - from her album "Blue". Listening to this song induces the feeling of Being In Love even if you aren't...

Since YouTube is now silencing copyrighted audio, here's a link to some other streaming site. The original by Joni Mitchell is first on the list. Suggestions for a better site (that works in Israel) are welcome.

I've arrived in the 60's, think I'll stay a while

"Ad hoc, ad loc, and quid pro quo. So little time, so much to know..."
Nowhere Man scene from Yellow Submarine.

Both Sides Now - Joni Mitchell, from her 1969 album "Clouds". She recorded it again in 2000, in her now-smoky voice, totally different. The studio recording isn't available on YouTube - this is the best live version I could find from before her voice changed.

Cry Me a River

Another old jazz standard - written for Ella Fitzgerald but recorded first by Julie London. Once again, there are many excellent versions by big names, from Barbara Streisand to Susan Boyle. Here is an extensive list of covering artists from Wikipedia (although some of them are actually covering the Justin Timberlake song).
I'm posting the ones that pleased or caught my ear for some reason.

Patricia Elena Vlieg, saucy and lively.

My favorite jazz version: Diana Krall with her unsweet voice.

Someone had to do a "naive" version, so here is Swedish singer Lisa Ekdahl.

But there's nobody like Bjork - as always, exquisitely casual and precise, childlike and emotional and slightly mad.

Also works as hard rock - Joe Cocker on Mad Dogs and Englishmen, 1970

And Caetano Veloso always makes my toes tingle...

I'm not in the mood for Ella Fitzgerald, but I'm putting these up for another day maybe:

Ella Fitzgerald & Joe Pass (1975)

Dinah Washington (who saucily acknowledges the existence of Spokane before starting)

And the original, Julie London.