The recent news that Ryan Adams is covering the entirety of Taylor Swift’s 1989 inspired me to make a giant list of other albums he should probably cover. But he’s already way ahead of me. His version of Oasis’s “Wonderwall” is legendary; recently, he finally came full circle and did Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69,” which he once kicked a heckler out of a show for requesting.
The magic of a Ryan Adams cover is that he takes a song that once belonged to someone else and makes it fully his; if I were a fellow songwriter, I’d be both scared and honored if he ever hijacked something of mine. The covers collected below also prove that he’s got a huge range: For example, here’s a short snippet of him playing the Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way.” If that’s not your thing, though, here are 16 of his finest reclamations.
Foo Fighters, “Times Like These”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Alice in Chains, “Nutshell”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Foreigner, “I Want to Know What Love Is”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Madonna, “Like a Virgin”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Madonna bonus: Here’s Ryan trying his hand at “Lucky Star.”]
Vampire Weekend, “Oxford Comma”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Vampire Weekend bonus: Here’s Ryan doing “Mansard Roof” and “A-Punk” to complete the triumvirate.]
Rolling Stones, “Brown Sugar”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Patrick Swayze, “She’s Like the Wind”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover (with Natalie Prass):
Bryan Adams, “Run to You”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
The Smiths, “Headmaster Ritual”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Smiths bonus: He’s also tried his hand at “Asleep,” which you can listen to here.]
The Strokes, “Last Night”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Adams has actually covered this one live a few times; here are two other versions. It’s also rumored that he’s covered all of the Strokes’ Is This It, but only pressed something like, I dunno, five copies.]
The Grateful Dead, “Stella Blue”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Ryan’s love for the Dead is well-documented. His 2005 album Cold Roses is heavily influenced by the group; he’s also covered everything from “Wharf Rat” to “Rosebud.” There are easily two dozen more Ryan Adams/Grateful Dead covers on YouTube.]
Iron Maiden, “Wasted Years”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Sonic Youth, “Expressway to Yr Skull”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
[Ever the rock fan, Adams has also given this one a shot more than once.]
Fleetwood Mac, “Dreams”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover (as Whiskeytown):
Black Flag, “Nervous Breakdown”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover (as Whiskeytown):
[Adams has also allegedly performed this one solo in his post-Whiskeytown years.]
Danzig, “Mother”
The original version:
The Ryan Adams cover:
Top image via Getty.