| Covers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 25 May 2018 | |||
| Recorded | 1980-2008 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 72:19 | |||
| Label | Sunset Blvd Records | |||
| The Smithereens chronology | ||||
| ||||
Covers is a compilation album by The Smithereens, released in May 2018 by Sunset Blvd Records. [1] It was originally released as a digital download on iTunes in May 2014. [2] The album features 22 cover songs recorded by the band between 1980 and 2008. Most of the songs have previously been released as b-sides or on tribute albums and soundtracks.
Covers features songs that are collected from different sessions throughout the band's career. [3] Guitarist Jim Babjak: “Whenever we had extra time in the studio we’d knock off covers for fun." [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Illinois Entertainer |   |
Jeff Elbel of the Illinois Entertainer rated the album 7 stars out of 10, stating: "If these songs represent the Smithereens' schoolbooks, Covers is the thesis supporting the band's tenured status as professors and proclaimers of perfect power pop." [5]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Game of Love" (originally recorded by Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders) | Clint Ballard Jr. | previously officially unreleased on CD | 2:34 |
| 2. | "The Slider" (originally recorded by T. Rex) | Marc Bolan | Resurrection of the Warlock: A Tribute to Marc Bolan & T-Rex, 1995 | 3:04 |
| 3. | "Ruler of My Heart" (originally recorded by Irma Thomas) | Naomi Neville | B-side to "House We Used to Live In", 1988 | 3:02 |
| 4. | "Wooly Bully" (originally recorded by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs) | Domingo Samudio | Encino Man (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack), 1992 | 3:04 |
| 5. | "Let's Talk About Us" (originally recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis) | Otis Blackwell | Brace Yourself! A Tribute to Otis Blackwell, 1994 | 3:20 |
| 6. | "Girl Don't Tell Me" (originally recorded by The Beach Boys) | Brian Wilson | Girls About Town EP , 1980 | 2:23 |
| 7. | "Up in Heaven" (originally recorded by The Clash) | Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon | The Sandinista! Project - A Tribute to The Clash, 2007 | 2:53 |
| 8. | "Time Won't Let Me" (originally recorded by The Outsiders) | Chet Kelley, Tom King | Non-album single, 1994 (from the Motion Picture Timecop ) | 3:46 |
| 9. | "Gloomy Sunday" (originally recorded by Hal Kemp and Billie Holiday) | Sam M. Lewis, Rezső Seress | God Save The Smithereens , 1999 | 3:40 |
| 10. | "Yer Blues" (originally recorded by The Beatles) | John Lennon, Paul McCartney | previously officially unreleased on CD | 4:45 |
| 11. | "One After 909" (originally recorded by The Beatles) | Lennon, McCartney | B-side to "Top of the Pops", 1991 | 3:36 |
| 12. | "I Want to Tell You" (originally recorded by The Beatles) | George Harrison | Songs from the Material World: A Tribute to George Harrison , 2003 | 3:13 |
| 13. | "It Don't Come Easy" (originally recorded by Ringo Starr) | Richard Starkey | B-side to "Too Much Passion", 1992 | 3:07 |
| 14. | "Well...Alright (live)" (originally recorded by Buddy Holly) | Jerry Allison, Buddy Holly, Joe B. Mauldin, Norman Petty | Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More , 2008 | 2:38 |
| 15. | "Rosie Won't You Please Come Home" (originally recorded by The Kinks) | Ray Davies | previously officially unreleased on CD | 2:31 |
| 16. | "The World Keeps Going 'Round" (originally recorded by The Kinks) | Davies | B-side to "Too Much Passion", 1992 | 2:38 |
| 17. | "Downbound Train" (originally recorded by Bruce Springsteen) | Bruce Springsteen | One Step Up/Two Steps Back: The Songs of Bruce Springsteen, 1997 | 3:43 |
| 18. | "The Seeker" (originally recorded by The Who) | Pete Townshend | B-side to "Only a Memory", 1988 | 3:20 |
| 19. | "Somethin' Stupid" (originally recorded by Carson and Gaile, Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra) | C. Carson Parks | B-side to "Get a Hold of My Heart", 1992 | 2:45 |
| 20. | "Lust For Life" (originally recorded by Iggy Pop) | David Bowie, Iggy Pop | B-side to "Only a Memory", 1988 | 5:08 |
| 21. | "The Stroll" (originally recorded by The Diamonds) | Nancy Lee, Clyde Otis | Fast Track to Nowhere: Songs from the Showtime original series Rebel Highway , 1994 | 3:00 |
| 22. | "Shakin' All Over" (originally recorded by Johnny Kidd & the Pirates) | Johnny Kidd, Guy Robinson | B-side to "Top of the Pops", 1991 | 4:06 |
Adapted from the liner notes of Covers [16] and Attack of The Smithereens , [17] except where noted.
The Smithereens are an American rock band from Carteret, New Jersey, United States. The group formed in 1980 with members Pat DiNizio, Jim Babjak, Mike Mesaros, and Dennis Diken. This original lineup continued until 2006, when Mesaros left the band and Severo Jornacion took over on bass guitar until Mesaros' return in 2016. After DiNizio died in 2017, the band continued performing live shows as a trio with various guest vocalists.
Girls About Town is the debut EP by the American rock band The Smithereens. It was released on 31 October 1980 on the band's own D-Tone Records. The EP contains four songs with the word ‘girl‘ in the title, including "Girl Don't Tell Me," a song originally recorded by The Beach Boys.
Beauty and Sadness is the second EP by The Smithereens, released in June 1983 on Little Ricky Records.
11 is the third full-length album by The Smithereens, released on October 24, 1989. It includes the Billboard Top 40 single "A Girl Like You". The album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America in June 1990.
Green Thoughts is the second studio album by The Smithereens, released in March 1988 by Enigma/Capitol Records. The single, "Only a Memory", reached No. 92 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Album Rock Tracks chart in 1988.
A Date with the Smithereens is the fifth album by the New Jersey rock band The Smithereens, released in 1994. It is seen as a stylistically consistent with the melodic pop sensibilities of their earliest albums, along with the more rock-driven sound and production of their most commercially successful releases.
Meet The Smithereens! is the seventh studio album by Carteret, New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in stores on January 16, 2007. The album features the band covering The Beatles' 1964 American album, Meet the Beatles!.
God Save The Smithereens is the sixth studio album by The Smithereens, released on 19 October 1999 on Velvel/Koch Records. Produced by Don Fleming, it was originally intended to be a concept album based on the idea of the world ending as soon as the year 2000 started. It was the last studio album to feature bassist Mike Mesaros, who left the band in 2006, but returned ten years later for occasional live dates. "She's Got a Way" was released as a promo single.
Especially for You is the first full-length album from New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released in July 1986 by Enigma Records.
Live in Concert! Greatest Hits and More is a live album by New Jersey rock band The Smithereens, released in 2008 by Koch Records.
Blow Up is the title of the fourth full-length studio album by The Smithereens. The album charted at #120 in the U.S. in October 1991. The second single, "Too Much Passion", became the group's second top-40 single, peaking at #37. Top of the Pops was released as the first single of the album.
2011 is the eleventh studio album by The Smithereens, released on April 5, 2011 by eOne Music.
The Smithereens Play Tommy is the tenth studio album by Carteret, New Jersey-based rock band The Smithereens, released on 5 May 2009 by E1 Music. The album features the band covering highlights from The Who's 1969 concept album, Tommy, creating an abridged version of the original story. The Smithereens edited the original album's 24 selections down to 13 songs, with a total running time of 41 minutes, compared to the original's 75 minutes.
"Strangers When We Meet" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens, released as a European-only single in 1987. It is the fourth single released in support of their debut album Especially for You.
"Behind the Wall of Sleep" is a song by the American alternative rock group The Smithereens, released in 1986. It is the second single released in support of their debut album Especially for You.
B-Sides The Beatles is the ninth studio album by The Smithereens, released 2 September 2008 on Koch Records. The album features the band covering Beatles B-sides released in America in 1964 and early 1965.
Attack of the Smithereens is a rarities compilation album by The Smithereens, released in 1995 by Capitol Records. It contains a number of B-sides and rare tracks as well as previously unreleased demos and live recordings.
From Jersey It Came! The Smithereens Anthology is a two-disc, career-spanning compilation album by The Smithereens, released in 2004. It features most of the band's singles, as well as album and EP tracks, non-album B-sides and a handful of rarities.
Blown to Smithereens: Best of The Smithereens is the first compilation album by The Smithereens, released April 4, 1995 by Capitol Records. It features the band's best-known songs and radio hits from 1983's Beauty and Sadness EP to the 1994 album, A Date with The Smithereens. The album also includes a cover of The Outsiders 1966 hit, "Time Won't Let Me", recorded for the film Timecop and released as a single in August 1994.
Pat DiNizio is the third solo album by Pat DiNizio of The Smithereens, released in 2007 by East West Records. Following two solo albums that showed DiNizio moving away from the sound and style of The Smithereens to explore new musical directions, Pat DiNizio sees him return to 1960s-style pop with a big guitar sound. The album features Smithereens members Jim Babjak and Severo "The Thrilla" Jornacion on guitar and bass respectively, as well as Kurt Reil of The Grip Weeds on drums, who also handles production duties.