LEANING BACK'S TOP 5 MICHAEL JACKSON COVERS

I was never a huge fan of Michael Jackson, but there's no denying the influence he had on popular music and culture. In memoriam I've prepared a small tribute to the "King of Pop" to show his influence throughout pop music and also showcase artists paying tribute through their own versions of his songs. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, LEANING BACK's Top 5 Michael Jackson covers.



#5: James Morrison - "Man in the Mirror"

Morrison does a pretty straight on, stripped down version of the song. He doesn't reinvent it, but manages to give it a solid, fresh new sound.



#4: Ben Gibbard - "Thriller"

Deathcab for Cutie frontman, Ben Gibbard puts on a unique performance of the seminal "Thriller" sans zombies and werewolves. This version's just a bit more toned down, a bare bones acoustic performance, complete with a lyrics sheet taped to the top of the guitar. Awesome.



#3: Fall Out Boy - "Beat It"

A few years ago the very thought of Fall Out Boy covering a song of this magnitude would have brought me to raging tears, but the band has since cleaned up their live sound and grown into some very, very solid songwriters. Although the guitar solo is somewhat lacking, Patrick Stump delivers a powerful vocal performance and the band breathes new life into - well the song didn't really need any CPR, it's a classic - but nevertheless, Fall Out Boy pulls through here and gives us a "Beat It" for the 21st century.

Fall Out Boy - Beat It
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#2: Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"

This is a happy memory from my childhood in a time where a cool new band called Alien Ant Farm had an awesome new song. It was a while before I was educated with knowledge that said song was in fact a cover. I was rather disappointed with the original version after hearing it, and AAF's remained the only version forever in my heart. It was just about the band's only hit in my memory too...

Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
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#1: Chris Cornell - "Billie Jean"

Topping off the list we have Soundgarden/Temple of the Dog/Audioslave ex-frontman, Chris Cornell tearing Jackson's hit "Billie Jean" to pieces, then eating those pieces, and spewing the them out in a fiery pillar of awesomeness. Not only does Cornell completely reinvent the song, filling it to the brim with gut-wrenching soul, but he does it all with just a lone acoustic guitar and a microphone. It's almost enough to make us forget about all that Scream business. Almost.



Rest in peace, MJ. You gave the world some great music and leave behind a great legacy. Even if people don't like the music, they can't doubt the influence it had on pop music and culture at large.



- Brien





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