Excerpt From Boston Globe Article on Covering the Beatles

[Norbert]

While covering the Beatles is irresistible for musicians, it's also daunting. Steve Earle "nearly bailed" on
on recording "I'm Looking Through You" at the last minute before giving in to his bandmates' cajoling. "It's tough and scary to cover the Beatles," he says.

Ben Harper concurs about "the intimidation factor." He recorded "Strawberry Fields Forever" for "I Am Sam" because the film's director told him no one else was willing to take it on. Though he quickly said yes, "It was the most challenging cover I've ever done." By contrast, "Michelle" was "just begging to be turned on its ear and done reggae style, and we were excited to do it."

-- from the article "There's Something In The Way Other Artists Cover Beatles Songs" in today's Boaton Sunday Globe.

[oldernow]

Post by Norbert
While covering the Beatles is irresistible for musicians,
it's also daunting. Steve Earle "nearly bailed" on
recording "I'm Looking Through You" at the last minute
before giving in to his bandmates' cajoling. "It's tough
and scary to cover the Beatles," he says.
Ben Harper concurs about "the intimidation factor." He
recorded "Strawberry Fields Forever" for "I Am Sam" because
the film's director told him no one else was willing to
take it on. Though he quickly said yes, "It was the most
challenging cover I've ever done.

For me it felt like playing with fire to, on the one had, feel too
reverential about the material to cover them in other than their
original keys, but on the other endure how extremely challenging
to sing so much of it in the original keys - to the point of
debilitating fear building en route to the higher notes while
performing. The experience was often more like "cringing on for
dear life" than actually enjoying the song.

There was a time in my now distantly remote youth when I could
sorta maybe kinda almost cover "She's A Woman" in its original key,
but only while knowing there'd be "a whole lotta pinching/straining
going on", and quite possibly disaster.

Now it's just completely impossible. Even a fourth down is
challenging as hell.