I'm Still Not Really Sure What Post Malone Does But Now I Like Him

By Petr Navovy | Videos | October 26, 2023 |

By Petr Navovy | Videos | October 26, 2023 |

I feel like it’s been a little while since I’ve posted a good cover version. Cover versions—good ones, obviously—are just one of those things I rarely get my fill of. The internet, for all its horrific flaws and lamentable evolution, has at least proven a reliable fount of musical interpretations.

I’ve got one here today from Post Malone. Here is where I hold my hands up and openly admit ignorance—cliché that that might make me (hey, I stay up to date on metal, that counts)—and say that I still don’t know what kind of music Mr Post makes. I’ve no idea. I do know that he seems to have great taste, having collaborated with Ozzy and previously spoken of his love for Alice In Chains, and I’m also aware that he just seems like a really chill and nice dude. I’ve heard him described as a human capybara, and the comparisons don’t get much more complimentary than that as far as I’m concerned.

The cover version of Malone’s that I want to share is a very recent one, performed live on the Howard Stern show, and it’s a ballsy one indeed, as Malone has chosen to do a version of a tune originally sung by the one and only Layne Staley. I’ve written about the power and character of Staley’s once-in-a-generation voice before. Covering a Staley-performed song is a daunting prospect. Do you try (and inevitably fail) to hew close to what Staley did originally, or do you do the smart thing and re-arrange and approach things from a different angle.

Malone wisely chooses the latter approach here, tackling the blistering opener of Alice In Chains’ masterpiece album ‘Dirt’ with the help of an excellent choir and a haunting acoustic direction that brings a fresh perspective to the song while staying true to its spirit:

And while we’re on the topic of cover versions that approach things from a completely different angle, here’s a bonus cover for today. YouTuber Stuart Clifford taking Iron Maiden’s ‘Wasted Years’—which is wistful and reflective even in its original, driving, electric version, but which gets even more heart-tugging with Clifford’s re-interpretation: