Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
By Kid Moxie, Veego Records 2022.
This excellent cover of Radiohead’s classic Creep came through the other day and it got me thinking about what makes a good cover version.
All songs can be covered by other artists but we all know that there are certain songs that it would be wise to leave alone; Nirvana’sFeels like Teen Spirit for example or The Rolling Stones Jumping Jack Flash.
That’s because it’s hard to divorce the song from the originating artist’s definitive version and that’s exactly what I thought about Creep until I heard Kid Moxie’s effort.
She recorded her version for the Greek TV series Maestro.
I know nothing about the show however, the song has been used in the official trailer for the series and Moxie’s version is so good that it’s been released as a single.
The TV series is due to air this month.
I remembered that Postmodern Jukebox had also done a retro jazz version so I went looking for covers.
There’s a lot of covers of Creep on YouTube.
Here are some you may wish to look up.
If you’re looking for one that really taps into the emotion then it’s hard to go past Kid Moxie.
She’s an American singer/songwriter/producer who performs cinematic synth pop that is regularly heavy on the emotion and often dreamy.
For a minimalist version of Creep, Peyton Mercedes does an excellent version backed only by piano and her multi-tracked vocals.
Another minimalist version can be found performed by Canadian Daniela Andrade, who does it live backed by her acoustic guitar.
For a fairly faithful version Imy2 do a great version and boy does lead singer Annalise Mahanes really let rip in the middle section.
She’s got a fantastic voice.
The previously mentioned Postmodern Jukebox manage to turn it into a jazz cross-over track and they set the benchmark for this genre.
However, Karen Souza also explores a jazz interpretation but her version is more a smoky late night den where the singer is bored to death with the whole process.
There are many more on the net but what this small selection shows is that Thom Yorke really touched a nerve and penned a classic when he wrote this song, and it’s one that encourages differing interpretations.
Kid Moxie is very impressive so I will review her most recent album in the coming weeks.
