Back in February we presented ten cool cover versions of international hits from now and then by Scandinavian artists. While researching we ended up with another Top 10 worth of covers, and since we’ve never been too proud to repeat a success July’s Top 10@10 headline reads: More cool cover songs (never said we were particularly imaginative).

So, get ready to hear what Scandinavia has done to Plastic Bertrand, Britney Spears, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Cure, Tom Waits plus five other oldies and newbies. Enjoy!

CALLmeKAT (DK) - Toxic (orginally by Britney Spears)
The original: Plain and simply a brilliant song off Ms. Spears’ fourth effort ‘In The Zone’, it’s quality underlined by the impressive number of cover versions out there…

The cover: … one being Danish CALLmeKAT’s “sexy on a whole other level” bossa nova version, found on her debut ‘Fall Down’.

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Casiokids (NO) – Det Snurrar I Min Skalle (originally by Familjen)
The original: Proof that language matters less when it comes to music. As long as it’s good music. And there’s no denying that Sweden’s Familjen nailed it with this track!

The cover: Our favorite Norwegian electropoppers take some of the oomph out of the original, fitting it perfectly to their own expression. On top this cover has received the highest recognition as Familjen is said to cover Casiokids’ cover live. It’s all good with a little inter-Scandinavian love…

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Teitur (FO) – Great Balls Of Fire (originally by Jerry Lee Lewis)
The original: Written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer in 1957, but legendary rock pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis turned it into one of the biggest rock’n’roll anthems ever.

The cover: The Faroese singer/songwriter wanted to do a song about schizophrenia and then went on to cover one of the most rock’n’roll men who’ve ever lived. Makes sense, really…

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Kellermensch (DK) – Dirt In The Ground (originally by Tom Waits)
The original: One of the many great songs on gravel voiced Californian Tom Waits’ masterpiece ‘Bone Machine’ from 1992.

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The cover: It takes cojones to cover a Tom Waits song. It takes talent to get away with it. And it takes a very special kind of band to cover a Tom Waits song, get away with it AND make Tom Waits’ version sound jolly and cheerful… ALL SCANDINAVIAN favorites Kellermensch do it all.

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H.I.M. (SF) – Wicked Game (originally by Chris Isaak)
The original: Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ is memorable for two reasons: First because Chris Isaak in 1989 for the first and only time in music history made whining cool. Second the music video featured Danish supermodel Helena Christensen wearing nothing more than bikini bottoms and a handful of strategically placed sand… Brilliant!

The cover: Finnish love metal at its very best. Singer Ville Valo sings like he is in pain but has decided to be cool about it, and do check out the moment at 1:58 when the guitar goes into overdrive just before the solo. That’s two seconds of pure rock’n’roll awesomeness.

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Björk (ISL) – Ruby Baby (originally by The Drifters)
The original: Written by legendary songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by The Drifters who had major hit with it in 1956.

The cover: R&B is turned into trio jazz by a brilliantly singing Björk and the Icelandic jazz group Tríó Guðmundar Ingólfssonar on the album ‘Gling-Gló’, released in 1990 three years before Björk’s solo debut.

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Masquer (SE) – The Hanging Garden (originally by The Cure)
The original: Nightmarish single off The Cure’s 1982 album ‘Pornography’ which was initially received poorly in the music press, but later saluted as one of the key goth rock releases of the 80s.

The cover: Swedish duo Masquer revisit the thundering drums of the original and keep it as dark as the lyrics demand, however, they also manage the essential in doing a good cover version: Making it their own.

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Sort Sol (DK) – Ruby Don’t Take Your Love To Town (originally by Johnny Darrell)
The original: Written by Mel Tillis the song was first recorded in 1969 by Johnny Darrell, but made famous by country silver fox Kenny Rogers in an okay if somewhat harmless version.

The cover: Danish punk pioneers Sort Sol recorded the song for their 1983 album ‘Dagger & Guitar’ and added some indefinable dirtiness and misanthropy to it.

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Leila K. (SE) – Ca Plane Pour Moi (originally by Plastic Bertrand)
The original: It is in fact a reworked version of British punk outfit Elton Motello’s ‘Jet Boy, Jet Girl’, released in November 1977, but it was Belgian pop-punker Plastic Bertrand (who played drums with Elton Motello) that made it a massive hit when he put French lyrics to the beat and released this version a month later.

The cover: Swedish eurodance darling Leila K. revived it in 1993 with the help of legendary producer Denniz Pop, keeping in line with the thumping punk aggression but adding a massive sound. The same year Leila K. was the best selling female artist in Europe.

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Real Ones (NO) – The Weight (originally by The Band)
The original: One of the best songs written and originally released on the former Bob Dylan backing group The Band’s hailed 1968 debut, ‘Music From Big Pink’.

The cover: Impromptu performance by one of Scandinavia’s finest representatives in folk-rock, Real Ones, shot outside The Big Pink in Woodstock, NY, where The Band lived and recorded their debut. Pure and true to the original (if it ain’t broke, you know…).