Browsing Tag

Rock Cover

Johnnie G and The Royalty Baptised Their Serpentine Rock Revival in Only One

Posted on 17 September 2025

Providence’s renegade rock outfit, Johnnie G and The Royalty, earned their prodigal sons of rock ‘n’ roll crowns with their cover of Melissa Etheridge’s classic, Only One. They tore through the 90s anthem with the kind of raw, whiskey-soaked revelation that drips with sweat, swagger, and serpentine rhythm. This is a full-bodied resurrection that bares its teeth while letting just enough tenderness slip through to cut a little deeper.

Frontman Johnnie G’s deliciously gruff vocal delivery takes the caustic velvet of Axl Rose’s soaring register and twists it into something darker, hungrier, and impossible to ignore. The track’s vintage-toned guitar artillery and visceral drum work hit with the force of a club set somewhere between a dive bar and a cathedral. The cinematic video, shot in a single day, seals the deal and leaves no doubt that this band is here to revive the renegade rock spirit for a new generation.

Only One is now available on all major streaming platforms; for the full experience, watch the official music video on YouTube. 


Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Reckless brought ‘Sexy Back’ in their unadulterated and augmented cover

Posted on 1 October 2024

It used to be that few could rival Justin Timberlake when it came to sex appeal, but The Reckless hit it out of the aphrodisiacal park with their seductively frenetic cover of “SexyBack” that will leave the airwaves hot under its proverbial collar. If you thought “Closer” by NIN was hot, you’ll meet your match with this rendition.

With the unpredictably wild furore of Rage Against the Machine, crooning rock vocals that make Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell sound atonal, and climaxes of guitar solos which are straight-up pornography, this cover is so much more than a tribute—it’s an unholy, X-rated, fuzzed up revolution in sound.

I’m surprised orgies don’t happen on the spot when The Reckless play Sexy Back live.

Sexy Back is available to stream on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

HEwas give us a new, bang up-to-date take on a classic with ‘2 + 2 = ?’

Posted on 7 May 2021

Ok, so first things first; yes, this is a cover of Bob Seger’s classic anti-war song, from Seger’s ‘Ramblin, Gamblin Man’ album in 1968, at the height of the Vietnam war and as anti-war sentiment in the US was growing. It’s interesting to see how much, and yet how little, has changed in the intervening 53 years – anti-war feelings still run high, race-related civil rights issues still grace the news seemingly every day, and LGBT rights are still abused and debated daily.

Into that mix comes HEwas, singer, songwriter, activist and LGBT campaigner. Already a ‘million stream’ artist with his first two releases, ‘Lemon’ and ‘WHOLEthing’, which featured Grammy nominee Afroman. Now, with ‘2 + 2 = ?’, HEwas has taken that old Seger classic, with updated instrumentation but no change to the feel and groove of the original, making a perfect homage meets timely update to a pertinent and completely relevant song, to produce an utterly modern take on a song that’s as relevant today as it was fifty years ago.

You can hear ‘2 + 2 = ?’, and the rest of HEwas’ releases, on Spotify, and follow on Instagram.

Review by Alex Holmes