Cover Albums with a Point of View across the Whole Record

Nelson and producer Booker T. Jones treat ten pop standards as songs he might play any night. “Blue Skies” finds an easy swing, while “Moonlight in Vermont” leaves space around the vocal. Listen for how much phrasing Nelson can change without losing the shape of the melody.

Ferry gives an old record collection the temperament of a cabaret set. Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” starts things at a gallop, and “It’s My Party,” associated with Lesley Gore, gets the same theatrical attention. The title standard closes the album with a tenderness that makes the earlier exaggeration even more fun.

Bowie uses his early-1970s band to revisit the mid-1960s records he loved. “Rosalyn” opens with a rush of rhythm and blues, and the warped voices in Pink Floyd’s “See Emily Play” give the psychedelic side of the selection an extra twist. The twelve tracks work as a glimpse of the music that excited him before he became a star.

An orchestra gives O’Connor room to play with the swing of songs she grew up hearing. “Why Don’t You Do Right?” is cool and clipped, while “Success Has Made a Failure of Our Home” uses big-band scale to put a country song’s resentment out in the open. Her direct delivery holds the two approaches together.

Lennox brings songs from different corners of pop into the same polished, close-vocal world. “No More ‘I Love You’s’” keeps the melody light while her voice gives it an ache. The Clash’s “Train in Vain” settles into an elastic groove, so the two songs feel like parts of the same record even when their sources are far apart.

The Cobras turn soul, girl-group pop, and garage singles into one short, loud set. The Marvelettes’ “I’ll Keep Holding On” keeps its insistence through the rough guitar sound, and “Break-a-way,” recorded by Irma Thomas, fits that sound as easily as the garage numbers. Rachel Nagy’s voice gives the band room to be rowdy and tender within a few minutes.

Chan Marshall takes songs down to voice, guitar, or piano. Her “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” dispenses with the familiar chorus, and the piano on the Velvet Underground’s “I Found a Reason” makes each pause matter. She applies the same treatment to her own earlier “In This Hole,” which makes the album feel like a study in how little a song needs.

Amos gives each song a woman’s point of view. The Velvet Underground’s “New Age” smolders on electric piano, while her hushed take on Eminem’s “‘97 Bonnie & Clyde” changes whose experience dominates the story. Joe Jackson’s “Real Men” takes the album’s questions about gender in another direction, which keeps the concept open across all twelve tracks.

The All-Stars rebuild Pink Floyd’s album in reggae and dub while retaining its track-by-track flow. “On the Run” becomes a fast drum-and-bass passage, and “Money” replaces the cash-register sounds with a bubbling rhythm. The changes make the seams between familiar songs as much fun to follow as the songs themselves.

The French group runs post-punk and new wave through light bossa nova arrangements. Depeche Mode’s “Just Can’t Get Enough” sounds ready for a small room, while the Cure’s “A Forest” keeps its unease even as the playing loosens up. The record works because the airy rhythm leaves room for the original songs’ different moods.

Lang builds a Canadian songbook with familiar melodies and less expected choices. Neil Young’s “Helpless” makes its longing feel communal, and Leonard Cohen’s “Bird on a Wire” brings the focus back to a single voice. The program makes room for a new version of lang’s own “Simple,” so the choices feel like a personal set of connections.

Giddens pulls songs associated with women across several traditions into one solo debut. She takes “She’s Got You,” made famous by Patsy Cline, into a set that also includes Elizabeth Cotten’s “Shake Sugaree.” The program lets you hear country, blues, and folk as neighboring ways to tell a story through a voice.

A commission to reinterpret Twin Peaks gave Xiu Xiu a whole world of music to work with. “Laura Palmer’s Theme” preserves the pull of Angelo Badalamenti’s melody while the sound grows darker around it. “Dance of the Dream Man” makes the show’s jazz feel less predictable. It works as a late-night record even when you leave the images out of it.

Kidjo and producer Jeff Bhasker remake Talking Heads’ 1980 album in its original sequence and bring its West African rhythmic connections forward. “Born Under Punches” makes the overlap of voices and percussion plain from the start. “Once in a Lifetime” gives Kidjo room to sing through phrases David Byrne delivered like a preacher.

LaVette gives Bob Dylan’s songs the push and pull of a soul band. Compare the drawl and insistence of the title track with the clipped refusal in “It Ain’t Me Babe.” Lesser-known choices such as “Ain’t Talkin’” keep the album focused on what fits her delivery across several decades of his writing.

Ndegeocello draws on the R&B she grew up with, then gives it the sound of a small, patient band. TLC’s “Waterfalls” unfolds around acoustic textures, while “Tender Love,” recorded by the Force MDs, takes a quieter route into the same set. The arrangements make records from different corners of the radio sound like memories of one period.

Ward works from songs Billie Holiday recorded, many from Lady in Satin, and filters the sweep of the old arrangements through acoustic guitar. On “I Get Along Without You Very Well,” the quiet delivery makes the song feel close enough to overhear. Listen next to the open B-flat tuning on “You’ve Changed” for how the same sparse approach leaves room for a different kind of hurt.