Yay! Now I won't have to break out the vinyl when I inevitably get drunk and want to sit and cry for my lost innocence and the misery of the world this holiday season! Thanks, TheDonF!

I heard a really crappy version on E.R. this week, that made me want to listen to the original.

Just yesterday I heard a cover of "River" as elevator music while shopping at L.L. Bean's. The original inevitably makes me tear up and go melancholy. The cover, by an anonymous pretty female voice that hit every note perfectly and paced the song quite well, had none of that mournful, heartfelt quality, and might as well have been a number from a Doris Day musical.

In just the few minutes the song lasted, Joni went up even higher in my estimation. It's the difference between art and craft.

It's the difference between art and craft.

Exactly. I've always loved the original recording, still do. But I'm starting to hate the song. It seems in the last few years that EVERYONE is covering this song and it's wrecking it for me. I think I heard Sarah McLaughlan singing it this week which was just so obvious and lame (maybe that's the one you heard in L.L. Bean's?)
I used to sing this song, years ago. In front of people. At house parties. With an acoustic guitar.
The thought of that now just makes me shudder with embarrassment. Horrifying.

Sarah McLachlan has a Christmas album out at the moment called Wintersong that has a version of Winter on it. I'm a huge fan of Sarah McLachlan but haven't heard that album yet as it hasn't turned up. I'm pretty reticent about Christmas albums, although I did just get the Sufjan Stevens 5cd box set(!) so I'm not expecting anything jaw dropping.

Anyway, I'm glad I spread the misery around by offering this up. As an antidote, download Jingle Rock Bell and give that a spin.

Bollocks, not a version of Winter, a version of River on Wintersong. Winter was the Tori Amos single that I thought had a cover of A Case Of You on it, but didn't (it had Zep's "Thank You", The Stones's "Angie" and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by some group, I'm not sure who...) Anyway, she did do A Case Of You (as did k.d. lang). McLachlan also did Blue.

Robert Downey Jr. did a good job a few years back, on a Ally McBeal Christmas record, believe it or not. Also, a Canadian dude that I am VERY fond of did a weird version, I will try and dig it up. A lot of people like it, but I'm not really one of them. Oh, his name is Martin Tielli.

I liked that Martin Tielli (I was a huge Rheostatics fan at the time) version a lot when it came out. It was probably the first cover of River that I'd heard.
Not a big fan of Hugh Marsh's playing on that version, though. Nothing says dated and '90's like an electric violin drenched in reverb.

Actually, that was on a Joni tribute album called Back to the Garden, if I remember correctly. Sloan ruined Case of You on that one, also.

Wow, I'm bitchy today.

or catty. i found it amusing.

Yeah, I think you're right chocolat, about it being on the Joni Mitchell tribute. There were a couple great tracks on that...not that I can remember any.

Martin included it on his first Nick Buzz album, which I KNOW I HAVE but cannot find. ARgh.

I am also a huge Rheos fan. A copy of Melville should be issued to each child born north of the 49th parallel. And, one should come included when you become a citizen, if born elsewhere.