“Never Let Me Down Again”
by The Smashing Pumpkins (originally by Depeche Mode)
from the album Siamese Dream [Deluxe Edition]
Buy the album on Amazon
All week long I had been planning on a Pumpkins selection for #CoverFriday and then Chris up and did the same thing. And while I absolutely adore “Landslide” — I’d even go so far as to call it superior to the original — I had a different track in mind.
The Pumpkins’ version of the Depeche Mode classic is so delicate it becomes a completely different song. The DM version seems like a rant, Dave has had enough of the situation whereas in the SP cover, Billy is lamenting how bad it’s gotten. It’s almost a before and after vibe. I love the Pumpkins when they’re loud and heavy, but there’s something kind of magical when they get gentle and sad.
Check out the original version for reference. Two completely different sides of the same song.
When I saw you working on this post in the drafts, I was curious how you knew about it. To the best of my knowledge, you’re not a big DM fan, and I know this cover from the album “For the Masses”, a Depeche Mode tribute album. I didn’t get any of the Pumpkins deluxe reissues though, so didn’t realize this was included there as well. I still love the original song, because I grew up with it, but this was one of the two or three great covers on the tribute album. Excellent choice, even though it means I have to take it off my list of songs I was going to post. The good news is I can post one of the other songs from that album sooner.