Elvis Covered: Fiona Apple, "I Want You"

Covers like this are the reason why I love cover songs. The original track off of Blood and Chocolate is a favorite of mine (and probably every EC fan's - let's be honest), but this performance from 2006's largely-forgettable Decades Live: Elvis Costello and Friends concert is maybe the most perfect version of the song I've heard.

Fiona Apple's voice is so goddamn emotive, and she plays the thrill ride change in tone over the course of the song - from devoted and plaintive to jealous to raging - for every bit of chilling pathos it's worth. The original is much more even-toned, which is atmospheric in its own way, but this is just one of those 'reach-into-your-chest-and-tear-your-heart-out'.

Elvis's guitar is as big a factor in the shape of the song. Check out that opening snarl at 1:06, a full-stop punctuation on the sugary intro, and the frenzied screech of the guitar solo in comparison to the original, laid-back break. This is a song about love being twisted into possessiveness, yeah, but this track also has murder on its mind.

This is, far and away, my favorite EC cover, ranking even higher than Weird Al's perennial, impromptu runs through "Radio, Radio." What's yours, and why?