4. Mark Kozelek & Mike Patton - Win
Covering Bowie is a dangerous game this year: everyone's at it, but you're likely to be eviscerated by the hardcore mourners if you put a foot wrong. Not that such things will worry Sun Kil Moon's Mark Kozelek and Faith No More's Mike Patton who relish upsetting the applecart any chance they get.
Which is what makes their touching, piano & vocals cover of Win such a delight. It helps that the track is from Young Americans, probably my favourite Bowie record, but Kozelek's voice is also well-suited to covering the Thin White Duke. And for such a cantankerous old git, he brings a real vulnerability to this version, ably abetted by Patton's understated backing vocals.
The track comes from Kozelek's excellent album 'Mark Kozelek Sings Favorites', a welcome change of pace from the (often hilarious) stream-of-consciousness rambles that have characterised the last few Sun Kil Moon records. The album features an eclectic mix of covers recorded in a similarly sparse, emotive style, including Send In The Clowns, I'm Not In Love and Modest Mouse's Float On.
