Compiling a list of bizarre Beatles covers might sound easy, especially compared to being a roofer, deep-sea fisherman or Lindsay Lohan’s personal assistant.

It’s actually trickier than it seems. When it comes to Beatles covers, there’s a lot of material to sift through. Talk about “to infinity and beyond.”

Close

The Guinness Book of World Records says “Yesterday” has been covered more than 3,000 times. It’s the most covered song in history, while “Eleanor Rigby” is No. 2, “And I Love Her” is No. 4, and “Blackbird” is No. 8. (John Lennon’s solo classic “Imagine” is No. 6.)

And believe us when we say there are easily hundreds of really weird ones. So we had to apply a few rules for this list.

No deliberately insane covers — mostly. We tried to avoid covers that were intentionally ironic. It could be argued that we bent this rule slightly, because there’s no fun in leaving out William Shatner or Sean Connery. (Yes, that Sean Connery.) For the most part, these are legitimate approaches to the material.

No super-obscure artists. A band named Beatallica does Metallica-inspired arrangements of Beatles songs and Beatles-Metallica mash-ups. That seems cool, but it’s not what we’re going for. We stuck with popular artists (or personalities) who recorded wonderfully weird takes on Beatles songs. We also limited the list to familiar Fab Four tracks.

This isn’t a list of best or worst Beatles covers. Some are good. Some are bad. Our sole criterion was bizarre — a very different arrangement, tempo or key, a wildly inspired reinterpretation, maybe something with horns or cowbell or banjo.

Here’s the list:

Tori Amos, “Happiness Is a Warm Gun”: The Beatles song clocks in at a tight 2:43; Amos’ version falls just shy of double digits at 9:55, and she doesn’t start singing until more than two minutes in. The original melody all but disappears into a soundscape of complicated instrumentation and spoken-word samples. In other words, it’s very Tori Amos.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

Sean Connery, “In My Life”: This comes from an identically titled 1998 album of covers produced by longtime Beatles producer George Martin — an album that also includes a Jim Carrey cover of “I Am the Walrus.” (It’s better than you might expect, if only a little.) The orchestral arrangement is lovely, but the original James Bond merely recites the lyrics to (unintentionally) comic effect, his iconic Scottish brogue as pronounced as ever.

Aretha Franklin, “Eleanor Rigby”: The Queen of Soul takes the Fab Four’s dark classic, which was anchored by a string quartet, and turns it into … an up-tempo, danceable R&B number. This 1970 recording is actually quite enjoyable, but it’s also unquestionably weird. Franklin starts off in first person (“I’m Eleanor Rigby…”) before switching to third person for the final verse, likely necessitated by the fact that poor Eleanor dies in the meantime.

William Shatner, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”: This one is familiar to many people, so including it almost seems like cheating, but we added it for two reasons: One, it’s utterly insane in a very entertaining way. Two, it’s not exactly parody: Hard as it might be to believe, Captain Kirk himself wasn’t trying to be funny. He was just swinging for the fences in full Shatner fashion, and this foul ball is more entertaining than a million home runs.

Al Green, “I Want to Hold Your Hand”: Not many songs on this list are good, let alone great, but this 1969 cover is utter perfection. The Beatles hit is a great tune, but no one would ever call it soulful: In retrospect, no one should be surprised that Green transformed it into a soul classic. As fun as track you’ll ever hear, it is — much like Stevie Wonder’s funky as hell version of “We Can Work It Out” or Fiona Apple’s delicately devastating “Across the Universe” — a straight-up improvement on its excellent antecedent.

Frank Sinatra, “Something”: The icon was in his 70s when he released the triple album “Trilogy: Past Present Future “in 1980. It’s one of the strangest albums any great singer has ever recorded, and Sinatra’s take on “Something” is just one example. The simple, heartbreaking beauty of George Harrison’s composition is pummeled into submission by overwrought orchestration and Sinatra’s dramatic phrasing (not to mention ridiculously tossing “Jack” into the lyrics a couple of times). This version is curiously popular with some fans. We’re scared to meet these people.

Cowboy Junkies, “Run for Your Life”: Is this weirdo cover — taken from the 2005 Rubber Soul tribute album “This Bird Has Flown” — good, bad, or all of the above? We’re not sure, either. It’s simultaneously haunting and rather ridiculous. There’s no denying the sultry power of Margo Timmins’ gender-swapped vocals, combined with a funky lead guitar that goes heavy on the distortion pedal. But the shouted, atonal background vocals complement the soulful groove about as well as peanut butter complements cole slaw.

Wu-Tang Clan, “The Heart Gently Weeps”: As you can tell from the title, this isn’t a “true” cover: On this 2007 track, the hip-hop crew samples healthy chunks of a “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” cover by Jimmy Ponder. The Wu get an assist from R&B crooner Erykah Badu, then-Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante and George Harrison’s son Dhani. Lyrics are liberally modified throughout, and while traditionalists might wince, this is no Puff Daddy-style hack job. It’s a truly bizarre but energetic concoction featuring strong verses from Raekwon, Ghostface Killah and Method Man.

Bing Crosby, “Hey Jude”: Sinatra covering “Something” wasn’t a bad notion; it just didn’t work out. (Come to think of it, maybe he should have tried “We Can Work It Out”). Having old-school crooner Bing Crosby cover “Hey Jude,” on the other hand, was as great an idea as the Snuggie for Dogs. (It’s a real thing.) This wasn’t intended to be kitschy when Crosby tackled it in 1969, but the result is the epitome of camp. From the incongruous lead vocal to the inexplicable arrangement, it’s a total train wreck. (To be fair, Shirley Bassey’s cornball treatment of “Hey Jude” gives Crosby’s version a run for its money — another example of a great singer taking a really wrong turn.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6D8LpaQekmY&feature=youtu.be

Earth, Wind & Fire, “Got to Get You into My Life”: We were going to ignore everything off 1978’s “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” film soundtrack, because it’s too easy. That whole thing is insane. (Steve Martin, George Burns and Aerosmith performing Beatles songs. This also actually happened.) But this track is such an enjoyable reinterpretation that it demanded inclusion. It’s bizarre because it sounds so different, but it’s also a perfect marriage of material and artist — no wonder the single sold more than 1 million copies.