Valentine Six, "Always Is My Name"
Here's a little bit of an oddball. Valentine Six put out one album in 1997, full of this kind of lounge-y sort of thing. Clearly more than a little Tom Waits in the DNA here, maybe just a little bit of Nick Cave. It's pretty good, and I haven't thought about this band in ages.
Morrissey, "He Knows I'd Love To See Him"
Like lots of other people, I was curious to see what the various members of the Smiths would get up to after that band broke apart. I picked up a couple of Morrissey's EPs, and honestly, didn't really follow him from there. I mean, yeah, this is clearly a Morrissey song, but I guess I had enough of him from the Smiths' albums?
Soundgarden, "Hands All Over"
Sticking with 1990 here, I see! This comes to us courtesy of Louder Than Love, the major label debut of the band. This song is really kind of the best statement of purpose from Soundgarden's early records, and the one that really pointed most strongly towards where they would end up.
Eddie Floyd, "My Girl"
Yes, the Temptations song.
The original meaning of "cover song" was when an artist would record a version of a popular song to directly compete with another version. That meaning has largely been completely replaced these days, with a cover these days being a reworking or simple performance of a song by another artist. Not to compete, but to just present a new version of the song. Or, in the case of a cover band, just to reproduce the tune.
I don't know if this was a cover by the original definition or not. This version didn't come out until four years after the Temptations, but it could be that "My Girl" was still charting well. I'd have to do some research to figure that out, and that is not going to happen, y'all.
Cali Agents, "How The West Was One"
Cali Agents brought together two solo artists, Rasco and Planet Asia, together in one group. I had heard Planet Asia before, so I picked up this record. It's certianly competently done, but it never stuck with me.