“This is not the greatest song in the world,” Tenacious D sang on their biggest hit, “No, this is just a tribute.”
Ah, but what a tribute. The genius of Jack Black and Kyle Gass — apart from face-melting guitar skills and a lead singer that can sound like the voice of the angels or Satan himself on any given line — has always been their joy in the music: even when it’s not the music they are playing, and even when it was written by someone else. These dudes love rock and roll.
That love comes out in their live shows, which tend to be celebrations of their influences as much as they are presentations of music by Tenacious D. Few artists have spent as much time practicing such a wide variety of covers. In that spirit, we’ve collected 10 of their most thrilling performances of other people’s music, including that awesome recent cover of Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game.”
Are these renditons faithful? Sometimes. Child-appropriate? Definitely not. But they just might be the greatest covers in the world.
— Wren Graves
News Editor
10. Black Sabbath: “Heaven and Hell”
In the annals of Tenacious D lore, one man looms as a God above all others: Ronnie James Dio. Most people don’t adore his contributions to Black Sabbath over Ozzy Osbourne’s, but then, Black and Gass are not most people. Tenacious D have covered “Heaven and Hell” over a dozen times during their long careers, but we’re partial to this version from Dio’s own 2002 video for “Push,” which, while short, pays tribute to the “bringer of reefer” and wraps with an appearance by the man, the myth, the legend, the Dio himself. — W.G.
09. Nirvana: “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Is Tenacious D’s cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” conventional? Not in the slightest. But is it heaps of fun? Damn right it is. Performed at Rock in Rio in 2019, The D invited Brazilian bass extraordinaire Junior Groovador to lay down a funky jam before launching into the grunge tune. From there, they keep the funk-level (and fun-level) maxed out while Jack Black channels his inner Kurt Cobain and changes the lyrics to fit in Groovador’s name. Nirvana purists might bemoan the silliness of it all, but for such a monumental, frankly overplayed song, why not have a little fun with it? — Jonah Krueger
