Amanda Shires – “That’s All” (Genesis Cover)
In 2020, Amanda Shires was arguably the queen of the quarantine cover. Throughout the pandemic, Shires and her husband Jason Isbell often gave livestreamed performances from their home in Nashville, taking on material from a wide range of artists. Today, on the eve of New Year’s Eve, she’s closing out 2020 with one more cover.
Shires calls Genesis’ 1983 single “That’s All,” the band’s first top-10 hit, a “true COVID anthem” and one of this year’s definitive songs for her. Just look at those lyrics and you’ll see what she’s getting at: “Just as I thought it was going alright/ I find out I’m wrong, when I thought I was right/ It’s always the same, it’s just a shame, that’s all/ I could say day, you’d say night/ Tell me it’s black when I know that it’s white/ It’s always the same, it’s just a shame, that’s all.” Shires sounds great howling those Phil Collins lyrics backed by piano, organ, and drum programming from the trap music playbook.
The “That’s All” cover arrives with a lyric video featuring some of the defining topics of 2020: COVID, murder hornets, a dumpster fire, Harvey Weinstein in jail, Tiger King, and late greats Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Eddie Van Halen, and Little Richard. Check it out and revisit Genesis’ original below.