Puddle of Mudd, ‘Gimme Shelter’

Covering the Rolling Stones' classic 'Gimme Shelter' is hardly revolutionary in rock music, and bands that choose to tackle the tune have two choices: Either you take the song and make it your own or you fall in line with the original and let it take you to new places.

We've gotta hand it to post-grunge rockers Puddle of Mudd, who step outside of their own box with their cover of this rock standard. They’ve gone ahead and added bluesy female vocal harmonies, twangy guitar work and a big dose of attitude, splashing the song with a whole bunch of Mudd. We can almost envision the band playing this song in a dive bar or on a back porch; that's how down-home authentic it sounds.

The cover appears on the band's upcoming 'Re:(Disc)overed' set, where they offer their takes on a whole mess of classic-rock hits. Frontman Wes Scantlin and the rest of Puddle of Mudd knuckle down and seem revitalized by performing this song. It's like the tune has given the band an adrenalized shot in the arm and a the courage to try some new things. It's not new for the song, but it's certainly new for Puddle of Mudd. Puddle have manufactured more than their fair share of radio hits, but this is a bolder side of them that makes us want to hear what other limits they've pushed on 'Re:(Disc)overed.'

You can buy Puddle of Mudd's version of 'Gimme Shelter' at iTunes. 'Re:(Disc)overed' drops Aug. 30.