FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth alt-rock icons Toadies showed everyone their dark secret this week, revealing that -- much like the rest of us -- they're not immune to the charming pop stylings of Burleson-sprung pop star Kelly Clarkson.
Earlier this week, the four-piece band, which burst onto the national scene in 1994 with the release of its acclaimed Rubberneck LP, dropped a cover of Clarkson's 2004 megahit "Since U Been Gone."
The reimagination arrives as more than just an excuse for the band to add its trademark swampy, swaggering and riff-heavy stylings to the beloved track. The Toadies version of the Clarkson classic comes as the latest single issued from a new compilation album called "Texas Wild", which features a whole slew of Texas musicians covering other Texas musicians in similar fashion.
Released digitally on Friday and with its vinyl release set to come on Dec. 1, "Texas Wild" celebrates 100 years of Texas state parks, with proceeds from its sale benefitting the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation.
The 11-track release features among its offerings Hayes Carll teaming up with Shane Smith & The Saints for a cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty," Sarah Jaffe putting her own spin on Willie Nelson’s "Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground," The Suffers covering Brooks & Dunn's "My Maria" and, in a nice full circle moment, Ryan Bingham and the Texas Gentlemen covering Toadies' breakout "Possum Kingdom" single.
At least in the case of Toadies, the band can rest easy knowing that the artist behind their cover is surely excited about their effort: In a song she released of her own called "did you know" earlier this year, Clarkson specifically called Toadies out as her "favorite band."
(Toadies, for their part, also recently put out new original music of their own with an EP called "Damn You All to Hell" that was released in late 2022.)
Listen to the Toadies' take on "Since U Been Gone" below:
