I love that Mark doesn't hesitate to bring out so many covers, usually, creative people be like "covers are bad", but he seems to enjoy so many cover versions. And that's great because some covers are even better than the original.
I think you can make a distinction between a cover that is performed by a tribute band versus a cover performed by an artist who makes the song their own. A tribute band is just trying to copy the original artist and generally isn't adding anything new.
Whereas an artist like Bobbie Gentry who is covering a well known Beatles song has arranged it in a new and fresh way.
It's kind of like playing a blues standard or a bluegrass standard.
I also think it's pretty cool that he followed up Bobbie Gentry's cover with a cover of a Bobbie Gentry song! A bit of cleverness in the playlist that makes you pay attention to Mark's comments!
I agree that Ray Bonneville's Oxford Town sounds like a recent MK song. I like it.
Other likes:
Ramsey Lewis Trio - Hard Day's Night
Bobbie Gentry - Eleanor Rigby
Dirk Powell - Say Darling Say
Tim O'Brien - Red Dog In the Morning
Sarah Jarosz - Ring Them Bells