Cover songs better than the originals?

[tuvor]

Damn, I'm bored. Here are two.

Devo's version of the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction.
Fantastic Plastic Machine's version of Eurythmics' There Must Be an Angel (Playing With My Heart)

[Boswells_Johnson]

1. Joe Cocker doing "A Little Help From My Friends"

[Elidor]

3. Joe Cocker doing Drown in My Own Tears

[tyedyeto]

6. Definitely better than..........

Ringo's version


and this from a Beatle (read: John Lennon fan)

[Mojambo]

2. Neko Case's cover of the Everly Brothers, "Bowling Green." n/t

[LincolnMcGrath]

56. Neko also covers LORETTA LYNN'S - "Rated X"

"Well if you've been a married woman and things didn't seem to work out
Divorce is the key to bein' loose and free so you're gonna be talked about"

[Syrinx]

4. I don't know if it was really a cover

I don't know who recorded it first, but I think Janis Joplin's recording of "Me and Bobby McGee" is better than the one by Kris Kristofferson, who wrote it.

[LeftyMom]

45. Certainly

On a related note, I think the perky country-pop cover of Piece of My Heart (by Faith Hill I think) has got to be the worst non-Shatner cover ever.

[Boswells_Johnson]

5. Another one: Deep Purple's version of Joe South's "Hush"

[tuvor]

7. I didn't know that was a cover, but

the Charlatans (UK) were accused of ripping off Deep Purple (i.e. Hush) for their first single "The Only One I Know" back in 1990.

[Boswells_Johnson]

8. Yeah, I remember that one!

Deep Purple's version is completely different from the original. They don't play the organ like that anymore.

[WCGreen]

9. Everyting on the Carpenters Tribute Album

Great stuff, I love this album.......


Also, Beatles Twist and Shout....

[donheld]

23. Not so

:spank: Karen had one of the best voices around.

[tuvor]

26. We're just not in agreement tonight.

I couldn't stand her voice.

And stop being so liberal with the bat, huh? Ouch, already!

;)

[donheld]

29. Maybe it's a generational thing?

:shrug:

[tuvor]

31. I'm turning 40 this month. You? n/t

[donheld]

32. i guess that's not it

i'm 45

[tuvor]

34. Damn, you're old!

;)

[donheld]

36. Your point

would be :D

[tuvor]

38. My point would be

that I'm right behind ya, buddy!
:cry:

[HEAVYHEART]

65. You two crack me up!!!!

[REP]

48. I Am! In 20 Days

Mark your calendars, people.


(See my picks on post 47 if anyone doubts my age)

[realisticphish]

10. Pat Boone's metal cover album

just kidding :evilgrin:


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[jdots]

13. can you burn me a copy of the Pat Boone C.D.

I will trade you a bootleg tape of Ashcroft & Keyes doing " I'm a soul man "
My favorite covers=2 Live Jews Disco Album really a favorite of ex musicans on Zimdar.

[Bucky]

11. Van Halen's version of "(Might as Well) Jump"

The original song was about suicide. Their delivery, without changing any lyrics at all, made it about partying. That's the most audacious re-make, if not the best example of a cover out doing the original. But then, someone already took the Devo/Rolling Stones example, which is THE example of a cover improvement.

[tuvor]

14. Huh??? Who did it originally?

I know that Aztec Camera covered Jump, but I always thought it was a Van Halen original.

coversproject.com is a great resource, btw.

http://www.coversproject.com/artist/Van%2BHalen

[Left Is Write]

16. The song was written by Eddie Van Halen.

It IS a Van Halen original.

[jobycom]

12. Cheap Trick's "Ain't that a shame,"

Originally Pat Boone.

[tuvor]

15. You mean Fats Domino, no?

Pat Boone made black music safe for white America.

[intheflow]

18. You mean that metalhead, Pat Boone?

Imagine Pat's velvet vocals covering these metal classics:

You've Got Another Thing Comin'
Smoke On The Water
It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)
Panama
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Love Hurts
Enter Sandman
Holy Diver
Paradise City
The Wind Cries Mary
Crazy Train
Stairway To Heaven

[tuvor]

19. Oh, I've heard his version of You Got Another Thing Comin'!

Yikes.

But nothing beats the horror of Dolly Parton's bluegrass version of Stairway to Heaven, believe me. (If you want to torture yourself, it's on her new live DVD.)

[intheflow]

28. Wait! What about Parton's bluegrass cover of

"Time For Me To Fly"? Surely that's worse!

Not bad enough, you say? OK, how about Wynonna's cover of "Freebird"?

I swear, that's the worst one I know. I mean, the Boone album was bad, but I think he did it tongue-in-cheek. Wynnona was totally serious--and bad!

[tuvor]

33. Not familiar with Time for Me to Fly.

If it's worse that STH, I don't think I can handle it!

[intheflow]

41. Like the The Chipmunks on acid with banjos.

Very bad, yes.

But after I posted, I realized the true horror would be if Dolly and Wynonna joined together to do a cover of Rick James' "Superfreak."

[Forkboy]

24. They do a great cover Day Tripper too

Cheap Trick was just too damn good :)

[jobycom]

57. I have this discussion from time to time

They were way underrated. Rick Neilson was as a fantastic guitarist, and their vocals and drumming were great, too.

I saw them live in Mobile, Alabama in an outdoor concert that featured them, Charlie Daniels Band (Back when he was good), the Allman Brothers, Leon Russel, and the lead signer of Wet Willy, whose name I've forgotten. After eight hours of music, Cheap Trick came out and did their show, and did several encores when it was over, and the crowd kept screaming. Finally they turned on the stadium lights, which meant the show was over, but the crowd kept on going. About two minutes after the lights came on, the band came back out. The lead singer said "They told us we couldn't come back out, but fuck 'em." The lights went out, and they played old Beatles and Elvis songs for another fifteen minutes or so.

I never saw another band go so deep into their material in concert. They were just a garage band at that point, just having fun. You could tell they were improvising at points, even. It felt like being in a small club with twenty thousand other people. This was while they were peaking in America, too, with their Boudakan (sp?) album, so they didn't have to.

[jobycom]

58. Two country songs: Shameless, and When you say nothing at all

Shameless was a Billy Joel song that Garth Brooks did much better, back when Garth was still trying. "When you say nothing at all" was written and sung by Keith Whitley, but after hearing Allison Kraus sing it, Whitley's sounds flat and uninspiried.

Hope I don't stun people too much by wandering into the country genre.

On edit: I meant to post this under the original thread, not here.

[intheflow]

17. Clapton's cover

of his own song, Layla.

If that one doesn't count, I'd have to vote for Clapton's cover of "Over The Rainbow" I heard at a concert in Albany in 2001.

[donheld]

25. "Over The Rainbow"

Clapton's cover is astonishingly good.

[donheld]

20. If you think anyones version of Satisfaction it better

Then you need :spank:

[tuvor]

21. You mean no one's version is better than the Stones?

You haven't heard Devo's version, have you?

[donheld]

27. Yes i have

:spank:

[tuvor]

30. Oh, yeah????

I paid to see the Stones live! And they sucked! Yeah, that's it, they sucked!!!!

:spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank: :spank:

[donheld]

35. And when did you see them?

[tuvor]

37. Steel Wheelchairs tour, I think?

1994 at any rate. In Edmonton. Where you just don't get many huge stadium acts.

Actually we had a great time, even though we don't have a single one of their albums.

ON EDIT: Oh, yeah. Voodoo Lounge Tour.

[donheld]

39. What did you expect from geriatrics?

You shoulda caught them when they were in their prime.

[tuvor]

40. Like I said...Edmonton.

Hardly any decent huge names came through there. Like I said, we enjoyed it all the same.

Gotta turn in. Nice chatting with you!

Cheers.

[Forkboy]

22. Devo rules!!!!!

:)

[jobycom]

59. I can't think of it as the same song

I think they both did the song perfect, but in such different formats you can't really compare them.

I remember the reastion when DEVO first did that song on Saturday Night Live, before anyone had ever heard of them. They did their title song, then Satisfaction. Most people then thought it was heresy. I liked it. I bought the alumb and tried to get people to listen to it. After DEVO became famous everyone went back and reevaluated the song, and now it's a classic. They were bold at the time, though.

[semillama]

70. An even better DEVO cover

is "Are You Experienced" which is fantastic. Plus a great video to go with it to boot.

I also think that Primus' version of "Making Plans for Nigel" is better than XTC's.

Another great one is the Clash cover of "Police on My Back."

[semillama]

84. crap, here's the absolute best

7000 Dying Rats cover of Dead Kennedys' "Jock-O-Rama" - its done with samples from Revenge of the Nerds and done in the musical style of teh nerd band from the end of the movie.

Nothing I have ever heard tops it for originality.

[datasuspect]

42. richard cheese

and his cheesy lounge covers of popular songs. love his rat pack-inspired cover of "holiday in cambodia."

album is "lounge against the machine."

[billie_]

43. Coils remake of "Tainted Love" is even better than Soft Cells orig, n/t

[gollygee]

52. Soft Cell's version is a remake

it was originally done in the 60s. Dunno who did it though. I think a girl band or girl solo singer.

[billie_]

71. didn't know that...man, lots of remakes of "tainted love" then...still

coils is the best for my taste! :)

[Gryffindor_Bookworm]

44. A few.

Marilyn Manson's Tainted Love and Sweet Dreams Are Made of These.

The Lemonheads' Mrs. Robinson.

[politicat]

46. Rufus Wainwright's Hallelujah and Concrete Blonde's Everybody knows.

I'm sorry, but I can't get into Leonard Cohen's voice. He writes beautifully, but the songs seriously improve when someone else sings them.

Pcat

[REP]

47. Camper Van Beethoven's Cover of "Pictures of Matchstick Men"

Violent Femme's cover of "Breaking Up (Is Hard to Do)."
Cake's cover of "I Will Survive" (better bass line).

[NamVetsWeeLass]

49. Smooth Criminal---Originally by Psycho Jackson...

Alien Ant Farm!!!! The cover is at least five million percent than good ole Peter Pan wannabe's anyday.

[donheld]

78. Michael Jackson

kicked ass on Smooth Criminal

[Her Blondness]

50. "Word Up" covered by Korn

[mrbill]

51. after the gold rush - neil young vs dolly, emmylou and linda.

Can't decide which version is better, the original by Neil Young or the "copy tune" by Trio, made up of Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Rondstat.

Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 1970's. There was a band playing in my head and i was thinking about getting high.

or

Look at Mother Nature on the run in the 20th century. There a band playing in my head and I feel like I could cry.

Neil mumbles, the girls sound like an angelic choir.

It's a tie, they are both classics.

[NewJeffCT]

53. call me a conservative...

But, I rarely find cover songs are as good as the originals.

Ones that come close:
Van Halen's "You Really Got Me" cover of the Kinks.
Bruce Springsteen's cover of Edwin Starr's "War"

[mondo joe]

54. Want of a Nail on the Camp Soundtrack better than Todd Rundrgren's

Want of a Nail on the Camp Soundtrack better than Todd Rundrgren's original.

[Crankie Avalon]

55. The Clash's version of Sonny Curtis and the Crickets' "I Fought the Law"

nt

[JimmyJazz]

64. Amen and their version of Brand New Cadillac rocks, too!

[GreenPartyVoter]

60. Vanilla Fudge's cover of the Supremes' KEEP ME HANGIN' ON

[warrens]

61. Jump by Aztec Camera, not Van Halen

[Josey Wales]

62. All Along The Watchtower

...the Hendrix version of this is nothing short of greatness.

Re The Stones live...I saw them in a near-monsoon at The Cotton Bowl in '81 and they were very good. The sight of Keith Richards (cigarette in mouth) in a driving rain storm strolling very slowly on a catwalk into the crowd while strumming the opening chords of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" has always stayed with me.

I also saw them in '89 & 94 and both concerts were better because of big-screened videos and improved sound.

Not so sure I'd go see them now.

[Mallifica]

66. The Hendrix version is good

but I still like the Dylan version better.

[never cry wolf]

63. Summer Breeze by the Isley Brothers

Four by Four album, absolutely RAWKZ!!!

[SeanOhio]

68. Cash

Johnny Cash and Hurt.

[Mallifica]

67. Johnny Cash - Hurt

originally by Nine Inch Nails - both versions are incredible, but there's more emotion with Cash I think.

[WindRavenX]

69. best. cover. ever

Completely transformed that song for the better. RIP, The Man in Black.

[billyskank]

72. "Tainted Love"

that electro song from the 80s (not originally) by Marc Almond's band...forget the name...anybody? Better than the (comparatively feeble) original, anyway.

[Magrittes Pipe]

73. All of them.

Original versions suck. :P

[JAbuchan08]

74. The cover of Aquas "I'm a Barbie girl"

I think the artist is Electric Chair or something. Anyone else here know what I'm talking about? It's this forlorn sounding male voice singing over the most spare production. Truly Beautiful I think.

[ScreamingMeemie]

75. Dwight Yoakam's version of "Suspicious Minds".

God he's hot in that video. :hi:

[datasuspect]

76. blue cheer cover of "summertime blues" n/t

[Maine-ah]

77. sometimes

but, usually I don't find the cover songs to be better. The other day I heard some jackass singing imagine, and they took all emotion out of that song, all monotone. it sucked! who ever it was that covered it, I would love to slap them silly!

[Mike Daniels]

79. Nick Cave/Bad Seeds version of Stagger Lee

Taken from a relatively obscure text that portrays Stagger Lee as a totally vicious bastard.

Features the best scream on record and that includes "Hey Jude" and "Won't Get Fooled Again".

[Forkboy]

80. I didn't realize that was a cover

Murder Ballads is my fav Nick Cave cd.

"I'm a bad motherfucker, don't you know? And I'll crawl over fifty good pussies just to get one fat boy's asshole"

[Spider Jerusalem]

81. Lou Reed's cover of "This Magic Moment".

Also Tricky's cover of Public Enemy's "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos".

Johnny Cash's versions of NIN's "Hurt" and Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage".

Anmd Nina Simone's version of "I Shall be Released".

[donheld]

82. Ok Celine Dion is NOT one of my favorite singers but

she did far better on "I Drove All Night" than Cyndi Lauper did. I love ya Cyndi but this time i have to give it to Celine.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

83. bangles version of 'hazy shade of winter'

nothing against the s&g version, i just really like the cover

[JohnKleeb]

85. ok

Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower is better than Dylan
I like Flying Burrito Brothers version of Wild Horses than the Stones version.