OT: Songs that you like a cover version better than the original?
Just curious. Anybody have some songs where they think the cover version is better than the original artist’s version?
Here are some of mine off the top of my head...
Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” covered by Whitney Houston. Yes, I know, fairly obvious. If you want a chuckle, read or listen to Dolly’s comments about when Colonel Tom Parker tried to talk her into letting Elvis do a cover of the song.
CCR’s “Proud Mary” covered by Ike and Tina Turner
“The House of the Rising Sun” (maybe written by Georgia Turner and Bert Martin) covered by The Animals. Honorable mention: Frijid_Pink.
John Newton’s “Amazing Grace” covered by the Dropkick Murphys
The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law” covered by The Clash.
It’s OT season as far as I’m concerned.
Oh now I have some dirt on you!
March 17th, 2023 at 11:13 AM ^
She knows I feel this way because I sing the song horribly every time it comes on. And I even have dance moves to go with it. You can't hurt me.
Which version? Did you know it was a hit for her three times? The original was a number one hit in 1974. She re-recorded it in 1982 for the film "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" and THAT version also went to number one. In 1995, she sang it as a duet with Vince Gill and that landed in Billboard's top 20.
Ronstadt's version is better than either of them.
Diamond Joe by Colter Wall (originally Bob Dylan)
Dylan sounds like he's got a head cold in his version.
crazy - willie nelson wrote it for patsy cline but his version is better
twist and shout - written for some unknown group, it is nearly the only beatles song i actually like
"it is nearly the only beatles song i actually like"
What? I may have to stop blindly upvoting anything I see you post here, sir.
Maybe I can soften the blow. I really like the Beatles version of twist and shout, it’s a great song. They have a few other songs that I think are good. I also acknowledge that they were pretty revolutionary. I just don’t get the blithering screaming craziness that accompanied them.
Ok, fair enough. We're old enough to remember the reaction real time.
I'm prepared to be attacked here, but here it goes. I LOVE the Beatles. But, they were better at writing music than performing it. So many of their songs are just downright classics but seem to sound better when played by a newer artist.
In My Life by British Carrot Top Ed Sheeran is my vote.
I remember the craziness about the Beatles when they invaded the USA in early 1964. You had to live it to understand it.
The Beatles offered at that time a new era in rock. Prior to that, the doo wop era was fading. Elvis had peaked, Motown was doing good to great stuff. The Beatles just had the it factor with their, what was long hair, free loving personalities add to that their British accents and unique dress attire and they just blew their audiences away. Immediately following their rise to stardom, a huge British invasion of rock groups soon followed...and the rest was history.
A Day In The Life is one of the few Beatles songs I like. I think they were the original Boy Band, with One Direction topping the Beatles in sales…
March 16th, 2023 at 10:26 PM ^
Wow! That's quite a take.
LOL-No.
March 16th, 2023 at 10:31 PM ^
Better at writing music than performing it. No. Sublime on both counts. The fact that many others have done great covers of Beatles' songs points to the strength and breadth of their catalog, but the harmonies, innovative and inventive instrumentation, and performance of their own songs - on the whole - takes a back seat to no one.
This might be the only thing you and I agree on
March 17th, 2023 at 11:18 AM ^
The Beatles did something that only Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis did before them, and Radiohead sorta did after them. Most artists who capture the pop market have a similar trajectory,
1) hone their sound in obscurity
2) unleash a great debut album built on years of perfecting a set
3) follow it up before demand for their ‘new stylings’ fades away
4) play to their following for as long as you can
5) crop up as part of some PBS nostalgia show.
The Beatles basically put popular music on their shoulders and re-invented it for 5 of the top 17 albums in Rolling Stones Top 500 albums of all time. Everyone listened and changed accordingly.
- Revolver
- Rubber Soul
- Sgt. Peppers
- The White Album
- Abbey Road (although I think Abby Road is an extension of the White Album)
Note: Like Rocky V, the Magical Mystery Tour album didn’t exist.
Louis and Miles were beacons of influence to the world of music, and while Armstrong’s creative burst faded somewhat after the rise of Big Band in the late 30’s, Miles was a cutting edge influencer from the 40’s through the 70’s!
The days when a shrill section of a crowd screamed for blokes and not at them. Very old fashioned.
Crazy - Linda Ronstadt
All the covers by Linda Ronstadt
Joe Cocker - With a Little Help From my Friends (Beatles)
Manfred Man - Blinded by the Light (Springsteen)
Garth Brooks - Shameless (Billy Joel)
and call me crazy, but I love Gary Clark Jr./Junkie XL's version of Come Together... even more than I love the Beatles original (which just... *french kiss*)
Alien Ant Farm's cover of Smooth Criminal
Cheap Trick's cover of Ain't That a Shame
Aerosmith's cover of Remember (Walking In The Sand)
Deep Purple's cover of Hush
The White Stripe's cover of I Just Don't Know What to do With Myself
While I enjoy the Alien Ant Farm version, I still think Jackson’s version is the best.
Totally agree on Alien Ant Farm... that's usually the very first one I mention when someone asks me this question!
as much as I love Priest, gotta give it up for Death's version of "Painkiller"
Thin Lizzy's cover of Bob Seger's "Rosalie" is another one
also Donny Hathaway’s take on “I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know” surpasses the Blood Sweat and Tears original
also also Finntroll’s cover of “Ending” by Windir
lest we forget, Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons"
finally, MMB does the best version of “Temptation.” No disrespect to Perry Como
and since you can’t have one without the other, “Hawaiian War Chant” (the Muppets version, of course)
+1 for Thin Lizzy's Rosalie cover
March 17th, 2023 at 12:56 AM ^
Thin Lizzy's version of the traditional Whiskey in the Jar is excellent.
Agreed. I wouldn't consider a treatment of a traditional song to be a cover, but that one is noteworthy for sure
Fun fact: you can hear Huey Lewis laying down harmonica on the track "Baby Drives Me Crazy" from the "Live and Dangerous Album"
March 17th, 2023 at 12:38 PM ^
That is a good point. It's a well-known song they didn't write, at any rate.
House of the rising sun is my favorite song. Nice call.
Torn by Natalie Imbruglia
Sound of Silence by Disturbed
Leavin on a Jet Plane by Chantel Kreviazuk
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head since Hallelujah was already taken.
Edit to Add: Somebody That I Used to Know by Army of 3 (Ingrid Michaelson) https://youtu.be/dUxLK1misbw
I was going to mention Torn. Didn't even know it was a cover an alternative rock band until last month. Blew my mind.
I found that out… just now! Love Natalies version
"Sound of Silence by Disturbed"
One of my favorite covers ever. Entirely different feel, vibe. Original is great too.
This.
March 16th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
I had never heard this version, just gave a listen. Awesome cover.
I had the same reaction, it was one of the few times I can recall a song making me really take notice the first time I heard it.
It had also been a really long time since I'd heard anything from Disturbed, so I was thinking "I swear I know this band, but why would they be doing a cover of this song". Whoever chose to do it, genius
I always preferred John Denver's version of his own song over Peter, Paul & Mary's version, but Chantel's is better than both.
Smashing Pumpkins - Landslide [Fleetwood Mac]
That’s one where I thought the remake was the original, because I heard the remake first. It was very popular so that spawned a renaissance of the Fleetwood Mac version, at least that’s how I experienced that song.
March 16th, 2023 at 11:26 PM ^
That's the first one that came to mind for me too. Love the Smashing Pumpkins version. Second one for me was Stevie Ray Vaughn doing Little Wing.
March 17th, 2023 at 12:00 PM ^
This is one where I love both versions. I think that they're different in feeling and both great. I have a hard time saying one is better than the other.
Nirvana
"The Man Who Sold the World"
MTV Unplugged
Original: David Bowie
Roseanne Barr
”The Star-Spangled Banner”
Live at Jack Murphy Stadium
Original: Francis Scott Key
March 16th, 2023 at 10:27 PM ^
+1 for the Roseanne Barr comment. Made me laugh out loud. Well played.
Missed the mark on that one by a couple thousand miles. That was at what was likely still Jack Murphy Stadium - San Diego - pre QualComm, way pre Petco Park. Barr was friends with either the Padres owner or president at the time, can't remember which.
Wagon Wheel
Isn't every single Elvis Presley song a remake/cover?
He did do a number of covers, but many of Elvis' best known songs were written for him. This is pretty much how Motown and classic R&B functioned and how many singers function; someone writes a song for them and they sing it. This describes Whitney Houston's career.
Elvis also recorded a lot of gospel music, which I guess you could consider "covers", but older gospel music, like traditional folk music, is often recorded by many people. Generally, these songs had been performed by others for years before someone finally recorded it.
I think Metallica's Turn the Page is way better than Seger's original.
I like Metallica up until about the Black Album. I like Seger. I hate this opinion.
Is there a band with a better 'first five albums' run than Metallica from Kill 'em all through the Black Album?? There definitely are some that are equal, but I don't know if I can think of any that surpass it.
No disrespect to Metallica but, there is definitely a band with a better ‘first five albums’: Led Zeppelin.
Led Zeppelin I, II, III, (IV) and Houses of the Holy are pretty tough to beat for a five album run.
Speaking of Houses of the Holy, I like STP’s cover of “Dancing Days” quite a bit.