Best Cover Songs

[Elevens]

Cover songs most often done by unknown bands trying to please live audiences with songs that most people are familiar with. Typically, if you've ever been to wedding with a band, all they typically do is cover songs, as made popular in the movie, "Wedding Singer".

Sometimes they are good, sometimes they are bad. I think the best ones are when both the original and follow-up version(s) are good. A good example is Lenny Kravitz's version of "American Woman" (original by The Guess Who). Lately I've taken more of an interest in them, because it's often amazing how one artist/band can make such drastic changes to a song, yet it's still the same. I believe that Marilyn Manson has also done a number of cover versions that meet this requirement.

Anyway, my hands down favorite is the song, "Hurt" by Johnny Cash that became extremely popular before his death, especially because of the touching music video that accompanied it. The original version was performed (to many people's surprise) by Nine Inch Nails.

However, I do have a dark horse favorite. And, there are three versions of this song, all of which are good in their own ways. The first version came out in 1988 by New Order. The song is "Blue Monday".

The next version was released ten years later by Orgy.

And here's the dark horse...

In 2002, a little known Norwegian band called Flunk, who is mainly known for their electronica music, release their take on "Blue Monday". The lead female singer sounds amazingly like Byork, but thankfully, their music is much better. This song gained some notoriety in the movie, "Walking Tall" starring The Rock.

What are your favorites?

NOTE: All music links are Amazon.com Windows Media Player sample versions.

[MrDaveyHavoc]

Personally, I am amazed when a cover song is BETTER than the original, as with "Haloween"- first by the Misfits, later by AFI. Come to think of it, every AFI cover of the Misfits is better, IMHO.

Blue Monday by Orgy....wow I didn't think anyone else listened to them.

[Runkmud]

At the risk of getting mauled by OOT, I always preferred U2's version of Helter Skelter over the original Beatles song. It seems to have a bit a heated edge over the original. Whether or not this had anything to do with the events of Chuck Manson, I have no idea.

[kitaristi0]

[ QUOTE ]
At the risk of getting mauled by OOT, I always preferred U2's version of Helter Skelter over the original Beatles song. It seems to have a bit a heated edge over the original. Whether or not this had anything to do with the events of Chuck Manson, I have no idea.

[/ QUOTE ]

Prepare to get mauled.

[pryor15]

i've always considered Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" to be one of the best covers ever.

[RJT]

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i've always considered Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" to be one of the best covers ever.

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That is because it is the best cover of the song. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Elevens]

[ QUOTE ]
Blue Monday by Orgy....wow I didn't think anyone else listened to them.

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That's why this part of the dark horse candidate. I honestly can't name another Orgy song, anyway.

[matrix]

just found stairway heaven!
101 cover versions of stairway

Frank Zappa's cover is available for streamy listening here

[dalston]

Sinead O' Connor's version of All Apologies.

Kirsty Maccoll's version of A New England.

Prize for being radically different while still great goes to the Scissor Sisters for their version on Comfortably Numb. Not exeactly better than the original but brilliant in its difference.

Same goes for Johnny Cash's version of The Mercy Seat.

[JCool]

Guns N Roses cover of McCartney's Live and Let Die is truely awesome. The original sounds wimpy by comparison.