Best Cover Songs

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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.

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Retarted

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[NT!]

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I like Cake's version of 'I Will Survive'. Sheryl Crow's version of 'Sweet Child O' Mine' is vastly superior to GNR's.

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Cake=good
Crow = do you really think this? this is probably worse than the misfits/afi guy

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[TomCollins]

This thread should end here.

Jerry C - Canon Rock

[NT!]

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Sinead O' Connor's version of All Apologies.

Kirsty Maccoll's version of A New England.

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Both of these sounds really interesting, where can I find them?

Everyone is mentioning Johnny Cash - I really like the cover he did of "Bird on a Wire." In addition to others mentioned I also think "I Won't Back Down," "Hung My Head," and "Southern Accents" are great covers from late in his career.

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[ScottieK]

Tainted Love

ScottieK

[NT!]

All,

A few others not mentioned so far:

Ben E King did a good version of "Don't Let Me Down." I'll have to check out the Stereophonics version but it's hard to believe it's better than the Beatles' as that's another one of those near-perfect songs. King's is good because it's different - he turns it into an R&B song and it works.

Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U - Many people might not know this is a Prince song. O'Connor's studio version is superior, although see if you can track down a live version with Prince and Rosie Gaines, which is phenomenal.

There are a lot of fun ska covers of songs, very few stand out as actually being good. The Pietasters have a couple of fun ones that are kind of standard for them - "Fiesta" (originally by the Pogues) and "Same Old Song" (originally by the Four Tops).

Speaking of the Pogues, their version of "The Band Played Waltzing Matilda" is the most gut-wrenching I've ever heard.

One that I'm very surprised not to see mentioned is Aretha Franklin - Respect (originally by Otis Redding).

The Red Elvises, in addition to doing a great cover of Dick Dale's "Misirlou," have also turned several classical pieces - most notably folk dances by Brahms - into surf guitar songs. See "Hungarian Dance #5" if you can find it (both are on the Six String Samurai soundtrack).

Toots and the Maytals - Country Roads
The Heptones - Suspicious Minds

Two very good reggae covers of American classics.

Enough for now.

NT

[MicroBob]

GNR's Knockin on Heaven's Door is awesome. And I don't even like GNR.
Warren Zevon also covered this on his final album which he recorded knowing he only had a few weeks left to live.


Gloria by Van Morrison and by Patti Smyth are both decent versions. Although I still prefer the original by Shadows of Knight.

Crimson and Clover by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts is also a fave of mine...but again I prefer the original by Tommy James and the Shondells.


The Muffs did a cover of Kids in America but it doesn't even come close to the original by Kim Wilde.


Ice-Cream Man by Van Halen has to be a cover but I don't know the original artist off the top of my head.

Van Halen's Jump was covered as kind of a ballad by Aztec Camera and I think I actually prefer the cover for having a certain vision to vary from the original approach so much.

Our Lips are Sealed by the Go Go's was covered by a band called Fun Boy Three and I liked that version a lot too.

Some of the cover-compilations are kind of fun too but are usually disappointing.
One example is If I Were a Carpenter with alternative rock-artists doing songs by the Carpenters.
Cracker singing Rainy Days and Mondays should be a lot funnier...but they really did it terribly and instead just made it really annoying.

Same for Grant Lee Buffalo's "We've only Just Begun" and Sheryl Crow singing "Solitaire"


Finally, my nomination for the cover version that I hate the most is Amy Grant's "It's Too Late" originally by Carole King.
Amy Grant hardly changes a single note in the entire song from the original version, but the singing and piano throughout the whole song just feel so completely hollow and soul-less and kind of pompous.
It's amazing how just little differences can completely change an entire song like that.
If I had heard Amy Grant's version first I probably would give the song about a 4.5.
But Carole King's version got an almost immediate 10 with me because it's just that good.


There's a band called "Me First and the Gimme Gimme's" with fast-ska versions of familiar songs like You've Got a Friend, Blowin in the Wind, Hello (by Lionel Ritchie), Nothing Compares 2 U, Neil Diamond stuff, etc etc.

It gets old pretty fast but it's still some really fun stuff.
I wouldn't mind seeing them in concert sometime.

[dlorc]

Build me up - Save Ferris ( Done originally for Mallrats I think )

Ninety Nine Red Ballons - Goldfinger ( half english half german lyrics )

Both way superior to their originals.

[PorkPieHat]

re: Ice Cream Man
This was written and originally recorded by Chicago Blues musician John Brim. Born in 1922, Brim recorded this at Chess Records in 1953. In 1994, he released a compilation album called The Ice Cream Man.

[DizzyDotty]

I can't believe no one has mentioned Hole's version of Gold Dust Woman from The Crow City Of Angels soundtrack.
Also love Tori Amos and all her covers.