Best and worst cover versions

Dr. Hfuhruhurr · Best and worst cover versions

Following on from the X Factor discussion ...

TimR

I see some bint has covered Wham's Last Christmas and somehow managed to make it even more irritating than the original.

Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Haven't worked out a top five yet but one that'll be in there for sure is Cassandra Wilson's version of The Weight. You can get it on her CD "Belly of the Sun", but I saw her playing it live at Bridgewater Hall in 2002, which is a musical experience I'll never forget. Quite sublime.

And one to go with the view that a cover version should totally change the original - the tango version of Roxanne from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack

Same principle - Now That We've Found Love by Third World. Is it reggae? Is it funk? Who cares - brilliant is what it is.

Matt

Muse's version of the House of the Rising Sun

SoaD's version of Snowblind

Shelter of your Arms, Jolene and Conquest by the White Stripes

That's 5.

canadian bacon

worst
hit me baby one more time - travis
raindrops keep falling on my head -manics
comfortably numb - scissor sisters

best

femme fatale - duran duran
hurt johnny cash
a new england - kirsty mccoll
suicide is painless - manics
knockin' on heavens door - eithe clapton or guns n roses
some candy talking -richard hawley
all along the watchtower - either u2 or Hendrix
mrs robinson - the lemonheads

on the whole more good than bad.

Twelfth Monkey

Best:

Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah. (Leonard Cohen.)
Siouxsie and the Banshees Dear Prudence. (Beatles)
Sisters of Mercy's Gimme Shelter. (Rolling Stones)
The Bolshoi's Amsterdam (Jacques Brel).
Alex Harvey's Next (Jacques Brel again.)

Worst:

Far too many to mention...

BeN

Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Siouxsie/Prudence and Hendrix/Watchtower would be on my shortlist too.

kraftwerk

In no particular order...

BEST
01. Devo - (I Can't Get Me No) Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)
02. This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (Tim Buckley)
03. Michael Hedges - Sofa #1 (Frank Zappa)
04. David Bowie - Wild is the Wind (Nina Simone)
05. Lily Allen - Naive (given that I can't stand the original, this is quite an achievement) (The Kooks)
06. Mel Torme and the Marty Paitch Dektette - Walk Between the Raindrops (Donald Fagen)
07. Quarteto Em Cy - Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser (Milton Nascimento)
08. Jaco Pastorius - Donna Lee (Charlie Parker)
09. Lewis Taylor - Heart of the Sunrise (Yes)
10. Feist - Inside and Out (The Bee Gees)

WORST
Too many to bother with

Blarno

Worst:

Madonna - American Pie (Don McLean)
All Saints - Under The Bridge (RHCP)
Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Jamelia - Stop (Sam Brown)
Any dance version of an old 70's rock tune.

Best:

SOAD - Shame On A Nigga (Wu Tang Clan)
Fu Manchu - Godzilla ( Blue Oyster Cult)
Metallica - Stone Cold Crazy (Queen)
Killswitch Engage - Holy Diver (Dio)
Faith No More - War Pigs (Black Sabbath)

kraftwerk

Blarno

I was aware it was a Northern Soul original, I just had no clue as to who recorded it, so I put Soft Cell to be safe. I actually prefer the original to Soft Cell's version too.

kraftwerk

Good man. It's an incredible record - and only just over two minutes long. Job done.

Pkh72

I love Depeche Modes cover of Route 66.

Dr. Hfuhruhurr

Twelfth Monkey

Agreed with Wild is the Wind and Song to the Siren.

Abso-bloody-lutely fantastic songs.

Another Day is another cracker from It'll end in Tears. Can't remember, or be arsed, to Google the cover-ee. Is it Roy Harper?

Also love Faith no More's Easy, because it's silly (in a good way), and is recorded from the drummer's perspective. Is he the one with the Botty-type surname?

kraftwerk

Roddy Bottum was the keyboard player, wasn't he? Another Day is indeed a Roy Harper song. And a damn fine example of his ouvre.

Of course, another of the greatest covers is Anji by Bert Jansch, the Davey Graham instrumental covered, also, by Simon and Garfunkel. Davey doesn't like Bert's version, apparently. Says he uses too many notes, but I think it's lovely.

Blarno

Roddy Bottum was the keyboard player, indeed. A somewhat ironic surname, given his sexual leanings....

The drummer was one Mike Bordin Esq, dreadlocked tubthumper extraordinaire.

If you ever get a chance, have a listen to Bruce Dickinson's reworking of Jerusalem. Makes my hairs stand on end....

Li'ldude

CB? Hit Me Baby... Worst?

My Best:

Come Together: Joe Cocker
Hit Me Baby...: Travis
One: Johnny Cash
Cocaine: Eric Clapton
All Along The Watchtower: Ten Years After (Got ya!)
Mr. Tamburine Man: The Byrds
Knocking On Heavens Door: Guns 'N Roses
Nightswimming: Dashboard Confessional
The Man Who Sold The World: Nirvana
Where Did You Sleep Last Night?: Nirvana

My Worst:

Smells Like Teen Spirit: Guns 'N Roses
You Shook Me All Night Long: (Dunno, some blonde pop singer person thingy)
(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction: Brittany Spears
Oh! Darling: Dana Fuchs
Sympathy For The Devil: Guns 'N Roses (Ok, I'm running out of ideas...)

...Ok, I've run out of ideas.

Rodge

Not many I can think of but Albert Niland did a great version of Wuthering heights. More of an unplugged version, but it's very good.

Twelfth Monkey

How could I forget?

Nick Cave has a track record of splendid covers:

Johnny Cash's Wanted Man.
Leonard Cohen's Avalanche.
The Carnival is Over, New Seekers?
Velvet Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties.

:-(

Worst -

1. Fugees - Killing me Softly (Roberta Flack) ONE TIME!

2. Mark Ronson - Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before - (Smiths) - an abomination.
3. Tragedy - Steps (Bee Gees)

Best
1. Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World (David Bowie)
2. Salad - Dream A Little Dream Of Me (covered by lots of people but according to Wiki originally recorded by one Wayne King - smirk)
3. The The - Your Cheating Heart (Hank Williams)
4. Muse - Feeling Good (Ella Fitzgerald)
5. Aha - Crying In The Rain (Everly Bros)
6. Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb (beautifully camped up Floyd)

:-(

Twelfth Monkey

The The, a.k.a. Matt Johnson, ran out of creative steam before this. There are gems on Soul Mining (in particular, Uncertain Smile, one of the greatest songs ever), and Infected is brilliant.

'Should I cry like a baby, die like a man
when all the planet's little wars start joining hands.'

kraftwerk

Not forgetting Sweet Bird of Truth

canadian bacon

just heard 'walk this way' by the sugarbabes and girls aloud, my only question - why ???

:-(

Dang, sorry

Twelfth Monkey

kraftwerk

Woops. Sorry S.

Li'ldude

Honky Tonk Woman: Humble Pie

.

Europop at its best!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGquX-SQtZA&feature=related

Li'ldude

You Really Got Me: Van Halen

Blarno

I was listening to the radio at work last weekend, and heard a cover of Heart's 'Alone'.

By Celine Fucking Dion.

What was once an overblown rock-chick hair-fest was turned into a limp-wristed piss poor excuse of a cover. If ever proof was needed that Canadians should not be allowed to make or record music, this was it.

Andy C

Talking of covers, I heard Manfred Mann's cover of the Bob Dylan song The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo) at the weekend. Superbly done, imo.

tali

Worst cover for me is "Dub me good to me" a sodomization of the brilliant SOS band's "Just be good to me"

Stuntman

TimR

There's a cover version of Hero (?) over the closing titles of Shrek 2 and it's absolutely rubbish. It sounds like it's sung by a woman who simply can't sing but who is probably a top female artist (Can't be bothered finding out).

I'm not a great fan of the original either but whoever thought the new version was good needs shot.

canadian bacon

DarthBalls

Current top 5:

Hurt by Johnny Cash
I Fought The Law by The Clash
Pressure Drop by The Specials
Freddie's Dead by Fishbone
Back for Good by McAlmont & Butler (originally by Take That!)

The bottom five:

Walk This Way by Girls Aloud and Sugababes (Jam Master J must have spun in his grave)
Mark Ronson's version of Radiohead's Just
Faithless and Dido's version of Dub Be Good To Me/Just Be Good to Me
Prodigy's version of Ghost Town
U2 and Green Day's version of The Saints Are Coming