Covers: The Good, The Bad, The Meh

[Rick Kitchen]

Heart can do no wrong.

[Joe Jitsu913]

My favorite covers:

Roxanne by George Michael. A very sultry, jazz number. I like it better than the original.

Stairway to Heaven by Heart.

Wrecking Ball by Boyceavenue. It's a duet which sounds almost a bit county/pop. Very raw and emotional.

Edited December 20, 2014 by Joe Jitsu913

[WendyCR72]

Putting this here as it is a cover, but I would not say it is better than the original. (But there's no simple cover thread!) Anyway, I guess the BBC launched BBC Music and, to celebrate, it released a music video with tons of musical artists including Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Chrissie Hynde, and Brian Wilson himself - and tons more - doing a cover of the Beach Boys classic "God Only Knows". I guess it has also raised money for children in need.

 

I still love the original, and I'm not even a true fan of the Beach Boys. But that is one song I do love.

 

But watch the video, count the musicians, and enjoy - or not!

[AntiBeeSpray]

I really love Alanis Morrisette's take on Seal's song, "Crazy". She does a good job with it.

 

 

Source: Youtube and Warner Bros. Records, no copyright infringement intended, for entertainment purposes only.

[DeLurker]

Putting this here as it is a cover, but I would not say it is better than the original. (But there's no simple cover thread!) Anyway, I guess the BBC launched BBC Music and, to celebrate, it released a music video with tons of musical artists including Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Dave Grohl, Chrissie Hynde, and Brian Wilson himself - and tons more - doing a cover of the Beach Boys classic "God Only Knows". I guess it has also raised money for children in need.

 

I still love the original, and I'm not even a true fan of the Beach Boys. But that is one song I do love.

I started this category but the name only reflects what was going across my brain at the moment.  I think that a more generic Cover category is warranted and not sure we need two separate ones.  So if anyone wants to come up with a better title for the thread, I suspect it would be fine with TPTB.

 

I totally love that cover of God Only Knows you linked too!  Thank you!  I was a hard core Beach Boys fan way back when so covers of their music normally make me cringe.  I can't say it is better than the original to me, but it is damn good!

 

I still have PTSD from the orignal Crazy and the ex-from-hell because he had an obsession with that song.  I'd like to play the version you posted, but can't bring myself to it.  New category for me:  Songs that suffer from hate-by-association. 

 

ETA: And on that note of Covers Generic, Bang a Gong (Get It On) by T. Rex with a cover by Power Station fits nicely here.  I love the original but the cover was very good too.

Edited December 22, 2014 by DeLurker

[AntiBeeSpray]

I started this category but the name only reflects what was going across my brain at the moment.  I think that a more generic Cover category is warranted and not sure we need two separate ones.  So if anyone wants to come up with a better title for the thread, I suspect it would be fine with TPTB.

 

I totally love that cover of God Only Knows you linked too!  Thank you!  I was a hard core Beach Boys fan way back when so covers of their music normally make me cringe.  I can't say it is better than the original to me, but it is damn good!

 

I still have PTSD from the orignal Crazy and the ex-from-hell because he had an obsession with that song.  I'd like to play the version you posted, but can't bring myself to it.  New category for me:  Songs that suffer from hate-by-association. 

 

ETA: And on that note of Covers Generic, Bang a Gong (Get It On) by T. Rex with a cover by Power Station fits nicely here.  I love the original but the cover was very good too.

 

Can relate. Only with songs that make me really sad. Can't play "Angel" by Sarah Mclachlan. It played right after a friend of mine got killed in a car crash. It just makes me cry every time.

[WendyCR72]

ETA: And on that note of Covers Generic, Bang a Gong (Get It On) by T. Rex with a cover by Power Station fits nicely here.  I love the original but the cover was very good too.

 

Yes! I love this cover, too.

I made the title of this thread more broad so all cover songs talk can be contained here. If I - or anyone else - thinks of a catchier title, I'll be glad to edit this further!  :-)

[Wiendish Fitch]

I think DJ Sammy and Yanou's "Heaven" is superior to Bryan Adams's version. I love the sweet, lilting melody reminiscent of a music box, which is more appropriate than Adams's guitar riffs, and I think the singer in the cover brings the right emotion to the lyrics.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I think DJ Sammy and Yanou's "Heaven" is superior to Bryan Adams's version. I love the sweet, lilting melody reminiscent of a music box, which is more appropriate than Adams's guitar riffs, and I think the singer in the cover brings the right emotion to the lyrics.

 

I'm more of a fan of the original one tbh. The new one is ok though.

 

I heard a cover of "Listen to your heart" -- Roxette, before that was by DHT featuring Edmeé. Didn't like it at all. The original version was better imo.

[Bastet]

With the death of Joe Cocker, we've lost one of the greatest cover artists of all time.  His versions of Delta Lady, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, Feelin' Alright, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Up Where We Belong, When the Night Comes, You Are So Beautiful*, and With a Little Help From My Friends all surpass the originals for me, and I could be here all night listing the covers I think are just as good as their predecessors.   A few standouts:  Just Like a Woman, The Letter, Never Tear Us Apart, Wake Up Little Susie, Cry Me a River, and Can't Find My Way Home.

 

*For the longest time, I thought this was the original.

Edited December 23, 2014 by Bastet

[Joe]

Also, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood. Great song, great version.

[spaceytraci1208]

With the death of Joe Cocker, we've lost one of the greatest cover artists of all time. His versions of Delta Lady, Bye, Bye, Blackbird, Feelin' Alright, You Can Leave Your Hat On, Up Where We Belong, When the Night Comes, You Are So Beautiful*, and With a Little Help From My Friends all surpass the originals for me

R.I.P. Joe Cocker...you breathed life into my favorite misheard lyric of all time *clears throat*

[DeLurker]

I started this category but the name only reflects what was going across my brain at the moment.  I think that a more generic Cover category is warranted and not sure we need two separate ones.  So if anyone wants to come up with a better title for the thread, I suspect it would be fine with TPTB.

I'm a big fibber because BizBuzz started this thread.  I started Duets (goes off to fact check myself).  And cured polio.

[bustaphur]

REM and Duran Duran both have nice versions of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day".  Mr. Reed (because yes, a genius like that does deserve to be called Mr. in my book, even though he's passed on), once said that the Duran Duran version (on the Wedding Album) was the version he wished he recorded.  High praise for an underrated band...

 

Now, the intentional covers album they released a few years later....well, the less said about that album the better...

[bettername2come]

I see some love for Alien Ant Farm's "Smooth Criminal" but I prefer the Glee version. They took the already excellent 2Cello cover and put Naya Rivera and Grant Gustin over it. What's not to love? (Apologies for bringing Glee to the mix)

 

Boyce Avenue - Teenage Dream 

The lyric changes make the song more romantic. Actually, a lot of Boyce Avenue's covers are better than the original, imo.

 

And maybe I just really like other people's Katy Perry songs. 

[Shannon L.]

 

I see some love for Alien Ant Farm's "Smooth Criminal" but I prefer the Glee version. They took the already excellent 2Cello cover and put Naya Rivera and Grant Gustin over it. What's not to love? (Apologies for bringing Glee to the mix)

I have both versions (but not the original) on my iphone.  And don't worry--I brought up Glee! on the previous page  :)

[Shannon L.]

I love Santana and Chris Daughtry's version of Photograph by Def Leppard:

 

[DeLurker]

Was never a Def Leppard fan but ^^^ is awesome!

Santana on guitar makes everything better - I love how all the basics are still there and then he throws in something new and distinctively "Carlos" and I think "THAT was what should have been there all along!"

[DeLurker]

Migrated from Guilty Pleasures...

 

My daughter (literally just turned 14) has the following:

Because the Night : Cascada originally by Patti Smith

Kids in America: Cascada originally by Kim Wilde

It's My Life: Gwen Stefani originally by Talk Talk

Truly Madly Deeply: Cascada originally by Sound Garden

 

There's a few more that are covers but I can't remember them right now.  These are all songs that I liked by the original artist and never knew she was even familiar with until I heard them on her MP3.  She never knew they were covers*.  I much prefer the originals and she much prefers the covers.

 

* Except It's My Life which we heard on the car radio when she was about 4 or so (the Gwen Stefani cover).  She loved it and asked me to buy the cd for her (which started a long held love of Gwen Stefani, although she is not a fan of the more recent cuts).  When one of the station played the original by Talk Talk she announced "I don't like the boy version as much as the girl version".

[Princess Sparkle]

A lot of my favorite covers have already been mentioned, but I'll throw in a few I haven't seen yet:

 

-The Marvin Gaye version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine (originally released by Gladys Night) is probably my all-time favorite cover.  And it wasn't until a few years ago that I even knew it was a cover in the first place. 

-Nirvana had some really good covers on their Unplugged set, but I think my favorite was their version of The Man Who Sold the World.  

-Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse's version of Valerie is just divine.

-On the recent Kennedy Center Honors, Bruno Mars sang a version of So Lonely that went into Message in a Bottle, and it just blew me out of the water.  Sorry Sting.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Princess Sparkle

[Ohwell]

-The Marvin Gaye version of I Heard it Through the Grapevine (originally released by Gladys Night) is probably my all-time favorite cover.  And it wasn't until a few years ago that I even knew it was a cover in the first place.

That's the one cover song that I like both versions.  I'm old enough to remember the original Gladys Knight & the Pips song (I still have the 45 but it's old and scratched and I can't play it anymore).  Then when Marvin Gaye came out with it, I liked that version as well.  I think the difference for me is that I like dancing to Glady's, and listening to Marvin's. 

[kathyk24]

Groovy kind of Love is so much better than the original. I love Adele's cover of To Make you feel my love is amazing.

[Jeebus Cripes]

I like Fun Boy Three's version of Our Lips Are Sealed better than The Go-Go's. I no longer remember who recorded it first.

[DeLurker]

Oh jeez..Fun Boy Three!  Had not thought of them in eons.  But per wikipedia: 

 

"Our Lips Are Sealed" is a song written by The Go-Go's guitarist Jane Wiedlin and The Specials and Fun Boy Three singer Terry Hall.

It was first recorded by The Go-Go's as the opening track on their 1981 album Beauty and the Beat (see 1981 in music) and served as their debut American single in June 1981. The single eventually reached top 5 in Australia and Canada, and top 20 in the US. Although originally written and performed with three verses, it is an abbreviated version of the song that appears on Beauty and the Beat.

In 1983, Hall's band, Fun Boy Three, released their version of "Our Lips Are Sealed". Issued as a single, the track became top ten hit in the UK, and remains the best known version of "Lips" in that country --the Go-Go's version, while a hit elsewhere, only made #47 UK.

 

Speaking of the Go-Go's, I once heard a total mash up grunge-metal-punk version of We Got the Beat.   Don't know who did it, but it was glorious. 

 

My biggest wish (that will never come true) is for Dave Grohl to do a cover of it  - drums and vocal.

[AntiBeeSpray]

I love Santana and Chris Daughtry's version of Photograph by Def Leppard:

 

 

Sweet! Very nice cover. Love Def Leppard's version and this one does it justice.

[BatmanBeatles]

I prefer The Beatles cover of Please Mr. Postman.

[Dandesun]

And to give it back to Otis, his version of "A Change is Gonna Come" is superior to Sam Cooke's.

 

And of course Jimi Hendrix's "All Along the Watchtower" far outshines Bob Dylan's.

 

Also, I don't know if it's "better" than the original, but Mick Jagger said this is the best cover of a Rolling Stones song ever, good enough for me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jadvt7CbH1o

 

Devo's cover isn't better than the original 'Satisfaction' but it's the only other version of the song worth listening to simply because it's so completely different.

[Flarking Schnit]

For me, I always like when a band takes an old favorite and incorporates their sound into it rather than a note for note repeat.  Two examples I really like are Goo Goo Dolls' version of Give a Little Bit and Everclear's version of Brown Eyed Girl.  Although many people may consider it blasphemy, I love Annie Lennox's version of Waiting in Vain more than Bob's original, but I may be a little biased since I have always been an Annie fanboy. 

[Love]

Give a Little Bit - the cover by the Goo Goo Dolls I love and I loathe loathe loathe the original by Supertramp.  In listening to them both, they are very similar but the Supertramp version is nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

I absolutely agree with this.  Can't listen to the original.  Sounds super slow in comparison.  The Goos did an awesome cover.

 

Other covers I love:

 

"Cats In the Cradle"- Ugly Kid Joe...I was really moved by this song.  I didn't even know this was a cover until years later.  My fave cover song ever. 

"Under Pressure"- the Used/My Chemical Romance...I think it's the vocals that make it for me.  The 2 singers sound great together. 

"Sympathy For the Devil"- Guns N Roses...I was raised by a Stones loving Mother, so I liked the original.  Love the cover so much more.

"Come Undone"- My Darkest Days...Never liked the DD version.  Hated that band.  The cover is well done.

[smittykins]

As a '70s kid, I've always preferred Elton John's versions of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and "Pinball Wizard" to the originals, as well as Chicago's take on "I'm a Man."

I haz a weird. :)

Edited January 18, 2015 by smittykins

[Queena]

The best cover of A Change is Gonna Come is R. Kelly's live version.

Aretha Franklin covered Son of a Preacher Man, Say a Little Prayer, and Let it Be better than the original IMO.

No one can top Aretha's Ain't no Way, however Kelly Clarkson comes very very close.

I'm still perplexed by Elton John's To be Young, Gifted and Black cover. It's so weird.

Joe Crocker had the best cover of all times with A Little Help from my Friends.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Queena

[Shannon L.]

God help me, but I love Faster Pussycat's version of You're So Vain.  Total, 100%, guilty pleasure for me.

 

 

[nicepebbles]

bettername2come, thank you for posting Tyler Ward's version of "Dark Horse." I for one love the original. I find it very sexy. Tyler Ward upped the sexy 1000 times. I don't think it's a better cover. They're equal to me.

[Beezel]

"Ne Me Quitte Pas" is a haunting song, but I think Nina Simone's version resonates with me most. 

 

[Rick Kitchen]

Ugh, Nina Simone.  I just can't.  Her voice is absolutely perfect.

[spaceytraci1208]

I wouldn't necessarily say that it's better, but one of my favorite covers is Jodeci's version of Stevie Wonder's "Lately"; especially the unplugged version:

On the flip-side of covers that are better than the original, we have covers that nobody asked for...

The Staples Singers' "Respect Yourself" covered by Bruce Willis

Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" covered by Britney Spears

Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" covered by Kelly Osborne

[UYI]

This particular cover of "Lucy in the Sky of Diamonds" by the Grateful Dead:

 

 

 

The instrumental wasn't intentional--Jerry kept forgetting the words to the beginning of the song--but I heard this song constantly as a kid (my dad is a HUGE Deadhead) and I love it. Jerry was gone less than 3 months later.

[Joe]

But on the subject of covers that really really aren't better than the original, I present Korn playing Another Brick in the Wall, Part 2. It really isn't a song that deserves that special Korn treatment. I can't think of a song that does, mind you.

[UYI]

Here are three I really like:

 

 

 

[methodwriter85]

Some more covers I prefer over the original:

 

"Cherish" by David Cassidy

 

"Knocking on Heaven's Door" by Guns n Roses

 

"Forever Young" by the Youth Group & "Forever Young" by Laura Branigan

 

Shame she wound up dying young.

[Bastet]

Damn, I don't think I knew that Laura Branigan had died (in 2004 at just 47, from an aneurysm).  I loved her voice.

 

Speaking of her, though, I have to say I like Cher's cover of I Found Someone better.

[harrie]

Bob Marley owns Redemption Song, but I love how Joe Strummer did it, too. It's a draw, I could listen to either one just about forever. 

[Mini-Mart]

Melora Walters' voice is an acquired taste but who could resist an electric cello cover of Barracuda?

 

[Sandman87]

Speaking of electric cellos, I like Apocalyptica's version of "Nothing Else Matters" much better than Metallica's.

[Bastet]

I can really enjoy the electric cello, but thanks to Rent, I can't hear anything played on it without thinking of La Vie Boheme ("Maureen Johnson ... will sing Native American tribal chants backwards, through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric cello, which she has never studied").

[AntiBeeSpray]

Found a really nice cover of Don't Stop Believin' today, by Starship.

 

Here it is via Youtube:

 

 

I still like the original Journey version better, but this one comes dang close.

[kathyk24]

The Band does a great cover of Springsteen's Atlantic City.

[Athena]

My people! How much I do I like covers. I have a weakness for pop songs, but I don't care for many pop artists or their vocals so covers are usually the way to go for me.

 

I love the Placebo "Running up the Hill". It's even in my running mix! I didn't know it was a cover either when I first heard it, but then not surprised since I don't really like most of Placebo's other things.

 

The lyric changes make the song more romantic. Actually, a lot of Boyce Avenue's covers are better than the original, imo.

 

Agreed! I came in this topic to post the same thing. I discovered Boyce Avenue through their "Apologize" cover before they became viral with Teenage Dream. I love Alejandro's voice. In fact, I don't know any other male singer who gives me chills likes his does. There are a couple of covers that didn't do it for me, mainly because they were collaborations. Nine out of ten Boyce Avenue covers are great. I'm sad that I had the chance to see them a few years ago, but missed out my chance.

 

 

I have a number of covers in my itunes, but I need to find them since I don't tag them covers (maybe I should one day...) Here's one of Snow Patrol doing Beyonce's "Crazy in Love"

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZrZJfcDyXs

[methodwriter85]

I really liked Boyce's cover of Back for Good:

 

[bettername2come]

One that doesn't have a released version, but I love this cover of "Oh Darling." I know, I love Hanson. Who are you to judge me?!!

 

Edited March 21, 2015 by bettername2come