Covers: The Good, The Bad, The Meh

[27bored]

This might be slightly crazy to some people but I think I like Pearl Jam's cover of "Love Reign O'er Me" better than The Who's. Although, I think Bettye LeVette's rendition at the Kennedy Center Honors blows both renditions out of the water and is probably one of the Top 10 Best televised pieces of music ever (no, seriously, go watch it...you won't forget it).

Jessie J - I Knew You Were Trouble. It's almost a little unfair because comparing Jessie J to Taylor Swift vocally is like comparing a 747 to a Cessna, but it's not just technique that makes her rendition better. Taylor's version sounds slightly anonymous even for her. It took me a minute to realize that was her when I first heard it, and even listening to it now, it sounds like she's reading the lines off a sheet of paper. Jessie J sings it as a dirge. The song stands up lyrically, but the stripped down production and slower tempo create a different feel.

Kelly Clarkson - Wide Awake. Another slightly unfair comparison, but Kelly and Katy have an eerie vocal similarity that you don't quite realize until you listen to Kelly cover one of her songs (for fun, go look up "Long Shot"...it was an unreleased Katy Perry song before it wound up on Kelly Clarkson's "All I Ever Wanted" album...Kelly again comes out on top), so Kelly is like Katy Perry's dumpy older sister who grew up singing in church and listening to Aretha Franklin instead of Katy Perry who just listened to the radio and became a cheerleader who leads with her chest. Ahem. Anyway, Kelly does "Wide Awake" very well. Again, Kelly's got the better voice, but she manages to connect to the song instead of just reading through it.

Joe - Hello. As crazy as it might sound, R&B singer Joe's rendition of "Hello" (Adele) is...kinda better. I think it's because he plays the role of the recalcitrant former lover a bit more believably than she does. I can't really say one is a better singer than the other, because both of them are fantastic, they just sing different genres. That being said, Joe tends to lean into the vocal a bit more than Adele does, especially on the chorus. It makes his rendition sound more immediate and emotional than she does. I don't think anyone could top Adele's rendition since it's the original, but I can Joe's rendition matches it, and that's a feat in and of itself.

Edited May 28, 2017 by 27bored

[WendyCR72]

Chris Cornell did a couple covers, and I thought they were pretty damned excellent! One is Prince's (but best known by Sinead O'Connor) Nothing Compares To U. Love this:

 

And he also covered Billie Jean (Michael Jackson):

[Accidental Martyr]

Justin Townes Earle's version of "Can't Hardly Wait" by The Replacements.

[MyAimIsTrue]

A little more than a week ago I saw Tears For Fears in concert and they did an amazing cover of Radiohead's "Creep."  Here's a clip to enjoy, though not from the show I attended.

[UYI]

This an AWESOME cover version of Heart's "Barracuda", by Gretchen Wilson ("Redneck Woman") and Alice in Chains.

[Silver Raven]

I just want to give a shout out to the entire YouTube channel of Jonathan Young.  He does covers of anime themes and Disney songs, but makes them hard rock or heavy metal.  My favorite of his is his cover of "Hellfire" from Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame":

 

[SophieDelago]

There were a couple of songs from Across the Universe (the film) that I think were better than Beatles originals. In particular: "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

[DarkRaichu]

I think Anne MArie's  voice is better suited for this song than the original artists:

 

Cant' go wrong with Ed Sheeran ;)

[UYI]

All my love in the world to Vicki Lawrence, but I really do think Reba bested her here.

[Silver Raven]

Reba is a goddess.

[rmcrae]

I much prefer Mary J. Blige's cover of "I'm Goin' Down" over the original by Rose Royce. The lead singer's delivery was too whiny for my taste. Mary's vocals are blindsided and distressed, but she's not on her knees cryin' for nobody and I love that.

[Shannon L.]

I was a fan of glam-rock when I was a teenager in the 80s and loved this version of You're So Vain by Faster Pussycat the first time I heard it and I still really like it today:

[AntiBeeSpray]

Just listened to this incredible cover of Rolling in the Deep by Chester Bennington (may he RIP).

 

[UYI]

I LOVE this version. Unfortunately, since the album it's on isn't on Spotify, YouTube is about the only place to find it, probably.

[Accidental Martyr]

Puddles Pity Party covers "Dreaming" by Blondie.

Puddles Pity Party covers "All The Small Things" by Blink-182.

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 7/26/2017 at 3:43 PM, UYI said:

I LOVE this version. Unfortunately, since the album it's on isn't on Spotify, YouTube is about the only place to find it, probably.

 

That's a great cover: it respects what made the original good, yet Morgan still makes it her own. IMO, Bonnie Tyler's is good, but I think she did better with bloated Jim Steinman epic ballads. :)

[WendyCR72]

Rod Stewart also did a version. But of the three, I still prefer Tyler's. Ironically, though, that hit in '79 made her leave her label at the time because the execs there were trying to pigeon-hole her as a country singer, and she wanted to branch out.

She obviously did, to great success four years later, with "Total Eclipse of the Heart" and then a year later in '84 with "Holding Out For A Hero".

[WendyCR72]

I liked this cover of that depressing '70s song originally done by Harry Chapin, "Cats In The Cradle", sung here by Ugly Kid Joe:

[Bastet]

Juice Newton does my favorite It's a Heartache, but I like pretty much every version of it I've heard.

I unabashedly love Chapin's Cat's in the Cradle, and I don't dislike the Ugly Kid Joe cover (with the absent apostrophe), but I don't like that the shift from "When you coming home, Dad?" to "When you coming home, Son?" in the final chorus is gone.

Edited July 31, 2017 by Bastet

[UYI]

My favorite version of "Memphis, Tennessee" sung, appropriately enough, by the city's most famous resident of all time:

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Rihanna's Stay by 30 Seconds to Mars:
 

Edited August 11, 2017 by Cobalt Stargazer

[Zola]

 

Not a big fan of glam-rock band Van Halen but I must admit to quite liking this Kinks' cover "You Really Got Me!"

Edited August 12, 2017 by Only Zola

[Cherry Bomb]

Scanned through this thread quickly and didn't see this cover mentioned.

 

Gary Jules- Mad World(Original Tears For Fears)

 

[UYI]

7 hours ago, Only Zola said:

 

Not a big fan of glam-rock band Van Halen but I must admit to quite liking this Kinks' cover.

Ray Davies himself conceded that VH outdid them on that song. 

[Shannon L.]

Ice Ice Baby like you've never heard it before:

[Cobalt Stargazer]

On a related note:
 

[WendyCR72]

Here's something I never thought I would see/hear in my lifetime: Guns 'N Roses recently paid tribute to the late Glen Campbell by performing "Wichita Lineman" in Canada during their "Not In This Lifetime" tour. And, to me...it didn't suck. Who knew?

[Bastet]

49 minutes ago, WendyCR72 said:

Here's something I never thought I would see/hear in my lifetime: Guns 'N Roses recently paid tribute to the late Glen Campbell by performing "Wichita Lineman" in Canada during their "Not In This Lifetime" tour. And, to me...it didn't suck. Who knew?

That wasn't very good, but I like that they did it.  And just told the audience, "It may not be your thing [which it clearly wasn't, as there was no discernible recognition when the song started or hit the chorus], but we're trying to pay tribute."

[amaranta]

On 8/11/2017 at 8:20 PM, Cherry Bomb said:

Gary Jules- Mad World(Original Tears For Fears)

One of the Best. Covers. Ever.

[amaranta]

Seven Bridges Road, first recorded by Steve Young, then by Ian Matthews.  Matthews laid it down with a five part harmony, singing all the parts himself. (The Ian Matthew's recorded version is my favorite - just gorgeous - I own that album in vinyl and I will never ever let it go.)  It's Matthews arrangement that most people know, except they know it as an Eagles song:

Eagles:

 

Mathews: 

[WendyCR72]

I knew "Seven Bridges Road" was not originally by The Eagles. I prefer their rendition, though.  :-)

[SirOsisOfLiver]

Got five minutes? The Muppets house band, Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem, do Bohemian Rhapsody.

 

[UYI]

Miranda Lambert covering the First Lady of Outlaw Country, Jessi Colter.

[UYI]

Written and originally recorded by Neil Young, but this version upped the game by about a thousand or more percent.

[SunnyBeBe]

I realize this may be a little sacrilegious, but, I prefer Shinedown's version of Simple Man over the original and iconic by Lynyrd Skynyrd.  

 

 

[Accidental Martyr]

St. Vincent’s cover of “These Days” by Nico.

[Silver Raven]

In honor of Halloween, I present Jonathan Young's cover for Disney's "This is Halloween".  The metal cover.  If you like this, his channel is full of great stuff like this.  He covers Disney and anime themes and other songs.  His cover of "Hellfire" is probably my favorite.

[Wiendish Fitch]

Covering Dolly Parton is always risky, but I really love Sierra Boggess's cover of "Wildflowers". Here she is performing with her dad and Ramin Karimloo (the ideal version is on her "Awakening" album).

[Cobalt Stargazer]

15 hours ago, Wiendish Fitch said:

Covering Dolly Parton is always risky

[JTMacc99]

On 10/16/2017 at 9:14 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

I realize this may be a little sacrilegious, but, I prefer Shinedown's version of Simple Man over the original and iconic by Lynyrd Skynyrd. 

Not sacrilegious, because this is a great version. The original is also a great song, so I just chalk this one up as a loving tribute that stands on its own as great.

So on that note, Spotify threw Halo by SOiL into one of my playlist radio mixes, and I immediately added it to a couple of my own playlists. Because awesome. With the band now in my mix, it exposed me to a couple more things they've done including a couple cover songs. They covered Black Betty, which is fun, but not my favorite because to be fair, the original Ram Jam version is kind of perfect.  But then I found this one! This is way fun:

[Silver Raven]

Hard rock version of Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do" by a band I never heard of called I Am Upset.

[JTMacc99]

On 11/10/2017 at 0:16 AM, Silver Raven said:

a band I never heard of called I Am Upset.

Do those guys have day jobs or something, because their hair is inappropriate for the way they sound. (See SOiL above for proper hair.)

[Cobalt Stargazer]

It's all right. In fact, it's a gas!
 

[Shannon L.]

I liked the original "Come Together" by the Beatles, in spite of the ridiculous lyrics, and enjoyed the Aerosmith's remake, but my favorite by far is the rendition of it in the Justice League movie.  I love the hard edge of the guitar. 

[AimingforYoko]

1 hour ago, Shannon L. said:

I liked the original "Come Together" by the Beatles, in spite of the ridiculous lyrics, and enjoyed the Aerosmith's remake, but my favorite by far is the rendition of it in the Justice League movie.  I love the hard edge of the guitar. 

Gary Clark, Jr., for anyone interested.

[ebk57]

9 hours ago, AimingforYoko said:

Gary Clark, Jr., for anyone interested.

Always interested in Gary Clark, Jr! 

Love his take on the song - thanks!!

[Silver Raven]

"Come Together" as sung by Joe Cocker from the movie Across The Universe, a musical about a young Liverpudlian named Jude who comes to America during the Vietnam era.  All Beatles covers.

One of the hookers is future Broadway star Orfeh.  Another is Tracy Nicole Chapman, also a future Broadway star.

[Popples]

22 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

"Come Together" as sung by Joe Cocker from the movie Across The Universe, a musical about a young Liverpudlian named Jude who comes to America during the Vietnam era.  All Beatles covers.

One of the hookers is future Broadway star Orfeh.  Another is Tracy Nicole Chapman, also a future Broadway star.

 

Another one of the hookers is Deidre Goodwin who was in the film Chicago as one of the mistresses of murderers' row (My husband ran into my knife, he ran into my knife ten times).

Speaking of covers of Beatles' songs, Earth, Wind, and Fire's version of "Got to Get You Into My Life" is way better than the original.

[Cobalt Stargazer]

Hallelujah, indeed. Though the lyrics don't make sense no matter who's singing it.
 

[Wiendish Fitch]

This is such a pretty cover of "Halo" that was featured in an episode of The Young Pope.