Cover versions that are better than the original
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- King Hoarse
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Of all the great versions of I Fought The Law I think the Dead Kennedys' is my favourite.
Kevin Rowland's The Greatest Love Of All (and all the other covers on My Beauty, including Labelled With Love)
Little Jimmy Scott's Jealous Guy
Lou Reed's September Song
Nina Simone's Pirate Jenny (and pretty much every cover for RCA, like Suzanne, Just Like Tom Thum's Blues, Since I Fell For You, I Think It's Going To Rain Today...My Way sucked, though)
Stiff Little Finger's Johnny Was (Bob Marley)
Chemical People's Rip It Out (Ace Frehley)
The Ramones' Surfin' Bird
Norma Waterson's The Birds Will Still Be Singing
and especially:
Richard & Linda Thompson's Dark End Of The Street
Kevin Rowland's The Greatest Love Of All (and all the other covers on My Beauty, including Labelled With Love)
Little Jimmy Scott's Jealous Guy
Lou Reed's September Song
Nina Simone's Pirate Jenny (and pretty much every cover for RCA, like Suzanne, Just Like Tom Thum's Blues, Since I Fell For You, I Think It's Going To Rain Today...My Way sucked, though)
Stiff Little Finger's Johnny Was (Bob Marley)
Chemical People's Rip It Out (Ace Frehley)
The Ramones' Surfin' Bird
Norma Waterson's The Birds Will Still Be Singing
and especially:
Richard & Linda Thompson's Dark End Of The Street
What this world needs is more silly men.
- so lacklustre
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Sid Vicious - My Way
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter
The Specials - Monkey Man
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
Girls Talk is hardly a cover, it was given to Edmunds and as far as I remember was a hit before EC ever recorded it. I prefer EC's take anyway.
Siouxsie & The Banshees - Helter Skelter
The Specials - Monkey Man
Nirvana - The Man Who Sold The World
Girls Talk is hardly a cover, it was given to Edmunds and as far as I remember was a hit before EC ever recorded it. I prefer EC's take anyway.
signed with love and vicious kisses
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Hearing M. Ward's splendid version of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" (from his 2003 album "Transfiguration of Vincent") made me want to resurrect this thread. What a stupendous cover version - dusty and desperate - blows the doors off the original, and I like Bowie's version. Can I go back and make this my album of the year?
BTW, his new one, "Transistor Radio" is excellent (I've been raving about it elsewhere), but "Transfiguration" is a truly great record that everyone should hear.
OK, I'll shut up about the guy now, but he's a genius.
BTW, his new one, "Transistor Radio" is excellent (I've been raving about it elsewhere), but "Transfiguration" is a truly great record that everyone should hear.
OK, I'll shut up about the guy now, but he's a genius.
Mother, Moose-Hunter, Maverick
Thought I'd chime in with some of mine:
Jimi Hendrix - Drifter's Escape (orig. Dylan)
Stop Your Sobbing - The Pretenders (orig. Kinks)
Summertime Blues - The Who (orig. Eddie Cochran)
George Harrison - If Not For You (orig. Dylan)
Johnny Cash - Rowboat (orig. Beck)
I'm sure I'll think of more...
Jimi Hendrix - Drifter's Escape (orig. Dylan)
Stop Your Sobbing - The Pretenders (orig. Kinks)
Summertime Blues - The Who (orig. Eddie Cochran)
George Harrison - If Not For You (orig. Dylan)
Johnny Cash - Rowboat (orig. Beck)
I'm sure I'll think of more...
This morning you've got time for a hot, home-cooked breakfast! Delicious and piping hot in only 3 microwave minutes.
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- guidedbyvoices
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First ones to pop into my head:
Cat Power - her covers album has an amazing (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction tha ignores the chorus and turns the verses into a tense bluesy quiet desperation. As many times as I'd heard Satisfaction, somehow I never paid attn to the verse lyrics before, and it's like hearing a completely different song. Instead of defiant, it becomes a song of desperation. And extra points for doing it to a song so overplayed and part of the rock lexicon to make me hear it with new ears.
And the Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love medley on How The West Was Won where they blast through John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillun, Ricky Nelson's Hello Mary Lou, Elvis' Let's Have a Party, and a ripping Going Down Slow. It kills me that for most people Zep have this stigma of being heavy 70s cock rock when they were sch an amazing band that would even play those songs just for sheer love of them! And the fact that every nigt for 4 years, they'd do this at the end of WLL or How Many More Times and just throw in whatever they felt like at that moment. Shaft? Sure. Beatles? Why not. Elvis? A given.
Cat Power - her covers album has an amazing (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction tha ignores the chorus and turns the verses into a tense bluesy quiet desperation. As many times as I'd heard Satisfaction, somehow I never paid attn to the verse lyrics before, and it's like hearing a completely different song. Instead of defiant, it becomes a song of desperation. And extra points for doing it to a song so overplayed and part of the rock lexicon to make me hear it with new ears.
And the Zeppelin Whole Lotta Love medley on How The West Was Won where they blast through John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillun, Ricky Nelson's Hello Mary Lou, Elvis' Let's Have a Party, and a ripping Going Down Slow. It kills me that for most people Zep have this stigma of being heavy 70s cock rock when they were sch an amazing band that would even play those songs just for sheer love of them! And the fact that every nigt for 4 years, they'd do this at the end of WLL or How Many More Times and just throw in whatever they felt like at that moment. Shaft? Sure. Beatles? Why not. Elvis? A given.
we have powerlines in our bloodlines
I like a lot that have already been mentioned......
Stop Your Sobbing~the Pretenders
My Way~Sid Vicious
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood~Elvis Costello
Satisfaction~Devo (the Stones)
Mrs. Robinson~the Lemonheads(Simon and Garfunkle)
What a Wonderful World~Joey Ramone(Louis Armstrong)
I Touch Myself~Eve6 ( the Divinyls)
I Want You to Want Me~NOFX (Cheap Trick)
Video Killed the Radio Star~the Presidents of the United States of America( the Buggles)
And I LOVE this one....
I Will Survive~CAKE!!!!!! (Gloria Gaynor)
Stop Your Sobbing~the Pretenders
My Way~Sid Vicious
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood~Elvis Costello
Satisfaction~Devo (the Stones)
Mrs. Robinson~the Lemonheads(Simon and Garfunkle)
What a Wonderful World~Joey Ramone(Louis Armstrong)
I Touch Myself~Eve6 ( the Divinyls)
I Want You to Want Me~NOFX (Cheap Trick)
Video Killed the Radio Star~the Presidents of the United States of America( the Buggles)
And I LOVE this one....
I Will Survive~CAKE!!!!!! (Gloria Gaynor)
I'm not angry anymore....
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By Your Side - Beachwood Sparks (in which the Sparks turn Sade's song into a psychedelic epic)
Daytripper - Cheap Trick (in which the Trick turn up the Beatles original to 11 on the Richter scale)
Daytripper - Cheap Trick (in which the Trick turn up the Beatles original to 11 on the Richter scale)
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
Heresy! Burn the witch!Mike Boom wrote:Daytripper - Cheap Trick (in which the Trick turn up the Beatles original to 11 on the Richter scale)
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
- King Hoarse
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Now, THIS is heresyThe Clash - Police And Thieves
Sorry IP, but there is no way that this version is better than Junior Murvins. Perhaps in some parallel dimension where pasty white boys play reggae better than the Rastas mon.
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
I'm not sure if this is heresy or just plain repulsive but I actually greatly prefer.....
Faith/Limp Bizkit
(Don't hate me...it's just about all the Limp Bizkit I've knowingly even heard!)
Faith/Limp Bizkit
(Don't hate me...it's just about all the Limp Bizkit I've knowingly even heard!)
http://www.forwardtoyesterday.com -- Where "hopelessly dated" is a compliment!
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