Covers that are better than the original.

"Skallvia" · by **Maurepas** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:07 pm

"Dancin' Days" by Stone Temple Pilots is better, imo, than the Led Zepplin version...

Pretty much all the covers of Bob Dylan songs...Man was a great songwriter but I dont think he was that great a singer...

"The Man who sold the World" by Nirvana is better, imo, than the David Bowe version...

etc...

by **Tsa-la-gi Nation** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:52 pm

Oh Sister, Bob Dylan. Cover=Andrew Byrd
Hurt, Nine Inch Nails. Cover=Johnny Cash
Wonderwall, Oasis. Cover=Ryan Adams
Sweet Jane, Velvet Underground. Cover=Cowboy Junkies

by **Waterlow** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:58 pm

Dododecapod wrote:The Police's cover of Demolition Man is way better than Grace Jones', IMHO.

Erm. It was originally a song by The Police; it's on Ghost in the Machine.

by **Waterlow** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 4:59 pm

Ryadn wrote:
Desperate Measures wrote:I don't know if I can say that Nirvana's Where Did You Sleep Last Night? is better than Leadbelly's but I'm going to go ahead and say it and then see what happens.

Ooooh, YES!

oh oh oh YES!

by **Waterlow** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:04 pm

Pedoka wrote:
Sarkhaan wrote:
Parthenon wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0FuMRHRCVY
Hayseed Dixie's cover of Roses by Outkast.

That reminded me of this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCAM3C3dpIA
(ignore the video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSJxvi767kQ
Bitches aint shit cover by Ben Folds.

Yes indeedy. Speaking of comedy rap covers, there's a rather touching version of Str8 Outta Compton by some lass from Veruca Salt.

by **Connar Republic** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:18 pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_d8WfNyfA

Thin Lizzy - Whisky in a bottle

by **Tsa-la-gi Nation** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:20 pm

Connar Republic wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_d8WfNyfA

Thin Lizzy - Whisky in a bottle

Wow! I haven't listened to them since I was in highschool

by **Molested Sock** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 5:51 pm

I can think of some covers, but I can't think of the originals so I wont voice my opinions there but I'll say 'Last Kiss' by Pearl Jam is not better than Cavaliers version but Wikipedia tells me that even that isn't the original, I haven't heard the Wayne Cochran version.

by **Lackadaisical2** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 6:15 pm

Connar Republic wrote:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_d8WfNyfA

Thin Lizzy - Whisky in a bottle

eh, I rather liked the Irish way of doing it:

(I'm assuming you mean Whiskey in a Jar...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eOIU9ekSMk

(despite what the title says I'm pretty sure its the Irish Rovers there, or else the Dubliners got alot worse in their other versions on U-Tube)

((((PARENTHESES ARE MY FAV))))

by **Intangelon** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:24 pm

The_pantless_hero wrote:
Dinner Theatre Actors wrote:Is anyone here fans of Me First & the Gimme Gimmes? They only do punked covers. Some of my favourites are "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", "Seasons in the Sun", "One Tin Soldier" and what they refer to as "The Phantom Song".

The Blanks (Ted's Band from Scrubs) did a cover of a cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow (they covered the Hawaiian guy covering it, including the ukulele)

Band From TV covering The Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want"

There are a dozen version of Minnie the Moocher, it's hard to say if any are better or just different.

If it ain't Cab Calloway, it ain't worth much.

by **Intangelon** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:24 pm

Grave_n_idle wrote:
Intangelon wrote:
Grave_n_idle wrote:
Pungote wrote:i may be biased but foo fighters Baker Street?

i agree that the sax is probably better than the guitar for this piece but i prefer Dave Grohl on vocals

and also foo fighter's version of Darling Nikki

I laughed at the idea of a Foo Fighters version of Baker Street... I'm willing to accept that could be possible, if you like that kind of thing... but a cover of Darling Nikki?

There has only even been one cover of a Prince track that was an improvement... and that wasn't it.

Ugh. I have to go put bleach in my ears just for thinking about it.

I'm gonna catch hell for saying so, but this is the cover in question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw3so6ClU9I

Ignore the video, it's the last gasp of a once-great deconstructionist new-wave synth band (The Art of Noise). But listen to Tom Jones' rendition and see if it doesn't sound one hell of a lot more...demandingly masculine than the squeaky Prince original.

*dons rotten fruit/veggie-proof suit*

Okay, have at it.

*winces*

I'm not trying to knock Tom Jones, and, although my eyes hate me for the video, I'm not going to attack that, either... but Prince's version is art.

No - the only cover of a Prince song that is superior to the original - is Sinead O'Connor's version of "Nothing Compares 2 U", which is perfect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUiTQvT0W_0

Art?

by **Intangelon** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:27 pm

Waterlow wrote:
Dododecapod wrote:The Police's cover of Demolition Man is way better than Grace Jones', IMHO.

Erm. It was originally a song by The Police; it's on Ghost in the Machine.

Nope. Written by Sting, but FOR Grace Jones. The Police's version was released a bit later.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demolition_Man_(song)

by **Cameroi** » Wed Sep 16, 2009 11:30 pm

airplane's version of wooden ships

by **NotRust** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:22 am

The Metal Shakespeare Company's covers of William Shakespeare's plays.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQkzHU_U45s

by **Kostemetsia** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 1:33 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jOzuLsJ ... re=related

Lily Allen's cover of Womanizer.

by **Lord Tothe** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:18 am

After checking the links for those songs already posted, my votes are for Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt and the Ska Daddyz cover of Hotel California. The Nickel Creek link was also good, though.

I can't find a good link to a video, but the Ricky Skaggs cover of Bill Monroe's Walls of Time is amazing. A short sample is available at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Tones-Ric ... 976&sr=1-1

by **Cannot think of a name** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:36 am

There's a jazz band out there called Sex Mob and they do jazz versions of songs that, well, you just wouldn't think lend themselves to jazz, such as Nirvana's About a Girl, Live and Let Die, Prince's Sign o' the Times and more. They're closer to the Eric Dolphy/Ornette Coleman free jazz sound than the lounge jazz non-jazz listeners are probably imagining right now, and it's fucking awesome.

But their best, in the category given, is The Macarana. They do it as a dirge. Awesome. Here's them doing a live version of one of my favorites, You Only Live Twice. You are not ready. They also do a smokin' version of Don't Be Cruel that gives me that drive that is usually reserved for metal heads.
EDIT: Sweet bonus, I'm still listening to the link, and they go from You Only Live Twice into The Macarana...fucking awesome...

Lester Bowie has a brass band that does a similar 'free jazz' cover of Beautiful People, also awesome.

Continuing with the theme, the World Saxophone Quartet released an album called Rhythm and Blues where they did covers of R&B songs, my favorite being Messing With the Kid. Also For the Love of Money by the O'Jays. Here is a poorly recorded live version with a different line up, Julius Hemphil and David Murray are replaced by Greg Osby (also awesome) and James Carter (didn't see that coming), but it gives you an idea. Plus the core of Oliver Lake's just this side of crazy tone and Hamiet Blueitt's bari are there. I should note that while I've been a fan of the group since high school, I have never been able to spell the member's names right so I feel that I should continue the tradition now even if I could just tab over and get it right. By the way, you are not ready for what you are going to hear when you click that link. You've been warned.

Willie Nelson does a cover of Gravedigger by The Dave Mathews Band that I like quite a bit much more.

My guilty pleasure is ska covers. My favorite has to be Mephiskapheles cover of the Bumble Bee Tuna jingle..., here paired with anime to satisfy the internet gods or something.

by **West Failure** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:51 am

The consistent message of this thread seems to be that Led Zeppelin songs are better done by anyone other than Led Zeppelin.

by **Great Balt State** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:55 am

Richard Cheese is doing great covers. Many better than originals. E.g., Rape me etc.

by **Pope Joan** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 2:57 am

radiohead's version of Neil Young's After The Goldrush.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQXrGl_DNcA

by **Oh my Days** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 3:14 am

Amy Winehouse's cover of "Valerie", originally by the Zutons
The Killers' cover of "Romeo and Juliet", originally by Dire Straits
They also covered "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love To Town" and a few others on that album, Sawdust. The song isn't as good as "Romeo and Juliet" but it's a damn sight better than the original
Guns N' Roses' cover of "Sympathy For The Devil", which is of course written by The Rolling Stones

by **Dakini** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:31 am

Bluth Corporation wrote:
Hydesland wrote:In b4 any covers of Dylan.

Dylan's voice is uniquely suited to Dylan's original creations.

A non-Dylan voice singing a Dylan composition just cannot have the same effect, and so such covers are inherently inferior.

Jimi Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower?

by **Dolphin Girl** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:42 am

While they're both very good, I think Nirvana's cover of "The Man Who Sold The World" is just a bit better than David Bowie's original.

by **Dakini** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:43 am

Great Balt State wrote:Richard Cheese is doing great covers. Many better than originals. E.g., Rape me etc.

I like his version of that Papa Roach song, if only because it's funny to hear someone so upbeat about suicide.

by **West Failure** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:44 am

Dolphin Girl wrote:While they're both very good, I think Nirvana's cover of "The Man Who Sold The World" is just a bit better than David Bowie's original.

I quite like Lulu's version

Covers that are better than the original.

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