Cover versions which are better than the original

[metalsteve]

Therapy?'s cover of Husker Du's Diane.

https://youtu.be/md7SJ1kDE24

[Robb F]

Boyce Avenue - Justin Timberlake, Mirrors

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

[STO]

Slam cartel`s cover of Talking heads, Once in a lifetime.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc2CDYmWc_w

[freddytin]

Some excellent selections there .

Always thought Brent Smiths rendition of " Simple Man" was superb , especially pre clean up Shinedown .

In my house , acoustic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_yBTIkwXoA

Well not my house , but some lucky fella

Edit to add .. Scorpions , " Still Loving You " by a stunning Russian lady Nagriz Zakirova .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_qZfy2tJtA

Another edit to add.. Limp Bizkit "Behind Blue Eyes" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr8uesBowS4

Edited by freddytin on Thursday 19th November 17:22

Edited by freddytin on Thursday 19th November 17:53

[Patch1875]

Mrs Robinson - lemon heads
The Man Who Sold The World - Nirvana
Theme From MASH - Manics
Cats In The Cradle - Ugly Kid Joe
Tainted Love - Soft Cell

[Patch1875]

Captain Benzo said:

anything Me First and the gimme gimme's do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vV3XQcCyyPc

another vote for

Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt by Trent Reznor / Nine inch Nails.

After hearing Cash's version, Trent said that Hurt wasnt his song anymore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt1Pwfnh5pc

hauntingly good.

Superb cover but still prefer NIN especially the live version on further down the spiral.

[300bhp/ton]

irocfan said:

thought that this could be interesting. As the title says what covers do you think are better than the original versions?

Part of me says, it's usually down to who you heard play something first. As that's the version you end up familiarising with. Even more so if you heard it a lot, before hearing another version.


For me, Live and Let Die by Guns N' Roses is superior to the original.

I 'heard' the original first, but only when watching Bond. I 'listened' to the G N' R version first however. Which is probably why I like it more so. That and being a huge G N' R fan.

[irocfan]

freddytin said:

Some excellent selections there .

Always thought Brent Smiths rendition of " Simple Man" was superb , especially pre clean up Shinedown .

In my house , acoustic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_yBTIkwXoA

Well not my house , but some lucky fella

Edit to add .. Scorpions , " Still Loving You " by a stunning Russian lady Nagriz Zakirova .... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_qZfy2tJtA

Edited by freddytin on Thursday 19th November 17:22

dude - that Scorpions cover is quite something. As for Brent Smith's "Simple Man" - simply blown away when I heard it, love it

[otherman]

Google [bot] said:

Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Born To Run.

Dead right, I was going to post this myself. Of course we could just as well call it Trevor Horn's version. All the power I didn't know was missing from the original until I heard this.

[spikeyhead]

Snuff: In sickness and in Health

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pNbgXR7NlA

From the album Flibidydibidydob which features many covers of TV adverts in their unique thrash style

[Spanglepants]

Was about to post this

Patch1875 said:

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

[vournikas]

I can't remember many cover versions of Jimi Hendrix tunes that were better than the original.

SRV's version of Voodoo Chile maybe?

There is one, though, that takes a Jimi original, and initially "tweaks" it a little then puts a wonderful spin on it :-

Seal & Jeff Beck cover Manic Depression

Seal's vocals are just spot on, and Beck's solo (starting at 1:12 in the clip) is dazzling in that it couldn't be further from Jimi's style, but still really works. The "twist" comes in at 2:40, and for me is the best bit. I don't know if the section was improvised or not, but lordy me it lifts the tune to a new level.

[Sharted]

Heard it through the grapevine - The Slits

[Police State]

boyse7en said:

AdeTuono said:

Just about anything written by Dylan and covered by someone else.

^^^This

He's a great song writer, but he should never be allowed near a microphone

I know what you (both) mean with regard to his voice; but... I often listen to a 24/7 Dylan radio show where they play covers interspersed with the occasional original, and it's interesting and surprising how often the original sounds so much better than the cover. Also, there are quite a number of Dylan songs that can never be covered better. That's the odd thing about him, a less than good voice, but he knows how to sing them.

[aeropilot]

Spanglepants said:

Was about to post this

Patch1875 said:

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

Dave Phillips & the Hot Rod Gang's version was better than that, but no one's version is better than the original, that's just one of those all time classic that can't be bettered.

[anonymous-user]

Walk off the earth's cover of Rhianna's man down is 10 x better than the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL0ggoo0pX8

[CAPP0]

I've always much preferred Annie Lennox's cover of Don't let it bring you down to Neil's original.

[rgw2012]

Stevie Ray Vaughn's version of Superstition
Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of Higher Ground
(Nothing against Stevie Wonder by the way )
Placebo's version of 20th Century Boy (not necessarily better but a scarily good cover!)

ETA - ZZ Top's version of I Gotsta get Paid

Edited by rgw2012 on Friday 20th November 14:06

[Patch1875]

rgw2012 said:

Stevie Ray Vaughn's version of Superstition
Red Hot Chili Peppers' version of Higher Ground
(Nothing against Stevie Wonder by the way )
Placebo's version of 20th Century Boy (not necessarily better but a scarily good cover!)

ETA - ZZ Top's version of I Gotsta get Paid

Edited by rgw2012 on Friday 20th November 14:06

Good shout with RHCP

[irocfan]

not a cover version but a mash-up. Prefer it to the original too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHYpM_M4--I