cover songs that really murder the original

[cashewnut]

I'll start this off with John Legend and Nat King Cole with the Christmas Song.

Truly wrecks one of the greatest Christmas songs ever imo.

[underwhelmist]

Paul Young's cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart Again. Heinous.

https://youtu.be/SPBzmn8bcyk

And Madonna's cover of American Pie.

https://youtu.be/X4RDB-mMDJg

Post edited to add links because now you've made me think of them again, you should have to endure them too.

Edited by underwhelmist on Thursday 15th December 00:56

[MadCaptainJack]

Any cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit.

[shih tzu faced]

Bridge Over Troubled Water

Many have tried, all have failed miserably.

Worst one was a Band Aid charity type thing after the Grenfell Tower fire. Fecking horrific. Simon Cowell was involved which explains it.

[itcaptainslow]

Unpopular opinion of mine I appreciate, but ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse is truly horrendous.

[dundarach]

Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics

Too glitzy, too produced, tries too hard.

(I'll get my coat)

[Krikkit]

itcaptainslow said:

Unpopular opinion of mine I appreciate, but ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse is truly horrendous.

100% agree with this

[President Merkin]

Krikkit said:

itcaptainslow said:

Unpopular opinion of mine I appreciate, but ‘Valerie’ by Amy Winehouse is truly horrendous.

100% agree with this

Strictly speaking it's mostly by Mark Ronson & the original was no great shakes either.

[Lotobear]

dundarach said:

Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics

Too glitzy, too produced, tries too hard.

(I'll get my coat)

Couldn't agree more

[President Merkin]

I suppose one of the downside's of being Madonna is no one's brave enough to tell you your cover of American Pie is toilet & you should quietly ditch it.

[limpsfield]

Perhaps not murdered it, but as a fan of both, Tom Jones/Art of Noise cover of "Kiss" by Prince

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uZQFOfMSfY

One of the times I saw Prince live, he did a slight pisstaking version of Tom Jones singing it. I don't think he rated it either

[TR4man]

I’d nominate “Without You” wailed by Mariah Carey.

This was actually a cover of a cover, originally sung by Badfinger and then a No 1 for Harry Nilsson in 1971.

[Robmarriott]

Amy Winehouse’ Valerie cover. I don’t understand what people hear in it, the original was far better. (Edit - didn’t read the thread!)

Jamie Cullum’s version of Radiohead’s High and Dry.

[Ronstein]

Agree with all the above

Scissor Sisters annihilation of Comfortably Numb is frankly criminal!!

[Johnnytheboy]

Will Young doing the Doors - Light My Fire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNwIqFGna2E

[itcaptainslow]

Robmarriott said:

Amy Winehouse’ Valerie cover. I don’t understand what people hear in it, the original was far better. (Edit - didn’t read the thread!)

I’m quite a fan of the album (‘Tired of Hanging Around’ by The Zutons) the original is from - reminds me of being at uni!

The 00’s indie scene gave us some great music!

[Punctilio]

Not so much murder as dismemberment and evisceration on the
mouldy corpse of poor Eleanor Rigby, committed by the baroque
pomp pop combo Vanilla Fudge.

[Dynion Araf Uchaf]

Radio Heads original version of Creep was ruined by......... Radio Head.

Almost everyone else that has covered it made it a lot better esp Prince and that bloke off AGT. Also Post modern Jukebox's version.

[captain.scarlet]

The 2004 20th anniversary cover of 'Do they Know its Christmas?'

Also, dare I say it, the official 'released' version of 'Freelove Freeway' by David Brent. Something of a cover.

The one played in the staff training day episode of The Office sounds infinitely better (there's a clip also available of the uncut production take version which features the full song).

Plenty of songs/tunes that have badly sampled and done injustices to some iconic music as well, but that's for another thread.

[smn159]

underwhelmist said:

Paul Young's cover of Love Will Tear Us Apart Again. Heinous.

https://youtu.be/SPBzmn8bcyk

Indeed.

Russ Abbott's cover of Atmosphere was nothing like the original either