Covers that are better than/you like better than the originals. - by SubJeff
quinch on 6/8/2011 at 13:27
I had totally forgotten about Cowboy Junkies. That deserves a spotter's badge!
Poets of the Fall reminded me of this.
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P0OYWZeiCI) The Fall - Lost In Music.
demagogue on 6/8/2011 at 14:11
Boerdi's (Cookie Monster's) death metal cover of Katy Perry's (
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIzoWNQqnEQ) Teenage Dream should get a nod. All the metal covers of chick-tunes are lovely things, but this is the best of the lot that I know of.
Nicker on 6/8/2011 at 15:30
Quote Posted by Shoshin
Joe Cocker's "A Little Help From My Friends". Vastly superior to the Beatles version. And I say that as a massive Beatles fan. In fact, that is the only cover of a Beatles tune that's better than the original.
(
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68edB_Q1e4g) Improving on a Ringo song is something most musicians can do in their sleep but...
Cocker's version is certainly more lush and professional, with big orchestration and grand arrangement, but he's turned
A Little Help into a stadium sized anthem. Ringo wrote a humble tune about the importance of friendship, Cocker dumped its humility and turned it into something that sounds more like a paean to his immense social network.
If he intended that as tongue in cheek parody, he did that in spades but I don't think that was his aim.
A cover needs to nail the original to a T (especially in live performance), illuminate the original theme better, make good fun of it or reveal some hidden angle. Cocker just pumped up the volume, splashed around some glitter and missed the song's point entirely.
When it comes to covers that thoughtfully re imagine the Beatles how about the Tubes playing "I Saw Her Standing There", 801 doing "Tomorrow Never Knows", Fiona Apple doing "Across The Universe"...?
I don't think that the Beatles are sacrosanct.
Matthew on 6/8/2011 at 16:21
I have both, but I can't agree that the cover is better this time :(
SubJeff on 6/8/2011 at 17:01
Quote Posted by Dia
Poets of the Fall cover of Chris Cornell's 'You Know My Name'. Much better than the original, imo.
Not a chance. It's a nice tribute and they've certainly made it their own, but it's not as raw or as CHRIS CORNELL as the original. Cornell's voice is OP in comparison :p
Nuth on 6/8/2011 at 19:10
Iggy Pop's Wild One > Johnny O'Keefe's Wild One
Eva Cassidy's Fields of Gold > Sting's Fields of Gold
The Maverick's All That Heaven Will Allow > Bruce Springsteen's All That Heaven Will Allow
redface on 6/8/2011 at 19:43
Any cover of a Leonard Cohen/Bob Dylan song. Great songwriters, terrible performers.
