Great Song Covers

[boulderjohn]

Marianne Faithfull did a pretty good job out of the Stones' "As tears go by"

Trivia: The Rolling Stones gave her (a close friend) the song, and she recorded it before they did, because they considered themselves a hard rock band that did not do songs like that. Then the Beatles had a smash hit with "Yesterday," and they changed their minds. In a sense, then, the Rolling Stones covered Marianne Faithful.

Both Janis' and Miles' versions of "Summertime" (Gilbert & Sullivan) are just great

"Summertime is by George Gershwin, and it is from Porgy and Bess.

 

[boulderjohn]

On the topic of who is covering whom....

When the Rolling Stones signed their first recording contract, they were in need of a song to record. They somehow connected with Lennon and McCartney of the Beatles, who thought that a song they were working on for Ringo to sing might work for them, given the then stylings of Mick Jager. McCartney finished the song for them, it was released as a single, and it was a hit. Later on, the Beatles released it on an album with Ringo on vocals, as originally planned. So is it a Beatles cover of a Rolling Stones song, or a Rolling Stones cover of a Beatles song?

 

[Storker]

"Summertime is by George Gershwin, and it is from Porgy and Bess.

I stand humbly corrected. I know better, srsly! Mind fart, I tell you!

 

[lowviz]

Sounds like you have the Summertime Blues. -Joan Jett

 

[Rhone Man]

Did y'all know that the Doors' "Alabama song" was written by Kurt Weill? So that's a cover version, too.

Is Bowie's or Iggy's version of "China Girl" the original, and which is the cover version?

Elvis Costello does a darned good version of The Animals' "Don't let me be misunderstood". At least as good as the original.

Patti Smith's version "Gloria", with "In excelsis Deo" beats Van Morrison's original hands down. 'Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine!'

Other good cover versions:
Simple Minds does a pretty decent take of Peter Gabriel's "Biko"
Marianne Faithfull did a pretty good job out of the Stones' "As tears go by"
Both Johnny Cash and Nancy Sinatra had good covers of Bob Dylan's "It ain't me, babe"
Dexy's Midnight Runners: "Jackie Wilson said" (Van Morrison)
Satchmo's verson of "Mack the knife" (Kurt Weill, again)
Baccara did a deliciously bad version of "Light my fire" (The Doors), replacing Ray Manzarek's keyboard solo with a flamenco guitar solo. It's so spectacularly bad that it's good.
Nina Hagen's version of "My way" (Ol' blue eyes) is almost as good as The Sex Pistols' version
Then we have Bob Dylan's "Blind Wille McTell" which really is the old classic "St James Infirmary"
Both Janis' and Miles' versions of "Summertime" (Gilbert & Sullivan) are just great
Softcell's version of "Tainted Love" is at least as good as Gloria Jones' original version and beats Marilyn Manson's version every time.
I can't decide whether Miles' or Eva Cassidy's version of "Time after time" (Cyndi Lauper) is the best. They're both great, though.
Bruce Springsteen's live version of Edwin Starr's "War" is every bit as good as the original
And Jeff Healey does a decent job with The Beatles' (or rather, John Harrison's) "While my guitar gently weeps"

Yes, I'm a music nerd. Why do you ask?

To me it is slightly misleading to say "better than the original" of a great cover. A great cover should be a great song, but it should also be something that feels new rather than just a refinement of the original.

 

[lowviz]

... A great cover should be a great song, but it should also be something that feels new ...

In that case, change mine to Neil Young & Crazy Horse: Clementine

 

[boulderjohn]

Remember that just about every one of Joe Cocker's hits was a cover.

 

[Malpaso]

 

[hroark2112]

Seeing Disturbed cover Sound of Silence live was pretty awesome.

Seeing Dream Theater cover Metallica's "Master of Puppets" cover to cover was mind blowing.

 

[Neilwood]

So many covers these days just sound like the original but with a slightly different voice.

So glad that Disturbed had the guts to take on SoS and play with the tempo, volume vocals etc to the point that it almost feels like a different song.