The cover is better than the original.

[Noodleboy13]

For example,
The Bangles version of 'Hazy Shade of winter' by Simona and Garfunkel.
or
'Hurt' from the NIN as covered by Johnny Cash.

Have fun.

peace,
Noodleboy

[ZombieHorde]

1. If 6 was 9

[ceile]

2. You took the best ones!

Huh. I'm going to have to ponder that...

[Archae]

3. Tennessee Flat Top Box by Rosanne Cash...

Originally written and performed by her Daddy Johnny Cash.

[taterguy]

4. Jason and the Scorchers cover of Dylan's Absolutely Sweet Marie

[DutchLiberal]

18. Dylan's 1994 MTV Unplugged rendition of 'Absolutely Sweet Marie'...

Or doesn't that count?

Too bad YouTube took it down. The song (among others) mysteriously didn't make it to the cd/dvd.

[Scuba]

5. "Hey, Joe" by Roy Buchanan..

[hifiguy]

6. Jimi Hendrix' version of "All Along the Watchtower'

Bobby Z himself said it was the best ever cover of one of his tunes and that he wished he'd thought of doing it that way. It also has the greatest one-note guitar solo in history during the fade out.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. That would be the first one to come to mind

[livetohike]

62. That's the first song I thought of

[lastlib]

63. I really love Melanie's version, too!

[liberaltrucker]

7. "You May Be Right" by Billy Joel

Covered by Garth Brooks. Billy said so himself.

[ohiosmith]

8. “Respect” – Aretha Franklin. Originally performed by Otis Redding.

[pipi_k]

9. Not a big fan of cover songs, but...

I like this version of "Young Blood" better than the Coasters' version.

&list=FLA1HV6jnqJ5L_LTx59x0g3w&index=513&feature=plpp_video

[JoePhilly]

10. "Gloria" by Van Morrison might have some competitive covers.

The Doors cover version comes to mind ... and lots of others covered it too.

[hifiguy]

12. I always think of Patti Smith

right after Van Morrison with that tune.

[JoePhilly]

14. That's a good one ... which then reminds me of "Because the night"

with its connection to Springsteen.

Lots of great songs in that time period were interconnected.

[Tom Ripley]

23. Patti Smith owns that song

[JoePhilly]

11. How about "Fire" by Bruce Springsteen ...

He writes it in the late 70s ... but doesn't release it on an album until the late 80s ... the Pointer sisters do a cover around 77 or 78 ... and its a big hit.

I remember being surprised to learn that it was his song to start with after he released it on an album in the 80s.

[CBGLuthier]

13. Cortez the KIller

More of a one off than a true cover. From the Jammies;

Grace Potter, Jo Satriani, and a few other talented people

[kentauros]

15. Devo - Satisfaction

(There may or may not be a stupid ad at the beginning that can't be skipped..)

To me, this isn't just a cover, it's the only version of Satisfaction worth listening to. I know most of the "old hippies" here won't agree, but I don't care!

[kwassa]

29. Old hippies? The original "Satisfaction" was years pre-hippie, in 1965

you young uns have little sense of temporal context.

I like Devo, and met Bob Mothersbaugh. They did "Satisfaction" 12 years later than the Stones original.

But the Stones version was game-changing. One of the first protest songs on commercial radio.

When I'm drivin' in my car
And that man comes on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

I can't get no satisfaction
I can't get no satisfaction
'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can't get no, I can't get no

When I'm watchin' my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man 'cause he doesn't smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can't get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that's what I say

[kentauros]

36. You noticed I put it in quotes?

I was being facetious, considering how often there are posts around here for the music of the sixties, and they often get plenty of replies

I really don't care about when it came out, or when "hippies" came into or out of being. It doesn't really matter to me. Not my era.

That's cool you got to meet Mark Mothersbaugh. The only "famous" musician I've ever met was Mark Hosler. If you've heard of negativland, then you'll know who he is

[kwassa]

40. though old

there were really very few hippies, just a bunch of middle class kids pretending ....

and my art school classmates did form this band after graduation called The Talking Heads ...

[kentauros]

43. Just so you know

I turned 51 last month. Unless you're in your 70s, I'm not really much of a "young-un"

Other than in my pre-teens and early teens, I haven't purposefully listened to the music of the 60s. I really can't stand it, and especially dislike it when it shows up in movies and so forth. But, it's a product of commercialism, and that's difficult to get away from.

Thankfully, in the mid-70s, I discovered public radio, specifically, KPFT, the local Pacifica station. I finally heard all the good stuff I'd been missing, because it wasn't "fit" for commercial airwaves. And I've never gone back to commercial radio, even online

You didn't happen to trademark your band's name, did you?

[progressoid]

73. I made a CD of Satisfaction covers for a couple friends.

Of course it HAD to include DEVO.

Edited to include the song list:

1. The Rolling Stones (1965)
2. Aretha Franklin
3. Otis Redding
4. The Incredible Bongo Band
5. DEVO
6. Oscar Petersen
7. Jose Feliciano
8. The Cobble Stones (Sesame Street)
9. Babies Go Rolling Stones
10. Tom Jones
11. Gabriela Anders
12. Diana Ross and the Supremes
13. Sam and Dave
14. Michelle Simonal (Bossa-n-Stones)
15. Paul Revere and the Raiders
16. The Ventures
17. Britney Spears
18. The Vienna Symphony Project
19. The Rolling Stones (live 2003)

[kentauros]

74. That's pretty cool!

Although, maybe not as good as the 61 versions of Tico Tico

How about an Einstürzende Neubauten version of "Satisfaction"?

Einstürzende Neubauten & Die Sentimentale Jugend - Wollt ihr die totale Befriedigung (mp3 link)
from WFMU - Berlin Underground 1979-1983

[progressoid]

76. 61 versions of Tico Tico!

How is it I've never been to WFMU? I'm about to waste a lot of time there. Thanks for that link!


Somewhere on a lost hard drive I had a collection of about 75 covers of "House Of The Rising Sun".

[kentauros]

80. Oh, that's just as funny!

I'll bet there are some great ones of that. Search WFMU and you might find them again

And this site will waste any time you have leftover: All Music, All Blogs

[arcane1]

16. "Blinded By the Light", "Diamonds and Rust", and "Lotta love"

The covers/originals are as follows:

Manfred Mann/Springsteen

Judas Priest/Joan Baez

Nicolette Larson/Neil Young


These opinions are official and cannot be disagreed with

[Arugula Latte]

72. I posted "Blinded by the Light" in a previous similar thread awhile ago and got taken to task.

But I still think it's better than Springsteen's.

[Brother Buzz]

17. The Trashmen's Surfin' Bird covered two fine songs in one

The Rivingtons Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow and The Bird's the Word were fine, but the Trashmen's cover had just the right hook for this dude with a hot transistor AM radio back in the day.

[baldguy]

19. "Creep" by Radiohead

"I go to sleep" by The Kinks

"Forever Young" by Bob Dylan

"I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher

[Codeine]

51. Creep has loads of good covers.

Here's Amanda Palmer doing her infamous ukulele version.

[Systematic Chaos]

20. I can think of two right off.

Ministry covered Bob Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay'

&feature=related

And Kim Carnes covered Smokey Robinson's 'More Love'

[Joe Shlabotnik]

55. oops didn't see your nod to Ministry, sorry for the dupe below n/t

[KamaAina]

21. Take Me To The River - The Commitments

original by Al Green.

Also covered by the Talking Heads!

[Joe Shlabotnik]

22. "Do you think I'm sexy?" Revco, also "lay lady lay"

Never liked Rod Stewart much, never liked disco. Always loved Ministry and associates. Still love Dylan, but like 'watch tower', this is better.

[Tom Ripley]

24. Bowie's cover of "Across The Universe" is better than the original

although, he does have a little help from John

[Major Nikon]

25. Mr. Tambourine Man by the Byrds

I like the original Bob Dylan version as well, but McGuinn's compressed twelve string makes the song a classic.

[kentauros]

45. Aww, Shatner does the BEST version:

[Major Nikon]

58. I like his beat poetry better

[Tom Ripley]

26. John Cale's version of Hallelujah is better than the Cohen original

Everyone, including Jeff Buckley, uses Cale's arrangement

[Major Nikon]

28. I really like Rufus Wainwright's adaptation

It's also closer to Cale's version.

[Tom Ripley]

27. Nina Simone's version of "Strange Fruit" is better than Billie Holiday's release

[kwassa]

30. oh bullshit, no comparison. Nothing beats Billie.

[Tom Ripley]

32. No, nothing beats mythology, but Simone did have the better chops

[kwassa]

41. Sorry. You be wrong as can be.

Billie did it in 1939.

Nina in 1965.

It was news in 1939.

Though both great jazz singers, Billie is incontestably greater, possibly the greatest ever.

[Tom Ripley]

42. I gotta agree with my wife; both Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf are really good ideas

but the sonic reality doesn't match that idea

[kwassa]

46. what on earth are you saying, Mr. Ripley?

and why is your wife an authority?

You appear to be complaining that older recording technology has less quality, which has nothing to do with the artistry of the singers.

Or do you have some other point?

[Tom Ripley]

50. Nothing about technology; I am talking about vocal chops (technique, range, phrasing, etc.)

I have observed that people often have difficulty separating ability from biography. To my ears, that is the case with both Holiday and Piaf.

[Tom Ripley]

71. I don't know how the fact "it was news in 1939" has anything to do with individual performances

It seems to me, that you are actually arguing against it being...timeless.

[kwassa]

94. The historical context in which the song was first recorded

It is, of course, about lynchings. Far more radical to sing about in 1939 than 1965.

As to chops, this is a bullshit argument because Billie is generally ranked as a greater jazz singer than Nina, though I like them both as individual artists. Billie has her own unique style that many have found incredibly powerful.

In your personal taste, Nina is better. That's fine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Fruit

Strange Fruit" was a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high-school teacher from the Bronx, about the lynching of two black men. He published under the pen name Lewis Allan, derived from two children he lost in their infancy.[3][4]

In the poem, Meeropol expressed his horror at lynchings, possibly after having seen Lawrence Beitler's photograph of the 1930 lynching of Thomas Shipp and Abram Smith in Marion, Indiana. He published the poem in 1936 in The New York Teacher, a union magazine. Though Meeropol/Allan had often asked others (notably Earl Robinson) to set his poems to music, he set "Strange Fruit" to music himself. The piece gained a certain success as a protest song in and around New York. Meeropol, his wife, and black vocalist Laura Duncan performed it at Madison Square Garden.[5] (Meeropol and his wife later adopted Robert and Michael, sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage and executed by the United States.)[6]

Barney Josephson, the founder of Cafe Society in Greenwich Village, New York's first integrated nightclub, heard the song and introduced it to Billie Holiday. Other reports say that Robert Gordon, who was directing Billie Holiday's show at Cafe Society, heard the song at Madison Square Garden and introduced it to her.[7] Holiday first performed the song at Cafe Society in 1939. She said that singing it made her fearful of retaliation, but because its imagery reminded her of her father, she continued to sing it. She made the piece a regular part of her live performances.[8] Because of the poignancy of the song, Josephson drew up some rules: Holiday would close with it; second, the waiters would stop all service in advance; the room would be in darkness except for a spotlight on Holiday's face; and there would be no encore.[7]

Holiday approached her recording label, Columbia, about the song, but the company feared reaction by record retailers in the South, as well as negative reaction from affiliates of its co-owned radio network, CBS.[9] Even John Hammond, Holiday's producer, refused. She turned to friend Milt Gabler, whose Commodore label produced alternative jazz. Holiday sang "Strange Fruit" for him a cappella, and moved him to tears. Columbia allowed Holiday a one-session release from her contract in order to record it. Frankie Newton's eight-piece Cafe Society Band was used for the session. Because he was worried that the song was too short, Gabler asked pianist Sonny White to improvise an introduction. Consequently Holiday doesn't start singing until after 70 seconds.[7] Gabler worked out a special arrangement with Vocalion Records to record and distribute the song.[10]

She recorded two major sessions at Commodore, one in 1939 and one in 1944. "Strange Fruit" was highly regarded. In time, it became Holiday's biggest-selling record. Though the song became a staple of her live performances, Holiday's accompanist Bobby Tucker recalled that Holiday would break down every time after she sang it.[citation needed]

[Tom Ripley]

95. You are the one who responded with "bullshit", and you are the one is how now tangled up in his...

own "argument"

[Tom Ripley]

33. The Beach Boys version of "Sloop John B" smokes all earlier versions

[Tom Ripley]

37. Fairport Convention's cover of "I'll Keep It With Mine" is better than Bob's

[guitar man]

34. Whiter Shade of Pale

Jack Mack and The Heart Attack... awesome cover IMO

&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[kwassa]

35. I heard it through the grapevine

It was originally recorded by the Miracles, which no one remembers.

First a hit for Gladys Knight

then a huge hit for Marvin Gaye

[bluesbassman]

47. Nice. CCR didn't do too bad with it either. CCR also nailed Suzie Q, an old Dale Hawkins tune.

[Tom Ripley]

38. I think every song on Bowie's Pin Ups album is better than the original

[Dystopian]

39. Happy Together - Filter

And I did see the Turtles...


peace~

[guitar man]

44. War Pigs

Ok, maybe not better than the original, but a moving rendition nonetheless

&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[bluesbassman]

48. You're bordering on sacrilege there Brother, but...

it is Warren Haynes, and it is a great cut.

[guitar man]

69. Hence the disclaimer

Warren is just so damn good, whether he's doing his own music or covering somebody else's, I've never heard him lay an egg...

&feature=youtube_gdata_player

[Codeine]

53. Dresden Dolls did a kick-ass cover as well.

With amusing false start.

[eyepaddle]

67. Wow. I REALLLLLLY wanted to dislike this one, but I can't.

That was pretty damend good, they hve a lot of intensity--especially the drummer.

[kentauros]

49. Her's an online station custom-made for this thread:

somafm - Covers - Just covers. Songs you know by artists you don't. We've got you covered.

[progressoid]

56. I listen to that all the time!

Also a few of their other stations.

Wish I could afford to donate to them.

[kentauros]

57. Secret Agent is my favorite of their stations

but I do like some of the trance and Goa stations, too.

I've never donated, but maybe I will when I get my tax refund

[progressoid]

75. Yeah, I listen to Secret Agent too.

I kinda just want to donate just to get the Somafm hoodie.

[Codeine]

52. Joy Division's "Transmission" as performed by Low.

I adore the original, but this cover is just amazing.

[progressoid]

54. KD Lang's version of After the Gold Rush

[LeftinOH]

59. "Love is Strange": Buddy Holly's version is better than Mickey & Sylvia's. n/t

[kaitcat]

60. Guns 'n Roses Knocking on Heavens Door.

2nd Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt.
Pat Benatar -- I need a Lover

[wysimdnwyg]

61. Pretty much any JJ Cale song

Clapton:
After Midnight
Cocaine

Widespread Panic:
Travelin' Light

Lynyrd Skynyrd:
Call Me the Breeze

Many others by artists including Kansas, Carlos Santana and Captain Beefheart

[lastlib]

64. Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock" as done by Matthew Southern Comfort!

AFAIAC, that's the ONLY version!

[Martin Eden]

65. Black Magic Woman, by Santana

Fleetwood Mac did it first.

[Martin Eden]

66. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Not sure who does it, but I think it has a ukelele and (even though Judy Garland has a beautiful voice) the rendition I'm thinking of strikes more of an emotional chord with me.

[Doc_Technical]

68. Is this the version of which you speak?

http://www.youtube.com/profile?annotation_id=annotation_578920&user=mountainapplecompany&feature=iv&src_vid=V1bFr2SWP1I

[Martin Eden]

93. Yes that's it, thanks! n/t

[annabanana]

78. +1

most def

[Jean Louise Finch]

70. Pearl Jam's "Love Reign O'er Me"

I love the Who, but this is just epic:

[Iris]

77. "All Along the Watch Tower" Hendrix over Dylan

[EastTennesseeDem]

79. Anyone see the season finale of Californication?

If so, you know what I'm talking about. Holy shit.

[darkstar3]

81. I have a few

Disturbed - Shout (2000)

Possession - Evans Blue

(and if you like that, check out their cover of "Caught a Lite Sneeze&quot

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic - Ra

(Sorry for the anime, but this one had better sound. Darkspouse laughs every time she hears this song.)

Fiddle and the Drum - A Perfect Circle

(Some might call this sacrilege, but I think this song deserves a minor key harmony)

Cum on Feel the Noise - Quiet Riot

(No cover list would be complete without this. It made the song famous.)

[eyepaddle]

97. Those are some pretty nice choices.

I really like the Fiddle and the Drum. While it seems that Maynard has made it his life's calling to wear you down with 73 minutes of black despair per album, he really does have a vision. Those were nice harmonies.

[ScreamingMeemie]

82. "Suspicious Minds" is best when covered by Dwight Yoakam

[chknltl]

83. I AM THE WALRUS

as done by Spooky Tooth.

[chknltl]

84. BORIS THE SPIDER

As done by The Accused

[chknltl]

85. GIMME SHELTER

By Grand Funk Railroad.
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D7M9E7BsbHd0&v=7M9E7BsbHd0&gl=US

[marmar]

87. Prince, covering Joan Osborne's "One of Us"

[chknltl]

88. GOD BLESS AMERICA

By Kate Smith
Yeah, I know...but nobody did it better!
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=_zF7a0wB-Lg

[Mopar151]

89. Waiting for the Bus - I Got a Line on You- Gimee Shelter-Highway 61-Guitar Man

As covered by "Spike and the Impalers" (Spike is the sidekick of radio personality Don Rivers, who plays keyboards)

Jeff Healey (who did many excellent covers) kicks "I got a line" out of the park

Grand Funk covers Gimee Shelter 1997

1971 album version

Johnny Winter Highway 61

Jerry Reed Guitar Man

Bonus Cover - Jerry did a whole album of Jim Croce songs c. 1980

[edbermac]

90. Twist and Shout by the Beatles

[MiddleFingerMom]

91. Michael Hedges "All Along the Watchtower'

.
.
.
.

&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL6DA190D566BBD49E
.
.
.
.

[HughBeaumont]

92. Isaac Hayes - Something

Feel terrible uploading this shite two-minute shortened version, but it will give you a taste of the awesome.

Also

They played this song when I saw them live at the Agora. Don't remember the air raid sirens, though.

&ob=av2e

Can't believe no one posted this . . .

[cemaphonic]

96. "Me and Bobbie McGee" Janis Joplin

Unless I just missed it, surprised it hasn't turned up in the thread yet.

I'm also really fond of The Golden Palominos cover of "I've Been the One."