Cover Versions : love 'em or hate 'em...

Schmetterling

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In over 40 years of being an avid listener to all kinds of music I've always had a love/hate relationship with covers and I find that generally there are more bad ones than good ones. As well as some truly noteworthy exceptions which I've discovered over the years, there have been some truly cringeworthy offerings which have been so bad as to be entertaining in their cringeworthiness.

Some of my notable (and perhaps unexpected) good ones are :


Stings version of 'Little Wing' on his album Nothing like the Sun

The Corrs version of Fleetwood macs `dreams' on their album Talk on Corners (but not their version of Little Wing)

David Lee Roths version of 'That's Life' on Eat 'em and Smile

Sarah Brightmans version of "Here with Me" on La Luna which was about a zillion times better than the original which was first recorded by the person who wrote it but who can't sing...:cool:

All of Dream Theaters Elton John and Led Zep covers on A Change of Seasons



Some of the covers I absolutely hate and would be delighted to stomp on while wearing my hob nailed boots , or chop up with my chainsaw....:



My absolute number one most hated cover of all time is Donna Summers version of Jon and Vangelis's beautiful song "State of Independence" I hate it grrrr:mad:

Notable others....

The Boyzone version of Cat Stevens "Father and Son"

Dream Theater/Queensryche live version of "Comfortably numb" which can be found on youtube makes me want to go and hide somewhere - just dreadful.


There are zillions of others out there which I absolutely detest - most of the ones I've ever heard to be honest - and there're probably only a relatively small number which I haven't yet heard and might like 'cos most of 'em are basically just crap and done by so called artists with either no imagination or talent enough to write their own songs..

Anyone else got any good ones...? or bad ones...?
 
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Lynch

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my list of detestable covers is FAR longer than the list of ones that I love. Will have to come back to this at another time when I have more time.
 

DJ Spanky

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David Lee Roths version of 'That's Life' on Eat 'em and Smile
Absolutely love that version of That's Life - the vocals are so David Lee. I also liked his version of California Girls.

Which leads to the Beach Boys: I like their covers of Rock 'N' Roll Music, California Dreaming and Come Go With Me.

Another one is the Pointer Sisters version of Springsteen's song Fire. Interesting that he originally wrote that song for Elvis.
 

Big Ears

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Noteworthy covers:

All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix (Dylan cover). Panoramic imagery, rearranged and combined with Jimi's fiery guitar solo. Jimi was as close to perfection as a guitar player as it is possible to get, and on this song he shows himself as an emotive singer too;

My Back Pages by The Byrds (Dylan cover). A far more melodic arrangement with the sound of yearning, than the original, despite it allegedly being biographical to Dylan. It is also extremely catchy;

Eight Miles High by Golden Earring (Byrds cover). The Byrds had the opportunity to expand this as a live jam, but forgot to include the original song. Earring saw an opportunity begging and played it as The Byrds should have done. When the Dutch band performed it live with two guitar players, it became everything it should and could have been;

Jealous Guy, recorded by Roxy Music as a tribute to John Lennon soon after he was murdered. Roxy were good at covers, as evidenced by Bryan Ferry's early solo albums, but they could never match The Beatles. However, Lennon's solo work was a different proposition and they turned it into one of Ferry's best performances. Roxy's record is not only a texbook example of a cover being better than the original, it also serves as a worthy tribute to the writer himself.
 

Schmetterling

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Ha, yes Big ears.

I'm not familiar with My Back Pages but the others you mention are all classics and all good ones. Jimis All Along The Watchtower would perhaps qualify as the all time stand out cover classic - spectacular in every way.
 

Big Ears

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Ha, yes Big ears.

I'm not familiar with My Back Pages but the others you mention are all classics and all good ones. Jimis All Along The Watchtower would perhaps qualify as the all time stand out cover classic - spectacular in every way.

I agree with you about Jimi.

Here's My Back Pages, which is beautiful despite the most difficult to learn lyrics ever:

I do not like Maria Carey's cover of Badfinger's Without You, which was a hit when Harry Nilsson died. The record companies should have put their weight behind Nilsson's verson, which must be impossible to improve upon. As much as I love Badfinger, their version of their own song is not as good.

Ayreon's cover of ELP's Knife Edge is not very good.

Another great one is Santana's version of Jimi's Spanish Castle Magic. If you are a fan, you might epxect this to be good, but it is earth shattering. Santana has not been this heavy since those early Santana albums and Corey Glover really does the song justice.

 

Schmetterling

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Cheers mate. I haven't heard any of them so I'll go and check them all out.
 

Big Ears

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This version of Baby, Please Don't Go is definitely better than any other. It is from the Never Turn Your Back on a Friend album by Budgie.

I am not sure if this Gamma version is better than the Hollies original, but it is extremely good:

Ditto Gamma's version of Mickey Newbury's I Wish I Was, which is an epic:

 

Speed King

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The first cover song that comes to mind for me is "Dreams I'll Never See" by Molly Hatchett. Not that I don't like the song that inspired it (Dreams) by the Allman Brothers Band. I love both for different reasons, but Hatchett just kicked ass on this song! One of the best cover songs of all time, in my humble opinion. And speaking of humble,...Humble Pie's version of Four Day Creep is another shining example of a well done cover song. Hard to believe the song was written in 1939.

"Built for Comfort" by UFO, this is an old Howlin' Wolf song. It's on the first Schenker era UFO album "Phenomenon".

"Get Ready" and "Tobacco Road" by Rare Earth. Both of these two gems are on Rare Earth's self titled debut album.

"Hey Joe" by The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Most people think Hendrix wrote this one, he did not. The writer who originally penned it was Billy Roberts.

"Diamonds and Rust" by Judas Priest. I prefer the version that was recorded around the time of Rocka Rolla, not the version on Sin After Sin. This song was penned and originally performed by Joan Baez.
 
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