Best Covers Songs

[Eric D.]

Best cover songs that come to mind for me are :

Cowboy Junkies - "Sweet Jane"
Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtower"

in both cases, - the originals were good songs in their own right.
in both cases, - the bands that do these covers took that song and made it theirs, they practically own it.

[Athena Bast]

Dropkick Murphys - "Fortunate Son"

It is everything the song should be. Raw, brash and stripped down.

I recently heard U2's version of it and for me it was the equivalent of Madonna's cover of "American Pie". Too clean, too perfect, too showy.

[Slackjaws_ate_my_brain]

Dropkick Murphy's "Fortunate Sun" also came to mind as well. A few others :

- Misfits - "Monster Mash" (preferably their 2nd attempt at the cover, from "Project 1950")

- The Quakes - "The Killing Moon" (amazing Echo and the Bunny men cover)

- Hatebreed - "Escape" (A Metallica song that's generally hated (but I love) that showed that the band is capable of more than what one expects)

- Ignite - "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Great U2 cover)

- Johnny Cash - "Rusty Cage" (While it's a solid song when Soundgarden does it, it just sounds BAD ASS when Cash does it)

- Machine Head - "Message in a Bottle" (While it wasn't the best time for the band musically, this cover just WORKS)

- Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards - "To have or To have Not" (Billy Bragg's songs about class problems gets turned into an Oi style classic)

- Social Distortion - "Ring of Fire" (Mike Ness and co. really introduced a lot of punk kids to the man in black with this one)

- Tiger Army - "Oggie Boogie's Song" (The Nightmare before Christmas tune really worked well when played by Tiger Army)

[Ontir]

Here's 10:

20th Century Boy ~ Placebo

Save a Prayer ~ Eve's Plumb

Strangers in Paradise ~ St. Etienne

Crystal Ship ~ Duran Duran

Walk Away Renee ~ Mamontovas

Money ~ Dub All-Stars

Always Something There to Remind Me ~ Naked Eyes

Back in the New York Groove ~ Ace Frehley

Hurting Each Other ~ Concrete Blonde

Homosapien ~ Simple Minds

[Ilash]

Ah another one of these.

Well, here's a few.

Rusty Cage (Soundgarden) - Johnny Cash
Hurt (Nine Inch Nails) - Johnny Cash
Redemption Song (Bob Marley) - Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer
Southern Accents (Tom Petty) - Johnny Cash
The Mercy Seat (Nick Cave) - Johnny Cash

And, hey, here's a few that weren't even done by Johnny Cash!

Straight to Hell (The Clash) - Lily Allen
Everybody Knows This is Nowhere (Neil Young) - Matthew Sweet and Susana Hoffs
Twist and Shout (Isley Brothers) - The Beatles
Knocking on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan) - Elvis Costello
A Day In The Life (The Beatles) - Jeff Beck
Love Hurts (Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris) - Keith Richards and Norah Jones
Down the Road Apiece (Chuck Berry) - The Rolling Stones

[Eric D.]

Quiet Riot - "Cum on Feel the Noize"

[Eric D.]

Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"

[Eric D.]

Johnny Cash - "Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down"

[Eric D.]

Magnet and Gemma Hayes - "Lay Lady Lay"

[Hiromi]

Johnny Cash - Hurt
Led Zeppelin - I Can't Quit You Baby
Metallica - Breadfan, Am I Evil
Anthrax - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

[Slackjaws_ate_my_brain]

A freind of mine just sent me this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyHcIHssdHA&feature=related

An Iron maiden cover, done only withy voclas and drums? Interesting, very interesting. I've also heard a cover of Metallica's "Battery" by these guys that wasn't so bad (but not as good as this)

[Eric D.]

Elvis Costello - "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, And Understanding?"

[Eric D.]

Naked Eyes - "(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me"

[Eric D.]

A freind of mine just sent me this :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyHcIHssdHA&feature=related

An Iron maiden cover, done only withy voclas and drums? Interesting, very interesting. I've also heard a cover of Metallica's "Battery" by these guys that wasn't so bad (but not as good as this)

VERY nice.

[The Beast Of Yucca Flats]

Paul Weller's "I Walk On Gilded Splinters" (Dr. John)
The Breeders' "Shocker In Gloomtown" (Guided By Voices)
Frank Black's "Hang Onto Your Ego" (The Beach Boys)

[Don't pee in the (Dead)pool]

"No More Mister Nice Guy" - Megadeth
"Running Up That Hill" - Placebo
"I Feel Free" - Belinda Carlisle
"Lean On Me"- Club Nouveau
"Only Love Can Break Your Heart" - Saint Etienne
"Under The Bridge" - All Saints
"Ride Like The Wind" - Eastside Beat
"The Love I Lost" - West End (Featuring Sybil)
"River Deep, Mountain High" - Erasure
"Always On My Mind" - The Pet Shop Boys

[Eric D.]

Beach Boys "Sloop John B."

[Eric D.]

Dr. Dog - "Heart It Races" (architecture in helsinki did the original)

[Eric D.]

Bob Dylan - "Man Of Constant Sorrow"

[Ontir]

River Deep, Mountain High ~ Celine Dionne (:eek: I KNOW! )

Watching the Detectives ~ Duran Duran

Dancing Barefoot ~ Simple Minds

Ashes to Ashes ~ Tears for Fears

Route 66 ~ Depeche Mode

Thin Line Between Love & Hate ~ Annie Lennox

Breakdown ~ Grace Jones

Come Together ~ Joe Cocker

Winter Lady ~ the McGarrigle Sisters

Everybody Knows ~ Rufus Wainwright

[SlightlyMad]

Best cover songs that come to mind for me are :

Cowboy Junkies - "Sweet Jane"
Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtower"

in both cases, - the originals were good songs in their own right.
in both cases, - the bands that do these covers took that song and made it theirs, they practically own it.

To add to this, did you know that "Hey Joe" was also a cover?
It was originally by Billy Roberts & was also recorded by The Leaves before Jimi made his version.

P.S. A great source for discovering covers is Brian Ibbot's Coverville Weekly Podcast, well worth a listen.

[greensheen22]

Johnny Cash - Hurt

[mgs]

of course, ANYTHING by Richard Cheese! :biggrin:

http://www.richardcheese.com/

And 'I Will Always Love You' by Whitney Houston are some of my faves.

[Ontir]

Fire ~ the Pointer Sisters

While Springsteen's original is good, I think it works far better with the women.

[howyadoin]

I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to covers. Years ago my friend Andy and I talked about putting together a box set, organized by genre.

Anyhow, we'd have these big late-night, drug-fueled discussions on the topic, and there was inevitably some disagreement. In my view, for instance, they had to be studio covers, and not just some tossed-off live performance.

Also, they couldn't be rote covers; the artist had to put something of themselves into it.

[pariah-1972]

Mrs Robinson by the Lemonheads (even tho Evan Dando hated the song in the first place)

[Don't pee in the (Dead)pool]

"I Need Your Loving"~Baby D
"Baker Street"~Undercover
"Strawberry Fields"~Candy Flip
"Dizzy"~Vic Reeves And The Wonderstuff
"Killing Me Softly"~The Fugees
"Many Rivers To Cross"~UB40
"Baby Come Back"~Pato Banton & UB40

[jesse_custer]

I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to covers. Years ago my friend Andy and I talked about putting together a box set, organized by genre.

Anyhow, we'd have these big late-night, drug-fueled discussions on the topic, and there was inevitably some disagreement. In my view, for instance, they had to be studio covers, and not just some tossed-off live performance.

Also, they couldn't be rote covers; the artist had to put something of themselves into it.

I must be obsessive, too, because I agree with everything here.

Take The Bad Plus album, Prog. They add considerable pathos to Tears For Fears' "Everyone Wants To Rule The World," but their cover of Rush's "Tom Sawyer" is a boring jazz/rock replication.

[howyadoin]

I must be obsessive, too, because I agree with everything here.

Take The Bad Plus album, Prog. They add considerable pathos to Tears For Fears' "Everyone Wants To Rule The World," but their cover of Rush's "Tom Sawyer" is a boring jazz/rock replication.Haven't heard either of those, but I love their takes on "Heart of Glass" and "Iron Man".

[pariah-1972]

Sonic Youth's cover of the Carpenters Superstar.

[jdwrocks]

Haven't heard either of those, but I love their takes on "Heart of Glass" and "Iron Man".
I thought the "Iron Man" cover by The Cardigans was pretty cool.

[mgs]

'Give a Little Bit' - Goo Goo Dolls

[greggasket]

Dropkick Murphy's "Fortunate Sun".

[Eric D.]

I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to covers. Years ago my friend Andy and I talked about putting together a box set, organized by genre.

Anyhow, we'd have these big late-night, drug-fueled discussions on the topic, and there was inevitably some disagreement. In my view, for instance, they had to be studio covers, and not just some tossed-off live performance.

Also, they couldn't be rote covers; the artist had to put something of themselves into it.

agreed...live recording fails to meet standard for me. and machine like imitations suck as well.