ITT: Covers that are better than the original song

[craigthomasb]

arctic monkeys - love machine (girls alound)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8ikn...eature=related
example - tick tok (kesha)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrI4h-mxsM0
kasabian - runaway (del shannon)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5-kx_RTIes
babyshambles and friends- janie jones (the clash).... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR6bmMljBdI

[Loneshot]

I'm always afraid to throw out songs in a thread like this because often covers are made to honor the great artists who originally made the songs in the first place (with the exception of the initial post here).

One cover I prefer to the original is Fear Factory's version of Gary Numan's "Cars".

Fear Factory - Cars: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSoKp6dRUH0

Gary Numan's Original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldyx3KHOFXw

I always thought Fear Factory's version felt a little fuller without totally veering from the original. Plus, it's the best of both worlds. Fear Factory's lead man, Burton C. Bell always specialized in that electronic sort of voice, so he meshes well with Numan, who guests in the cover.

Good pick.

[Hazard]

Tool - No Quarter (Zepplin cover)
Deftones - Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

[Rake2204]

Tool - No Quarter (Zepplin cover)
Deftones - Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

I was going to mention the Deftones' version of "Simple Man" but Lynyrd Skynyrd seemed like a band that people would really hassle me for suggesting a cover may be better than their original. Also, I am quite partial to the Deftones so I figured I might just be biased toward their style. I think someone guested for the guitar solo though.

I also like Maynard and crew a lot but I've never been able to get down with their "No Quarter" cover, simply because I actually really, really like the original. It is one of my favorite Led Zeppelin songs, period. One of my students was talking to me about the Tool cover the other day though and I vowed to give it another try so we'll see.

You know, it might grow on me. I think originally I heard one of my favorite bands was doing a cover of one of my favorite songs and I immediately created an expectation for what it may sound like, only to have it sound completely different. The effect of him talking through a megaphone kind of threw me off I think.

After giving it another listen, the cover is an alright song to me, but not one of my favorites by Tool. In my own opinion, I prefer the Led Zeppelin original by a fair shot.

[pete's montreux]

Tool - No Quarter (Zepplin cover)
Deftones - Simple Man (Lynyrd Skynyrd cover)

You're saying the Tool version is better than the original?

[Dolphin]

vodoo people remix by Pendulum, faster and more powerful then the original

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKXKWBcaV3A

Blasphemy. The original puts me in a place this does not.

Anyways, this topic comes up every once in a while and I still have the same answer as to my favorite. The one example in my opinion where the original was amazing and yet the cover was even better.

Jimi Hendrix- Little Wing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2EPO_y0ps

Derek and the Dominos- Little Wing (cover)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLPHz8KT9No

Epic.

[Dolphin]

I was going to mention the Deftones' version of "Simple Man" but Lynyrd Skynyrd seemed like a band that people would really hassle me for suggesting a cover may be better than their original. Also, I am quite partial to the Deftones so I figured I might just be biased toward their style. I think someone guested for the guitar solo though.

Never heard this cover before. Not bad, but I still would put the original well above it. The vocals in the original are near perfect.

[LJJ]

The Derek and the Dominos version of Little Wing is so lame.


Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin

[Dolphin]

The Derek and the Dominos version of Little Wing is so lame.


Eddie Hazel - California Dreamin

Totally dude. Two thumbs down.

[Rake2204]

If a listener is a fan of the original song, do you believe there's any chance they'll believe a cover is going to surpass the original? I was thinking about the "No Quarter" cover and I decided I'd have no chance to prefer Tool's cover because I already liked the original and had all my connotations associated with that one in the first place.

Conversely, I didn't hear "Shock the Monkey" until I saw Ozzy cover it on MTV around '99. It seemed to allow me to be a lot more objective in my selection.

[pete's montreux]

If a listener is a fan of the original song, do you believe there's any chance they'll believe a cover is going to surpass the original? I was thinking about the "No Quarter" cover and I decided I'd have no chance to prefer Tool's cover because I already liked the original and had all my connotations associated with that one in the first place.

Conversely, I didn't hear "Shock the Monkey" until I saw Ozzy cover it on MTV around '99. It seemed to allow me to be a lot more objective in my selection.

It would be hard for me to like any LZ cover, I'll admit that right now. I've never heard any cover from anyone that I've liked and I probably never will. The closest I can think of is Heart basically covering Achilles Last Stand with Barracuda.

It's not like the cover is "bad", I just think it sounds weird. And not because It's different. More specifically, the drums just don't go. There was a great dynamic in the original of the slow pace organ and guitar with the speedy jazzy drums. The drums sound awkward and lose the jazz feel that was so great in the original.

[RaininThrees]

Nirvana's "Where Did You Sleep Last Night"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVCqQmoHg8s

A cover of an old song from 1917 (earliest noted printed version of song) named "In the Pines" or "Black Girl".

Nirvana played the Leadbelly version of the song.

[Jackass18]

CCR's "I Put a Spell on You" over Screamin' Jay Hawkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU

CCR's "Midnight Special" over whoever originally did it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T00eJSQimIk

Pearl Jam's "Last Kiss" over Wayne Cochran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0B-hJ_gotc

Janis Joplin's "Me and Bobby McGee over Roger Miller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXV_QjenbDw

Big Brother and the Holding Company's "Piece of My Heart" over Erma Franklin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApfKglyNjyA

Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" over Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hajBdDM2qdg

Ramones' "Chinese Rock" over The Heartbreakers, though it was written by Dee Dee
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3BiLNH0xgOI

Ramones' "California Sun" over Joe Jones
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Z9iUdiS3hI

[RaininThrees]

CCR's "I Put a Spell on You" over Screamin' Jay Hawkins
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R6nmKjcSeU

She & Him's version of this is killer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wzvr8z4JJx8

(Yes, that's Zooey Deschanel)

[Rake2204]

Also, speaking of the Deftones, I prefer their version of The Cure's "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep".

Deftones - If Only Tonight We Could Sleep (Lyrics kick in around 2:45): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPSX1BdHstE

The Cure's Version (Lyrics kick in around 2:50): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucbfzjFqbUc

I felt the Deftones' take was darker and more seductive.