After Madonna’s gawdawful ‘American Pie’ cover, I was thinking about cover songs that I thought were actually good.
My partial list (more as I remember them) includes (in no particular order):
Rusty Cage, Johnny Cash (orig. Soundgarden)
Southern Accents, Johnny Cash (Tom Petty)
Hazy Shade of Winter, Bangles (Simon & Garfunkel)
Mrs. Robinson, Lemonheads (S & G)
I Love It Loud, Phunk Junkees (Kiss)
Build Me Up, Buttercup, The Goops (Foundations)
Paranoid, Megadeth (Black Sabbath)
You’re So Vain, Faster Pussycat (Carly Simon)
Stone Cold Crazy, Metallica (Queen)
Love Me Tender, B.B. King (Elvis)
Satisfaction, Devo (Rolling Stones)
Oh, yeah, and pretty much anything by Dread Zeppelin. And I liked the Hole cover of ‘Gold Dust Woman’, which prolly won’t win me any friends.
Conversely, besides the Madonna cover, what’s your most hated cover? Pat Boone’s ‘Ain’t That a Shame’? Slayer’s ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida’? That Mallory chick from Family Ties covering ‘Satisfaction’ for the movie of the same name?
Your votes??
=sb
They say the Lord loves drunks, fools and little children.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
Lenny Cravitz (SP??) cover of American Woman is great, so is Social Distortion’s ‘Ring of Fire’, the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s ‘Higher Ground’…really there are lots more but those come to mind.
Most hated…Bryan Adam’s cover of ‘Young Lust’ from the Water’s Wall Live in Berlin project…I don’t care if Roger put him up to it was still awful. Actually, there were probably worse acts on that show (didn’t Sinead O’Conner sing ‘Mother’ or something?), but I like picking on Bryan Adams cause he’s such a sissy boy.
The Bangles’ cover of ‘Hazy Shade of Winter’ was a desecration.
On the other hand, I found Guns ‘n’ Roses’ cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” a vast improvement over the original. (Of course, it helps that Axl Rose can carry a tune! ;))
A couple of special cases, for reasons that will become evident:[ul][]“Unforgettable” was Nat King Cole’s signature tune, back in the days when we were listening to him while fighting off the sabertooth tigers. For Natalie to do a re-engineered duet with him was singularly touching.[]In view of the song’s subject matter and the reputed relationship of artist and composer, Ugly Kid Joe’s cover of Harry Chapin’s “Cat’s in the Cradle” was singularly poignant.[/ul]
Allright, you think Axl Rose can sing? Better than Dylan even? I admit Dylan has a lousy voice - but at least he doesn’t screech like a castrated rooster.
Don’t stop with “Mrs. Robinson” when talking about great covers by the Lemonheads. Check out “Different Drum” (Linda Rohnstat(sp?)) and “My Name is Luka” (S. Vega)
My all time favorite cover is still Man or Astroman?'s kick-ass version of the Mysterian’s “Out of Limits”.
Okay, any Michael Bolton version of ANYTHING was a disgrace (including songs that were his originally). Now that THAT’s off my chest…
I’m not nuts about Madonna’s new “American Pie” either. My husband says the worst cover ever was Ike & Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” (originally done by CCR).
My favorite remake is probably the Fugees’ version of “Killing Me Softly.”
Any cover version by Michael Bolton, David Lee Roth, or Natalie Merchant is bad.
I liked Hole’s cover of Gold Dust Woman and the Bangles’s cover of Hazy Shade of Winter. And I liked Banarama’s cover of I’m Your Venus.
Along with the other Johnny Cash covers mentioned in the OP, I liked his cover of Johnny 99. Even Bruce Springsteen has said he prefers Cash’s version to his own.
And of course Barnes and Barnes’s cover of Please Please Me will never be topped.
George Benson’s version of On Broadway (originally done by The Drifters or The Platters, can’t remember which).
I’m almost 100% positive that The Righteous Brothers’ version of You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling was a cover, but I can’t for the life of me remember who originally recorded it.
I completely agree with Cooper about Lenny Kravitz’s cover of American Woman. That one rocked, too.
Metallica’s cover of Bob Seger’s Turn The Page.
There are so many more, but I am just drawing a blank right now.
Worst:
Michael Jackson’s Rockin’ Robin. Maybe I just hate that song no matter who sang it, but his whiney, pathetic excuse for a voice just grates on me.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank
Didn’t Rod the Mod Stewart do ‘Pinball Wizard’? I think Elton played him in the movie, tho. I’ll agree-good cover.
I don’t know if they count as ‘covers’, but the whole Puff Daddy empire has pretty much been built on stuff he stole (Every Breath You Take, Kashmir, et. al.). Oh, how I loathe them.
Oh, yeah, I forgot! Joe Cocker remaking ‘The Letter’ (Box Tops?!!?)! I love that song!!! And, speaking of Linda Ronstadt, how about ‘Blue Bayou’? It takes talent not to bruise an Orbison song, like that Vonda gal did on Ally McBeal.
Mannfred Mann’s ‘Blinded by the Light’ is okay, but 10k Maniacs version of ‘Because the Night’ didn’t float my boat; I liked Patti Smith’s better. Oddly enuff, both written by Springsteen, which is odd…
-sb
They say the Lord loves drunks, fools and little children.
Two out of three ain’t bad.
This track is pretty hard to find unless you get it on MP3, but Foo Fighters did an amazing cover of “Baker Street.” Definitely find that if you’re a fan of either the band or the original. I played it for people who had never heard of Foo Fighters but knew “Baker Street” and they loved it.
“Buffalo Bills? Oh, yeah. The guys that always snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” --WallyM7