# Acoustic version better than regular version **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947 "2008-05-04T00:26:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/21 "2008-05-04T20:44:51Z")
I like Dinosaur Jr a lot but I find all their stuff sounds better when played acoustically by J Mascis as evidenced on his album Martin + Me. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/22 "2008-05-04T20:49:59Z")
Years ago (when they still played a lot of music), MTV had an acoustic show called, IIRC, “Unplugged”. Rock and pop artists would show up and play some of their works acoustically or at least with minimal electronic assistance. I was watching it one night and saw Aerosmith perform “Dream On”, and for the first time it hit me that these guys were really _musicians_, not just marketing-manufactured rock stars. Not only was the song acoustic, it was very restrained and sensual. I thought it was brilliantly better than the recorded version. Once you take away the screaming and the fireworks and the prancing, it’s easy to see who knows how to write a song. I went from sneering at Aerosmith to liking them a lot after that. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2008, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/23 "2008-05-04T21:01:40Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] I went from sneering at Aerosmith to liking them a lot after that. [/QUOTE] I didn’t care abuot Aerosmith until I saw their music video with Run DMC for “Walk This Way”, and now I love them just for that video. 😃 One acoustic version I like is Days Go By by Dirty Vegas. I can’t say that I like it _better_ than the techno version, but I like it a lot in a different way. ---
**Author:** ![Satellite\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Satellite\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satellite_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/24 "2008-05-05T01:23:55Z")
The acoustic version of [Hey Ya](http://youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM)!! 😃 S^G ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/25 "2008-05-05T05:48:32Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] Nick Cave’s acoustic [Mercy Seat](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNNYNL-n_uU) on the Road to Who God Where vid. [/QUOTE] Great, no doubt. And, then, there’s Johnny Cash’s [cover](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8CzFVm1Yio) (sorry, no video). FWIW, this is the version that hits me more deeply. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/26 "2008-05-05T11:40:30Z")
Oh, God, no. Just…no. I can’t stand that man’s drunken wino singing. Give me Cave any day. Same goes for the NIN “Hurt” cover. Just realised I should have replaced “Who” not “Knows” when I edited the original post - it’s _The Road To God Knows Where_. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/27 "2008-05-05T12:48:02Z")
A lot of turn-of-21st-century stuff was poorly or over-produced and so despite the fact the musicans were competent the actual stuff on the radio sounded bad. But I was surprised when I heard acoustic stuff from Incubus, Matchbox 20, and (IIRC) Seven Mary Three that were actually good: they were good musicans they just apparently weren’t in the right genre. > [@](#): > > 10,000 Maniacs [acoustic]Stockton Gala Days Sounds interesting…what album’s that on? > [@](#): > > The acoustic version of Hey Ya!! Speaking of which…the acoustic version of Come and Get My Love from The Postman ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/28 "2008-05-05T13:17:01Z")
[QUOTE=Satellite^Guy] The acoustic version of [Hey Ya](http://youtube.com/watch?v=8-8nkkOA_AM)!! 😃 S^G [/QUOTE] Along these lines, my favorite cover ever is Jonathan Coulton’s acoustic [Baby Got Back](http://youtube.com/watch?v=9gW6yQZyx5w) (starts around :30) IIRC, it was Bon Jovi’s acoustic performance of Wanted Dead or Alive at one of the early VMAs, I believe, that started the whole ‘Unplugged’ movement (and the show). ---
**Author:** ![Dogberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7bcc69/32.png) [@Dogberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogberry)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/29 "2008-05-05T13:31:50Z")
George Harrison’s _While My Guitar Gently Weeps_. The original is great. The acoustic version (from the Beatles _Anthology_) is better. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/30 "2008-05-05T13:33:42Z")
I like Stipe’s acoustic “Losing my Religion”. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/31 "2008-05-05T13:50:43Z")
The acoustic version of “Times like these” by the Foo Fighters is also generally considered to be better than the original. I like them both, though. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/32 "2008-05-05T15:03:25Z")
[QUOTE=Mahna Mahna] \*Such Great Heights \*becomes 10x better when done as a soft acoustic piece by Iron & Wine, vs the original electro-indie-pop version by Postal Service. Since it’s a cover rather than an acoustic performance by the same artist, it probably doesn’t count, though. [/QUOTE] If we can count those, though, Ray Lamontagne does a stellar version of “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley. ---
**Author:** ![Barrels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@Barrels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrels)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/33 "2008-05-05T15:12:49Z")
A local radio station had Nonpoint in the studio, they did an acoustic version of Bullet With A Name, that is really great. ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/34 "2008-05-05T15:39:23Z")
Another vote for Colin May. I loved it. Some acoustic punk songs that turned out well (sorry, no links as I’m a work. You can find them on youtube though). Tony Sly of No Use for a Name - Justified Black Eye Bad Religion - Infected and some other song, the name of which I can’t remember. There’s a few Foo Fighter songs that are great acoustically. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/35 "2008-05-05T18:51:07Z")
[QUOTE=Ludovic] > [@](#): > > 10,000 Maniacs [acoustic]Stockton Gala Days Sounds interesting…what album’s that on? [/QUOTE] 10000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/36 "2008-05-05T19:16:46Z")
[QUOTE=Mahna Mahna] \*Such Great Heights \*becomes 10x better when done as a soft acoustic piece by Iron & Wine, vs the original electro-indie-pop version by Postal Service. [/QUOTE] I’ve still never heard the original, but since I can’t imagine a better version of that song, I concur. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/37 "2008-05-05T19:19:25Z")
[QUOTE=initech] Colin Hay, _Overkill_ [/QUOTE] My vote is something close - his acoustic version of _Down Under_ ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/38 "2008-05-05T19:31:02Z")
I gotta disagree on Such Great Heights, although I heard the I+W version only once. TPS’s singing is great, and the hook is one of the best in the past 10 years, which you can’t replicate acoustically. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/39 "2008-05-05T20:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=teela brown] Years ago (when they still played a lot of music), MTV had an acoustic show called, IIRC, “Unplugged”. Rock and pop artists would show up and play some of their works acoustically or at least with minimal electronic assistance. [/QUOTE] The acoustic version of ‘Heart of the Matter’ that Don Henley did on ‘Unplugged’ completely blew me away. Slowed down, more thoughtful, it was a much better take on the song than the original release. The version on the “Hell Freezes Over” tour, while not completely acoustic, is based off the ‘Unplugged’ version. ---
**Author:** ![pprgrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f6c823/32.png) [@pprgrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pprgrl)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947/40 "2008-05-05T23:53:31Z")
Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road.” One of my favorite songs ever. Dunno if this is quite what your looking for, but Tori Amos does an absolute amazing version of “Professional Widow” (Merry Widow version) on the _Hey Jupiter_ EP. It’s much simpler and more stripped down than the version on _Boys For Pele_ and it just punches me in the gut every time I hear it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/acoustic-version-better-than-regular-version/447947.md?page=3)