# Cover songs that missed the spirit of the originals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2018, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543 "2018-12-04T09:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/41 "2018-12-04T19:42:00Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > A group called Rosebud did a disco version of Pink Floyd’s “[Have a Cigar.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PKHYDqxEAE).” If the mere description isn’t enough to curl your toes, the version changed the deeply cynical condemnation of the music business into an upbeat song about becoming a big star. Dar Williams covered _Comfortably Numb_. I don’t want to talk about it. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/42 "2018-12-04T19:46:02Z")
The original song _Every Time You Go Away_ by Hall and Oates was melancholy and soulful. Paul Young turned it into a zippy, godawful pop song. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/43 "2018-12-04T20:02:51Z")
Bowie’s _John, I’m Only Dancing_, released in 1972, is an amazing song, with all the hard rocking, gender-bending beauty of the best early Bowie music. He remade it in 1974, changing everything but the chorus and making it into a disco track. Not your best idea, Dave. ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/44 "2018-12-04T20:08:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The ones that first came to mind have all been mentioned: Madonna’s “American Pie,” Lenny Kravitz’s “American Woman,” any cover by Smash Mouth (I was thinking “Can’t Get Enough of You Baby” myself), all just suck the soul and charm out of the originals and add nothing in the remake. > > Except for one. Maybe I’m a little hard on the song–I don’t remember it really showing up much on “bad covers” types of threads or lists-- and I do like Phil Collins, though more for his Genesis work and drumming (though “Calling the Air Tonight” is fantastic). But his version of “True Colors” by Cyndi Lauper also fits my definition of a bad cover by sucking the soul and charm of the song and turning it into just an adult contemporary shade of beige. Phil’s brutalization of the Mindbender’s “Groovy Kind of Love” fits the bill. Sucked the life right out of it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/45 "2018-12-04T20:16:06Z")
> [@BwanaBob](#): > > Phil’s brutalization of the Mindbender’s “Groovy Kind of Love” fits the bill. Sucked the life right out of it. Ah, yes, I forget about that one. Yeah, he did pretty much the exact same thing to that song, too. Just took all the color and life out of and turned it into shades of beige. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/46 "2018-12-04T20:18:23Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > The cover by Pearl Jam of “Last Kiss” completely misses the point of the song. I would argue that Pearl Jam’s “Last Kiss” misses the point of music and joy and a reason to live. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/47 "2018-12-04T20:19:29Z")
The entire Sgt. Pepper sound track from that abortion of a movie. ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/48 "2018-12-04T20:23:22Z")
When I saw the thread title I thought the impetus would be the terrible _Zombie_ cover that is currently getting played constantly. The original version by the Cranberries is unique, and full of tension and urgency, and iconic. Not to mention is a protest song written by an Irish band about an IRA bombing. Then in 2018 some ultra bland American radio-metal band called Bad Wolves does the most generic, boring cover imaginable. At least they are giving the proceeds from the song to Dolores O’Riordan’s children… but to me it sounds like the most lame cover I’ve ever heard. I’m reading now that Dolores was actually planning to sing the song with the band before her death, bizarre. My only complaint about the Weezer/Toto cover, is that they didn’t do anything to make it their own. Aside from a little more distortion form the guitars in the chorus, it sounds like an almost identical recording. Shrug. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/49 "2018-12-04T20:31:05Z")
I’m not aware of it ever being on the radio or even included on an album, but Miley Cyrus covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” You can find it on youtube. Those words; Miley and Cyrus and Smells Like Teen Spirit all in one sentence just…I don’t know…something has gone wrong. ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/50 "2018-12-04T20:42:20Z")
> [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > I’m not aware of it ever being on the radio or even included on an album, but Miley Cyrus covered “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” You can find it on youtube. Those words; Miley and Cyrus and Smells Like Teen Spirit all in one sentence just…I don’t know…something has gone wrong. I’ve always thought Miley looks like she smells, so there’s that. She has strong pipes but she needs to lose the twang. ---
**Author:** ![Cell\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@Cell\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cell_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/51 "2018-12-04T21:27:38Z")
[”Piece of My Heart”](https://youtu.be/qPseJvXVVfo) by Faith Hill. Strips not just the soul of the song, but Janis Joplin’s soul as well, buries it in a shallow grave in the forest, burns the forest down and then builds a crappy suburban strip mall on top of it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/52 "2018-12-04T21:42:54Z")
> [@Cell\_Guy](#): > > [”Piece of My Heart”](https://youtu.be/qPseJvXVVfo) by Faith Hill. Strips not just the soul of the song, but Janis Joplin’s soul as well, buries it in a shallow grave in the forest, burns the forest down and then builds a crappy suburban strip mall on top of it. You _just_ beat me to it. How can a cover of probably the most passionately emotional song ever recorded be devoid of all passion and emotion? (ETA: What a terrible video, too.) ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/53 "2018-12-04T21:44:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Ah, yes, I forget about that one. Yeah, he did pretty much the exact same thing to that song, too. Just took all the color and life out of and turned it into shades of beige. Can we add his “You Can’t Hurry Love”? ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/54 "2018-12-04T21:47:45Z")
> [@Clawdio](#): > > When I saw the thread title I thought the impetus would be the terrible _Zombie_ cover that is currently getting played constantly. The original version by the Cranberries is unique, and full of tension and urgency, and iconic. Not to mention is a protest song written by an Irish band about an IRA bombing. > > Then in 2018 some ultra bland American radio-metal band called Bad Wolves does the most generic, boring cover imaginable. At least they are giving the proceeds from the song to Dolores O’Riordan’s children… but to me it sounds like the most lame cover I’ve ever heard. I’m reading now that Dolores was actually planning to sing the song with the band before her death, bizarre. > > My only complaint about the Weezer/Toto cover, is that they didn’t do anything to make it their own. Aside from a little more distortion form the guitars in the chorus, it sounds like an almost identical recording. Shrug. And the fact they changed the lyrics to include “Drones” and “2018” to make it, like, modern maaaaaaan just ruins it further ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/55 "2018-12-04T21:49:00Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > Vanilla Fudge’s cover of \*You Keep Me Hangin’ On \*strays quite a bit from the tone of the Supreme’s version. But it’s awesome in its own right. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/56 "2018-12-04T22:02:59Z")
Personally I find that Janis Joplin frequently overdid the soul side of her song far too much, and Piece of my Heart was one such example, so here is the original, here is one that completely lost the original spirit in the cover - obviously a Christian witnessing song that has been subsumed into pretty boy culture and the Boyzone version - to thrill little star obsessed teenage girls [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/7eul_Vt6SZY/maxresdefault.jpg "Boyzone - No Matter What (Official Music Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eul_Vt6SZY) ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/57 "2018-12-04T22:21:14Z")
[quote=“casdave, post:56, topic:825543”] Personally I find that Janis Joplin frequently overdid the soul side of her song far too much, and Piece of my Heart was one such example, so here is the original, [/QUOTE] I had no idea that Big Brother & the Holding Company was \*not\* the original. Ignorance fought. I’m sure we can agree that Faith Hill’s version sucks, though. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/58 "2018-12-04T22:50:02Z")
However big a hit it was, Whitney Houston’s [cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU) of “_I will Always Love You_” completely misses the bittersweet breakup song that Dolly Parton originally wrote and [sang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqqm_gTPjc). ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/59 "2018-12-04T23:17:31Z")
> [@peccavi](#): > > However big a hit it was, Whitney Houston’s [cover](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU) of “_I will Always Love You_” completely misses the bittersweet breakup song that Dolly Parton originally wrote and [sang](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDqqm_gTPjc). Oh wow. Thankyou for posting that second link. I never even knew that song could actually be _good_. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543/60 "2018-12-04T23:47:40Z")
My favorite Who song is “[Behind Blue Eyes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMrImMedYRo)”. It lives by its tension in the lyrics and the dynamics in the arrangement and recording. You know, it starts slowly, acoustic, but brooding and in the end explodes when Moon’s drums and Townshend’s mighty riffing set in. It’s always cathartic for me to hear this song. Then bloody Limp Bizkit did this: They left out the exploding, orgasmic part and decided to add instead some of their own puerile lyrics to the acoustic part, which they played utterly bad. What a travesty. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-songs-that-missed-the-spirit-of-the-originals/825543.md?page=4)