# Cover versions we have actually liked **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 5, 2000, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555 "2000-02-05T17:17:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![spankboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@spankboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankboy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/1 "2000-02-05T17:17:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![spankboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@spankboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankboy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/2 "2000-02-05T17:19:00Z")
Oh, and if this really belongs in MPSIMS, pls kick it over. Thx! -sb * * * They say the Lord loves drunks, fools and little children. Two out of three ain’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/3 "2000-02-05T17:25:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/4 "2000-02-05T17:26:00Z")
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] ---
**Author:** ![Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cooper)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/5 "2000-02-05T17:34:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Ursa\_Major](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a88e57/32.png) [@Ursa\_Major](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ursa_Major)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/6 "2000-02-05T17:36:00Z")
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”. ---
**Author:** ![Jeannie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@Jeannie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeannie)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/7 "2000-02-05T17:45:00Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![Clark\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c77e96/32.png) [@Clark\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clark_K)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/8 "2000-02-05T17:49:00Z")
Tina Turner does a wonderful, soulful version of the Beatles’ “Help.” > [@](#): > > Originally posted by Jeannie: > My husband says the worst cover ever was Ike & Tina Turner’s “Proud Mary” (originally done by CCR). I’ve always liked Ike & Tina’s version. * * * Up, up and away! ---
**Author:** ![Narile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/71c47a/32.png) [@Narile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Narile)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/9 "2000-02-06T06:40:00Z")
Elton John’s Saterday nights allright for fighting cover by the Who is great. ## Worst, Erg, so many to choose from. \>\>Being Chaotic Evil means never having to say your sorry…unless the other guy is bigger than you.\<\< —The dragon observes ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/10 "2000-02-06T06:41:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/11 "2000-02-06T06:42:00Z")
**Best:** 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 ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/12 "2000-02-06T06:49:00Z")
Like it or love it, Me and Bobby McGee / Janis Joplin. \------------------ rocks\ ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2000, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/13 "2000-02-06T06:49:00Z")
There are a lot more covers out there than you could ever imagine. Some of my favorites– Hendrix’s version of All Along the Watchtower Tina Turner and Proud Mary Elton John’s Pinball Wizard Marvin Gaye, Heard It Through the Grapevine Crosby Stills Nash & Young, Woodstock And can we count anything by Weird Al? ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/14 "2000-02-05T19:32:00Z")
Rod Stewart and Ronald Isley’s “This Old Heart of Mine,” originally by the Isley Brothers. ---
**Author:** ![spankboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@spankboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankboy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/15 "2000-02-05T19:40:00Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![spankboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@spankboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankboy)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/16 "2000-02-05T19:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > “Oddly enough…which is odd” Stupid brain. Needs more caffeine. -sb * * * They say the Lord loves drunks, fools and little children. Two out of three ain’t bad. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2000, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/17 "2000-02-05T19:50:00Z")
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 ---
**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:** [February 5, 2000, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/18 "2000-02-05T19:52:00Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. Wait…is someone in Ugly Kid Joe supposedly Harry Chapin’s son? There’s a rumor I haven’t heard. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/19 "2000-02-05T20:46:00Z")
Best two covers of all time: The Beatles doing “Twist and Shout”, and Janis Joplin singing “Me and Bobby McGee”. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2000, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555/20 "2000-02-05T20:55:00Z")
Harvey Danger’s cover of “Save It for Later”, originally by the English Beat. BS&T’s cover of the Stones’ “Sympathy for the Devil”. Byrds’ covers of a bunch of Dylan songs, especially “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Chimes of Freedom”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cover-versions-we-have-actually-liked/17555.md?page=2)