The song itself lives as it’s one entity. There are many ways the song can be realized, and sometimes the original is not the best and a cover brings the song to a new level:
Nothing Compare 2 U - Sinead O’conner
Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain - Sally Timms
Please post your favourite covers!
I vastly prefer the Beatles’ “Twist and Shout” to the Isley Brothers’.
Hurt, Johnny Cash
Hazy Shade Of Winter, The Bangles
Much as I love CCR, Tina Turner DEFINED Proud Mary.
With a Little Help from My Friends – Joe Cocker
No Springsteen or Dylan song as performed by Manfred Mann’s band.
Clearly the correct answer is All Along the Watchtower by JH
As I’ve said many times, Al Green’s cover of the Bee Gee’s “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?” blows away the original.
Billie David, Angel of the Morning
Is this a cover? Or just another version? Whatever. In every other version of this famous and popular song, my guess is that the artist is a married woman who’s had an adulterous affair (“if morning says we’ve sinned”), or a separated woman who’s had an adulterous affair with a married man.
Not Billie David. She’s a teen-ager who’s had her first experience, but thinks she’s old enough to handle the emotions (“I’m old enough to face the dawn”)
It’s a different picture. Also, Wikipedia describes her as “astonishingly photogenic”, which doesn’t hurt. And which matches the idea that a more experience man would be exploiting her character.
Capitol Children’s Choir “Sweet Child of Mine”
Always hated Axl Rose and Guns 'n Roses, but heard CCC do Sweet Child…wow.
David Anthony does Level 42. Google for the nicely produced version if you like.
Elton John’s version of Pinball Wizard is far superior to The Who’s original.
Second only to Janis Joplin’s cover of * Me & Bobby McGee*.
I want you to know that I forgive you.
I hope one day you can find the peace I have.
Hallelujah (Leonard Cohen) by Jeff Buckley
Suzanne (Leonard Cohen) by Peter Gabriel
Blinded by the light (Bruce Springsteen) by MMEB
This masquerade (Leon Russel) by Carpenters
After the goldrush (Neil Young) by kd lang
I think these songs sound much better being sung by a woman.
Must aggressively disagree. She is a lightweight girl singer who makes this a lightweight lovey-dovey song. The La’s version makes the song transcendent because somehow I can hear a level of longing in Lee Mavers’ voice that gives the song an extra layer. Hearing later that he struggled with heroin and that the song is, intentionally or no, a love song to the drug more than a Love Song™ and it deepens again…
Oh, and by the way, the best cover is Respect, where Aretha covered Otis Redding. He was the first to admit, he took the song away from her.
Marvin Gaye’s version of Grapevine is often called a cover, but it is a discussion because I believe the writers asked him to do it first, but Gladys Knight’s version came out sooner…
I agree with Jimi singing Dylan.
I would say that Social Distortion’s cover of Ring of Fire isn’t better than Johnny Cash’s - he’s Johnny Cash fercrissake - but their punk reworking totally kills.
Cool couplet but where does it come from?
It’s a common enough sentiment.
I can’t say where those exact words originated, I just spit them out. I’m sure someone has said them before, like I said it’s a common enough sentiment.
One. Cowboy Junkies cover of U2 original.
Also pretty much anything else they cover.
Say Something. Jackie Evancho & Cheyenne Jackson cover of Great Big World/Christina Aguilera song.
Plus anything else Jackie covers, i.e U2’s “With Or Without You” on her new CD “Awakening” - no YT clips - removed for copyright infringement.
Mercy Street. Happy Rhodes cover of Peter Gabriel original.
Also Here Comes The Flood