There is no doubt about it, The Lettermen were successful. Their Light My Fire. Re-invents raw sexual pleading and turns it into a simple request to turn on the fireplace in the elevator.
The song “Ghost Riders In The Sky” has been covered tons of times, such as by Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Spiderbait, Burl Ives, Neil LeVang, and The Blues Brothers. I’ve listened to at least part of many, many covers, and they all seem to play it fast and swingy. Dick Dale, The Shadows, Children of Bodem, Vaughn Monroe, Kay Starr, Elvis, REM, Ramrods, Peggy Lee, Scatman Crothers, Sha Na Na, Frankie Laine, Outlaws, Toy Dolls, Duane Eddy, Debbie Harry (!!), Desperados, The Ventures, the list goes on and on and on. Every now and then someone might start out slow, but then the pace of the song picks up and it becomes fast, just like all the others.
Thing is, it’s a damned creepy song. Ghost cowboys! Mournful cries! Doomed to hell! From Wikipedia:
The only version I’ve ever heard that, to me, evokes the actual lyrics, is this one, which when compared to all the others, makes it a radical departure:
Jimi Hendrix, “Hey Joe” originally recorded by Deep Purple.
Maybe this is too jazzy to fit in, but Dr. Lonnie Smith, one of the greatest Hammond organists, recorded an album of “covers” of Beck tunes called “Boogaloo to Beck.” They all school the originals hard.
I won’t even get into all of the covers from pretty much all genres of music Ray Charles made, but as far as I’m concerned, they all rule the originals.
Billy Preston performing “Blackbird” – I think it’s radical enough to count as a radical cover.
I’m not sure it could be called radical, but definately a different feel:
Velvet Underground Sweet Jane
-vs-
The Cowboy Junkies version
Bit surprised by the choices from Deep Purple Shades of Purple album. The actual “better” version idea OP suggested can be applied to the song “Hush” - they even recorded (incredible) video in Playboy Mansion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiXcqxms3Bs . Apparently Billy Joe Royal did it first http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCV-Y2OPLT8
One of my favorite songs is “Teardrop” by Massive Attack. I never thought it would be possible to successfully cover such a perfect and haunting song, until I came across Jose Gonzalez’s acoustic take on it. Like the original, that songs gives me chills every time I listen to it.
The Titanic by Ledbelly
Ballad of the USS Titanic by Jaime Brockett.
Brockett took the song an turned it into a ten-minute talking blues on speed number – different tune, many new verses, but the chorus is the same. This is as radical re-imagining of a song as you can think of, changing it from a comment on racism into a insane bit of nonsense.
How about Oops! I Did It Again, as done by Richard Thompson?
I never heard Prince’s version, but Sinead’s version is one of my top ten of all time.
A.C. Newman, lead singer of the New Pornographers, covered A-Ha’s “Take On Me” as a sad, acoustic ballad and I found it kind of pretty.
The Futureheads cover “Hounds of Love” in a way that wasn’t hugely different, but still manages to stand completely on its own next to Kate Bush’s original.
Then Craig Ferguson nailed it. 
I love that song so much.
Prince’s version. I love both - I honestly can’t say which I love more.
This is probably sacrilege and doesn’t make sense given what I said about Ray Charles above, but I think Dr. John’s version of “Mess Around” takes over the original in a good way. Nothing against Fats Domino, who’s a monster player and a living legend, but I’d take Dr. John’s “Blow Wind Blow” over Fats’s version any day, as well.
Well, your YMMV but Kelley’s version of the song brings to mind a someone encountering a small troop of undead cowboys on skeletal horses. It is creepy (and the creepiness factor would be upped if someone like Nick Cave did it) but “Ghost Riders” is a variation of the ancient Indo-European myth of theWild Hunt. Instead of a small troop, one should get the feel of suddenly seeing a massive cavalry of the damned endlessly pursuing a Satanic herd across a storm-ridden sky. The song demands the musical bombast that’s best supplied by the fury of an electric guitar which is why I think the versions by the likes of Dick Dale, Duane Eddy, and the Outlaws work best. It’s not just supposed to be creepy; it’s supposed to scare the crap out of you.
Good, but he sounds better here.
His cover of the Doctor Who theme is awesome as well, and pretty much defines the series… at least for my family.
Almost went the whole thread without mentioning my favorite pop to folk cover: Obedia Parker’s Hey Ya.
Wonderwall by Ryan Adams is head and shoulders above the original Oasis version if you ask me.
YES… I call you, and raise you **Ray Lamontagne’s doing Gnarls Barkley’s **“Crazy”
LOVE that SO much I’ve listened to it hundreds of times.
yeah, i went on Itunes and bought the live version. Putting a driving rhythm and blues beat behind it and giving it that full rocknroll treatment really brings out the mythic power of the lyrics. It’s definitely a different song that stands on its own.