# Covers that surprised you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2007, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644 "2007-12-11T19:45:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/61 "2007-12-13T07:22:13Z")
Usually I like Leonard Cohen more than Rufus Wainwright. For the latter’s cover of the former’s song “Hallelujah,” though, the reverse is the case. ---
**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:** [December 13, 2007, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/62 "2007-12-13T10:13:33Z")
Should mention Yat Ka’s thoatsinging version of _Love Will Tear Us Apart_. Great! ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/63 "2007-12-13T13:53:36Z")
Señor Coconut’s wonderful cover of Kraftwerk’s _Wir sind die Roboter_ - [Youtube](http://youtube.com/watch?v=qwCI04rdAG8) . I am a big Kraftwerk fan, but I couldn’t help but love these guys’ strange salsafication of the German electronica godfathers. ETA: Sound quality sucks in the clip, but you get the idea, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/64 "2007-12-13T14:44:33Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Just got my Eva Cassidy CDs. God, how beautiful. (_Fields of Gold_ currently playing.) [/QUOTE] I’ve had her CD’s for years now. Strangely I cannot get them to transfer them over to my iTunes library and so I can’t listen to them on my iPod. Exquisite voice. My favorite song of hers is currently “Songbird.” It’s even more compelling when you know that she faced death so young. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/65 "2007-12-13T14:54:33Z")
[QUOTE=PunditLisa] I’ve had her CD’s for years now. Strangely I cannot get them to transfer them over to my iTunes library and so I can’t listen to them on my iPod. Exquisite voice. My favorite song of hers is currently “Songbird.” It’s even more compelling when you know that she faced death so young. [/QUOTE] Well, I gotta say that this thread has really had a huge payoff for me. Talk about surprises, and she really does nothing BUT covers. It’s still too early for me to pick a favorite yet. Each time a new song begins, I think “Ooo! Ooo! It’s this one!” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/66 "2007-12-13T15:02:27Z")
In honor of Ike’s Death, I’m remembering his & Tina’s cover of CCR’s “Proud Mary.” THAT was one good cover. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/67 "2007-12-13T15:15:04Z")
[QUOTE=Sleeps With Butterflies] Off topic: I truly wish I could have this appreciation for Eva Cassidy that everyone else seems to have. I have friends who would choose her stuff as their only music on a desert island, yet her stuff does nothing for me. It’s so weird, because I love covers and she seemed to love them too. I just found (nobody shoot me, okay?) that her interpretations seemed so hollow and a little too “listen to my hypnotizing voice” for me. [/QUOTE] I agree with **Lib** that the major appeal is her voice. It has a crystal clear purity of tone that I’ve rarely heard in pop music. Her pitch is excellent and you never hear her having to slide into the proper note, she always hits it dead on. She’s also got a wonderful range and lovely vibrato, as well. Not to mention impeccable phrasing. Y’know it’s starting to get a little embarrassing how much I’m gushing about her. Call me a fanboy, I guess. > [@](#): > > Can you suggest some of your favorite songs of hers? That’s a tough one. She excelled in so many different genres that it’s hard to just pick a few. She could swing from blues belters to jazz standards to country crooners to pop ballads to traditional gospels all within one live set and make it all work. The aforementioned “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” is a good choice. That’s a song I’ve hated for years, but I had to admit I was impressed by her interpretation. “Songbird” is a personal favourite. I also love a lot of her standards like “Cheek to Cheek” and “Autumn Leaves”. ---
**Author:** ![Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@Tool\_of\_the\_Conspiracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tool_of_the_Conspiracy)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/68 "2007-12-13T15:43:49Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Funny you should mention [that particular cover.](http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/let_it_die_23_songs_that_should) [/QUOTE] “Love Will Tear Us Apart” is on that list too. At least I didn’t mention **Cat Power** ’s “Satisfaction”… ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/69 "2007-12-13T15:52:25Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Wow. How did that happen? The Beatles had been fairly ubiquitous. (Not doubting you, just genuinely curious.) [/QUOTE] It’s because my parents are about 10 years older than anyone else around my age (I’m 38, they’re in their 70’s), so they kind of “skipped” the Beatles in my house. When I was growing up it seems like we skipped from Benny Goodman straight to Linda Ronstadt without any music from the 60’s at all, and generally no rock & roll until I was a teenager and started picking my own music to listen to. However, a daughter of one of my mom’s high school friends was an Elton John fan, and had all his albums. She would play them when she was stuck watching me when we were visiting, so I ended up hearing his version first. I ended up having to go back as a young adult and pretty much completely educate myself on the early history of rock & roll. But I know a pretty decent amount about Big Bands & Swing. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/70 "2007-12-13T17:09:17Z")
I prefer Aerosmith’s “Come Together” cover over the Beatles. It added an edginess that was missing in the original. ---
**Author:** ![Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hazle_Weatherfield)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/71 "2007-12-13T17:26:10Z")
Unchained Melody - U2 (or maybe just Bono) The Boys of Summer - Ataris (“Out on the road today, I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac…”) ---
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/72 "2008-01-10T20:03:16Z")
Hopefully I don’t get in trouble for reviving an old thread, but i thought of this when I caught this video of [the Donnas doing Ratt’s ‘Round and Round.’](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkG0vvZ9AjU) Nice! ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/73 "2008-01-10T21:42:13Z")
I’m partial to Shinedown’s cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s _Simple Kind of Man_. The lead singer really tears it up. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/74 "2008-01-10T21:56:23Z")
I read about Rory Block’s _The Lady and Mr. Johnson_ in another thread. She certainly has Robert Johnson’s guitar down, but it’s weird listening to a woman singing in a deeper voice than Johnson, and her imitation of his spoken voice is distracting. Eric Clapton’s cover of Robert Johnson, _Me and Mr. Johnson_ is superb, but lacks _Crossroad Blues._ Perhaps he has it tied up on another label. At any rate, Block’s guitar and Clapton’s singing would be perfect. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/75 "2008-01-10T22:23:57Z")
[QUOTE=Annie-Xmas] …I’m no fan of rap, but even I appreciate Run-D.M.C.'s cover of Aerosmith’s [Walk This Way](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_This_Way). [/QUOTE] _Walk This Way_ always was a rap song. It just came out before rap was invented. ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/76 "2008-01-10T22:39:40Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] My God. Wow. Just wow. I ordered 3 of her CDs for overnight shipment from Amazon — _Song Bird_, _Imagine_, and _American Tune_. [/QUOTE] +1. _sniff_ ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/77 "2008-01-10T22:59:56Z")
There are a few songs that when I heard the cover version, I knew it had (to me) set the new standard for the song. **The Fugees** cover of _Killing Me Softly_ **Cake** ’s cover of _I Will Survive_ And while I wasn’t really around to hear the original before the cover existed, The aforementioned **Ike and Tina Turner** cover of _Proud Mary_ **Jimi Hendrix** ’s version of **Bob Dylan** ’s _All Along The Watchtower_ **Bob Dylan** ’s electric version of **Bob Dylan** ’s acoustic version of _I Don’t Believe You_ (the “Live 1966” version) ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/78 "2008-01-10T23:05:39Z")
Dwight Yoakem doing the Dead’s Truckin. I NEVER thought of that as a country song, but damn if it doesn’t make it better. I am a bit of a Deadhead - so from me this is quite the compliment. I like it when songs are taken out of the their genre for a spin. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/79 "2008-01-10T23:24:43Z")
[QUOTE=divemaster] Jimmy Buffett’s cover of **Southern Cross**. I mean, it’s just so _Buffett_. Moreso than Neil Young, IMO. [/QUOTE] It better be, considering Neil Young had nothing to do with [Southern Cross](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Cross_%28Crosby%2C_Stills_and_Nash_song%29)…! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2008, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644/80 "2008-01-10T23:55:23Z")
At the risk of being laughed out of the thread, I have to nominate Rod Stewart’s cover of Robert Palmer’s “Some Guys Have All the Luck.” Yes, Palmer recorded it _first_, even though I heard Stewart’s version before his. Once I hear Palmer’s version, I actually decided the cover was better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/covers-that-surprised-you/429644.md?page=5)