I cannot, cannot believe that this thread has gone this long without mentioning the worst cover of all time… a song so bad it went straight to number 1 on the Billboard lists…
Will to Power’s remake of “Free Bird/Baby I love your way.”
AAARRRRRGGGGHHHH MAKE IT STOP, MAKE I-I-I-I-T STO-O-O-O-O-O-OP!!!
Along the lines of “Why bother covering a song if your version is nearly identical to the original?” I can’t believe no one has mentioned the insipid cover of Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” that was popular last year- I think the artist was Jeffrey Gaines, but I could be WAY off base. In any case, it had NO distinctive features and added nothing to Pter Gabriel’s version, plus it was missing all the things that made the original version so wonderful. And yet it became a hit! I just kept wondering why radio stations didn’t just play the original instead.
Ugh – nice list of songs here. Maybe we could put together an album of all of these songs and then burn the master disk.
Meanwhile, I have to add a few of my own that haven’t been mentioned.
I remember a cover of AC/DC’s “Dirty Deeds (Done Dirt Cheap)” by Joan Jett or Tess Turbo or somebody similar. AC/DC: grungy, raucous garage band. Cover song: slick, clean, studio production. Ugh.
You have not heard suck until you hear Otis Redding doing the Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”
I have a personal vendetta against Garth Brook’s “Shameless.” Originally a Billy Joel tune. Perhaps I hate it because everyone thought it was this brilliant new song that Garth wrote. Perhaps it’s because I’m a Billy Joel fan.
I can’t stand the Tina/Ike Turner cover of CCR’s “Proud Mary.” Too fast, wrong backbeat.
I second the Whitney Houston mistake “I Will Always Love You.” Dolly’s was plaintive and sad. Whitney’s was just pathetic.
Also, Sinead O’Connor covering “Sacrifice” by Elton John. “Sacrifice” was actually listenable in its original form, on a not-very-good album, but O’Connor ruined it.
My last is perhaps a strange choice: Simon and Garfunkel covering themselves in re-making “The Sound of Silence” complete with perky drum track.
Does Muzak count? Because I heard a TERRIBLE rendition of the Doors’ “People Are Strange” while waiting in line at a Bank of America.
<8)))><
Hey, Fish…
Wanna really cool fish sig line?
·´¯·.¸¸..><((((º>.·´¯·.¸¸.·´¯·.¸><((((º>¸.·´¯·.¸. , .
Gee, thanks, Lola! Now all I need is a sombrero and some Mickey Mouse pants and I’ll be really cool.
Ack, there it is. Phew. Thought I’d lost a fish.
hee hee!
Sometimes it’s fun to be kooky, just fer the halibut!
Doctor J said:
Well, mostly true. But on The Great Rock and Roll Swindle there’s a rather amusing demo of the Sex Pistols covering “Johnny B. Goode” and The Modern Lovers’ “Roadrunner” in one take and messing them both up spectacularly. It’s great.
Johnny Rotten: “Well Johnny nannanananannanana…(pauses)…oh fuck this is awful!”
Meanwhile, Legomancer said:
Well, in their defense, it was for the recording of Unplugged in New York and was more like a laid back atmostphere anyhow. I mean, in addition to that, in the same show they covered three Meat Puppets’ songs (all from the MP’s glorious album, II) and a Ledbelly song. Take it the same way you would someone covering something in a coffee shop. You don’t necessarily want to hear their artistic take on something. Just a nice cover version. I say, if you want to do something different with it, take it to the studio. Live, it’s nice just to hear it unless you have something planned out ahead of time. Which I doubt Nirvana did.
And to throw my vote in…don’t know if anyone’s ever heard this, but after hearing Talking Heads’ fantastic version of it, Delbert McClinton(sp?)'s version of Al Green’s “Take Me to the River” bites it big time. God it’s awful.
And since I’m an idiot and didn’t finish reading the thread before I posted…
Fear Factory’s cover of “Cars” makes a lot of sense. Gary Numan had a ton of influence on more recent industrial/dance bands. I mean, really. You can’t beat his first four records for the absolute brilliance of what can be done, atmospherically, with synthesizers.
Of course, I own a picture vinyl 45 copy of “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?” that I got signed at a show of his at the Shepards Bush Empire in London. So I’m biased.
The Clash “Tribute” album, Burning London, is unbelievably bad. Every song on it is terrible, but particularly horrible songs are Silverchair doing “London’s Burning” and No Doubt doing “Hateful”
I usually like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, but I have no idea what they were thinking when they agreed to appear on this monstrosity.
Chris
I agree that Sheryl Crow’s version of “Sweet Child of Mine” is the worst cover song I’ve ever heard.
I would have to say that Train’s version of “Light My Fire” by the Doors makes me cringe. Not only does the drum beat change for the worse, but the entire guitar and organ solo halfway into the song is omitted.
Saw them live once. The joke got old after a couple of songs.
I liked it (Fiona Apple’s Across the Universe) too. And Tori’s Smells Like Teen Spirit.
I’m not embarrassed.
Actually the social distortion cover of under my thumb is a hidden track on one of their cds Ya just wait a bit after the normal cd finishes its ok just a faster version of the stone song…
Now what was mike ness drinking and smoking when they covered johnny cash’s ring of fire i’ll never know Its just horrid even for punk standards ( which tends to be saying soemthing )
Now a odd choice of covers I like is when elvis costello redid some classic country standards in the late 70s Hes made a mini career by redoing them in nashville concerts and tv and with the original singers usually espically george jones
I find it sad that a english/irish new wave/punk can sound better doing old country than most of the people doing new country
Does anyone remeber the remake of “I saw the light” a few years ago I forgotten who made it but ick …
and rap artist : remixes are just reengineeredcpvers so dont think we’re fooled
Oh man, I’m so glad you posted this. I’ve always hated the Ike and Tina version, and a friend of mine had me convinced that Ike and Tina’s was the original. Fish, You’ve made my day! Woo-hoo! You’re wrong, Jack, wrong! CCR Rules!
Miss Terious,
I don’t know if I’m posting links correctly, but here
http://www.mattsmusicpage.com/creedence/track/lbayou.htm
is a list of all of CCR’s albums, complete with lyrics. Click on the “Proud Mary” link and see the author as J.C. Fogerty, the song released on an album in 1969.
Not enough? Go to
http://www.allbutforgottenoldies.net/ike-and-tina-turner.html
and see the webpage as much as admit that the 1971 release of “Proud Mary” was a cover of CCR. Take that, Jack!
Fool’s Rush In, originally by Elvis, which was good,
covered byUB40, which was hideous.
But the U2 cover of that same song (or it may be just Bono) is fabulous. Very sexy.
Yes, Don McLean should bitchslap Madonna. The context issue I never thought of, good point! Mariah Carey doing “Against all Odds”
Another one: Those teenagers that killed “Dancing Queen”. Song-bad, video-100x worse!