# Improbable covers that....DIDN'T suck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2003, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717 "2003-12-18T09:04:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Made\_in\_Macau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@Made\_in\_Macau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Made_in_Macau)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/21 "2003-12-18T16:25:56Z")
Chantel Kreviazuk’s cover of ‘Leaving on a Jet Plane’ is staggeringly good - to take a really cliched song like that and give any sort of meaning is worth note but hers is great. Quite why its on the ‘Armageddon’ soundtrack is beyond me though, we only hear Ben Affleck sing it AFAIK ---
**Author:** ![Eman\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Eman\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eman_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/22 "2003-12-18T18:07:14Z")
Travis’ “Baby One More Time” is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![merge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9f8e36/32.png) [@merge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/merge)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/23 "2003-12-18T18:22:15Z")
I second **Cake - I will survive** also, **Howie Day** had a live performance of **Karma Police** that was one of the best covers I have ever heard. If you can find it online… download it… he uses a loop box to record the guitar, bassline, drums, and then solo at the end of the song… it is awesome. and of course **Dave Matthews Band - All along the Watchtower** ---
**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/24 "2003-12-18T18:50:59Z")
Anything by **Me First and The Gimme Gimmes** ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/25 "2003-12-18T19:24:24Z")
I like Tom Jones’s version of _Kiss_, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/26 "2003-12-18T19:45:16Z")
**Jason Falkner** does a great up-tempo ‘Both Sides Now’ that I find more pleasant than the weepy-ballad versions. **Smashing Pumpkins** made Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Landslide’ absolutely awesome. **Phish** are famous for doing a Halloween show where they ‘dress up as’ another band. One year it was the White Album, another year, Quadrophenia. And the **Gimmes** are awesome all around, but my two favorites of theirs are ‘Science Fiction Double Feature’ and ‘Rocket Man’. ---
**Author:** ![rackensack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e5b9ba/32.png) [@rackensack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rackensack)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/27 "2003-12-18T20:13:29Z")
**Aztec Camera** ’s cover of Van Halen’s “Jump” as a down-tempo acoustic guitar ballad. ---
**Author:** ![J\_String](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@J\_String](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/J_String)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/28 "2003-12-18T20:16:51Z")
Pat Boone’s versions of “It’s a Long way to the Top (if You Want to Rock and Roll)” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’” were pretty good. Also Dokken’s version of “From the Beginning” (ELP) was surprisingly good. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/29 "2003-12-18T20:19:21Z")
Kronos Quartet does a weird and lovely Purple Haze, ending in simulated electric guitar feedback. Not to be missed. I far prefer Tori Amos’ quiet, reflective _Smells Like Teen Spirit_ to the original. Once on _This American Life_, a female vocalist sang a spare, '70’s-style punked-out version of the Mary Poppins song in which the children list their demands for a nanny. Good stuff! And then there’s always Mr. Yankovic’s polka medleys of pop music hits… Daniel ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/30 "2003-12-18T20:46:38Z")
In my DJ days I used to play the song “Blue Moon”. The one I played was a slow version sung by Cybill Shepherd from a CD that was tied to her old TV show, Moonlighting, with Bruce Willis. Other people enjoyed it enough to come up to me after the song and ask who the singer was and what album the song was on. Bruce also sang a few blues songs on the CD and didn’t do to well with it. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/31 "2003-12-18T20:52:09Z")
U2’s cover of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is awesome, too. My favorite christmas song. ---
**Author:** ![Capri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@Capri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capri)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/32 "2003-12-18T20:53:14Z")
I have to second the Tom Jones’ Kiss version. I heard the Ausie pop duet Savage Garden sing “What if God was one of us” in a concert (no idea if they recorded it) and it was out of this world. ---
**Author:** ![gooti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eb8c5e/32.png) [@gooti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gooti)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/33 "2003-12-18T21:43:09Z")
When Failure was still around I heard them play Depeche Mode’s _Enjoy the Silence_ live as an encore. I nearly pee’d my knickers it was so good, seeing as how I love both groups. Then, lo and behold, a few months later _For The Masses: An Album of Depeche Mode Songs_ (tribute album) came out. [Cartman] Sweeeeeeeeeet![/Cartman] ---
**Author:** ![Doomtrain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/0ea827/32.png) [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/34 "2003-12-18T21:56:24Z")
Dr. Evil covering “What If God Was One Of Us” (“Mhmm, I wrote that”) and “Just the Two of Us”, of course. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/35 "2003-12-18T22:14:56Z")
Ozzy and Dweezil Zappa did a suprisingly cool cover of “Stayin Alive”. I have it somewhere in MP3 format but don’t know if it was ever released. A band named Sanctuary did a cover of Jefferson Airplanes “White Rabbit”, with Dave Mustaine handling the solo section, that is awesome. Slee ---
**Author:** ![caligynephobia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7feea3/32.png) [@caligynephobia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligynephobia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/36 "2003-12-18T22:51:51Z")
Page or Plant (I can’t remember which one) said Dread Zeppelin’s cover of “Your Time is Gonna Come” was superior to the original. ---
**Author:** ![Profane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47774/32.png) [@Profane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Profane)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/37 "2003-12-18T22:54:01Z")
A Perfect Circle did a cover/medley of The Cure’s Love Song and Black Sabbath’s Diary of a Madman. Souds bizarre but the result is amazing, I wish I had a studio version of it instead of just live. Nine Inch Nails’ Dead Souls (originally by Joy Division) is great, as his version of Adam Ant’s Physical. I love Revolting Cocks’ version of Do You Think I’m Sexy. ---
**Author:** ![caligynephobia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7feea3/32.png) [@caligynephobia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligynephobia)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/38 "2003-12-18T22:57:23Z")
Er, actually it was allegedly Robert Plant who said he preferred Dread’s version of “Your Time is Gonna Come.” I like 'em both. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/39 "2003-12-18T23:23:30Z")
Edie Brickell’s cover of “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” on the Born On the Fourth of July soundtrack is better than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717/40 "2003-12-18T23:47:54Z")
Dolly Parton’s version of “Shine”? Are you serious? I nearly pulled an Elvis on my TV when I heard her perform it on Letterman. H20 does a punk rendition of “Like a Prayer” and it’s fantastic. And I saw Guster do Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” in concert once and it was practically the song of the night. It was that good. There’s also an MP3 of them doing “Sympathy For the Devil” floating around. The quality isn’t great, but the song isn’t bad. And put me down for seconds to both “Landslide” and “Hurt.” In my eyes both are superior to the originals. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/improbable-covers-that-didnt-suck/219717.md?page=3)