# Remakes you prefer to the original songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2008, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189 "2008-03-29T18:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/41 "2008-03-31T03:44:50Z")
“Crossroads” by Cream blows both “Crossroads Blues” and “Travelling Riverside Blues” by Robert Johnson away. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/42 "2008-03-31T03:47:08Z")
[QUOTE=silenus] “Crossroads” by Cream blows both “Crossroads Blues” and “Travelling Riverside Blues” by Robert Johnson away. [/QUOTE] _cough_ **sputter** I am reminded of a scene from _Ghost World_. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/43 "2008-03-31T04:39:40Z")
Joss Stoves cover of “Fell in Love with a Girl” (boy in her version) by the white stripes, I like both but her version is just plain sexy [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDU2EXsW9tA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDU2EXsW9tA) (Joss’s version) [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDi67G0Siw](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRDi67G0Siw) (The original) ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/44 "2008-03-31T05:11:05Z")
Aretha Franklin’s version of _Respect_ over Otis Redding’s original. **Better than the Beatles:** Earth, Wind and Fire’s version of _Got to Get You Into My Life_. John Denver’s version of _Mother Nature’s Son_. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/45 "2008-03-31T05:49:16Z")
[Veruca Salt’s cover of “My Sharona”](http://youtube.com/watch?v=EqoMWAKvmjg) is awesome. (Possibly NSFW, as the video itself is Kate Moss in lingerie doing some rather mediocre pole dancing,) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/46 "2008-03-31T05:53:36Z")
[QUOTE=Brown Eyed Girl] Oh yeah, the one I was really trying to remember was **Gary Jules** ’ remake of _Tears for Fears_’ **Mad World**. It’s slow, the way it would have been if T4F wasn’t trying to sell records in the '80s. [/QUOTE] That’s always the first song that comes to my mind in threads like this. Jules’ version fits the music to the lyrics perfectly. It makes my wife cry. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/47 "2008-03-31T06:00:22Z")
You know, I’m gonna have to go with David Cook’s [studio version of Billie Jean](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BUfbLtZHrog). Michael Jackson’s was catchy and all, and Chris Cornell’s arrangement proved what the song could be, but David made it hauntingly beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/48 "2008-03-31T06:16:31Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] You know, I’m gonna have to go with David Cook’s [studio version of Billie Jean](http://youtube.com/watch?v=BUfbLtZHrog). Michael Jackson’s was catchy and all, and Chris Cornell’s arrangement proved what the song could be, but David made it hauntingly beautiful. [/QUOTE] I almost puked during that! My wife and I were rolling around on the couch wincing in pain! Ok, she wasn’t, but she’s not nearly as dramatic as me. She **was** cringing though, I swear. Another one I just thought of is ‘Country Roads, Take Me Home’ by Toots & the Maytals. Superior to John Denver’s IMO, though I like them both. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/49 "2008-03-31T06:38:29Z")
[QUOTE=pulykamell] Continuing with the Clash, their cover of “Police on my Back” I prefer to the hard-to-find original. [/QUOTE] …and I’ll add that their version of “Pressure Drop” tops the Toots original. I think Sleeper’s version of “Atomic” is marginally better than the Blondie original. I can’t usually bear to listen to Rod Stewart, even a good song like “Maggie May,” so thank God Blur covered it and crushed his original. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/50 "2008-03-31T06:56:07Z")
[QUOTE=Hippy Hollow] …and I’ll add that their version of “Pressure Drop” tops the Toots original. [/QUOTE] Weird, I like the Clash and I didn’t know they did Pressure Drop. Neville from the Specials told me personally that it’s the most covered ska song ever, so I’m not surprised. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Them](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/898d66/32.png) [@The\_Them](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Them)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/51 "2008-03-31T07:04:13Z")
Violent nastiness upon ALL who question the Beatles’ superiority! _ahem_ **Manford Mann** did much better covers of **Bruce Springsteen** than Springsteen could have done himself. Also, **Joan Jett and the Blackhearts** thouroughly put the proper amount of scandal into _Crimson and Clover._ ---
**Author:** ![Algorithm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/algorithm/32/12204_2.png) [@Algorithm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algorithm)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/52 "2008-03-31T14:47:28Z")
[QUOTE=Marley23] I feel obliged to bring up Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower.” That’s kind of the standard case of the cover beating the original. [/QUOTE] Along the same vein, “Black Magic Woman” by Santana is much better than the original Fleetwood Mac version. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/53 "2008-03-31T14:54:12Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Ditto. Likewise, [Aerosmith’s version of _Come Together_](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jWESj-Lkw) is better than the Beatles’ version. [/QUOTE] I prefer their cover of_Helter Skelter_ as well. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/54 "2008-03-31T15:02:23Z")
[QUOTE=The Them] _ahem_ **Manford Mann** did much better covers of **Bruce Springsteen** than Springsteen could have done himself. [/QUOTE] Bah! _Bah_, I say! Manfred Mann’s “Blinded by the Light” is limp and pathetic next to the Boss’s original. Besides which, Manfred Mann gets the lyrics wrong. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/55 "2008-03-31T15:04:08Z")
**You Keep Me Hanging On** - I like the Vanilla Fudge version better than the Supremes. **Zenith** , are you thinking of the Motley Crue version of Helter Skelter (which I prefer)? I am not aware of Aerosmith doing this one. While I’m at it, I’ll add that I like Aerosmith’s version of “Come Together” over the Fab Four’s version (not that it’s bad, mind you). ---
**Author:** ![WreckingCrew](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wreckingcrew/32/4080_2.png) [@WreckingCrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WreckingCrew)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/56 "2008-03-31T15:48:46Z")
[QUOTE=Cisco] Correct, which reminds me that Oingo Boingo’s ‘You Really Got Me’ is better than Van Halen’s. [/QUOTE] Please tell me this is either a whoosh, or that you mean that Oingo Boingo’s cover of “You Really Got Me” is better than Van Halen’s cover of the same, not that the Van Halen version is the original. ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/57 "2008-03-31T15:52:42Z")
[QUOTE=WreckingCrew] Please tell me this is either a whoosh, or that you mean that Oingo Boingo’s cover of “You Really Got Me” is better than Van Halen’s cover of the same, not that the Van Halen version is the original. [/QUOTE] I’m assuming that the joke is that “Satisfaction” by the Rolling Stones is actually a cover of Otis Redding’s version. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/58 "2008-03-31T16:56:38Z")
John Lennon’s cover of “Stand By Me” is the definitive version for me. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/59 "2008-03-31T17:22:19Z")
Most of mine have already been mentioned, but: Hurt by Johnny Cash Tainted Love by Marilyn Manson Personal Jesus by Marilyn Manson (is this a cover, or the original? I’m not sure) Mad World by Gary Jules [Tragedy](http://youtube.com/watch?v=oSyaDk5M_wM) by Celldweller (just heard this one recently, and It’s a big improvement over the BeeGee’s version (which I also liked)) ---
**Author:** ![Oredigger77](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oredigger77/32/3181_2.png) [@Oredigger77](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oredigger77)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2008, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189/60 "2008-03-31T17:41:31Z")
Just to be a bit different I like Pearl Jam’s version of Last Kiss better then the original it is a slower song that makes it much sadder then the original, which I like as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/remakes-you-prefer-to-the-original-songs/443189.md?page=4)