# Strangely good cover versions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 25, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983 "2006-07-25T18:00:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Autumn\_Almanac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d26b3c/32.png) [@Autumn\_Almanac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autumn_Almanac)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/21 "2006-07-26T00:32:58Z")
The Jam’s cover of “Heat Wave.” Not really unexpected from the band (they were mods after all), but unexpected as the last track of an otherwise deadly-serious concept album. It works beautifully though. ---
**Author:** ![Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tyrrell_mcallister/32/16772_2.png) [@Tyrrell\_McAllister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tyrrell_McAllister)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/22 "2006-07-26T01:22:09Z")
**Rasputina** does a charming “Brand new key” on their _Thanks for the Ether_. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/23 "2006-07-26T01:53:38Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] I mentioned this in another “cover” thread awhile back, but Richard Thompson actually makes “Oops I Did It Again” not only listenable but enjoyable! [/QUOTE] Better than the original [Louis Armstrong?](http://www.supermasterpiece.com/music/oops.html) ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/24 "2006-07-26T01:58:02Z")
Who would have thought that an Elvis impersonator doing Reggae versions of Led Zeppelin songs could possibly work? But **Dred Zeppelin** ’s covers are brilliant. And although I normally hate her with the passion of a thousand white-hot suns, **Celine Dion** did a great cover of “Here, There, and Everwhere” for George Martin’s Beatles cover CD. **Warren Zevon** did a kick-ass cover of Prince’s _Raspberry Beret_ ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/25 "2006-07-26T02:45:35Z")
I had good reason to hate **The Lemonheads** ’ cover of “Different Drum,” but I have to admit I like it. **Social Distortion** doing “Ring of Fire” is also terrific. And I like Shatner’s “Common People” as well. There’s something about the lyrics that really work with his style. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/26 "2006-07-26T02:59:20Z")
[QUOTE=Unintentionally Blank] Better than the original [Louis Armstrong?](http://www.supermasterpiece.com/music/oops.html) [/QUOTE] Holy crap! I had no idea… ---
**Author:** ![Aitara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aitara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aitara)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/27 "2006-07-26T03:44:07Z")
Two of my favorite covers are Silea’s covers of Bill Wither’s “Ain’t no Sunshine” and Oysterband’s cover of New Order’s “Love Vigilantes” ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/28 "2006-07-26T04:07:33Z")
I am not a tATu fan. I have never been a tATu fan. By golly, they had a smooth gimmick, but I have never been a tATu fan. I’m not saying their version is better than The Smiths’, but they did a very ethereal and lonely cover of _How Soon is Now_. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/29 "2006-07-26T04:48:11Z")
[QUOTE=Bippy the Beardless] Marylyn Mansun did a good reworking of Eurithmic’s ‘Sweet dreams (are made of this)’ [/QUOTE] I was thinking of their cover of “Personal Jesus”. Great tune. ---
**Author:** ![opossum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2bfe46/32.png) [@opossum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opossum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/30 "2006-07-26T05:57:29Z")
I prefer Jimmy Buffett’s version of Uncle John’s Band to the original. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/31 "2006-07-26T06:10:51Z")
[QUOTE=Sam Stone] Who would have thought that an Elvis impersonator doing Reggae versions of Led Zeppelin songs could possibly work? But **Dred Zeppelin** ’s covers are brilliant. [/quote] A lot of them are combinations of Zep songs and Elvis songs, which is that much more, umm… yar. ---
**Author:** ![Foldup\_Rabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Foldup\_Rabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foldup_Rabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/32 "2006-07-26T06:45:18Z")
**Pickin’ on Modest Mouse: A Bluegrass Tribute**. It’s exactly what the title describes. Modest Mouse in bluegrass. I couldn’t stop listening to it when I found it. I was appalled and intrigued. Completely weird. ---
**Author:** ![opossum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2bfe46/32.png) [@opossum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opossum)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/33 "2006-07-26T07:20:54Z")
[QUOTE=Foldup Rabbit] **Pickin’ on Modest Mouse: A Bluegrass Tribute**. It’s exactly what the title describes. Modest Mouse in bluegrass. I couldn’t stop listening to it when I found it. I was appalled and intrigued. Completely weird. [/QUOTE] Hayseed Dixie puts out some pretty good bluegrass covers of AC/DC songs, along the same lines. If you’re looking for bluegrass versions of AC/DC songs, I don’t think you could top Hayseed Dixie’s. ---
**Author:** ![Anastasaeon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/73ab20/32.png) [@Anastasaeon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anastasaeon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/34 "2006-07-26T07:21:12Z")
**Pet Shop Boys** - _Always On My Mind_ I would never have thought it could work. But by Og, it did. Oh me of little faith. PSB can do _anything_. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/35 "2006-07-26T07:51:49Z")
“Tiny Cities” by Sun Kil Moon is a trip-hop Modest Mouse cover album. Nouvelle Vague has a self-titled album out which is a trip-hop cover of various 80s punk songs. Both are fantastic! > [@Euthanasiast](#): > > If you could remove Mike Tramp’s emasculated and otherwise whiny voice from the track, then White Lion’s cover of Radar Love is better than the original. > > I recall the first time I heard it. The intro was powerful and the engine behind the new version was fifth gear. I was loving the hell out of it. Then the vocals sashayed into the mix and took a steaming dump on the track. > > Huge disappointment, as without the vocals, there is no equal to that cover. There’s probably a lyricless version you can buy somewhere. Many vinyl shops sell lyrics-only and lyricless versions of various albums; I’m sure you can get this on CD too. > [@Tapioca Dextrin](#): > > I honestly believe that William Shatner’s cover of Common People is better than Pulp’s original. I’m probably in a moinority of one, though. I dug that song too (the rest of Has Been was generally good for not much more than kitsch value, with maybe two exceptions). > [@Mirror Image emagI rorriM](#): > > Iron & Wine covers The Postal Service’s “Such Great Heights” and The Shins cover “We Will Become Silhouettes”. I came in partly to mention the Iron & Wine cover of “Such Great Heights”. The Flaming Lips also did “We Will Become Silhouettes”, I believe, although I’m not sure whether theirs was first or the Postal Service’s was. > [@ArchitectChore](#): > > I really like Easy Star All-Stars’ Dub Side of the Moon: a reggae cover of the entire album Dark Side of the Moon. :eek: I heard this in a coffeeshop recently and thought, “I HAVE to get this album” and had no idea what it was. Thanks! I owe you one. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/36 "2006-07-26T08:48:36Z")
[Jonathan Coulton covering “Baby Got Back”](http://www.jonathancoulton.com/2005/10/14/thing-a-week-5-baby-got-back/): > [@Jonathan Coulton](#): > > Had to activate the whole team for this one - guitar, mandolin, banjo and even some shakers and tambourines and other things lying around the house. Yes, he covered Sir Mix-a-Lot’s anthem to steatopygia’s contribution to the cultural notions of callipygian beauty in a bluegrass style. (There is also the Christian music video “Baby Got Book” by Sir Reads-a-Lot you can download [here](http://www.tian.cc/2005/02/baby-got-book-by-sir-reads-lot.html). Not quite what the thread is about, but “When a girl walks in with a KJV/And a bookmark in proverbs, You get stoked.”) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_chao_goes_mu/32/3191_2.png) [@The\_Chao\_Goes\_Mu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Chao_Goes_Mu)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/37 "2006-07-26T09:41:43Z")
[QUOTE=Beadalin] For you _Donnie Darko_ fans, that version of Tears for Fears’ **Mad World** done by Michael Andrews. [/QUOTE] On the _Donnie Darko_ soundtrack I believe the version of Mad World was done by Gary Jules. I thought Smashing Pumpkins did a nice version of Stevie Nicks’ _Landslide._ and I honestly enjoyed Dolly Parton’s version of _Stairway To Heaven_. (stop laughing at me) I also agree that Social Distortions \*Ring of Fire \* is great as is Johnny Cash’s cover of _Hurt_. ---
**Author:** ![melondeca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@melondeca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/melondeca)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/38 "2006-07-26T15:12:06Z")
**Local H** does a really great version of Britney Spears _Toxic_. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/39 "2006-07-26T15:15:50Z")
I’m tempted to say “everything she didn’t write,” but the short list of great covers by Eva Cassidy include _Time after Time, Imagine, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow._ ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2006, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983/40 "2006-07-26T15:17:29Z")
[QUOTE=Shoeless] Holy crap! I had no idea… [/QUOTE] Me neither. Makes for a KILLER trivia question…either that or I’m being majorly wooshed and it’s a hoax. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strangely-good-cover-versions/365983.md?page=3)