Song covers that are better than the originals.

[Goodheart]

Few and far between... so much so that for me there really is only one standout...

I'll preface this by saying that I have an enormous love for Tears for Fears. "Head Over Heels", in particular, is a fantastic production. And "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is an acknowledged classic. But, sorry to say....

This:

Is better than this:

It's so obvious to me that this song should have been slower paced as in the Gary Jules version that I'm left wondering "what were they thinking?"

A beautiful song in either case, though.

[Lochloosa]

1. One if favorites. Maybe not better but it's up there. Welcome to my nightmare.

[TheBlackAdder]

238. I remember a friend being pissed that they bought a record of hits by the originals.

.

It was the band The Originals, covering all of the songs. 😂

.

[Goodheart]

2. By the way, Donnie Darko brought me here.

LOL

Spending my lockdown catching up on movies I've always meant to see but never took the time.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

63. Which version do you have? There's a director's cut that's a few minutes longer than

Last edited Sun Apr 12, 2020, 06:29 AM - Edit history (1)

the non-director's cut. Unfortunately, both of my DVDs are the shorter version.

That's a great song in the movie, isn't it?

[Goodheart]

102. I doubt it was the director's cut. It's the version streaming on the Filmrise app.

I really liked the movie, by the way. In my mind I have competing interpretations of what happened, and that's a good thing.

[Upthevibe]

126. Donnie Darko!

That's when I first discovered this song too...

[brewens]

3. Don't Be Cruel by Cheap Trick is one of my favorite remakes. n/t

[mr_lebowski]

181. This one is pretty good too :)

[underpants]

4. Foo Fighters "Baker Street"

[consider_this]

70. Agreed!!

I never much like the original when it was in it's heyday, but was amazed when I'd heard this version.

[LakeArenal]

5. Okay. Most will like the original. But I love this version.

https://m.

[Goodheart]

6. Didn't know this existed. Thanks. :)

Are we picking on Elvis this morning?

LOL

[smirkymonkey]

71. I love that version! I have never heard it before. But I love Roland Gift's voice.

It's so unique and unusually pleasant. I also love "Johnny Come Home" and pretty much all the FYCs other songs as well. Thanks for posting that!

[LakeArenal]

96. Thanks. It's always nice to hear I'm not alone in music taste!!

[AwakeAtLast]

225. They were so underated!

At least in the US.

[KPN]

7. Jimi's cover of Dylans song ....

[link:

|

[livetohike]

19. My pick too n/t

[StarryNite]

23. Absolutely!

[exboyfil]

32. No doubt

Beat me too it. Even Dylan recognized it.

[H2O Man]

85. +1

Jimi did a great version of "Like a Rolling Stone," too.

[yonder]

160. +2. Great song.

[thegoose]

186. I saw Dylan's Americanarama tour a few years ago

He had rescored all of his classic songs to the same repetitive blues bar. And he stood in the back of the stage so you couldn't even see him, singing in this frog croaking voice. And yes, he croaked out "Watchtower."

I would rather that his co-acts, My Morning Jacket and Wilco, had just kept the stage. And his special guests! Jackson Browne and Nancy Sinatra! She performed Sonny and Cher's "Bang Bang (He Shot Me Down)." Browne joined My Morning Jacket for a cover of Dylan's "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" that was thankfully not rescored to blues.

Oh, and I like Marilyn Manson's cover of Eurythmic's "Sweet Dreams."

[Ex Lurker]

200. Any Dylan song is better as a cover NT

[BleedsBlue]

8. The Sound of Silence..

The band Disturbed covered the original by Simon and Garfunkel. I think it's awesome.

[Doreen]

82. Yeah, that is a good one.

Sound of silence is one of my top favorite songs and I usually do not like covers of it. Disturbed did a great job though. Actually it is the only cover I like.

[leftieNanner]

112. I was going to post this one!

Have you seen the video with stills and footage from the Vietnam War with this song as background? Powerful. I don't remember where I saw it (maybe on DU!) but it's excellent.

[tenderfoot]

250. Interesting, to me the Disturbed version sounds like they have no idea what the lyrics mean

[Hotler]

9. Maybe not better but, real good.

[lame54]

10. I'm alone on this one - but here ya go...

[mr_lebowski]

135. You are not alone my friend ... that's a great cover ...

But if I'z gonna pick 1 fave UT cover, it would be this one, personally ...

[lame54]

139. Also good

[rufus dog]

11. Tons of them

A lot of remakes of 60's and early 70's songs. My take is because the original artists really couldn't cut loose based upon constraints at the time.

&list=RD-n4CwtcPFKM&start_radio=1&t=46

[teach1st]

103. Thanks for that, rufus dog!

So good, I'm going to have to listen twice.

[mr_lebowski]

179. I was going to put this in my list, but you kinda already started this tip, so

I'll just put this here if that's cool

The Allman's classic ... I won't say it's better, but it SOUNDS better due to newer tech, and it's every bit the equal to the original musically ...

[rufus dog]

223. Hmmmm another good one. NT

[brooklynite]

12. Joe Cocker's "With A Little Help From My Friends"

[exboyfil]

33. Another great one

He owns it. His signature song.

[luvs2sing]

36. Also this one..

[link:

|

[House of Roberts]

104. Add Unchain My Heart to the Joe Cocker list,

but it wouldn't be fair to list all the covers Linda Ronstadt did better than the originals.

[SidDithers]

55. I like Joe Cocker's version of The Letter, originally done by The Box Tops...

Sid

[Igel]

13. It's quirky, but still ...

Reel Big Fish. A-Ha's "Take on me"

Norwegian dance meets ska-punk.

[Music Man]

14. Arlo Guthrie's cover of "City of New Orleans" by Steve Goodman.

Hardly anyone knows that Steve Goodman wrote the song, actually, since Guthrie's rendition is the well-known standard.

[RockRaven]

77. I'll go meta and say I like Willie Nelson's version (1982), which is more

a cover of Guthrie's version than a cover of Goodman's.

[mucifer]

128. Nope Steve Goodman's is better. I know it's subjective But,

you are wrong

[GemDigger]

15. I don't like the band but I love this remake.

[genxlib]

26. That is pretty amazing

He has an incredible voice. Not just the range high to low but the range from clear to raspy growl.

Thanks for that.

[GemDigger]

35. An incredible voice.

He trained to be a Cantor and that is what gave us his voice. The rest of their music is a little too heavy for me.

[Alliepoo]

49. Found this version a couple of years ago

While poking around on YouTube. Blew me away!!

[GemDigger]

66. The video blew me away and I love the reaction (Dee Omar especially) videos about this.

Her reaction and mine was the exact same.

[neeksgeek]

16. Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus

I love David Bowie, but even Bowie himself thought that Bauhaus did this song better than he did.

[GemDigger]

37. That's a tough one. I have to go with Bowie.

[sweetloukillbot]

141. Give Ziggy to Bowie, But I'll give Bauhaus Telegram Sam and Severance

Originals by T-Rex

and Dead Can Dance....

[neeksgeek]

237. Thanks for those! nt

[Celerity]

90. looooooooooooove Bauhaus ♥

[mr_lebowski]

138. Me too! And Love and Rockets too! nt

[Celerity]

150. and Dalis Car ♥ and Tones On Tail ♥

[mr_lebowski]

203. But of course ... & I also quite like some Peter Murphy and Daniel Ash solo stuff ...

[Celerity]

210. +1

[WhiskeyGrinder]

17. Completely disagree about Mad World.

Jules' version is mopey; the original's new-wave surrealism is a perfect fit on the album.

[Goodheart]

110. I can respect that. :)

[Mosby]

18. All along the watchtower.

Natural woman.

Texas flood.

[genxlib]

20. This cover of Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm rocks

And I know this will be sacrilege to undermine both David Bowie and Freddie Mercury but i like this edgier version of Under Pressure by the Used

[Salviati]

21. Johnny Cash - Mercy Seat

Some of my friends were at a Nick Cave show once, where he introduced it as "A Johnny Cash Song"...

[Withywindle]

177. I bet when Cave found out Johnny Cash was going to cover one of his songs

he had to go lie down for a while.


Cave is a great, great artist in his own right but the influence is obvious.

[Bad Thoughts]

22. (What's so funny 'bout) Peace, Love and Understanding

Best cover ever.

[link:

|

[Freddie]

39. Elvis doesn't do many covers

That ones a classic. Another good one is his take in the Animals “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”.

[empedocles]

185. "That's All Right Mama'' by Arthur Crudup 1947, covered by Elvis and put on Rolling

Stone's Greatest 500 [#113].

Elvis' "Love Me Tender' was a very old folk song titled 'Aura Lee'.

[Both songs skyrocketed Elvis' career']

[ZZenith]

207. *ahem* (different Elvis)

[SMC22307]

67. Wow. I still get the same "jolt" as I did back in high school...

40 years ago!

[Goodheart]

87. Had no idea he didn't write this. :)

[Raastan]

258. + 1

[MurrayDelph]

24. Pretty much anything by Big Daddy '59

[hardluck]

25. Johnny Cash's version of Hurt

Vs NIN’s version

I like both but the Cash version just resonates.

[Docreed2003]

30. Even Trent Reznor has said Cash's is better.

[Progressive Jones]

162. True . Reznor said that Hurt became Johnny Cash's song. nt

[Wounded Bear]

31. That's my normal go-to for this question...

You can tell that Johnny actually dealt with those demons. He got it.

[mr_lebowski]

140. Well ... so did Trent, to be fair

I love both versions.

[edhopper]

27. One of the best covers of all time

[exboyfil]

34. I didn't know that

I thought it originally was a Joplin song. I just listened to Franklin's version, and I like it too. It is Joplins signature son though.

[edhopper]

40. Written by the great

Bert Berns

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bert_Berns

[exboyfil]

46. Just queued up a compilation album of Bert Berns songs

I did recognize several of his songs.

Thank you for the suggestion.

[Alliepoo]

58. Wow!!!!!!

Have never heard the Franklin version-it’s fantastic!! Still love Janis the best but, Wow!!!

[KPN]

148. Wow. Awesome choice. Forgot all about that one! Definitely righ up

there if not THE best.

[MagickMuffin]

28. Since you brought up Mad World, here's Curt Smith and his daughter Dive

Very beautifully done!

[Goodheart]

91. Nice!

[Progressive Jones]

29. "Doin' Time", a Sublime song covered by Lana Del Rey. She owns it. It's hers now.

[greenjar_01]

99. Def a contender...what's wild is that it's not even top three on the album, maybe not top five

The proper rankings are

1. Venice Bitch
2. Mariners Apartment Complex
3. hope is a dangerous thing...etc.
4. Norman Fucking Rockwell
5. Fuck it I love you / or Doin' Time cover

[Roland99]

106. Yeah. That's really good

[gratuitous]

38. Three versions of "Woodstock"

The version most folks know:

The original:

And the version that's been largely lost to the passing years:

[edhopper]

41. Joni was in New York

for the Dick Cavett Show and didn't make it to Woodstock.

But captured it in this song none the less.

[Mordred]

42. Surprised this hasn't been mentioned yet

[Alliepoo]

43. One of my all time favorites-

First Time Ever I Saw Your Face sung by Roberta Flack. Written by Ewan MacColl and sung by Peggy Seeger originally, there was a nice folksy cover by Peter, Paul and Mary but Roberta Flack made it magical! Others have covered this song as well. I think I saw a version by George Michael, too.

[Paladin]

44. Ry Cooder's reggae version of "It's All Over Now."

Better than the original by The Valentinos, better than the cover by The Rolling Stones---best cover of a popular song ever, from my standpoint.

[SidDithers]

45. Aretha Franklin had some great covers...

couple of my favourites:

Better than the originals? Depends on how much soul you like

Sid

[JustGene]

47. Sea of Love

Maybe not better, but different

[GreenEyedLefty]

48. Always Something There to Remind Me

Naked Eyes' version may not be the best but it's my favorite.

Also, I LOVE the Derek & The Dominos version of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing."

[smirkymonkey]

75. I love their version as well. I love his voice.

[sl8]

50. 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun', as covered by Cyndi Lauper n/t

[spooky3]

84. Agree nt

[Foolacious]

51. When I saw your title, the first song I thought of was "Mad World". N/T

[Goodheart]

97. Well, yeah, and here's a funny thing...

I don't agree with any of the other choices posted here. LOL.

Especially the cover of Sounds of Silence. That song is meant to be understated and solemn, not brutalized.

[CincyDem]

52. Santana's Black Magic Woman. Original early Fleetwood Mac. N/t

[MontanaMama]

53. Wild Horses covered by The Sundays.

[ZZenith]

113. Love that version!

As well as the original.

[mr_lebowski]

142. +2 nt

[DinahMoeHum]

54. "Superman" - R.E.M.

The original was done by a 1960s pop band from Houston called The Clique:

R.E.M.'s cover:

#newrostrong

[underpants]

65. Yes!

[mr_lebowski]

144. +2 Mike Mill's first lead vocal for REM, an interesting point of fact ...

[Sapient Donkey]

236. I had no idea that was a cover.

[malchickiwick]

56. Pete Seeger's version of Dylan's "Forever Young" comes to mind.

[IcyPeas]

57. Heart Full of Soul..... Rush

[smirkymonkey]

59. It's funny, I have been obsessed with this song lately and I also prefer the Gary Jules version and

the slower tempo. I do like Tears for Fears, but their version had to fast of a tempo for the mood of this song.

It is a hauntingly beautiful song, but also kind of depressing. However, very apropos of the situation we find ourselves in currently.

[malaise]

60. Great thread

THIS - she starts singing at 1.57

OVER

Both are lovely but Aretha wins

I never post these two without remembering the night at a party when two guys got into a fight over which one was better - an ironic moment in my life which I'll never forget. Who fights over this beautiful song?

[Journeyman]

100. Paul Simon did an alternate, solo cover of his own song that was surprisingly good . . .

I had thought this song impossible to do without Art Garfunkel, but Simon pleasantly surprised me.

I love the version by Aretha Franklin. I had not heard that. Thanks for sharing.

[malaise]

105. Damn that cover is fascinating

The intro background is very similar to Aretha's cover.
By the way that party was decades ago.

[IcyPeas]

61. L.A. Woman - Elephant Stone

[Mosby]

131. You can't be serious.

[badseedboy]

62. "Hello in There," Bette Midler

[spooky3]

83. Her Beast of Burden was pretty great too. Nt

[badseedboy]

132. Yes! I had forgotten. Thank you. nt

[Leith]

64. Arrangement is similar

but the singer is lightyears better.

Also, I think the Monkees' version of I'm a Believer is better than Neil Diamond's (who wrote it), and definitely better than Smash Mouth's.

[DBoon]

68. Satisfaction

cover:

original:

What Mick Jagger did when he first heard the Devo version:

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/mick-jagger-danced-around-the-office-1062872

[stonecutter357]

69. Type O Negative - Cinnamon Girl

[Progressive Jones]

161. Type O Neg also did a cool cover of "Summer Breeze" by Seals and Crofts. nt

[Brother Buzz]

72. Weird Al Yankovic'c cover of - Subterranean Homesick Blues

You decide

[tonedevil]

73. This is THE cover of Mad World

[SMC22307]

86. Thank you Puddles and your cute little side-kick.

I'll always be partial to the original and the Jules version drags me down, but this is fantastic!

[blm]

198. Haley Reinhardt can sing anything and do it legit.

[SMC22307]

243. Based on that clip I'd tend to agree.

I'm not familiar with her.

[blm]

264. Seriously, she can even do Zeppelin.

[SMC22307]

265. I checked her out on YouTube last night...

which led me to Zeppelin, Joplin, Jefferson Airplane, Bjork, Massive Attack, Cocteau Twins, Everything but the Girl... and 2:45 AM! I'm sleepy...

[ornotna]

74. House of the rising sun

The cover

another cover

Another cover

The original (as far as we know)

[consider_this]

76. Hallelujah!

The Jeff Buckley version:

[ZZenith]

118. All-time favorite cover.

Was gonna post this if someone else had not.

Don’t believe anyone’s ever improved on an original more than this man did.

RIP Mr. Buckley.

[mucifer]

130. I prefer the KD Lang version:

But, I agree there are a lot of versions better than Leonard Cohen's version.

[ZZenith]

143. Nope. Sorry!

[mr_lebowski]

167. +2 ... Jeff's was utterly captivating w/him just standing there with his Telecaster

What's trippy is ... most won't even realize on first listening it's 100% just him, alone, playing it live.

[ZZenith]

193. A rare moment of musical perfection.

Not rare for Jeff, mind you - his live archive is full of such performances - but not many musicians reach this level of artistic control.

David Bowie considered “Grace” to be the best album ever made. Let that sink in.

[mr_lebowski]

194. I won't argue with Bowie ...

My favorite Buckley song is this one ... mainly because ... man have I been right here, where the song's protagonist is ... and it has the greatest friggin' build-up and release to it ...

[ZZenith]

201. I have a female friend who claims to ovulate every time she hears that track.

That’s some power right there.

[mr_lebowski]

206. That video right there makes straight dudes want to have Jeff's babies ...

[ZZenith]

208. I would if I could!

Raise that baby up to be my very own singer/guitarist. Talk about some musical genes!

[mr_lebowski]

212. I mean seriously is there a 'part' of a song in all musical history better than this part ...

Of this song?

it's never over ... my kingdom for her kiss upon my shoulder
it's never over ... all my riches for her smiles when i slept so soft against her
it's never over ... all my blood for the sweetness of her laughter
it's never over ... she's the tear that hangs inside my soul forever

oh but maybe i'm just too young ... to keep good love from goin' wrong

That shit is the fucking best, I don't care what anyone says.

[ZZenith]

215. There is no better part, Mr. Lebowski.

I don’t care what anyone says either.

And I will never forgive the Mississippi River for what it took from us.

[mr_lebowski]

220. Glad at least 1 other soul in the world agrees w/me on this count ;)

And yeah, that river sucks ...

[demmiblue]

235. Her performance at the Olympics took my breath away:

[mr_lebowski]

147. 1000x YES ... Jeff is dearly missed ... and this cover is amazing ... nt

[ornotna]

151. Excellent

Local artist Geri X does a nice cover. I've always liked it. Can't find a good album version, so this will do.

[SharonAnn]

241. I was going to post this, also. It still is the absolute best cover of this song.

I love Leonard Cohen but Buckley's version is perfect.

[Ferrets are Cool]

78. Blinded by the Light-Manfred Mann Band

now I am

[mr_lebowski]

175. It's way better than the original ...

Let me help you with that ... this is amazing

[Ferrets are Cool]

187. Whew, I don't feel so out on an island now.

[ZZenith]

199. You are not alone!

[consider_this]

79. Sweet Jane

Cowboy Junkies version.

really changed it up

[Mosby]

133. No.

[consider_this]

134. LOL!

you have to be in the mood for it

[Boxerfan]

153. YES!

My personal favorite as a cover....

[Sapient Donkey]

240. Another song I had no idea was a cover.

[spooky3]

80. Paul Carrack, Hey You. Nt

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

81. Seal and Jeff Beck combine to kick ass on this Dylan classic!

[Journeyman]

88. Richie Havens improves on Bruce Springsteen . . .

Hard to improve on such a powerful song as this:

but Richie Havens does so admirably:

[SMC22307]

89. I know this will be sacrilege to some, but Cat Power covering Sinatra...

[Upthevibe]

92. I absolutely agree...n/t

[ElementaryPenguin]

93. The Beatles' "Twist And Shout" - in one take with John Lennon shrieking through a bad cold!

And having sung all day.

Iconic.

[blm]

266. ✔️✔️

[GreenPartyVoter]

94. Jimi and Joe already mentioned. I'll add two, one for me and one for hubby.

Me: vanilla fudge “keep me hangin on”

Hubs: Grand Funk, “Gimme Shelter”

[KPN]

154. Good stuff! Some real blasts from the past that I haven't really thought about in ... well,

actually I did just think of both of those bands while reminiscing about things just a couple weeks ago. Haha.

[Ferrets are Cool]

191. Grand Funk, one of my favorite groups, performed some GREAT covers...

Inside looking out is a cover of the Animals song.
The Loco-motion is one of Carol Kings.
And, Some Kind of Wonderful was originally done by Soul Brothers Six.

In my opinion, Inside Looking Out is the best song they ever performed. Even more so than I'm Your Captain.

[chowder66]

95. I like both pretty equally. The original has urgency and I like the discordant sounds throughout.

The cover is more solemn.

On that note I can barely take covers these days. I hear them everywhere and it's like nails on a chalkboard.

[Doreen]

98. I think Eric Bogle's "Green Fields Of France" ( originally " No Mans Land" )

is better by "The High kings."

[DFW]

121. 45 years ago, I played a German folk festival with Eric

Great guy (when sober!). I can't believe he'll be 76 this year. I still have him in my memory as a 31 year old Scot who had recently moved to Australia.

[Doreen]

257. That is so cool. I did not realize he was that old.

The German folk festival sounds like fun to.

[DFW]

261. Those were VERY different days!

My invitation to play there grew out of a misunderstanding. I was visiting my wife (then-girlfriend) in December of 1974 when she was still a student in Münster, and we were both 22 years old. She said there was some folk music in town with an American singer attending, and to bring my guitar along. So I did. Imagine my embarrassment when I found out it was a formal concert. Here we were standing in line to pay the entrance fee, and I had a big guitar case with me! I explained that I was sorry, I had misunderstood the nature of the event, and could I leave my guitar case somewhere.

The presenter of the concert was intrigued at ANOTHER American showing up with a guitar (and I even spoke German!), and asked if I wanted to play in the intermission. I said, sure, why not? So I did, and got such a huge response that the guy told me he put on a huge folk festival every March, and if I were going to be back in Germany in March, he would like to invite me to play. I had never done anything of the sort, and it sounded like great fun, so I said OK, and planned to return to Germany in March. When I got there, I saw that the theme of the festival was Scottish folk music, and I was anything BUT Scottish. This is where I first met Eric, along with some other Scottish legends of the day, such as Hamish Imlach, Iain MacKintosh, Mike Whelans, Cilla Fisher and a lot of etc. I figured that I could not be more out of place with my instrumental Leo Kottke style of 12 string guitar. Well, wonder of wonders, I had great response, and even got a glowing review in the newspapers covering the festival, resulting in a few solo tours (while setting up my day job at the same time!). The Scots all accepted me as an oddball Scot (I talked funny and didn't drink), and some of us even did a few improvised numbers on stage together.

I used to love those things. But we all grow up some time, don't we?

[Doreen]

262. That sound great.

I wish I could go back to Germany. I lived there for 2 years in Berlin when I was a kid.

I just did the math and you were in Germany when I was there.

[DFW]

263. It was pretty sporadic at first

We had sort of a long-distance romance for the first few years. My job had me constantly on the road already starting in the 70s. That is still mostly the case, but I have managed to re-structure that so that I now live here "full time," though I am still in a different country almost every day (except then there some nasty virus going around).

I met my wife in Berlin July of 1974, on a European trip. I was playing in a folk music cabaret near the Ku-Damm on Bleibtreustraße. I went into the audience to catch the performances of a few friends, and sat next to a girl I had met the night before, who told me she was leaving for China the next day, but that I should meet her girlfriend from the north. I said, sure, where is she? She said right here, and leaned back. I saw this tall blond exquisitely beautiful vision, and just thought," WOW! But a nerd like me never has a chance with a girl like that." Fortunately, it finally dawned upon me that if I maintained that attitude, I never WOULD have a chance with a girl like that. So, having no clue what lines to use, I used none, and just struck up a normal conversation. Whaddaya know, that was exactly what she was looking for, and the rest (helped along by a LOT of persistence on my part), is history.

[smirkymonkey]

101. The English Beat's version of "Can't Get Used To Losing You"

I pretty much love everything by them. The original was sung by Andy Williams

[Mike Nelson]

107. Well...

I love what Aretha Franklin did to Otis Redding:

[link:http://

|

[katusha]

108. "Hanging on the Telephone" - Blondie

Honorable mention, maybe not better but different

[IcyPeas]

137. Blondie - Denis

originally sung by Randy and the Rainbows

[katusha]

164. Yes!!! n/t

[The Great Escape]

109. Motorhead "Sympathy For The Devil"

[Progressive Jones]

158. K & R, my Motorhead loving friend!

[sweetloukillbot]

234. Bryan Ferry just released an amazing old live version of "Sympathy"

And on a slightly different note - Roxy Music's version of Jealous Guy beats Lennon.

[Roland99]

111. Ryan Adams covered "Wonderwall" by Oasis. It's hauntingly beautiful

[Roland99]

114. BTW, "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell is actually a cover

Not many know that.

[OhZone]

115. Oh, WOW!

That was a Tears for Fears song first?

Well, the second one is much more emotional, moving, and dark.

But, having heard the original now, I have to say it's better for a walking or workout playlist.

Ha.

[redstateblues]

116. This Old Heart of Mine -Rod Stewart featuring Ronald Isley 1989

The original was done by The Isley Brothers in 1966

[smirkymonkey]

117. UB40's version of "Red, Red Wine"

Originally sung by Neil Diamond.

[Goodheart]

129. I can dig this one.

I remember jogging with a redneck friend about 30 years ago, and out of the blue he popped up with "have you heard what they did with Red Red Wine?"

I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. I actually heard the UB40 version before the Neil Diamond one.

[smirkymonkey]

136. I love UB40. They were left-wing political activists in England. The name of the band is

taken from an unemployment benefits form. Most of my favorite music is English with the exception of early American Jazz/Big Band and some Classical. A wide range of genres.

[Celerity]

119. The Clash - I Fought the Law

the original

The Crickets - I Fought The Law (1960)

[teach1st]

120. Joan Jett's cover of Tommy James and the Shondells' Crimson & Clover

Joan Jett's version

Original:

[GreenPartyVoter]

205. Also on my list.

[greyl]

256. Right on.

[Captain Stern]

272. Another pretty good Joan Jett cover

The Arrows original:

[EarthFirst]

122. You should check out Phish's version of 2001

I’m not saying it’s better than; the original is a masterpiece of it’s own.

However the exploratory versions that Phish put out there are worth taking a look at.

Enjoy!

[Indykatie]

123. My Favorite Song is the Beatles' Long and Winding Road - George Michael's Version Of It Is Better

[SidDithers]

124. The great Richie Havens doing Here Comes the Sun...

https://m.

Sid

[blm]

125. Everything Joe Cocker covered. Especially, imo, The Letter.

Leon Russell was a total badass working with Cocker.

[rufus dog]

152. LOL

We sometimes play this game as a family, two rules

1. There is no bad suggestion
2. You can't use a Joe Cocker cover.

Not that there is anything wrong with Joe Cocker covers, but it is just too easy.

[blm]

182. Yeah - even the Beatles felt humbled when he'd cover their songs.

[JimGinPA]

127. Three Years Ago I Had A Similar Thread In The Lounge

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1018938814

Several DUers posted covers in that thread too.

This was my "When A Cover Is Better Than The Original..."

[IcyPeas]

145. Sorrow - David Bowie

originally by The McCoys and The Merseys

[sarcasmo]

146. Tesla's version of Signs and Foo Fighters, Baker Street.

[smirkymonkey]

148. Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen

by the Hot Sardines, most famously sung by the Andrews Sisters, but originally a popular Yiddish theater song.

[Cracklin Charlie]

155. Kick cause I love covers!

Check out Nina Simone’s cover of the BeeGees’ “To Love Somebody”.

Sorry, don’t know how to link.

[KPN]

156. Epic thread -- bookmarking for an update later!

[mr_lebowski]

157. Had to read through the thread to not duplicate, lots of great ones already chose above!

Here's a handful that I like a lot not already present above ...

Since it's been posted 50 times of late, I'll just say it ...

Bonnie Raitt's cover of Angel from Montgomery.

Also, the late John Prine's cover of Blaze Foley's Clay Pigeons is beautiful ...

I don't HOW I didn't already see this one above, but maybe I missed it ...

This Hothouse Flowers version is unequivocally, head and shoulders better than the original ... which isn't a bad song by any stretch, but this version beats it up and steals its lunch money.

Steve Earle's take on the Little Feat classic is a big favorite of mine ...

And this Black Crowes cover of the Velvet Underground freaking rules ...

Phosphorescent w/Jenny Lewis doing Sugaree is also awesome ...

John Mayer's Free Fallin' is brilliant ...

Umphrey's McGee doing Marshall Tucker's Can't You See is downright magical ...

The Wallflower's Bowie cover was nothing to sneeze at ...

[Sneederbunk]

159. Joan Osborne: What Becomes of the Brokenhearted

[cayugafalls]

163. Seven Nation Army - PMJ ft. Haley Reinhart - I love the vibe.

Also, Vintage Postmortem Jukebox has crazy ingenious renditions.

Creep

Maybe I just like her voice. I've been a big fan of hers since her run on american idol years ago.

[PAMod]

165. Great thread. Several come to mind for me - Jason Mraz' cover of "A Hard Rain's A-gonna Fall",

and Whitney Houston's cover of "I Will Always Love You" are two upgrades; no disrespect intended for Bob Dylan or Dolly Parton.

For those that enjoy Christian music, two great examples are Selah's cover of "I Look To You" - written by R. Kelly and made popular by Whitney Houston, and Pentatonix' cover of "Mary, Did You Know?", which was originally recorded by Michael English.

Don't know if these qualify, but I love Eric Clapton's re-think of "Layla", and Neil Sedaka's slower version of "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do". Same artists, better rendition of the same song.

[LSFL]

166. Manfred Man

Blinded by the light.

Much more polished and digestible than Springsteen's version..

[mr_lebowski]

169. Hell yeah!

Let me help ya out with that ... this f***ing RULES ...

[LSFL]

173. Thank!

It is a pita to link on my phone..

[Tikki]

168. Amazing..but not sure what makes one better.

(without Orchestral Accompaniment)

Tikki

[IcyPeas]

170. Jealous Guy - Roxy Music

[misanthrope]

171. This old classic

[mr_lebowski]

172. Oh, damn, people. I've got it ... the Lord God King of all Covers ...

Led Zeppelin's take on the original Memphis Minnie ...

Followed closely by their update on Robert Johnson ...

[JHB]

174. What were they thinking? "We're a small New Wave band. We play pubs and clubs." In the early 80s.

The Gary Jules cover was for a movie soundtrack some 20 years later (Donnie Darko, 2001). That allowed for a much broader consideration of what it could and should sound like.

[NBachers]

178. Kaptain Kopter and the Fabulous Twirly Birds (with Randy California) Mother & Child Reunion

and I'm going to throw in Hawkwind's version of Gimme Shelter

[empedocles]

180. Anything Patsy Cline covered. Willie Nelson said of his song 'Crazy' - [as I remember his quote,

'Everybody covered my 'Crazy', but Patsy owned it'. Amazing voice.

[mr_lebowski]

183. When we Flush the Turd on November 3rd, I'll be cranking this as loud as it goes ...

Opening all my windows, and then I will proceed to go dance in the middle of my street ... I'm so not kidding ... I don't care if it's not announced until 1am ...

[randr]

184. Joe Cocker

[highplainsdem]

188. I've always preferred the Stones cover of "Not Fade Away" to the Buddy Holly original:

[brewens]

189. Jimmy Buffett-Brown Eyed Girl. Maybe not better but the Coral Reefer Band makes it fun.

[thegoose]

190. "Dancing With Myself"

Billy Idol original is new wave. Blink 182 cover is faster punk.

[Texasgal]

214. Have you heard this version?

She's french! I love it!

[thegoose]

216. C'est splendide!

[mr_lebowski]

192. As much as I love Van Morrison, and adore the original, I've listened to this cover many more times

It's not better, but it's still positively AWESOME ...

[ornotna]

268. The whole album is awesome

[mr_lebowski]

270. Absolutely. I bought it on vinyl the month it came out and still have it ...

One o' my all time faves. Esp. side one, it's so friggin' good.

In particular, Anthony Thistlethwaite's fiddle work is awesome throughout.

I did kinda miss Karl Wallinger though ...

[Tikki]

195. "Ruby"...love both versions..

Tikki

[jalan48]

196. Ellas McDaniel (Bo Diddley)'s "Mona"by Quicksilver Messenger Service

[Bayard]

197. Linda Ronstadt--Blue Bayou

Original by Roy Orbison (although his voice was always terrific)

[greyl]

260. Excellent choice. nt

[ZZenith]

202. Tedeschi Trucks!!!

[malaise]

204. Willie Nelson with one of the best covers of all time

[OilemFirchen]

209. Stagger Lee.

[Glorfindel]

211. Limp Bizkit "Behind Blue Eyes"

I love both versions, and The Who are one of my all-time favorite bands. But in this one song, Limp Bizkit does it better.

[Texasgal]

213. I may get blasted for this...

Let me just preface this by saying I LOVE both versions.

Jimmy Hendrix: Little wing Original

Sting: Little wing cover

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a studio version of Jimmy singing, so I had to go with live.

I'm gonna go hide now... Before I get beat up! LOL!

[Backseat Driver]

217. My favorite of Mad World

[Backseat Driver]

218. Just about any cover he chooses to include Mad World

Adam Lambert

&list=RDQM2O52TJdGplk&start_radio=1

[Goodheart]

222. Adam Lambert is a great talent, and IMO the best singer to ever compete on American Idol, BUT

I just don't like the way he changed the song's melody.

[consider_this]

219. Money!!!

You Beatles fans will prob not like this, so I found a video of this 'Flying Lizards' cover that bookends with a bit of a Beatles live version.

to cut straight to the Lizards (and 1979!) jump to 36 sec.

Not better - just 180 degrees completely different!

[Tikki]

221. The Ausmuteants version of Martha and the Muffins "Echo Beach."

One of my favorite bands.....


Tikki

[dustyscamp]

224. This one is only better because I can understand it. Both are good songs though.

I read somewhere that in this song Mariya is actually singing about a hollow relationship she had with a guy who really only loved her for her looks.

Plastic Love - Mariya Takeuchi Cover

Plastic Love - Mariya Takeuchi Original

[IcyPeas]

226. Ian McCulloch (Echo and the Bunnymen) Lover lover lover

(another Leonard Cohen cover)

Leonard:

[Trailrider1951]

227. How about another brilliant song by Paul Simon

Interpreted brilliantly:

[MyNameGoesHere]

228. While my Guitar Gently Weeps. Mr. Carlos Santana

[OxQQme]

230. Folsom Prison Blues

?list=RDXtKjRBJ76YU

And White Wedding:

?list=RDXtKjRBJ76YU

[OxQQme]

231. White Wedding

?list=RDXtKjRBJ76YU

[sweetloukillbot]

232. Magnificent Bowie cover of Scott Walker

People tend to ignore Bowie's 90s work, but this song is amazing...

Scott Walker's original...

[Skittles]

233. Back in the Saddle

yes indeed

[pansypoo53219]

239. dead can dance does a sinead o'conner song. trying to remember the song.

[Celerity]

244. I Am Stretched on Your Grave

[Sewa]

242. Korn - Word Up!

Who doesn’t feel like dancing when they here this song. Great vibe, respectful to the Cameo original

[Celerity]

245. Max Raabe & Palast Orchester - Lucky (a superb Britney Spears cover)

[Celerity]

246. La Pompe Moderne - Toxique (another Britney Spears cover)

[Polybius]

247. Certainly Nicki French's 1994 version of Total Eclipse of the Heart

It's unbelievably better.

[aikoaiko]

248. Whole Lotta Love by Led Zep

Muddy Waters recorded Dixon's song first.

But Zeppelin blew it up

[aikoaiko]

249. Angel in the Morning

Juice Newtons song is tender
https://m.

&feature=youtu.be

But Shaggy made it awesome.
https://m.

[happybird]

251. Indigo Girls cover of Romeo and Juliet

It blew me away the first time I heard it. Still does. And it’s so much fun to sing along with, loudly, in the car, where no one can hear my gawd-awful voice.

[jg10003]

252. against the wind: The Highwaymen over Bob Seger

[Sgent]

253. Shamless cover

by Garth Brooks is much better than Billy Joel's original.

[meadowlander]

254. Marilyn Manson's "Personal Jesus"

just edges out the original for me.

[greyl]

255. Everyday Is a Winding Road, Prince cover of Sheryl Crow

[greyl]

259. While My Guitar Gently Weeps - Prince, Tom Petty, Steve Winwood, Jeff Lynne, others

[kpete]

271. No one did it better

Prince blew everyone's mind & he knew it

stay well,
kp

[ornotna]

267. Don't know about better

But Rhonda Vincent does a mean version of Dolly Parton's 'Jolene'

[hardluck]

269. Willie Nelson's Stay a Little Longer

Now, paraphrasing Waylon, I understand that down in Texas Bob Wills is still the king, but I'm from California and think Willie Nelson's version is better (and I like and listen to Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys).

[Captain Stern]

273. Glass Moon The Hollies

The Original:

Glass Moon remake: