Cover Versions- The awesome, the horrendous & everything in between

Discussion in 'Off Topic Area' started by aaradia, Jan 24, 2015.

  1. aaradia

    aaradia Choy Li Fut and Yang Tai Chi Chuan Student Moderator Supporter

    Sort of a spin off from another thread.

    Lets talk cover versions of songs. Which ones do you like better than the original? Which ones are an affront to that original? I have seen some interesting live covers in tribute on youtube. Have you seen any in awards shows or hall of fame shows or the like?

    Do you think less of an artist if they are known for doing a lot of covers instead of a lot of their own songs?

    I am going to start this off with this gem I found on youtube. It is a tribute to one of my favorite singers, Janis Joplin done by two of my other favorite singers- Joss Stone and Melissa Etheridge. I think it is really great- well done - and yet still it only illustrates to me how completely unique and irreplaceable Janis was as an artist. It is both amazing and missing something at the same time.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef-f-l2Pbn8&list=RDef-f-l2Pbn8#t=0"]Melissa Etheridge & Joss Stone - Janis Joplin Tribute - YouTube[/ame]
     
  2. bodyshot

    bodyshot Brown Belt Zanshin Karate

    Never been a joplin fan lols. Several years ago Metallica made an album that contained only cover songs. It contains the best cover of Bread fan the world has ever heard.
     
  3. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    The Garage Days EP, but Several years ago!? '87...that's centuries ago. :)

    When it comes to pop or rock music I don't like cover versions usually. I think something gets lost in the mix. The only song I can think off that comes close to the original or is even better is Blondie's version of Hanging on the Telephone, originally by The Nerves. I probably like the Blondies song equally as I was so familiar with it, I only heard The Nerves version about 10 years ago.

    [ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=emy5mA8Ixtc[/ame]

    [ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=E0U_dzYtWyE[/ame]

    There's usually nothing worse than bands doing covers in "their own style". The song ends up sounding terrible. Songs are often written with a certain sound in mind and Crossing genres and doing a say Metal version of a soul classic kills the feel of the song. I think if a covers is to be successful, it can't move too far away from the original, but shouldnt aim to copy it exactly sound/feel-wise. It's a hard balance to find.

    I think that why Breadfan by Budgie covered my Mulletica works. It's a rock song covered by a metal band and Metallica just play the song with a bit more "oooomph".

    Another cover I like is Gang Green's Alcohol covered by the Meatmen. A hardcore punk song covered by another punk band, slowed down a notch and with some added obnoxious lyrics.

    Hope that makes sense, just woke up after 3 hrs sleep.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2015
  4. Pretty In Pink

    Pretty In Pink Moved on MAP 2017 Gold Award

    The albums "Punk Goes Crunk" and "Punk Goes Pop" are both brilliant.


    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpez7uwqSac"]Go Radio - "Rolling In The Deep" (Adele Cover) Lyric Video - Punk Goes Pop 4 - YouTube[/ame]
     
  5. Moi

    Moi Warriors live forever x

    I like when I get to hear the original from a cover that I always thought was the first :)
     
  6. ned

    ned Valued Member

    Better known for his desecration of Lucy in the sky with diamonds,William Shatner has made many other attempts at 'improving ' originals;
    can't decide where this sits on the awesome to horrendous scale :thinking:



    [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaTOMkHaET4"]William Shatner - Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover) - YouTube[/ame]




    can't think of any better cover versions than this


    [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKPTHH--SwU[/ame]
     
  7. Mushroom

    Mushroom De-powered to come back better than before.

  8. bassai

    bassai onwards and upwards ! Moderator Supporter

    Always liked me metallicas version of whiskey in the jar , they rocked it as Glastonbury !

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fkgcwTf8TM"]Metallica - Whiskey In The Jar (Live Sao Paulo 22-03-2014) 1080p HD - YouTube[/ame]

    The official video is a little nsfw

    I liked how disturbed beefed up land of confusion

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YV4oYkIeGJc"]Disturbed - Land Of Confusion [Official Music Video] - YouTube[/ame]


    Marilyn manson did an interesting version of tainted love

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOrHi-IMMfM"]MARILYN MANSON - TAINTED LOVE - LYRICS HQ - YouTube[/ame]

    Again the official video is a bit borderline


    Thunders version of gimme some loving is pretty good

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFAH_Um2zPM"]Thunder GIMME SOME LOVIN' (1989) modern rock cover of Spencer Davis / Steve Winwood classic - YouTube[/ame]
     
  9. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    That's ace...in a bad and comical way! I love Shatner's slightly growly vocals.
     
  10. raaeoh

    raaeoh never tell me the odds

    One of my favorite covers. They manged to make it their own yet still captured the sound of bad company's version.


    Five Finger Death Punch- Bad Company: http://youtu.be/u_VsvZmIWxY

    Defiantly awesome.

    Another one of their covers I like alot.
    Mama Said Knock You Out: http://youtu.be/sn43iJdwiA0
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2015
  11. csoby

    csoby Valued Member

    For me, I generally like which ever version I hear first. It really depends on the cover. However, I LOVE almost everything Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies have done. They take songs and play them punk style.

    Here is a country cover they did:
    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxDP0h0b6CU"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxDP0h0b6CU[/ame]
    Me First and The Gimmie Gimmies covering Goodbye Earl

    Here is them covering Prince/Sinead O'Conner's Nothing Compares 2U
    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTM8DMGajM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpTM8DMGajM[/ame]
     
  12. Guitar Nado

    Guitar Nado Valued Member

    Well there was Garage Days, Garage days revisited, Garage days re-revisited, Garage Inc. I've lost track of how many cover albums Metallica has released to build on that initial one.

    They have done some great covers though - It's Electric, Am I evil?, and Astronomy are some of my favorites. I was in a band back in the day that covered some Metallica covers - for example The small hours and Am I evil?, and at the time I had never even heard the original versions.
     
  13. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

    seconding disturbed's land of confusion and manson's tainted love (i actually dislike the original for that one...).

    one i like but always found amusing (and which i think i read somewhere that the original artists have officially stated they hate :p), is rammstein's german-language cover (edit: derp, orig. is in german too, but i'd only heard the english version) of kraftwerk's 'das model'. final result is that they're effectively different songs, imo, but i still like rammstein's :p

    http://youtu.be/OQIYEPe6DWY

    http://youtu.be/rzUfMlGjbJQ (video has violent themes but i noticed nothing explicit)

    another cover i like more than the original is concrete blonde's version of 'everybody knows' (originally by leonard cohen):

    http://youtu.be/axnCMV-on9Q

    http://youtu.be/XTc3hIEPTyo
     
  14. csoby

    csoby Valued Member

    Concrete Blonde's cover of Tomorrow Wendy Dies is awesome as well...

    Toad the Wet Sprocket's cover of Kiss' Rock and Roll All Nite is... interesting, you really have to know the words to the song because it is such a departure from the original...

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWehJZaxqI0"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWehJZaxqI0[/ame]
     
  15. Fish Of Doom

    Fish Of Doom Will : Mind : Motion Supporter

  16. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    Was there a release for Garage Days? Or was the first one the 5.98 EP?

    Personally, Metallica's whole first 3 or 4 albums were one big cover session...Now, I'm not saying they shamelessly ripped off Diamond Head...bugger it...yes I am! Hah. :)

    ===============

    Punk cover bands.

    Manic Hispanics (Órale!!). They're a group of veterans (All Hispanic) from the So Cal punk scene who have done a few albums covering "famous" punk songs, but as the name would suggest they throw in a Hispanic element, not in the music, but in the lyrics. So, "Mommy's Little Monster" by Social Distortion becomes "Mommy's Little Cholo".

    Mommy's Little Cholo

    Her eyes were like a raccoons
    She wasn't born with a silver spoon
    Hair sprayed up to the sky
    Teardrop tattoo under her eye

    Mommy's Little Monster

    Her eyes are a deeper blue,
    she likes her hair that color too.
    She can even wear a dress,
    that doesn't mean she'll ever confess

    Album covers

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    The Clash's Garageland

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T97Mps0_hFs"]04 Barrio Land (Garage Land) by Manic Hispanic - YouTube[/ame]

    The Offspring's Come Out and Play.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUEO8pYlz-M"]get them immigrated (Manic Hispanic) - YouTube[/ame]
     
  17. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    The Donna's :love: (Poor man's Runaways :love::love::love::love::love:) doing Strutter by Kiss.

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uqou-oEBcUY"]The Donnas - Strutter - YouTube[/ame]

    I mentioned The Runaways, that gives me an excuse to post a picture of the greatest woman in rock history.
     

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    Last edited: Jan 24, 2015
  18. dormindo

    dormindo Active Member Supporter

    I've always liked this...

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkdjMxTdrU8"]Joe Cocker - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - YouTube[/ame]

    Over this...

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IM2Ttov_zR0"]The Beatles - She Came In Through The Bathroom Window - YouTube[/ame]
     
  19. Bozza Bostik

    Bozza Bostik Antichrist on Button Moon

    This'll burn your ears. My favourite thrash punk bands doing Bruce Springsteen. Beautifully sloppy!!

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfxJ4PLhdsU"]The Stupids - Born to Skate - YouTube[/ame]
     
  20. Moosey

    Moosey invariably, a moose Supporter

    I've only ever come across this one song by Celebraten, but it's a cracking cover of Madonna's Dear Jessie

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd1eWPAVZdM"]Celebraten - Dear Jessie - YouTube[/ame]

    The CIA's cover of Elvis' In the Ghetto in full-on German rawk stylee

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdoGyBpgDwE"]C I A In the Ghetto - YouTube[/ame]

    The Levellers covering Charlie Daniels' The Devil Went Down to Georgia

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkHdFhLt_TY"]The Levellers - The Devil Went Down To Georgia - YouTube[/ame]

    And of course, the epitome of the cover being better than the original, Reel Big Fish's version of A-Ha's Take on Me

    [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sGg0at4mI4"]Reel Big Fish - Take on me - YouTube[/ame]
     

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