Cover versions that are better than the original

This is for all non-EC or peripheral-EC topics. We all know how much we love talking about 'The Man' but sometimes we have other interests.
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Who Shot Sam?
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Cover versions that are better than the original

Post by Who Shot Sam? »

I'll start:

Johnny Cash - One (original by U2)

He could probably sing names from the phone book and I'd listen, but of the several excellent covers he did on "Unearthed", this is my favorite.
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miss buenos aires
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Post by miss buenos aires »

I feel like we've had this thread before...Once again, I'll kick in with:

Get into the Groove(y) - Sonic Youth
Satisfaction - Cat Power
Believe - Macha Bedhead
Heard it Through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye
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Post by El Vez »

Not that I want to get slapped silly by Calamity Jane but....

Common People - William Shatner w/ Joe Jackson
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Post by Jackson Monk »

'Baby Can I Hold You'

Boyzone really captured what Tracy Chapman could only really dream of. The beautiful dulcet nasal twang of Ronan brings a tear to the eye of the hardest of hard hearts.
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Post by cosmos »

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Everlasting Love - Carl Carlton
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Post by bobster »

I Need Love -- Luca Bloom
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Post by martinfoyle »

Jackson Monk wrote:'Baby Can I Hold You'

Boyzone really captured what Tracy Chapman could only really dream of. The beautiful dulcet nasal twang of Ronan brings a tear to the eye of the hardest of hard hearts.
You're being ironic, I presume. Please say you are. Even Neil Diamonds version is better than Ro's is.
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Post by wardo68 »

Little Wing by Derek & The Dominoes.
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Post by DrSpooky »

Nearly anything by Tommy James by someone else. I don't know why but consistently I find myself liking Billy Idol (Mony Mony), Joan Jett (Crimson and Clover) or even the Rubinoos (I Think We're Along Now) covers.
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Post by Tim(e) »

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - Burl Ives
All Grown Up - Tasmin Archer (oooooh, I hear you say ;))
I Put a Spell On You - Crazy World Of Arthur Brown or Credence Clearwater Revival (take your pick)
This Wheel's on Fire - The Band (also like Julie Driscoll's version)
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Post by bobster »

Girl's Talk -- Dave Edmunds
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Post by Mr. Misery »

"God Only Knows"--Elvis Costello live on A Case for Song.

The Brodsky Quartet's arrangement is imaginative if a little busy but EC's voice is stunning, especially the passion with which he delivers the line "What good would living do me?" I like the Beach Boys but one can't go back to Mike Love's version after hearing this definitive interpretation.
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Post by Mike Boom »

No offense Mr M, but you have GOT to be kidding me!!

That version of God Only Knows by EC and the Brodskys is unlistenable - its trying so hard to be different/clever it butchers the songs simple beauty and renders it a horrid mess. The original is about as perfect a pop song can be - ECs version, Im afraid, is a travesty.
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Post by miss buenos aires »

El Vez wrote:Not that I want to get slapped silly by Calamity Jane but....

Common People - William Shatner w/ Joe Jackson
(slap slap slap slap slap)

Blasphemy!
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Post by Mr. Misery »

Mike Boom wrote:No offense Mr M, but you have GOT to be kidding me!!
Say, I wouldn't kid about it. The Beach Boys' version is very pleasant but lacks the emotional wallop of Elvis's. I get the feeling that if she should ever leave him Mike would stop waxing his surfboard in protest, but Elvis would really do himself in.
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Post by Jackson Monk »

Mr. Misery wrote:
Mike Boom wrote:No offense Mr M, but you have GOT to be kidding me!!
Say, I wouldn't kid about it. The Beach Boys' version is very pleasant but lacks the emotional wallop of Elvis's. I get the feeling that if she should ever leave him Mike would stop waxing his surfboard in protest, but Elvis would really do himself in.
I'm with Mike on this one. The original 'God Only Knows' has to be one of the greatest love songs ever. EC's version has never done anything for me.

I also partially agree with Tim(e) about Tasmin Archer's version of 'All Grown Up'. I don't think it's better, but it is certainly one of the better interpretations of an elvis song over the years.
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Post by Jackson Monk »

martinfoyle wrote:
Jackson Monk wrote:'Baby Can I Hold You'

Boyzone really captured what Tracy Chapman could only really dream of. The beautiful dulcet nasal twang of Ronan brings a tear to the eye of the hardest of hard hearts.
You're being ironic, I presume. Please say you are. Even Neil Diamonds version is better than Ro's is.
:wink:
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Post by Branst »

Elvis Costello & Nick Lowe's cover of "Baby It's You." I really like the other versions (most notably the Beatles cover) but I think this version is the best.

Harry Nilsson's covers of "Without You" and "Everybody's Talkin'." Harry took these really good songs and turned them into classics.

Elvis Costello - Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
The Byrds - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
The Beach Boys - Hushabye
The Beach Boys - Sloop John B
Stevie Wonder - I Hear A Symphony
The Bees - A Minha Menina
Dave Edmunds - Girls Talk
Roy Orbison - The Comedians
The Smashing Pumpkins - My Blue Heaven

There's others but these are the ones I can remember for now.
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

Here's four to consider

Husker Du - Eight Miles High - I love the Byrds original, but Bob Mould takes this to another level, the best description of this I heard was someone saying that the first time they heard it they wondered if Bob was going to live to see the end of the song.

Devo - Secret Agent Man - The album version from Duty Now For The Future - there's a bit of menace about this one - and one of the few songs that Bob 1 (or is it Bob 2) sings - I think Johnny Rivers did the original and it's just a little hokey.

Taj Mahal - Take A Giant Step - Incredibly a Goffin/King song first made famous by the Monkees became Taj's signature tune - just a perfect interpretation - and I don't think Taj gets the acclaim he's due.

George Thorogood - It Wasn't Me - For me this one beats Chuck Berry's original by a mile - Early in Goerge's career and his version defines rock n' roll for me as much as anything else I've ever heard - Chuck's orignal is a great song in 4th gear - George puts it into overdrive.
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Post by Mike Boom »

Say, I wouldn't kid about it. The Beach Boys' version is very pleasant but lacks the emotional wallop of Elvis's. I get the feeling that if she should ever leave him Mike would stop waxing his surfboard in protest, but Elvis would really do himself in.
Just for the record Carl Wilson sings God Only Knows not Mike Love and I really think its one of the best vocals in pop history and perfect for the song. But what the hey.... :wink:
echos myron like a siren
with endurance like the liberty bell
and he tells you of the dreamers
but he's cracked up like the road
and he'd like to lift us up, but we're a very heavy load
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Post by Who Shot Sam? »

Boy With A Problem wrote:Here's four to consider

Husker Du - Eight Miles High - I love the Byrds original, but Bob Mould takes this to another level, the best description of this I heard was someone saying that the first time they heard it they wondered if Bob was going to live to see the end of the song.

Devo - Secret Agent Man - The album version from Duty Now For The Future - there's a bit of menace about this one - and one of the few songs that Bob 1 (or is it Bob 2) sings - I think Johnny Rivers did the original and it's just a little hokey.
Good choices BWAP. Haven't heard the two others you mention.
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Post by El Vez »

Branst wrote: Harry Nilsson's covers of "Without You" and "Everybody's Talkin'." Harry took these really good songs and turned them into classics.
I think Harry Nilsson wrote Without You.
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Post by johnfoyle »

I think Harry Nilsson wrote Without You.



Nope!

http://www.superseventies.com/1972_3singles.html

And then came the big time -- Nilsson's first number-one record. He ventured to England for a whole new tone and feel to his music, and met up with producer Richard Perry. The two began to map out an album, which came to be known as Nilsson Schmilsson. Almost immediately, Richard came up with the first song -- a tune he'd found on the Badfinger album No Dice. Group members Pete Ham and Tom Evans had written "Without You," and Richard was certain it would be an excellent tune for Nilsson to record. Harry wasn't quite so sure, and it wasn't until the middle of their sessions that he agreed to give it a try.

"It was a different record for its time," Richard recalled. "It was a big ballad with a heavy backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it since, no one was doing it then. It has a very romantic feel, and you know who was playing piano on that? It was Gary Wright, and that was years before he hit it big with 'Dream Weaver.'"
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Post by Boy With A Problem »

beat me to it - Badfinger.
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Post by El Vez »

Damn! Well, I guess that means I will never know the touch of a woman again. :oops:
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