Cover Songs

[Paul the Human]

There are some damn good (and bloody awful) cover songs out there. I particularly like it when a well known band covers a well known song.

Cake covers "War Pigs" very well, I think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyJMufGx7fo

Prince does a great cover of "Crimson And Clover" (with a little "Wild Thing" added into it) and shows off his guitar chops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CVBxI3ZZkQ

And I never realized that "The Sound of Silence" was such a scary song until I heard Nevermore's rendition. I love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tNApceu3AQ

[Entropist]

Patti Smith's cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria":



With a few added lyrics: "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine..."

Johnny Cash's haunting cover of NIN's "Hurt":



(I could mention several other great Johnny Cash covers but I'll refrain)

Tom Waits, "Brother Can You Spare a Dime?":




Tori Amos' cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" (her Strange Little Girls album, all cover tunes, is one of her most underrated albums):




~~~~

Speaking of Cake: their cover of "I Will Survive":

---

Al Green's cover of the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart":




The Animals definitive cover of "House of the Rising Sun" (with awesome organ solo):



(this song has an interesting history)

The Cowboy Junkies' super-subdued cover of Velvet Underground's "Sweet Jane":



Not a favorite, but worth mentioning: Devo's hilarious cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."

[Entropist]

I'm not exactly a Bonnie Raitt fan, not a John Prine fan, but her cover of "Angel from Montgomery" is a real tearjerker:

[Entropist]

Yo La Tengo's cover of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War" (they did three different recordings of this song, but this one with the children is the best version):



Nuclear war: It's a motherfucker, don't you know?

[HeyItsZeus]

30STM, my favorite band, covering Bad Romance by Lady GaGa. I don't like Lady GaGa but this sounds good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7spoPjx7hs

[Entropist]

Two covers I've recorded in the past I am rather proud of...

Joy Division's "Atmosphere":





The Beatles' "Dear Prudence" (this was thrown together rather quickly one day-- the drums are played "live" on a drum machine):

[leo-rcc]

I sort of dreaded to click play on your Atmosphere cover, but in the end I'm glad I did. You did a great job on this cover, well done.

[Entropist]

I sort of dreaded to click play on your Atmosphere cover, but in the end I'm glad I did. You did a great job on this cover, well done.

Thank you. Its funny, I've gotten that response before on this cover-- I have heard some pretty awful versions of it too (and other JD songs).

[Zen Badger]

You've all missed the greatest cover of them all

[youtube]uQYDvQ1HH-E[/youtube]

[Entropist]

You've all missed the greatest cover of them all

With air guitar! (I used to watch Woodstock religiously when I was younger) I love the organ on that too...

This reminds me of Aretha Franklin radically different version of Eleanor Rigby. She puts her own soulful spin on it:





I don't like it when covers attempt to duplicate the original performance-- why bother? A really good song can withstand several interpretations. Johnny Cash's interpretations of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, U2, Leonard Cohen, and Soundgarden are a prime example. He sings those songs as if he himself wrote them (and in some cases even exceeds the originals).

Unimaginative covers annoy me. What's the point in doing "Cats in the Cradle" when you are using the exact same arrangement? Why bother when I could just as easily hear the original?