Cover songs....yea or nay

[nmduke2001]

In my opinion, Disturbed's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" replaces Smash Mouth's cover of "I'm a believer" and Pearl Jam's cover or "Last Kiss" as the worst cover ever. However, many people really like Disturbed's version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

What are your thoughts? Any favorite covers?

A few that I like:
Fugees - Killing me softly
GnR - Knocking on heavens door & Live and Let Die
Gary Jules - Mad World
UB40 - Red Red Wine


I hate almost any cover of Unchained Melody.

[tbyers11]

In my opinion, Disturbed's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" replaces Smash Mouth's cover of "I'm a believer" and Pearl Jam's cover or "Last Kiss" as the worst cover ever. However, many people really like Disturbed's version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4

What are your thoughts? Any favorite covers?

A few that I like:
Fugees - Killing me softly
GnR - Knocking on heavens door & Live and Let Die
Gary Jules - Mad World
UB40 - Red Red Wine


I hate almost any cover of Unchained Melody.

There are lots of cover songs that I really like. Don't have time to list them all now. So, I am not at all opposed to the concept.

However, I wanted to post to agree with you that Disturbed's cover of Sound of Silence is really awful

[lotusland]

I think you usually like whatever version you hear first.
We could probably have thread solely for Dylan covers that would keep us busy for a while. I like Clapton's cover version of Knocking on Heaven's door better than GNR but I just don't really like GNR.

I never took much notice of the "I Will" by the Beatles until I heard Allison Kraus' cover. Townes Van Zandt has been covered almost as much as Dylan but more obscurely except for Willie and Merle's cover of Poncho and Lefty. I usually like TVZ covers better than the original Townes recording.

[moonpie23]

we talking about the BEST covers?


Elvis Costello - What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding

Roxy Music - Jealous Guy

Run DMC - Walk This Way

Sam Smith - Won't Back Down

to name a few......

[duke79]

I've always thought that Huey Lewis did a great cover on the JJ Jackson hit, "But it's Alright".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDztE7e9Skg

[Indoor66]

That Sound of Silence cover was terrible. I love that song - one of my favorite - written by one of the great poets of the 20th Century - Paul Simon.

Here is a cover by Celtic Thunder that I find pretty good. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HNHKvtjoj8&index=1&list=RD8HNHKvtjoj8)

[duke74]

That Sound of Silence cover was terrible. I love that song - one of my favorite - written by one of the great poets of the 20th Century - Paul Simon.

Here is a cover by Celtic Thunder that I find pretty good. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HNHKvtjoj8&index=1&list=RD8HNHKvtjoj8)

Seeing him on June 30th in Forest Hills (his "home court" so to speak). At the old tennis stadium that has been converted into a music venue.

As to covers, one of my favorites is Everything but the Girl's cover of Cyndy Lauper's "Time after Time." (EBTG has a few other excellent covers - like "Tougher than the Rest" by Bruce.) They're pretty much my favorite group -and love their work as single performers post EBTG.

[DUKIECB]

I like to hear cover songs at concerts as I think it's pretty neat to hear a band play their interpretation of a cool song live. Otherwise, it kind of comes across as self indulgent to put it on an album but that's just me.

[Tom B.]

we talking about the BEST covers?

Elvis Costello - What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding

Roxy Music - Jealous Guy

Run DMC - Walk This Way

Sam Smith - Won't Back Down

to name a few...


Jimi Hendrix -- "All Along the Watchtower"

Janis Joplin -- Too many to name. "Cry Baby," "Me and Bobby McGee," and "Piece of My Heart" jump immediately to mind.

[Tom B.]

As to covers, one of my favorites is Everything but the Girl's cover of Cyndy Lauper's "Time after Time." (EBTG has a few other excellent covers - like "Tougher than the Rest" by Bruce.) They're pretty much my favorite group -and love their work as single performers post EBTG.

Speaking of Cyndi Lauper, one of her biggest hits -- "All Through the Night" -- was a cover.

[nmduke2001]

That Sound of Silence cover was terrible. I love that song - one of my favorite - written by one of the great poets of the 20th Century - Paul Simon.

Here is a cover by Celtic Thunder that I find pretty good. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HNHKvtjoj8&index=1&list=RD8HNHKvtjoj8)

Thank you. Many people like Disturbed's version. I just don't get it.

I like some of the stuff that Postmodern Jukebox is doing. I'm a sucker for Los Lobos version of La Bamba.

[lotusland]

Off-hand a few random covers covers I like better than the original version:

"What's so Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding" Elvis > Nick Lowe
"Wuthering Heights" Pat Benatar > Kate Bush
"A Good Year for the Roses" Elvis > Possum
" Great Atomic Power" Southern Culture on the Skids > The Louvin Bros
"No Depression" Uncle Tupelo > The Carter Family
"Leveland" and "Wish You were Here" Robert Earle Keen > James McMurtry
"Amarillo Highway" REK > Terry Allen
"You Never Even Called Me by my Name" DAC > Steve Goodman and John Prine
"If You don't Know Me by now" "Simply Red > Harold Melvin

[lotusland]

Speaking of Cyndi Lauper, one of her biggest hits -- "All Through the Night" -- was a cover.

"When you were Mine" also a Prince cover

[luburch]

Hurt - Johnny Cash

[jjredickrules]

I'm surprised by how much hate Disturbed's cover is getting. My brother and I both love it, but that just might be a result of our music tastes. I like music more on the rock side. S&G are just too..."soft" for me. Don't get me wrong, Disturbed's usual stuff scares me. I just need a little more "umph" if a song isn't gonna put me to sleep.

Here are a few other somewhat known rock covers of old songs most of you would probably hate:
Five Finger Death Punch's "Bad Company" (More digestible than most of their stuff)
Seether's "Careless Whisper" (way, way different feel from the original)
Shinedown's "Simple Man" (you can't possibly beat Skynyrd, but this is a good try)

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but one of my favorite "rock" covers is possibly Fall Out Boy's "Beat It". MJ was the king of Pop. FOB made it rock.

In terms of "worst covers", not sure anything could beat GNR's "Sympathy for the Devil". Holy cow. Mick sounded perfect as the devil; Axl is just the actual devil.

Someone brought up Smash Mouth..."I'm a Believer" was the first I heard of that song and I liked it (still do). They did a cover of "Why Can't We Be Friends" that is completely blah. It has no heart at all. I'm still conflicted about their "Do It Again". The original is a little long and monotonous, but the overly pop version might not be the best way to go. They also covered "Getting Better" which is nothing to write home about. All that's to say is "I'm a Believer" wouldn't even rank up there with Smash Mouth's own worst covers, much less worst of all time.

If I wanted to get snarky, I can talk about Ray Parker Jr's Cover of Huey Lewis or RHCP's cover of Tom Petty :)

In terms of "best", someone already mentioned Jimi's "All Along the Watchtower", which Dylan himself admitted was a better version.

Are there any other covers where the original artist basically gave the thumbs up that "yeah, that's a better version"?

Yay offseason off-topic threads!

[lotusland]

I like to hear cover songs at concerts as I think it's pretty neat to hear a band play their interpretation of a cool song live. Otherwise, it kind of comes across as self indulgent to put it on an album but that's just me.

I agree mostly but that kinda makes it hard on Musicians who don't write songs. Elvis, Joan Baez, George Jones, Emmy Lou Harris and numerous others would not have had a career otherwise. I know there are always unrecorded songs by industry song writers but still. On the other hand, nowadays they just put the musician in the same room as the song writer and call it a co-write.

[lotusland]

Romeo and Juliet - Indigo Girls = Dire Straights
Wall Flower - Buddy and Julie Miller = Dylan
Looking for the Heart of Saturday Night - Shawn Colvin = Tom Waits
Keep Your Distance - Buddy and Julie Miller = Richard Thompson
Come Together - Aerosmith = The Beatles
I will Always Lover You - Whitney = Dolly
Mr. State Trooper - Steve Earle = The Boss
Stolen Car - Patty Griffin = The Boss
Hard to Handle - Black Crows = Otis Redding

[nmduke2001]

I'm a little ashamed to admit it, but one of my favorite "rock" covers is possibly Fall Out Boy's "Beat It". MJ was the king of Pop. FOB made it rock.



I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I really like the "Smooth Criminal" cover by Alien Ant Farm.

[rasputin]

I like Everclear's cover of Brown-Eyed Girl.

[weezie]

Al Green's cover of "My Girl"

http://www.whosampled.com/cover/21308/Al-Green-My-Girl-The-Temptations-My-Girl/

You're welcome.

[devildm]

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I really like the "Smooth Criminal" cover by Alien Ant Farm.

I actually like the Smooth Criminal cover as well. I'm not down with Sound of Silence.

I'll also second the call for Hurt by Johnny Cash.

[sagegrouse]

I like all covers of C.C. Rider, better than the original, which doesn'T exist -- apparently a traditional blues song from the early '20s.

[killerleft]

How about a whole album? Easy Star All-Stars' Dub Side of the Moon is very entertaining, complete with water bong sound effects on Money.

[dball]

I hate almost any cover of Unchained Melody.

I thought Bobby Hatfield's (billed as Righteous Brothers) was pretty good. Al Hibbler had a gold record with it a decade earlier.

[JNort]

Nah I think the slow deep sound from Disturbed improves the song. It just feels like that's how it is meant to be done.

[fidel]

Casandra Wilson did a great cover of Harvest Moon.

Cowboy Junkies killed it with Blue Moon, Sweet Jane.

I enjoy covers. The interpretation to another bands music style really force you to think about your engagement with the music.

[duke74]

Nah I think the slow deep sound from Disturbed improves the song. It just feels like that's how it is meant to be done.

As opposed to the way the actual songwriter arranged and performed it? 😀

[Olympic Fan]

My single favorite rock song is a cover --Patti Smith's 1975 "Gloria"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxygqSTO1lQ

Written by Van Morrison in 1964 for his band Them:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkaMVLHxzWE

Also covered by the Doors in 1983:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPDixDqAUh0

I much prefer Smith's version ... which actually blends Morrison's lyrics with a poem Smith wrote in 1970 (including her memorable opening line)

There is also the case of The Rolling Stones/Beatles song "I Wanna Be Your Man". I'm not sure who is covering who on that one -- the song was written by Lennon and McCarthy and given to the Stones, who recorded it and released it in the fall of 1963. Three weeks later, the Beatles released the same song (with Ringo singing lead vocals) .

The Stones version was more successful -- reaching No. 12 on the British charts - their first ranked recording ... written by the Beatles.

BTW: I just googled cover songs and found this interesting list:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/22/cover-songs-more-famous-than-originals-20-tunes_n_3118557.html

[rthomas]

we talking about the BEST covers?


Sam Smith - Won't Back Down



Hahaha. I got it.

[moonpie23]

Hahaha. I got it.

kudos to you...very observant...


also, george harrison's cover of "he's so fine" and the beach boys cover of "sweet little 16"

[moonpie23]

as far as whole "cover records" are concerned,

I highly recommend BIG DADDY's complete cover of Sargent Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band....


talk about completely OWNING the songs in different fashion, it's amazing....

[Tom B.]

"Because the Night" -- written by Bruce Springsteen, recorded by Patti Smith, then covered by Bruce Springsteen AND by 10,000 Maniacs.

[gus]

Covers! Covers can be enjoyable. Sometimes, even when not very good, they introduce you to a song you didn't know or appreciate (e.g. for me, DMB's over wrought cover of "Long Black Veil"). Often times, if you loved the original song, no cover will be enjoyable, because either it's a re-shaping of the song to match a style you don't like, or it's just an unimaginative copy. For me, covers are really most appreciated as a live performance.

The A.V. Club (the Onion's non-joke entertainment website) has a series called "AV Undercover" where bands come in and choose from a short list (picked by listeners/readers) of songs to cover. There's a lot of bad covers as a result (they don't get much time to practice), but occasionally some really good ones, like the Punch Brothers covering the Cars' "Just what I needed" (http://youtu.be/Yxgr-Ebpidw), or slightly incongruously, Gwar covering "Carry on my Wayward Son" by Kansas (http://youtu.be/baExq6xNhQ8). The series is also really good at highlighting which bands are good musicians, and which ones really are not.

White Stripe's cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene (http://youtu.be/yXlULkwhgrc) is amazing. I'm also fond of Annie Clark's (of St Vincent) version of Dig A Pony (http://youtu.be/lan-UQfN0zs).

[gus]

Casandra Wilson did a great cover of Harvest Moon.

Cowboy Junkies killed it with ... Sweet Jane.



Definitely. That's a great one.

[Billy Dat]

Covers are great, they don't always come off but it's interesting to be exposed to which artist's songs another artist is moved by. If you play music, learning how to play other musician's songs is how you learn the art form.

Two Beatles covers I really like:

"Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett (and Duane Alman)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8Q2PATVyI

"We Can Work it Out" by Stevie Wonder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uznnHd5thXE

Also, John Legend and the Roots did an album of 60s Civil Rights/Anti-War songs a few years ago and their cover of Bill Withers' "I Can't Write Left Handed" is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnlgRQdfONs

[Kdogg]

Jimi Hendrix -- "All Along the Watchtower"


Even Bob Dylan changed how it played his own song after Hendrix passed. Possibly the greatest cover song ever.

[luvdahops]

Even Bob Dylan changed how it played his own song after Hendrix passed. Possibly the greatest cover song ever.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" by the Byrds wasn't too shabby either

[Devilwin]

Don't usually care for covers much, but even the Beatles did them early on. One I do like is the No Doubt version of Talk Talk's "It's My Life."

[Tom B.]

Covers! Covers can be enjoyable. Sometimes, even when not very good, they introduce you to a song you didn't know or appreciate (e.g. for me, DMB's over wrought cover of "Long Black Veil"). Often times, if you loved the original song, no cover will be enjoyable, because either it's a re-shaping of the song to match a style you don't like, or it's just an unimaginative copy. For me, covers are really most appreciated as a live performance.

Another favorite cover of mine is Social Distortion's cover of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire" (which was, itself, a cover). Talk about two completely different styles -- mariachified rockabilly meets L.A. underground punk. Yet both versions work well.

[OldPhiKap]

Off-hand a few random covers covers I like better than the original version:

"What's so Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding" Elvis > Nick Lowe
"Wuthering Heights" Pat Benatar > Kate Bush
"A Good Year for the Roses" Elvis > Possum
" Great Atomic Power" Southern Culture on the Skids > The Louvin Bros
"No Depression" Uncle Tupelo > The Carter Family
"Leveland" and "Wish You were Here" Robert Earl Keen > James McMurtry
"Amarillo Highway" REK > Terry Allen
"You Never Even Called Me by my Name" DAC > Steve Goodman and John Prine
"If You don't Know Me by now" "Simply Red > Harold Melvin

oh no, we have to fight.

Actually, two of the best singer-songwriters out there. Bravo for mentioning either, let alone both.

Oh, and "Corpus Christi Bay" -- Todd Snider > REK. There, I said it.

Now, looking for a cover of "Choctaw Bingo" . . . .

Edit to add -- forgot that Ray Wiley Hiubbard covered Choctaw. Ah, a nice Monday evening sunset.

[brevity]

In my opinion, Disturbed's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Sound of Silence" replaces Smash Mouth's cover of "I'm a believer" and Pearl Jam's cover or "Last Kiss" as the worst cover ever.

Smash Mouth? You mean that Shrek band (http://gawker.com/smash-mouths-desperate-endless-twitter-battle-1781910819)?


Hurt - Johnny Cash

Are there any other covers where the original artist basically gave the thumbs up that "yeah, that's a better version"?

Trent Reznor quote from Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_(Nine_Inch_Nails_song)): "[I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn't mine anymore..."

[jjredickrules]

Smash Mouth? You mean that Shrek band (http://gawker.com/smash-mouths-desperate-endless-twitter-battle-1781910819)?


I had the 'Astro Lounge' CD as a kid and listened to it all the time. Personally, I prefer Radio, Defeat You, and possibly Come On Come On. I never associated Smash Mouth with Shrek, since I had 2 years with them before the movie came out.

Also, what do people think of The Lemonhead's version of Mrs. Robinson? Same original artist, same movie as the inspiration for this thread. Surprised I haven't seen it brought up (apologies if I missed it).

[OldPhiKap]

Favorites that come to mind first (sure I could come up with dozens more):

"Feelin' Alright" -- Joe Cocker (Traffic) https://youtu.be/FoAO0851FwA
"What's so funny . . . ." -- Elvis Costello (Nick Lowe -- here's a fun version from Letterman): https://youtu.be/eJ1ZQ99pKbY
"Mutineer" -- Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires (seriously -- if you only watch one, watch this -- Warren Zevon): https://youtu.be/TX4nrkd0b0I
"I Want You" -- Fiona Apple (with Costello, so maybe a cheat -- but as powerful as you will ever see if you stick through it): https://youtu.be/EiOmhOumh-w
"Free Fallin'" -- John Mayer (Tom Petty): https://youtu.be/20Ov0cDPZy8
"Jet Airliner" -- Steve Miller Band (bet most of you didn't know this was a cover -- I link the original by Paul Pena which I like better): https://youtu.be/Cjr5U7g6aiA
"Morning Dew" -- Grateful Dead (the best cover band ever, this song from Bonnie Dobson; and yes I know most of you will not watch it or agree. You are either on the bus or you're not): https://youtu.be/xwvtQnIOkYc
"Wooden Ships" -- CSN (Grace Slick, I link the original for those who have not heard it): https://youtu.be/hIccZsURyLc
"Black Magic Woman" -- Santana (written by Peter Green when he was with Fleetwood Mac, really): https://youtu.be/7eANGHVQS9Q
"Money (that's what I want)/Pressure Drop" -- David Gray (Beatles/Jimmy Cliff). https://youtu.be/CyEUso9UhjM

[weezie]

...Pressure Drop" -- David Gray (Jimmy Cliff). https://youtu.be/CyEUso9UhjM

Oooo, I dunno...Jimmy Cliff, now that's an icon right there, that is. Bold choice from OPK!

[ncexnyc]

we talking about the BEST covers?


Elvis Costello - What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding

Roxy Music - Jealous Guy

Run DMC - Walk This Way

Sam Smith - Won't Back Down

to name a few...
So is Walk This Way on your list because of the music or because it was an entertaining video?

[NashvilleDevil]

Covers I enjoy:

Aretha - Son of a Preacher Man (Dusty Springfield) and The Weight (The Band)

Leon Russell - A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall (Dylan)

The Clash - Police on My Back (The Equals) I Fought the Law (Bobby Fuller)

The Beatles - Twist and Shout (Isleys)

[YmoBeThere]

X4 on Hurt performed by Johnny Cash

[luvdahops]

Oooo, I dunno...Jimmy Cliff, now that's an icon right there, that is. Bold choice from OPK!

While on "The Harder They Come" soundtrack that made Jimmy Cliff famous, "Pressure Drop" was first done by Toots and the Maytals. Whose cover of "Take Me Home, Country Roads" is transcendent btw. And the Clash's cover of "Pressure Drop" is superior to Gray's in my view.

[BD80]

I thought Bobby Hatfield's (billed as Righteous Brothers) was pretty good. Al Hibbler had a gold record with it a decade earlier.

Really? Godwin's law strikes so soon? In a music thread?

[OldPhiKap]

And the Clash's cover of "Pressure Drop" is superior to Gray's in my view.

That's because The Clash is The Only Bsnd That Matters.

Their cover version of "I Fought the Law (and the law won)" is great too.

[moonpie23]

So is Walk This Way on your list because of the music or because it was an entertaining video?

because it was a great cover....

[lotusland]

My favorite cover albums :
Step Inside this House - Lyle Lovett double album of covers by Texas Song writers.

Poet - TVZ tribute album. Awesome covers by awesome musicians. I love Steve Earle's version of "Two Girls", Guy Clarks "To Live' is to Fly", REK's Mr. Mud and Mr. Gold, Emmy Lou's "Snake Song", Billy Joe Shaver's " White Freight Liner", Delbert McClinton's " Poncho and Lefty", John Prine's "Loretta" and "If I needed you" by The Cowboy Junkies but Lucinda's haunting version of "Nothin'" is my favorite.

Shawn Colvin's "Cover Girl" and Nancy Griffith's "Other Voices, Other Rooms" are also regulars on my playlist.

[nmduke2001]

Some covers I enjoy
Hurt - Johnny Cash (NIN)
Turn the page - Metallica (Bob Seger)
Man who sold the world - Nirvana (Bowie)
Nothing compares to you - sinead (prince)
Mad world - Gary Jules (tears for fears)
Killing me softly - fugees (Roberta Flack?)

[Duke79UNLV77]

Shawn Colvin - "Someday" (Steve Earle)
Cake - "I Will Survive"
Aretha - "Respect"
Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower"
Ray Charles - "I Can't Stop Loving You"
Jason & the Scorchers - "Country Roads" and "Absolutely Sweet Marie"
Yes - "America"
Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah"

[Duke79UNLV77]

Also, what do people think of The Lemonhead's version of Mrs. Robinson? Same original artist, same movie as the inspiration for this thread. Surprised I haven't seen it brought up (apologies if I missed it).

I like it. Makes it a different song, without ruining it.

[lotusland]

Just heard onnie Raitt's cover of John Hyatt's "Are You Ready for the Thing Called Love" which I like a little better than the original.

[lotusland]

Favorite Tongue in cheek covers

Dynamit Hack cover if EAsy E's "Boys in the Hood"
https://youtu.be/aeL9gagV_VA
The Gourds cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice"
https://youtu.be/H4hGSR5njZE
Richard Thompson's cover of Brittany Spears "Oops I did it Again"
https://youtu.be/uUeD2botpxA

[lotusland]

Graham Parsons and Keith Richards were hanging out together a lot and Parsons was in the studio when the Stones Recorded Sticky Fingers. Parsons was given permission to record Wild Horses as long as he didn't release it as a single(Did Graham Parsons ever have a single???). Anyway Graham's version actually came out before Sticky Fingers was released. Parsons' fans argue that Graham wrote the song http://nodepression.com/article/ive-said-it-ill-say-it-again-gram-parsons-wrote-wild-horses and there is no doubt that his friendship with Richards greatly influenced the Stones' "Country" flavored records and songs. Since Mick, Keith and Graham all said it was a Glimmer Twins tune I'll go with that via Occam's razor. I've seen Mick quoted elsewhere saying that the lyrics were inspired by a Marianne Faithful Overdose. When she was revived he supposedly told her that he thought he had lost her and she replied "wild horses couldn't drag me away". I'm not sure which one is technically the cover version but the Stones version is way better.

Warning - off-topic tangent ahead. As a side note Dead Flowers is definitely a Graham Parsons inspired song and one of the most obvious "drug songs" ever recorded. Parsons allegedly sent Richards heroin through the US mail. The two were known to refer to heroin as "Dead Flowers" and the type of heroin they used was called "Brown Susie". Mick said he didn't care much for the country tunes because he considered himself a blues singer but I disagree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS_yyRk_dj8

Segue back to topic - Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle both covered Dead Flowers. Both had battles with addiction and both recorded Heroin influenced song (Townes - White Freight Liner and SE - South Nashville Blues and CCKP). The normally prolific Earle did not record a record during his "4-year vacation in the ghetto" which ended with a 60-day jail term for his second drug arrest in less than 12-mos. He was arrested in South Nashville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-nU5c6kRM

Took my pistol and a hundred dollar bill
Had everything I need to get me killed...

During said vacation SE hocked his guitars and allowed Robert Earl Keen to record my favorite SE song Tom Ames Prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5xhyuCkPBA SE wrote the song as a teenager in the 70s but never recorded it so he offered the song to REK for some walking around money. Clean and outta jail in 1994 SE then released an acoustic album of old unrecorded songs and covers - Train a Comin' - including Tom Aames Prayer. I love REK but he can't touch Steve on that one.

Thus ends perhaps my longest ever DBR post.

[OldPhiKap]

Graham Parsons and Keith Richards were hanging out together a lot and Parsons was in the studio when the Stones Recorded Sticky Fingers. Parsons was given permission to record Wild Horses as long as he didn't release it as a single(Did Graham Parsons ever have a single???). Anyway Graham's version actually came out before Sticky Fingers was released. Parsons' fans argue that Graham wrote the song http://nodepression.com/article/ive-said-it-ill-say-it-again-gram-parsons-wrote-wild-horses and there is no doubt that his friendship with Richards greatly influenced the Stones' "Country" flavored records and songs. Since Mick, Keith and Graham all said it was a Glimmer Twins tune I'll go with that via Occam's razor. I've seen Mick quoted elsewhere saying that the lyrics were inspired by a Marianne Faithful Overdose. When she was revived he supposedly told her that he thought he had lost her and she replied "wild horses couldn't drag me away". I'm not sure which one is technically the cover version but the Stones version is way better.

Warning - off-topic tangent ahead. As a side note Dead Flowers is definitely a Graham Parsons inspired song and one of the most obvious "drug songs" ever recorded. Parsons allegedly sent Richards heroin through the US mail. The two were known to refer to heroin as "Dead Flowers" and the type of heroin they used was called "Brown Susie". Mick said he didn't care much for the country tunes because he considered himself a blues singer but I disagree. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS_yyRk_dj8

Segue back to topic - Townes Van Zandt and Steve Earle both covered Dead Flowers. Both had battles with addiction and both recorded Heroin influenced song (Townes - White Freight Liner and SE - South Nashville Blues and CCKP). The normally prolific Earle did not record a record during his "4-year vacation in the ghetto" which ended with a 60-day jail term for his second drug arrest in less than 12-mos. He was arrested in South Nashville
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2M-nU5c6kRM


During said vacation SE hocked his guitars and allowed Robert Earl Keen to record my favorite SE song Tom Ames Prayer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5xhyuCkPBA SE wrote the song as a teenager in the 70s but never recorded it so he offered the song to REK for some walking around money. Clean and outta jail in 1994 SE then released an acoustic album of old unrecorded songs and covers - Train a Comin' - including Tom Aames Prayer. I love REK but he can't touch Steve on that one.

Thus ends perhaps my longest ever DBR post.

Wild Horses is recorded with Keith playing a five-string guitar (base string removed) and tuned to open G. He speaks about this tuning at some length in his book, "Life." It is a pretty odd tuning so I assume that Keith came up with the rhythm himself. It is a blues tuning, not a country one.

But that's just a guess, or perhaps just a tidbit of dubious import.

(Aside: Start Me Up! is in the same tuning. Keith makes some reference in his book to the fact that he hears folks try to cover this song, but they can't do it wholly right because it's not in standard, six-string tuning. Pretty sure that Pink Houses by John Mellencamp is in the same five string, open-G tuning).

[Dev11]

Whose cover of "Not Fade Away" do you prefer, the Dead or the Stones?

I attend perhaps an unhealthy amount of bluegrass concerts, and all the bands I follow are great at covers. Some of the best current ones are Greensky Bluegrass's covers of "Atlantic City" and "When Doves Cry."

[OldPhiKap]

Whose cover of "Not Fade Away" do you prefer, the Dead or the Stones?

I attend perhaps an unhealthy amount of bluegrass concerts, and all the bands I follow are great at covers. Some of the best current ones are Greensky Bluegrass's covers of "Atlantic City" and "When Doves Cry."

GD. But the '80's/Brent versions, not the crazy long ones from the '60's and '70's.

And does every bluegrass band cover Wagon Wheel? Sure seems it to me. (Great song, but none sound that much different to me -- and I did bluegrass)

[lotusland]

GD. But the '80's/Brent versions, not the crazy long ones from the '60's and '70's.

And does every bluegrass band cover Wagon Wheel? Sure seems it to me. (Great song, but none sound that much different to me -- and I did bluegrass)

Wagon Wheel lyrics written by Robert Zimmerman and gifted to Old Crow Medicine show who came up with the tune. Maybe Bob will cover it now!

[OldPhiKap]

Wagon Wheel lyrics written by Robert Zimmerman and gifted to Old Crow Medicine show who came up with the tune. Maybe Bob will cover it now!

Story I heard, Dylan had only written the chorus and never recorded it (it is on one of the bootleg series). Someone from OCMS wrote the verses, then got permission from Bob to use it. They split royalties 50/50.

I think.

[captmojo]

My favorite cover, is a cover of a cover. It goes thus....

Leavin' Trunk.....'Sleepy' John Estes

Leavin' Trunk.....Taj Mahal

Leavin' Trunk.....Jaimoe's Jasssz Band

[Reddevil]

I'm kind of ashamed to admit that I really like the "Smooth Criminal" cover by Alien Ant Farm.

Beat me to it!

I'll throw in Marilyn Manson's version of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),
and Metallica's remake of Turn the Page.

[OldPhiKap]

Beat me to it!

I'll throw in Marilyn Manson's version of Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This),
and Metallica's remake of Turn the Page.

I'm partial to Dash Rip Rock's cover of "Delta Dawn"

[lotusland]

Story I heard, Dylan had only written the chorus and never recorded it (it is on one of the bootleg series). Someone from OCMS wrote the verses, then got permission from Bob to use it. They split royalties 50/50.

I think.

Sounds right. I heard a OCMS interviewed on WNCW about it but my memory is shaky at best.

[Dev11]

GD. But the '80's/Brent versions, not the crazy long ones from the '60's and '70's.

And does every bluegrass band cover Wagon Wheel? Sure seems it to me. (Great song, but none sound that much different to me -- and I did bluegrass)

None of them do. The running joke is that uninformed concert attendees always shout for it, but unless you are OCMS, you don't play it. I'd be pretty disappointed if any of the bands I follow brought it out, not that I don't like the song, just that it passed cliché so long ago.

[OldPhiKap]

None of them do. The running joke is that uninformed concert attendees always shout for it, but unless you are OCMS, you don't play it. I'd be pretty disappointed if any of the bands I follow brought it out, not that I don't like the song, just that it passed cliché so long ago.

It's like the sign behind the stage at Preservation Hall in New Orleans:

Traditional Request ------------------- $5
Other --------------------------------- $10
'"When the Saints Go Marching In" - $20

[Duke79UNLV77]

Just heard onnie Raitt's cover of John Hyatt's "Are You Ready for the Thing Called Love" which I like a little better than the original.

Bonnie Raitt's cover of INXS's "Need You Tonight" off her new album is excellent.

[Duke79UNLV77]

Favorite Tongue in cheek covers

Dynamit Hack cover if EAsy E's "Boys in the Hood"
https://youtu.be/aeL9gagV_VA
The Gourds cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice"
https://youtu.be/H4hGSR5njZE
Richard Thompson's cover of Brittany Spears "Oops I did it Again"
https://youtu.be/uUeD2botpxA

I remember an album of Bullwinkle doing Simon & Garfunkel songs that included "I Am a Moose, I Am a Mammal" to the tune of "I Am a Rock," but, alas, I can't find it on the interwebs.

[OldPhiKap]

Bonnie Raitt's cover of INXS's "Need You Tonight" off her new album is excellent.

She also does a great version of Randy Newman's "Guilty" and John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery"

Oh, and she is a bad-boned slide guitar player to boot.

[rasputin]

It's like the sign behind the stage at Preservation Hall in New Orleans:

Traditional Request ------------------- $5
Other --------------------------------- $10
'"When the Saints Go Marching In" - $20

Wow. The prices have gone up from when I was there. In a different millennium.

[rasputin]

She also does a great version of Randy Newman's "Guilty" and John Prine's "Angel from Montgomery"

Oh, and she is a bad-boned slide guitar player to boot.

I love John Prine but I always thought it was weird for him to do a song, the first lyric of which is, "I am an old woman. . .."

[lotusland]

I love John Prine but I always thought it was weird for him to do a song, the first lyric of which is, "I am an old woman. . .."

Saw JP open for Bonnie one time in Charlotte and a JP fan shouted "Angel from Montgomery" before each song. Finally she stopped and seethingly said " say it one more time and I swear to god I won't play it". Of course JP joined her onstage for the encore and they played it. Bonnie Raitt is a pistol. Ask her roadie for a guitar pick if you want to see a look of terror.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Oooh, just remembered a great one... "We Shall Overcome" - Bruce Springsteen sings Pete Seeger songs. Lots of fun.

[aimo]

House always had some great music, especially at the ends of the episodes. Three of my favorites were covers, Jeff Buckley doing "Hallelujah", Taj Mahal doing "Honky Tonk Woman", and Elvis Costello doing "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. I believe that I read that Costello did that recording specifically for House.

Also, on the Clueless soundtrack, Counting Crows RUINED "The Ghost in You" by the Psychedelic Furs. It was so bad, it was many months before I realized what they were trying to sing. Don't mess with the Furs.

[YmoBeThere]

I do think Bono did a decent job on Can't Help Falling in Loce With You from the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack.

And I have been listening to The Boss (and the band) playing Purple Rain in their first show after Prince's passing.

[moonpie23]

Hendrix's ALL ALONG THE WATCHTOWER has to be on that "awesome covers" list...

[captmojo]

I was recently reminded of an old Monkees tune, Daydream Believer, that was done by Dan Baird.
Baird is a lot like Warren Haynes. A prolific songwriter that has probably forgotten more music than most will ever learn in a lifetime.

[YmoBeThere]

Did he pen the lyric, "Mojo rising!"?

[moonpie23]

one to mention is Eric Clapton's cover of the Clapton/Gordon song "LAYLA", done for MTV's "UNPLUGGED"........masterful cover..



also, Alex Chilton, and he did an amazing cover of LITTLE GTO (live)


Dan Baird and the GA SATELLITES did a cover of Terry Anderson's (Fabulous Knobs - The Woods) BATTLESHIP CHAINS

[NSDukeFan]

I'm definitely in the yea category. I love covers as encores at concerts and like that sometimes they remind me how good the original (or what I may think is the original, as I have learned some in this thread) song is. Thanks for the thread and contributions to it.

[Olympic Fan]

I just watched the end of The Music Man on TCM and I heard a great story about a cover song.

Apparently, four young British musicians saw the movie in 1963 and liked the song so much that they included a cover version of "Til There Was You" on their album, "With the Beatles" (the second studio album for the group). Here's the Beatles playing the Music Man song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTGuP_hpvWo

The interesting part was Meredith Willson's widow reported that the family ended up receiving more money from royalties for the Beatles' version than Willson received for the play, the movie or any other song royalties that he wrote.

(Note also interesting that With the Beatles originally eight original songs and six cover songs. When the album was reshaped for US release as Meet the Beatles, it ended up with the eight original songs and one cover -- "Til There Was You.")

[burnspbesq]

A random handful of great covers.

One that I like because it's a nearly complete reimagining of the original: the Brad Mehldau Trio's version of "Black Hole Sun."

The best vocal performance of Tony Rice's long and distinguished career: J.D. Crowe & the New South's cover of Ian Tyson's "Summer Wages."

Best cover of a Karla Bonoff song (tie): Linda Ronstadt for "Lose Again, " Wynnona Judd for "Tell me Why."

Best cover of a Joni Mitchell song: Diana Krall, "Black Crow."

Best Dead cover: Los Lobos, "Bertha."

An amazing album of nothimg but covers of a single artist: Dave and Phil Alvin, "Common Ground: Dave and Phil Alvin Play and Sing the Songs of Big Bill Broonzy.

And finally, the cover without which no list of awesome covers is complete.

https://youtu.be/V4WGsMplGxU

[Devilwin]

Paul McCartney did a nice version of Chuck Berry's 'Brown Eyed Handsome Man."
https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0LEVv1cdHtX12cA4e4nnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTEyZn Y3NzBiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMxBHZ0aWQDQjIzNDFfMQRzZWMD c2M-?p=mccartney+brown+eyed+handsome+man&back=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.yahoo.com%2Fyhs%2Fsearch %3Fp%3Dmccartney%2Bbrown%2Beyed%2Bhandsome%2Bman%2 6ei%3DUTF-8%26hspart%3Dmozilla%26hsimp%3Dyhs-004&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP. Va82dc0229b795fba7ac1c80388877b78%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3D1 nM6atYqh-o&tit=Paul+McCartney+-+Brown-Eyed+Handsome+Man&l=163&vid=9ac60cccfe6ad1f7e8504159a65f0796&sigr=11b2d0kpm&sigb=13d7122cq&sigt=118e18su7&sigi=12bik9dfe&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-004

[PackMan97]

One that I really like that is a bit of a shock because of the artist....

Insane Clown Posse's cover of Sly Fox's '80s classic, "Let's Go All The Way" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlhfwKv2vrk)

I've got to agree with Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal". That at Cash's "Hurt" are perhaps my two favorites.

Korn's "Word Up" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q-k-uN73Gk) I love as well, though the audio quality on that video is awful. I do admit without the red bikini outerwear, it's just not quite the same :)

[Highlander]

I love this topic. One of the things I think is cool is listing covers that you didn't know were covers. Here are a few frequently missed:

Joan Jett and the Blackharts - I Love Rock and Roll -> Arrows (Merrill/Hooker)
Led Zeppelin - Dazed and Confused -> Yardbirds -> Jake Holmes
Quiet Riot - Cum on Feel the Noize -> Slade
Jimi Hendrix - Hey Joe -> multiples -> Billy Roberts

A couple of good cover albums from established bands:
- Metallica - Garage Days, Inc. Includes several gems like:
- Blitzkreig -> Ian Jones, Jim Sirotto, Brian Ross
- Breadfan -> Budgie
- Plus the aforementioned "Turn the page

- Feedback - Rush. After 30 years, a cover album from a band who only recorded originals (and released AFTER a cover album of RUSH work, incidentally). Includes good takes of:
- Heart full of Soul -> Yardbirds
- Summertime Blues -> Eddie Cochran


- Kiss my I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this.I'm a real wanker for saying this. - Classic KISS Regrooved. Collection of KISS covers from other artists. Includes some interesting ones:
- Hard Luck Woman - Garth Brooks -> KISS
- Detroit Rock City - Mighty, Mighty Bosstones -> KISS
- RnR All Nite - Toad the Wet Sprocket -> KISS

[nmduke2001]

Following their hugely successful cover of Toto's "Africa", Weezer dropped a new album today that is all covers. Among the covers are, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"," "No Scrubs," and "Billie Jean".

I'm not sure, but I would guess that the success of "Africa" was a surprise to them. I liked it but found it strange in that it sounded almost exactly like the original. I'm interested to see how they did with the new album.

[luburch]

Following their hugely successful cover of Toto's "Africa", Weezer dropped a new album today that is all covers. Among the covers are, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)"," "No Scrubs," and "Billie Jean".

I'm not sure, but I would guess that the success of "Africa" was a surprise to them. I liked it but found it strange in that it sounded almost exactly like the original. I'm interested to see how they did with the new album.

Gave it a listen this morning. They play all of the songs well, but they sound too similar to the originals. They don't do anything to make them their own.

[nmduke2001]

Gave it a listen this morning. They play all of the songs well, but they sound too similar to the originals. They don't do anything to make them their own.

I agree. They followed the "Africa" example and just sang the songs rather than going full Marilyn Manson. Having said that, River Cuomo has a very capable voice. I especially liked "Happy Together" and thought they did a decent job with "Stand by Me".

[PackMan97]

Gave it a listen this morning. They play all of the songs well, but they sound too similar to the originals. They don't do anything to make them their own.

I agree. They do the songs very well, but don't really bring anything to them.

Some of my favorite covers are wildly different than the original.

Annie - Alien Ant Farm (covering Michael Jackson)
Hurt - Johnny Cash (covering NIN)
Let's go all the way - Insane Clown Posse (covering Sly Fox)
Stand By Me - Ki:Theory (covering Ben E King)
Word Up - Korn (covering Cameo)

No one in the right mind would confuse any of those songs with the original.

[brevity]

The Weezer/Toto reciprocity was the only good thing that happened in 2018.

Weezer got the headlines, a career refresh, and now a new album, but Toto won the battle of the bands.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wvWFW4xTs

Also check out the studio version here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOoC-Gflass).

[Kdogg]

I agree. They do the songs very well, but don't really bring anything to them.

Some of my favorite covers are wildly different than the original.

Annie - Alien Ant Farm (covering Michael Jackson)


I think that’s Smooth Criminal. It’s a very good and distinct cover.

[Reddevil]

Easy - Faith No More (Commodores) Not better, just surprisingly good.

Were You Born An A__hole - Jimmy Buffett (David Allan Coe) Again, not better and since I commute on I-95 every day it is my anthem.

[CameronBlue]

"

Best cover of a Joni Mitchell song: Diana Krall, "Black Crow."


https://youtu.be/V4WGsMplGxU

I'd agree with this but give 1st runner-up to the Counting Crows for "Big Yellow Taxi".

Worst cover of a Joni Mitchell song goes to CSNY. I'm a huge fan of CSN(Y) and have most of their stuff as a group, soloists and various permutations (even have Crosby-Nash's collaboration that featured "Immigration Man") but they flopped with a cover of Joni Mitchell's "Woodstock."

[IrishDevil]

You all have brought up a bunch of great ones already. I will second many of Packman's selections, plus Metallica's cover of Bob Seger's Turn the Page, which I'm sure is not the most original choice, but there's a reason for that.

Not sure which branch of this rabbit hole I will wander down this afternoon, but I think I have my soundtrack for the rest of the work day set.

[Devilwin]

I like the Oasis cover of I am The Walrus (Beatles).

[duke79]

I may have already mentioned this previously in this thread (and I'm too lazy right now to look it up), but I think Huey Lewis' cover of the great JJ Jackson song, "But it's alright", is one of the best covers of any song (IMHO!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDztE7e9Skg

[OldPhiKap]

John Mayer’s version of Freefallin’ and Cake’s version of I Will Survive both kill.

[devildeac]

Y'all decide:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15rUJuKCM90

[OldPhiKap]

Y'all decide:



I apologize in advance:


https://youtu.be/qIqY-zvdESQ

[devildeac]

[QUOTE=OldPhiKap;1120671]I apologize in advance:

[snip]-only 1 video allowed per post

I'll see your apology and raise you:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM_xvTaYavw

[lotusland]

Cool live cover of Rocket Man

https://youtu.be/8kQNlG8cNWg

Also
Love Ray Wylie Hubbard’s cover of Hayes Carl’s Druken Poets Dream

https://youtu.be/FEerPm9Ttw0

[OldPhiKap]

I apologize in advance:




I'll see your apology and raise you:



This is why we can’t have nice things.

[camion]

I only heard this "Let Em In" cover once. It's not exactly a cover and once was enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJBDcb7kq_g

[BigWayne]

This is why we can’t have nice things.

Well I was going to post about some cover songs I really like, especially ones most people don't realize are covers, but that just ruined my mood.
I think even I do better than Pat Boone singing Smoke on the Water while driving down the freeway.

[aimo]

Chili Peppers and Love Rollercoaster

[luburch]

The Killers covered American Girl (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BlKYT9-q14) at the 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony.

They played it over the summer when I saw them in concert. Also covered some John Mellencamp.

[Duke79UNLV77]

For different takes on the original, I like Jason & the Scorchers' "Country Road" and Cake's "I Will Survive."

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=jason+and+the+scorchers+country+road&view=detail&mid=EE746EF9158C414FABF5EE746EF9158C414FABF5&FORM=VIRE

In terms of taking ownership of the song, I don't know of a better example than Aretha's "Respect." Hendrix did a great "All Along the Watchtower," and I like Ray Charles's "America" and "Night Time is the Right Time."

St. Vincent did a great job with "Lithium" when Nirvana was inducted into the RRHOF.

[Acymetric]

John Mayer’s version of Freefallin’ and Cake’s version of I Will Survive both kill.

I know I'm a heretic for saying this, but I really do not like Free Fallin' as performed by anyone even though I love Tom Petty generally. That said, John Mayer has some real chops (I had to reconstruct my entire world view when someone finally convinced me of this 15 years ago or so), so I'll give you his cover of "I Don't Need No Doctor" instead:

The version on the Continuum (Special Edition) release is arguably better, but it isn't on Youtube. If you have Spotify or some other music service check that out, otherwise this one from Youtube is solid:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4R-RrSbQ-Y

[Acymetric]

Chili Peppers and Love Rollercoaster

Of course, the obvious Chili Peppers cover is Higher Ground. Another less obvious one is "Teenager in Love". They don't do anything special with it, but it is pleasant, enjoyable, and somewhat surprising coming from them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nm1s2y2SYU

[Acymetric]

For my own contribution, I'll give you Widespread Panic and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band covering Bill Withers' Use Me (no Bill Walton jokes please!):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GwCpNZNg_g

[OldPhiKap]

For my own contribution, I'll give you Widespread Panic and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band covering Bill Withers' Use Me (no Bill Walton jokes please!)

I’ve always contended that the Grateful Dead may have been the most successful cover band ever. Roughly a third or even half of the songs they played in any given set were covers or traditional songs.

List of cover songs (likely not a complete list):

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Grateful_Dead_cover_versions

[Acymetric]

I’ve always contended that the Grateful Dead may have been the most successful cover band ever. Roughly a third or even half of the songs they played in any given set were covers or traditional songs.

I was pretty amazed as I got older and learned how many of my favorite songs by my favorite bands were actually (occasionally not credited or poorly credited) covers of older or less well known musicians.

A more modern band that falls in the same boat of playing a ton​ of covers at their shows despite having their own original material is the Tedeschi-Trucks band, who occasionally has setlists almost entirely comprised of Blues/Jazz standards and some classic rock tunes with only a few of their originals sprinkled in.

[CameronBlue]

Cool live cover of Rocket Man

https://youtu.be/8kQNlG8cNWg



No THIS is a cool live cover of Rocket Man. As someone said upthread "it kills." No word if a body count was ever taken.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hARDXYz2io

[burnspbesq]

Can't believe I forgot this one the first time: tied for best album of covers of a single songwriter, Jennifer Warnes' "Famous Blue Raincoat," all Leonard Cohen songs.

[burnspbesq]

A great, somewhat out-of-left-field cover of a Leonard Cohen song by a great Asheville-based band. Go see them when you can.

https://youtu.be/m1RL3TIaFf8

[Turk]

Here's a few single song covers I like:

Van Halen - "Oh Pretty Woman"
Guns N Roses' - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"
Aretha - "Let it Be" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y8f-7U9G1g
U2 - "Helter Skelter" - "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles - we're stealing it back..."
Springsteen - "Jersey Girl" - too many of the young'uns don't know about Tom Waits... (and of course the Detroit Medley goes without sayin' but I'm sayin it anyway...)
Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (no doubt the best of his covers working with Rick Rubin; beware of "Danny Boy" - ick)

And there were a few albums full of covers that introduced me to several singer-songwriters in addition to the legends:
Nanci Griffith - "Other Voices, Other Rooms" - featuring "Tecumseh Valley", "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness", "Boots of Spanish Leather"
k.d. lang - "Hymns of the 49th Parallel" - "Helpless", "Hallelujah", "Bird On A Wire"
Shawn Colvin - "Cover Girl" - "Heart of Saturday Night" (Waits), "Someday" (Steve Earle), "If These Walls Could Speak" (Jimmy Webb)

[toughbuff1]

Covers are great, they don't always come off but it's interesting to be exposed to which artist's songs another artist is moved by. If you play music, learning how to play other musician's songs is how you learn the art form.

Two Beatles covers I really like:

"Hey Jude" by Wilson Pickett (and Duane Alman)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0y8Q2PATVyI

"We Can Work it Out" by Stevie Wonder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uznnHd5thXE

Also, John Legend and the Roots did an album of 60s Civil Rights/Anti-War songs a few years ago and their cover of Bill Withers' "I Can't Write Left Handed" is amazing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnlgRQdfONs

Love the Stevie cover, but I think think this is my favorite Beatles cover. Al Green “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
https://youtu.be/xs9mkVMv830

[Nick]

Remember "Drive" by The Cars? I like this cover:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHiP3_-N0Vc

[lotusland]

Here's a few single song covers I like:

Van Halen - "Oh Pretty Woman"
Guns N Roses' - "Knockin' On Heaven's Door"
Aretha - "Let it Be" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y8f-7U9G1g
U2 - "Helter Skelter" - "Charles Manson stole this song from the Beatles - we're stealing it back..."
Springsteen - "Jersey Girl" - too many of the young'uns don't know about Tom Waits... (and of course the Detroit Medley goes without sayin' but I'm sayin it anyway...)
Johnny Cash - "Hurt" (no doubt the best of his covers working with Rick Rubin; beware of "Danny Boy" - ick)

And there were a few albums full of covers that introduced me to several singer-songwriters in addition to the legends:
Nanci Griffith - "Other Voices, Other Rooms" - featuring "Tecumseh Valley", "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness", "Boots of Spanish Leather"
k.d. lang - "Hymns of the 49th Parallel" - "Helpless", "Hallelujah", "Bird On A Wire"
Shawn Colvin - "Cover Girl" - "Heart of Saturday Night" (Waits), "Someday" (Steve Earle), "If These Walls Could Speak" (Jimmy Webb)

I think you would also also really like Lyle Lovett’s “Step Inside this House” double album of covers by Texas song writers who influenced him. Townes, Stephen Fromholz and Walter Hyatt are featured heavily. The title song was written but never recorded by Guy Clark so not technically a cover. This is my favorite from many covers of “Flyin’ Shoes” which the saddest and prettiest songs I know.

https://youtu.be/pqrZci0451s

Speaking of Townes, his Tribute Album “Poet” is awesome too with the Cowboy Junkies offering their take on “Flyin’ Shoes” and other great renditions by Guy Clark, Willie Nelson, Emmy Lou, Steve Earle, The Flatlanders, REK, Delbert McClinton, Billy Joe Shaver and this absolutely haunting version of “Nothing” by Lucinda.

https://youtu.be/48KVVFiL0b4

[duke74]

Call me mainstream, but I always thought that Joe Cocker did a great job on his covers, in his own style (Feeling Alright, Something, A Little Help from my Friends).

And, Everything but the Girl has a number of covers that I love (Tougher than the Rest, Time after Time, etc.) (LOVE EBTG)

[cspan37421]

Mainstream!

Just wanted to +1 to those who mentioned Cake's version of I Will Survive, Black Crowes' Hard to Handle, and Nirvana's Man Who Sold the World.

Would it be cheating to add a song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes? On the 2001 Warped Tour CD is their version of Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, and as Tommy Smothers said about The Who's My Generation, "this song really goes, and you're gonna be surprised what happens because this is excitement... and hit it."

though this live version takes 2:20 to bring in the thrashing guitars (skipping to it):

https://youtu.be/8bYy92kaxt4?t=139

In addition to their original stuff, The Donnas did a number of enjoyable covers, and though I'd not make a case they were better than the originals, I definitely found them enjoyable, such as Round and Round (Ratt):
https://youtu.be/E_x2YILpt4Y
and Strutter (Kiss):
https://youtu.be/CWIG0oNWbt4

Basically they breathed new life into those tunes for another generation.

[OldPhiKap]

Mainstream!

Just wanted to +1 to those who mentioned Cake's version of I Will Survive, Black Crowes' Hard to Handle, and Nirvana's Man Who Sold the World.

Would it be cheating to add a song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes? On the 2001 Warped Tour CD is their version of Elton John's Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, and as Tommy Smothers said about The Who's My Generation, "this song really goes, and you're gonna be surprised what happens because this is excitement... and hit it."

though this live version takes 2:20 to bring in the thrashing guitars (skipping to it):

https://youtu.be/8bYy92kaxt4?t=139

In addition to their original stuff, The Donnas did a number of enjoyable covers, and though I'd not make a case they were better than the originals, I definitely found them enjoyable, such as Round and Round (Ratt):
https://youtu.be/E_x2YILpt4Y
and Strutter (Kiss):
https://youtu.be/CWIG0oNWbt4

Basically they breathed new life into those tunes for another generation.

Your mention of The Donnas reminded me of a great cover — The Bangles’ version of zhazy Shade of Winter.

Saw The Bangles at Cameron in ‘85 plus or minus (they opened for Cyndi Lauper). Not a novelty band, they could really play.

[fidel]

Cowboy Junkies, Sweet Jane

Cassandra Wilson, Harvest Moon

I think it should be a requirement that every band has to make a run at Harvest Moon to get into the R&R Hall of Fame. Just sayin.

[aimo]

The Bangles’ version of zhazy Shade of Winter.

Love this song! Have actually been listening to the Bangles lately and play this one over and over.

[YmoBeThere]

think it should be a requirement that every band has to make a run at Harvest Moon to get into the R&R Hall of Fame.

2003 inductees Lynyrd Skynyrd respectfully disagree...

[luvdahops]

Your mention of The Donnas reminded me of a great cover — The Bangles’ version of zhazy Shade of Winter.

Saw The Bangles at Cameron in ‘85 plus or minus (they opened for Cyndi Lauper). Not a novelty band, they could really play.

Agreed. The Bangles also did a very nice cover of Going Down to Liverpool (originally recorded by Katrina and the Waves of "Walking on Sunshine" fame).

[rsvman]

Another amazing Beatles cover, in my opinion, is Shawn Colvin's version of "I'll Be Back."

Changes the vibe of the song completely without changing anything else. Well worth a listen, especially if you are a fan of Shawn Colvin, as I am.

[House G]

For some of the old timers:
I’m A Man. Chicago
My Back Pages. The Byrds
For Your Love. Fleetwood Mac
Bouree. Jethro Tull
My Maria. Brooks and Dunn
I Got Rhythm. The Happenings
Shout. Otis Day and the Knights (lol)
Try A Little Tenderness. Otis Redding, Three Dog Knight
Done Somebody Wrong. Allman Brothers
The Tracks of My Tears. Johnny Rivers
Baby I need Your Lovin’. Johnny Rivers
Sweet Soul Music. Bruce Springsteen
Brown Eyed Girl Jimmy Buffett
Brandy. Red Hot Chili Peppers
How Deep is Your Love. Red Hot Chili Peppers
Ticket to Ride. Carpenters
I Heard it Through the Grapevine. CCR
Susie Q. CCR
Walk Away Renee. The Four Tops
House of the Rising Sun. The Animals

[Dr. Rosenrosen]

Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps — Cake
Sweet Child O’ Mine — Sheryl Crow
Africa — Weezer
Forty-six and Two — O’Keefe Music Foundation (link to video... https://youtu.be/mYKLvYGqaC0)
Stairway to Heaven — Heart (link to video... https://vimeo.com/104287711)

The Forty-six and Two cover is by kids and just blows me away.
The Stairway cover was at the Kennedy Center Honors with Plant, Page and JPJ in attendance. Amazing.

[Devilwin]

Being a Beatles fan, it's hard to listen to other people cover their stuff. But even they did it in the early days, with songs like "Please Mister Postman, Devil In Her Heart, Bad Boy, Act Naturally", and others.
They wrote songs for others, which they recorded but did not release. Those wouldn't count here I suppose. Examples would be A World Without Love, by Peter and Gordon, Come And Get It, by Badfinger, From A Window, by Billy J Kramer, and many others..

[cspan37421]

In the late 70s/early 80s I grew up in the D where we had four AOR stations to teach me the history of rock & roll by audio-osmosis. During that era, a popular local/regional band, The Rockets, released a great cover of Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well - I read that it hit the top 40. At the time I didn't even know it was a cover, but I definitely prefer it to the original.


https://youtu.be/EzazgG-y7uM

[Kdogg]

I'm resurrecting this thread because I need to vent.

I guess it's more of a reboot than a cover but Fall Out Boy's take on Billy Joel's "We Didn’t Start the Fire" is a travesty. They've updated the lyrics but it lacks the chronological order of the original so many of the juxtapositions are just awful. It ends up being a mumbled word salad of events from 1989 to the present. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going outside to yell at some clouds.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LkVKCWL0U4

[BigWayne]

In the late 70s/early 80s I grew up in the D where we had four AOR stations to teach me the history of rock & roll by audio-osmosis. During that era, a popular local/regional band, The Rockets, released a great cover of Fleetwood Mac's Oh Well - I read that it hit the top 40. At the time I didn't even know it was a cover, but I definitely prefer it to the original.


That version is pretty good, but my favorite is the Kenny Wayne Shepherd version.



https://youtu.be/KPqiDYREZAo

[brevity]

I guess it's more of a reboot than a cover but Fall Out Boy's take on Billy Joel's "We Didn’t Start the Fire" is a travesty. They've updated the lyrics but it lacks the chronological order of the original so many of the juxtapositions are just awful. It ends up being a mumbled word salad of events from 1989 to the present.

Billy Joel wrote "We Didn't Start the Fire" when he turned 40 years old, with the lyrics recapping 1949-1989. I kind of hoped he would write a sequel when he turns 80 in 2029.

Now, after this abomination (Pete Wentz has such a punchable face that even his singing voice is triggering), I feel like Billy Joel has to do it. The original is not perfectly chronological, but at least each verse moves forward in time and groups events and names properly. This cover doesn't do any of that and still can't get the syllable placement right. A truly lazy effort.

[aimo]

I'm resurrecting this thread because I need to vent.

I guess it's more of a reboot than a cover but Fall Out Boy's take on Billy Joel's "We Didn’t Start the Fire" is a travesty. They've updated the lyrics but it lacks the chronological order of the original so many of the juxtapositions are just awful. It ends up being a mumbled word salad of events from 1989 to the present. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going outside to yell at some clouds.



Billy Joel wrote "We Didn't Start the Fire" when he turned 40 years old, with the lyrics recapping 1949-1989. I kind of hoped he would write a sequel when he turns 80 in 2029.

Now, after this abomination (Pete Wentz has such a punchable face that even his singing voice is triggering), I feel like Billy Joel has to do it. The original is not perfectly chronological, but at least each verse moves forward in time and groups events and names properly. This cover doesn't do any of that and still can't get the syllable placement right. A truly lazy effort.

I just have a problem with anyone singing about "children of thalidomide . . . whoh-OH-OH!"

[nmduke2001]

I'm resurrecting this thread because I need to vent.

I guess it's more of a reboot than a cover but Fall Out Boy's take on Billy Joel's "We DidnÂ’t Start the Fire" is a travesty. They've updated the lyrics but it lacks the chronological order of the original so many of the juxtapositions are just awful. It ends up being a mumbled word salad of events from 1989 to the present. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going outside to yell at some clouds.



I almost resurrected this thread the other day. Luke Combs remade "Fast Car". It's not terrible, but why? Tracy Chapman's original was near perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXmmyuIqZyo

[duke79]

I almost resurrected this thread the other day. Luke Combs remade "Fast Car". It's not terrible, but why? Tracy Chapman's original was near perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXmmyuIqZyo
I like this cover. Maybe not as good as the original but still well done. Not an easy song to cover, IMO.

[budwom]

good discussion, but I need to go back to a post some years olde and opine that Van Halen's Pretty Woman is an abomination...I just don't think that's a coverable song, and certainly that version isn't...

[rsvman]

Anybody besides me know that Dolly Parton just covered Heart's 'Magic Man'? Ann helps her out on it. It's not a countrified version;it flat-out rocks. Worth a listen.

[missfinch]

Anybody besides me know that Dolly Parton just covered Heart's 'Magic Man'? Ann helps her out on it. It's not a countrified version;it flat-out rocks. Worth a listen.

Speaking of Ann Wilson, her Kennedy Center Honors cover of Stairway to Heaven with Jason Bonham on drums and Page, Plant and JPJ in the audience gets my vote for probably the best cover ever, or at least the most moving.

https://www.youtube.com/

[wavedukefan70s]

Seeing him on June 30th in Forest Hills (his "home court" so to speak). At the old tennis stadium that has been converted into a music venue.

As to covers, one of my favorites is Everything but the Girl's cover of Cyndy Lauper's "Time after Time." (EBTG has a few other excellent covers - like "Tougher than the Rest" by Bruce.) They're pretty much my favorite group -and love their work as single performers post EBTG.

I have a book signed by Cindy Lauper .
I got front row dead center for her concert a few years back .was pretty good but not my scene .had the same seats for kiss omg. I have 4 in the center for Matt rife aswell.
My daughters petrified I like to interact.
But back to topic .
I like sound of silence and the rocker careless whisper.

This thunder rolls cover I think is good.

https://youtu.be/4YS-CO2CRew

Bad
Celene dion ac dc all night long.#%$#
#2 Kanye bohemian rhapsody seriously dude.
Miley Cyrus teen spirit that's sacrilegious.

Brittany spears I love rock and roll.
Joan Jett needed to throw blows over that one.

[CameronBlue]

I have a book signed by Cindy Lauper .
I got front row dead center for her concert a few years back .was pretty good but not my scene .had the same seats for kiss omg. I have 4 in the center for Matt rife aswell.
My daughters petrified I like to interact.
But back to topic .
I like sound of silence and the rocker careless whisper.

This thunder rolls cover I think is good.

https://youtu.be/4YS-CO2CRew

Bad
Celene dion ac dc all night long.#%$#
#2 Kanye bohemian rhapsody seriously dude.
Miley Cyrus teen spirit that's sacrilegious.

Brittany spears I love rock and roll.
Joan Jett needed to throw blows over that one.

You have issues. I will fight to the death to protect the Joni Mitchell canon but I thought Counting Crows did a pretty good job with "Big Yellow Taxi."

[burnspbesq]

Kind of amazing that we got to page eight without anyone mentioning Toots & the Maytals’ version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Don’t know if it counts as a cover because it came out first, but X’ version of “Fourth of July” is far superior to Dave Alvin’s.

Similarly, Jason Isbell doing Drive-By Truckers songs might not count as a cover, but the version of “Danko/Manuel” on his live at ACL set is superior to the original.

Alison Krauss rehabilitated one of Dan Fogelberg’s sappiest songs, “Stars.”

A great out-of-left-field cover: Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge’s version of Pearl Jam’s “Sleeping by Myself.”

It’s not on an album, but there’s a YouTube video of Sarah Jarosz covering James McMurtry’s “Childish Things” that is well worth your time.

And if you haven’t checked out “Aoife O’Donovan Sings ‘Nebraska,’” what are you waiting for?

[burnspbesq]

The definitive version of “Time After Time” is Miles.’ He owns it as thoroughly as Coltrane owned “My Favorite Things.”

[OldPhiKap]

One of the best originals that are more famous by their covers:


https://youtu.be/Cjr5U7g6aiA

Worth listening to all the way through.

[Jeffrey]

Speaking of Ann Wilson, her Kennedy Center Honors cover of Stairway to Heaven with Jason Bonham on drums and Page, Plant and JPJ in the audience gets my vote for probably the best cover ever, or at least the most moving.

https://www.youtube.com/

Much thanks!! I was completely unaware (perfect setup for Jeffrey jokes)!

Have you watched the YouTube videos of Billy Strings covering Zeppelin and Hendrix at his 2022 Asheville Halloween shows? I really wish I had gone to those shows!

[PackMan97]

Aretha Franklin's "Respect" have down best cover.

I have to admit, disturbed is one of my favorite bands.

Their cover of sound of silence is one of my favorite songs.
They have pretty good covers of:
If I ever lose my faith by sting
Land if confusion by genesis
Shout by tears for fears

Other great disturbed songs that isn't their hard scary stuff...
Hold onto memories
The light
A reason to fight

Other covers I love..
Alien and Farms cover of smooth criminal
Hurt by Johnny Cash
The man who sold the world by nirvana

[duke79]

Speaking of Ann Wilson, her Kennedy Center Honors cover of Stairway to Heaven with Jason Bonham on drums and Page, Plant and JPJ in the audience gets my vote for probably the best cover ever, or at least the most moving.

https://www.youtube.com/
Absolutely one of my favorite covers of all time. It's on my list of favorites on YouTube and I watch it all the time. Her voice is incredible. This may be one of those times where the cover is better than the original by LZ. I love how they brought in that huge chorus to sing some of the backup parts of the song. I also love the part of the video where they show Yo Yo Ma, with his eyes closed, totally rocking out to the song, almost in some sort of musical heaven trance. And also Barack and Michelle Obama and some of the other "celebrities" at that performance, all totally lost in the song. Very powerful.

[duke79]

I think I mentioned it earlier in this thread, but I still think Huey Lewis' cover of the great jj jackson song "But it's alright" is almost as good as the original.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDztE7e9Skg

[aimo]

You have issues. I will fight to the death to protect the Joni Mitchell canon but I thought Counting Crows did a pretty good job with "Big Yellow Taxi."

Pretty sure I already mentioned this a while back here, but Counting Crows DESTROYED "Ghost in You" on the Clueless soundtrack. The Furs cried that night, I am sure.

[missfinch]

Absolutely one of my favorite covers of all time. It's on my list of favorites on YouTube and I watch it all the time. Her voice is incredible. This may be one of those times where the cover is better than the original by LZ. I love how they brought in that huge chorus to sing some of the backup parts of the song. I also love the part of the video where they show Yo Yo Ma, with his eyes closed, totally rocking out to the song, almost in some sort of musical heaven trance. And also Barack and Michelle Obama and some of the other "celebrities" at that performance, all totally lost in the song. Very powerful.

The combination of all of that gives me chills whenever I watch it.

[duke74]

Kind of amazing that we got to page eight without anyone mentioning Toots & the Maytals’ version of “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”

Don’t know if it counts as a cover because it came out first, but X’ version of “Fourth of July” is far superior to Dave Alvin’s.

Similarly, Jason Isbell doing Drive-By Truckers songs might not count as a cover, but the version of “Danko/Manuel” on his live at ACL set is superior to the original.

Alison Krauss rehabilitated one of Dan Fogelberg’s sappiest songs, “Stars.”

A great out-of-left-field cover: Julian Lage and Chris Eldridge’s version of Pearl Jam’s “Sleeping by Myself.”

It’s not on an album, but there’s a YouTube video of Sarah Jarosz covering James McMurtry’s “Childish Things” that is well worth your time.

And if you haven’t checked out “Aoife O’Donovan Sings ‘Nebraska,’” what are you waiting for?

Love Alison’s covers of Gordon’s “Shadows” (with Tony Rice) and her “When You Say Nothing at All” (Whitley)

[duke79]

The combination of all of that gives me chills whenever I watch it.
Yep, me too!

[OldPhiKap]

I likely posted this somewhere upthread, but:


https://youtu.be/e4Ao-iNPPUc

[OldPhiKap]

Whole messa covers:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8ePaE1Y/

[Phredd3]

I looked through the thread and didn't see it posted. One of the standard songs everyone here knows is a cover. I could post the version you all know, but I'll bet a lot fewer people have heard the original:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTyCLMA90xM

[fidel]

Funny this thread re-emerges. I was watching a movie and heard a banjo version of ‘naive melody (this must be the place)’ and went on a search for it. I found a playlist on Spotify where someone had compiled a whole lot of covers of this song. It was really cool hearing all the re-imagining of this great song.

I never did find the banjo version.

[bundabergdevil]

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xhxqq5

Colbert’s take on Friday never fails to bring tears to my eyes.

[wavedukefan70s]

Anybody besides me know that Dolly Parton just covered Heart's 'Magic Man'? Ann helps her out on it. It's not a countrified version;it flat-out rocks. Worth a listen.

She's releasing a album called Rockstar I believe in a few months with a lot of covers and a lot of stars in on it.from the remaining Beatles to John Fogarty you name it.
Quite interested to hear it.

[burnspbesq]

Funny this thread re-emerges. I was watching a movie and heard a banjo version of ‘naive melody (this must be the place)’ and went on a search for it. I found a playlist on Spotify where someone had compiled a whole lot of covers of this song. It was really cool hearing all the re-imagining of this great song.

I never did find the banjo version.

I’ll bet you found the version from “Shawn Colvin Live.”

[OldPhiKap]

Other Voices, Other Rooms by Nanci Griffith is one of the best all-covers album out there. Great song choices, and very well-done. (Includes Bob Dylan, John Prine and Frank Christian in supporting roles for covers of their songs).

[killerleft]

Other Voices, Other Rooms by Nanci Griffith is one of the best all-covers album out there. Great song choices, and very well-done. (Includes Bob Dylan, John Prine and Frank Christian in supporting roles for covers of their songs).

Seconded. Other Voices I and II certainly introduced to me some important singer-songwriters I may have otherwise missed. RIP Nanci.

[fidel]

I’ll bet you found the version from “Shawn Colvin Live.”

I did. Well done. I saw her on a tour with Lyle Lovett where the two of them played guitars, sang, and discussed music in general. Really fun.

[burnspbesq]

I did. Well done. I saw her on a tour with Lyle Lovett where the two of them played guitars, sang, and discussed music in general. Really fun.

Have tickets to see Lyle at ACL Live in August. Sierra Hull (who I met at last year’s Fretboard Summit) is opening. Gonna be good.

[CameronBlue]

I looked through the thread and didn't see it posted. One of the standard songs everyone here knows is a cover. I could post the version you all know, but I'll bet a lot fewer people have heard the original:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTyCLMA90xM

I'm not sure if you're posting this for the sheer hilarity of it...and no one's musical tastes should be held above others...but each version of that song I hear is worse than the one before and the first one was horrid. WTH is the guy in the Guy Fawkes (or whatever) mask doing?

[rsvman]

I did. Well done. I saw her on a tour with Lyle Lovett where the two of them played guitars, sang, and discussed music in general. Really fun.

My wife bought us tickets to Shawn Colvin and gave it to me for Christmas in 2019. The show was to take place in May of 2020.

Yeah. Bad timing. 😢

[Phredd3]

I'm not sure if you're posting this for the sheer hilarity of it...and no one's musical tastes should be held above others...but each version of that song I hear is worse than the one before and the first one was horrid. WTH is the guy in the Guy Fawkes (or whatever) mask doing?

I posted it because I think we can all agree that the cover is WAY better than the original. Even if you don't like Cascada's version, you have to admit it is better than poor, dear, well-intentioned Maggie. And I have no idea who decided on the video production. The musicians usually are involved in filming but otherwise have very little to do with the design and production of their music videos. But yeah, I agree with you: What the absolute hell were they thinking?!?

[Jeffrey]

So many great versions, but, IMO, this is the best lead guitar work….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c&pp=ygUjcHJpbmNlIHdoaWxlIG15IGd1aXRhciBnZW50bHkgd2V lcHM%3D

[OldPhiKap]

So many great versions, but, IMO, this is the best lead guitar work….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c&pp=ygUjcHJpbmNlIHdoaWxlIG15IGd1aXRhciBnZW50bHkgd2V lcHM%3D

Story is, someone once asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the greatest guitarist in the world. Eric replied:

“I don’t know. I’m not Prince.”

My favorite part of the clip is the look on Dhani Harrison’s face when he looks over at Prince — he knows what’s coming.

[Jeffrey]

Story is, someone once asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the greatest guitarist in the world. Eric replied:

“I don’t know. I’m not Prince.”

My favorite part of the clip is the look on Dhani Harrison’s face when he looks over at Prince — he knows what’s coming.

Strongly agree! If you want to know the best lead guitarist, then ask a great lead guitarist.

A dear friend is very close to Nils Lofgren. My friend picked up Nils to take him to a show where Nils was opening for Jeff Beck. When Nils got in the car, he started bouncing up and down, in total excitement, and said, “we’re going to see the greatest lead guitarist alive”. I was told a couple days later and immediately started seeing as many Jeff Beck shows as possible. Unfortunately, Covid hit and then Jeff checked out. I planned on following Beck as much as I had Garcia.

[lotusland]

I didn’t really get hip hop until I heard covers by the Gourds and Dynamite Hack.

https://youtu.be/ur1N3UyT1lE

https://youtu.be/R9rAA1WPTEI

[burnspbesq]

If you want to know the best lead guitarist, then ask a great lead guitarist. .

In the mid 80s, by sheer happenstance I ended up standing next to Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos a few feet from the stage at a Richard Thompson concert. More than a few incredulous looks were shared. Thompson’s right-hand technique enables him to do things nobody else can do.

[CameronBlue]

Story is, someone once asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the greatest guitarist in the world. Eric replied:

“I don’t know. I’m not Prince.”

My favorite part of the clip is the look on Dhani Harrison’s face when he looks over at Prince — he knows what’s coming.

I haven’t heard enough of Prince’s music to comment knowledgeably but there are those who believe that solo to be his best ever. Doesn’t really matter, silly to argue these things but by itself it’s enough to establish Prince as a legend.

[duke74]

I haven’t heard enough of Prince’s music to comment knowledgeably but there are those who believe that solo to be his best ever. Doesn’t really matter, silly to argue these things but by itself it’s enough to establish Prince as a legend.

Showing my ignorance, but I never realized how great a guitarist he was. (I'm partial to Mark Knofler, myself.) Just stood off on the right of the stage at the beginning and then took over the stage. And then just walked off.

And, again my ignorance, but Dhani looks exactly like George.

[Kdogg]

So many great versions, but, IMO, this is the best lead guitar work….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c&pp=ygUjcHJpbmNlIHdoaWxlIG15IGd1aXRhciBnZW50bHkgd2V lcHM%3D

He didn't even rehearse the solo with the group so they had no idea what he was going to do. The producer asked Prince to play all the solos because he was there for his own induction. During the rehearsal Marc Mann knocked out perfect renditions of the first two solos. Prince stepped up to play the third but Mann played that too. They didn't have time to do it right. The producer privately talked to Prince, who told the produce don't worry about it. He said Mann can play the first two and he would take the outro. The reaction of Petty and Dhani Harrison (George's son) are genuine surprise.

[Jeffrey]

He didn't even rehearse the solo with the group so they had no idea what he was going to do. The producer asked Prince to play all the solos because he was there for his own induction. During the rehearsal Marc Mann knocked out perfect renditions of the first two solos. Prince stepped up to play the third but Mann played that too. They didn't have time to do it right. The producer privately talked to Prince, who told the produce don't worry about it. He said Mann can play the first two and he would take the outro. The reaction of Petty and Dhani Harrison (George's son) are genuine surprise.

IMO, the greatest don’t need or care to rehearse.

The first time The Grateful Dead were on SNL, Lorne Michaels insisted on a rehearsal. Michaels had Xs placed on stage for each band member. Garcia was having no part of it and Michaels became extremely frustrated. Finally, Michaels said, “Jerry, don’t you want to be on TV?”. Garcia responded, “I don’t give a sh*t”.

[Jeffrey]

In the mid 80s, by sheer happenstance I ended up standing next to Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos a few feet from the stage at a Richard Thompson concert. More than a few incredulous looks were shared. Thompson’s right-hand technique enables him to do things nobody else can do.

Very interesting! I thought the same about Jeff Beck’s right-hand technique. What exactly is Thompson’s right-hand technique? Unfortunately, I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him live.

[burnspbesq]

Very interesting! I thought the same about Jeff Beck’s right-hand technique. What exactly is Thompson’s right-hand technique? Unfortunately, I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing him live.

A lot of hybrid picking, flat pick and two fingers, similar to what you’ll see Julian Lage doing. He can play two lines at once, do some fairly complex counterpoint, etc. That harmony line at the beginning of “Persuasion,“ for example, is deceptively simple, but it’s a m***er-f***er to play at that tempo. And listen to the breaks in “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” from “Acoustic Classics;” there is just so much happening there.

My favorite Beck performance is “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” from the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD. The track is probably best known for Tal Wilkenfeld’s ridiculous bass solo, but the effects Beck gets from manipulating the Strat’s volume control are amazing.

[lotusland]

IMO, the greatest don’t need or care to rehearse.

The first time The Grateful Dead were on SNL, Lorne Michaels insisted on a rehearsal. Michaels had Xs placed on stage for each band member. Garcia was having no part of it and Michaels became extremely frustrated. Finally, Michaels said, “Jerry, don’t you want to be on TV?”. Garcia responded, “I don’t give a sh*t”.

It’s a different perspective I suppose but it’s not true at all that the greatest don’t care to rehearse. I listen a lot of interviews with Nashville “session” musicians who tour with various songwriters, Gurf Morlix, Eric Amble, Kenny Vaughn, Steuart Smith, John Leventhal, Buddy Miller and others and the often point to the Meticulousness of “the best” artists. Prince and Mark Mark Knofler come to mind. They require extensive rehearsals before a tour and all is coordinated between the band, the lights and all. To me, a jam band concert is for a festival or lawn seats to walk around and people watch. I get bored with on stage noodling pretty fast.

[wilko]

I'm ok with covers. If they are done well.

Usually, when I go to try a new restaurant I order a Ruben (if they have it).
If they get that to my liking, I'll experiment more off the menu.

If they just have an avg or mediocre one - I will likely avoid going there and know not to order the Ruben.

Kinda the same with bands. If they don't do covers well, not sure i want to see out their original music.
Of course its all relative.

[JNort]

Yeah I’m one of the weirdos who prefers almost any cover song to its original. Kind of like you take a good to decent product (or in some cases poor) and then improve it. Covers are the same for me, they are taking good lyrics and matching it to better music and vocals. I think of the first song cited back on page 1, Sound of Silence by Disturbed blows the S&G version away. Never cared for the original as it felt sing songy with little emotion. The Disturbed version gave me chills with emotion of the vocals and the better musical composition.

[75Crazie]

It's horribly uncool to say this to this crowd, I'm sure, but BS&T is still one of my favorite bands, even though they were largely a cover band. A lot of their arrangements were next to sublime, in my opinion. A cover song is nothing if it does not add anything to the original, and I cannot say that about any of their covers. And yes (ducking for "cover"), I'm even including "Sympathy for the Devil" in that category.

[lotusland]

Fiona Apple is a talented songwriter in her own right but her covers are fantastic whether live of studio recordings

https://youtu.be/CmlnO1EwCT4

https://youtu.be/3dZ5KjFLxgA

https://youtu.be/TNy4tmTRQC8

[Jeffrey]

A lot of hybrid picking, flat pick and two fingers, similar to what you’ll see Julian Lage doing. He can play two lines at once, do some fairly complex counterpoint, etc. That harmony line at the beginning of “Persuasion,“ for example, is deceptively simple, but it’s a m***er-f***er to play at that tempo. And listen to the breaks in “I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight” from “Acoustic Classics;” there is just so much happening there.

My favorite Beck performance is “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers,” from the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival DVD. The track is probably best known for Tal Wilkenfeld’s ridiculous bass solo, but the effects Beck gets from manipulating the Strat’s volume control are amazing.

Much thanks for your Thompson insight! You’ve motivated me to score more of his work for some serious listening.

Beck was amazing! He was great in the 60’s & 70’s but completely reinvented himself. I scored front row seats directly in front of him and was totally amazed. His right hand simultaneously worked the strings, volume control, tone controls, and whammy bar. The soundboard always had him at full volume and his touch was perfect. And, he appeared to play almost effortlessly.

[Jeffrey]

It’s a different perspective I suppose but it’s not true at all that the greatest don’t care to rehearse. I listen a lot of interviews with Nashville “session” musicians who tour with various songwriters, Gurf Morlix, Eric Amble, Kenny Vaughn, Steuart Smith, John Leventhal, Buddy Miller and others and the often point to the Meticulousness of “the best” artists. Prince and Mark Mark Knofler come to mind. They require extensive rehearsals before a tour and all is coordinated between the band, the lights and all. To me, a jam band concert is for a festival or lawn seats to walk around and people watch. I get bored with on stage noodling pretty fast.

Very true! I was definitely concentrating on my favorite musicians and music. About the last thing I want to hear is the same exact show (including between song babble) played repeatedly. To each their own. My favorites approached songs differently almost every time they played them. IMO, songs have a life of their own.

[OldPhiKap]

I apologize in advance for this. I really do.


https://youtu.be/sW8rWRBmABA

[Jeffrey]

I apologize in advance for this. I really do.


https://youtu.be/sW8rWRBmABA

Refund!

[rsvman]

Much thanks for your Thompson insight! You’ve motivated me to score more of his work for some serious listening.

Beck was amazing! He was great in the 60’s & 70’s but completely reinvented himself. I scored front row seats directly in front of him and was totally amazed. His right hand simultaneously worked the strings, volume control, tone controls, and whammy bar. The soundboard always had him at full volume and his touch was perfect. And, he appeared to play almost effortlessly.

Y'all might want to call him Jeff Beck so people don't start thinking that Beck is some kind of guitar hero.

And oh, by the way, anybody who makes any really difficult song look effortless on any instrument in the world is only demonstrating that they have put in thousands of hours of practice.

[Jeffrey]

Y'all might want to call him Jeff Beck so people don't start thinking that Beck is some kind of guitar hero.



I probably have half a dozen times, in the last couple days, on this thread. IMO, it’s pretty easy to follow who we’re discussing.

[Jeffrey]

And oh, by the way, anybody who makes any really difficult song look effortless on any instrument in the world is only demonstrating that they have put in thousands of hours of practice.

IMO, they’re also demonstrating a talent 99% of us don’t have no matter how much we practice!

[moonpie23]

elvis costello did a pretty hot cover of "what's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding"




the other elvis did a bunch of covers...


the beatles did a bunch of covers...

[Acymetric]

I think it just further emphasizes what a great writer he was, but any time an artist covers Bob Dylan it seems like the results are strong. Many, many examples but the ones that spring to mind immediately for me:

Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (duh)
Maggie's Farm - Rage Against the Machine
One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes

Edit: Just realized how far back this thread goes. Won't rule out the possibility this point was already covered, possibly even by me.

[Jeffrey]

I think it just further emphasizes what a great writer he was, but any time an artist covers Bob Dylan it seems like the results are strong. Many, many examples but the ones that spring to mind immediately for me:

Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (duh)
Maggie's Farm - Rage Against the Machine
One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes

Edit: Just realized how far back this thread goes. Won't rule out the possibility this point was already covered, possibly even by me.

Hey Joe was not written by Zimmy. Lemme fix it…..

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

[Acymetric]

Hey Joe was not written by Zimmy. Lemme fix it…..

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix

Brain Cramp, thank you.

[rsvman]

elvis costello did a pretty hot cover of "what's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding"




the other elvis did a bunch of covers...


the beatles did a bunch of covers...

I didn't know that 'what's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding' was Nick Lowe tune. I always thought it was an Elvis Costello original.

A band I used to be in covered the Costello cover.

[Jeffrey]

Brain Cramp, thank you.

Welcome to my world…. you’re welcome.

[OldPhiKap]

I think it just further emphasizes what a great writer he was, but any time an artist covers Bob Dylan it seems like the results are strong. Many, many examples but the ones that spring to mind immediately for me:

Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (duh)
Maggie's Farm - Rage Against the Machine
One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes

Edit: Just realized how far back this thread goes. Won't rule out the possibility this point was already covered, possibly even by me.


I didn't know that 'what's so funny 'bout peace, love, and understanding' was Nick Lowe tune. I always thought it was an Elvis Costello original.

A band I used to be in covered the Costello cover.

Another one like that for me is “Black Magic Woman,” written by Fleetwood Mac when they were good and made famous by Santana.

[OldPhiKap]

Dave Matthews joining Dead & Co. Last night to cover Watchtower:


https://youtu.be/j04PhbCL1n0

Clunky at points, but has its moments.

[Jeffrey]

Dave Matthews joining Dead & Co. Last night to cover Watchtower:


https://youtu.be/j04PhbCL1n0

Clunky at points, but has its moments.

The ‘87 Alpine Watchtower was one of my favs. The next year at Alpine, the Dew which followed the Watchtower was also exceptional. I always loved going to Alpine Valley!

[OldPhiKap]

The ‘87 Alpine Watchtower was one of my favs. The next year at Alpine, the Dew which followed the Watchtower was also exceptional. I always loved going to Alpine Valley!

Pretty sure mine was MSG ‘87. Watchtower->DEW!!!!->Good Lovin’->La Bamba->Good Lovin’. The Morning Dew was stunning.

[Jeffrey]

Pretty sure mine was MSG ‘87. Watchtower->DEW!!!!->Good Lovin’->La Bamba->Good Lovin’. The Morning Dew was stunning.

Absolutely, ‘87 MSG’s Dew was awesome!

Check out Alpine ‘88….

https://archive.org/details/gd88-06-23.dsbd.terrapin-flyer.13051.sbeok.shnf/gd88-6-23d2t08.shn

[rasputin]

Willie Nelson's covers of:
Stardust
Georgia On My Mind (it obviously belongs to Brother Ray, but still, Nelson's version is amazing)
Twilight Time
Moon River (up there with Holly Golightly and Andy Williams)

[lotusland]

Speaking of Willie and covers, I’ll offer this Patty Griffin gem just her and her guitar.

https://youtu.be/phMIsK4l0sA

[burnspbesq]

Willie Nelson's covers of:
Stardust
Georgia On My Mind (it obviously belongs to Brother Ray, but still, Nelson's version is amazing)
Twilight Time
Moon River (up there with Holly Golightly and Andy Williams)

Speaking of Willie and standards, I wonder how many people remember that he wrote this one.

https://youtu.be/MbnrdCS57d0

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Willie did a fine version of "Crazy" as well.

[Skydog]

Dave Matthews joining Dead & Co. Last night to cover Watchtower:


https://youtu.be/j04PhbCL1n0

Clunky at points, but has its moments.
My son was at that concert last night! He texted me about it and said it was pretty awesome.

[nmduke2001]

Early in this thread, I mentioned Luke Combs covering Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". The cover has made it to number 1 on the county list and gives Tracy Chapman a really interesting achievement as the first African American woman to reach number 1 on the country charts as a solo writer. BTW, its 2023, what the heck took so long...

https://www.billboard.com/music/country/tracy-chapman-first-black-woman-sole-writer-no-1-on-country-airplay-1235366302/

I think one of her other songs, "Give me one reason" is a very good candidate for a country cover too.

[MartyClark]

Early in this thread, I mentioned Luke Combs covering Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car". The cover has made it to number 1 on the county list and gives Tracy Chapman a really interesting achievement as the first African American woman to reach number 1 on the country charts as a solo writer. BTW, its 2023, what the heck took so long...

https://www.billboard.com/music/country/tracy-chapman-first-black-woman-sole-writer-no-1-on-country-airplay-1235366302/

I think one of her other songs, "Give me one reason" is a very good candidate for a country cover too.

Love Tracy Chapman. The two songs you referred to are fabulous.

[MartyClark]

Love Tracy Chapman. The two songs you referred to are fabulous.

Just listened to the Luke Combs version. Meh. I'm not a fan of contemporary country music. His version loses the pain and immediacy of the original song. Over produced, too many instruments. It felt like a decent, but ultimately false, version of a great song.

[nmduke2001]

Just listened to the Luke Combs version. Meh. I'm not a fan of contemporary country music. His version loses the pain and immediacy of the original song. Over produced, too many instruments. It felt like a decent, but ultimately false, version of a great song.

I agree. In my first post I mentioned that I didn't really like the cover. However, I bet Tracy Chapman is excited with the royalty checks coming in.

by the way, this reminded me of a great nugget about Ariana Grande. Her smash hit, "Seven Rings" sampled "My Favourite Things" from the "sound of music". I heard a story that Ariana loved the song so much that she didn't care about the profits so she settled on receiving just 10% of the profits. The original writers of "My Favourite Things" share the remaining 90%.

https://www.insider.com/ariana-grande-7-rings-royalties-rodgers-and-hammerstein-my-favourite-things-sample-2019-3

[CameronBornAndBred]

Dave Matthews joining Dead & Co. Last night to cover Watchtower:


https://youtu.be/j04PhbCL1n0

Clunky at points, but has its moments.

The night before, Mickey rapped the 3rd verse of Fire On The Mountain.

It's only coverish, since it's Dead & Company playing a Grateful Dead song, and even though barely anyone has ever heard Mickey add his vocals, he co-wrote the lyrics.


On my way home I Devo's cover of the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction was played.
That's how a cover should be done in my opinion, completely change it up.

Jagger listened to DEVO’s take on ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ in silence for about 30 seconds, then “He suddenly stood up and started dancing around on this Afghan rug in front of the fireplace — the sort of rooster-man dance he used to do, and saying ‘I like it, I like it,’” Casale said.
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/what-mick-jagger-thought-devo-cover-of-satisfaction/

[MartyClark]

I agree. In my first post I mentioned that I didn't really like the cover. However, I bet Tracy Chapman is excited with the royalty checks coming in.

by the way, this reminded me of a great nugget about Ariana Grande. Her smash hit, "Seven Rings" sampled "My Favourite Things" from the "sound of music". I heard a story that Ariana loved the song so much that she didn't care about the profits so she settled on receiving just 10% of the profits. The original writers of "My Favourite Things" share the remaining 90%.

https://www.insider.com/ariana-grande-7-rings-royalties-rodgers-and-hammerstein-my-favourite-things-sample-2019-3

Our neighbors have a 19 year old daughter who just completed her first year at Belmont College in some sort of singer-songwriter program. She played at a local pub a few weeks ago. We went and were very impressed with her. She had a great stage presence and very mature lyrics for a young woman. She played her own songs - some of which were quite quirky.

I wished that she had played a few covers. I would have liked to have seen what she did with music that was more familiar to me.

So, covers yea. In moderation.

[burnspbesq]

As far as I can remember, spouse’s niece has only recorded one cover, but IMHO she nailed it.

https://youtu.be/AdX8p-wLrWI

[Edouble]

I think it just further emphasizes what a great writer he was, but any time an artist covers Bob Dylan it seems like the results are strong. Many, many examples but the ones that spring to mind immediately for me:

Hey Joe - Jimi Hendrix (duh)
Maggie's Farm - Rage Against the Machine
One More Cup of Coffee - The White Stripes

Edit: Just realized how far back this thread goes. Won't rule out the possibility this point was already covered, possibly even by me.

You must mean All Along the Watchtower (duh).

Hey Joe is not Dylan.

We have similar taste in music. I also enjoy the RATM and the White Stripes covers. Maybe you also like the RHCP cover of Subterranean Homesick Blues?

[Acymetric]

You must mean All Along the Watchtower (duh).

Hey Joe is not Dylan.

We have similar taste in music. I also enjoy the RATM and the White Stripes covers. Maybe you also like the RHCP cover of Subterranean Homesick Blues?

Yep, Jeffrey caught that too but the edit window has passed. My best guess is that my brain went One More Cup of Coffee -> Cup of Joe -> Hey Joe?

Hadn't heard that particular RHCP cover but will have to check it out! I always enjoyed their take on Search & Destroy (did not like Fire as much to be honest). I get a kick out of their Teenager in Love cover, too. Kind of delightfully outside their usual set of styles.

[rsvman]

Speaking of covers, surely many (if not all) of you are familiar with Scary Pockets? They do funk covers of rock, pop, alternative, etc. Some of their covers are better than others, but almost all of them are interesting, and the musicianship of the band members is excellent.

If you haven't heard of them, you should run, not walk, to youtube to listen to a few. Don't blame me if you get caught in the rabbit hole, though. (Fun fact: the keyboardist is the guy who invented Patreon.)

[camion]

Speaking of covers, surely many (if not all) of you are familiar with Scary Pockets? They do funk covers of rock, pop, alternative, etc. Some of their covers are better than others, but almost all of them are interesting, and the musicianship of the band members is excellent.

If you haven't heard of them, you should run, not walk, to youtube to listen to a few. Don't blame me if you get caught in the rabbit hole, though. (Fun fact: the keyboardist is the guy who invented Patreon.)

Took a look. Very nice.

And I have a cover band I like too. I like First Aid Kit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBwKp6QhIvE) (a country/folk band, just not this country), but my favorite is Foxes and Fossils out of Atlanta. The name is a pretty good description since it is old farts on the instruments and the next generations, a daughter and friends doing vocals. I love their harmonies. They started over a decade ago, but didn't blow up on YouTube until fairly recently.

Their very first gig, a live performance at a Taco joint in 2010, they did CSN - Suite Judy Blue Eyes when the girls were 15 and 16. Not an easy song and they pulled it off nicely. It was that performance that started getting lots of YouTube hits around 2018.

Foxes and Fossils - CSN - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23VK1v9dB8).



Here's a sampling with each of the three girls singing lead.

Neil Young, Harvest Moon cover. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA0Vl0gre6U&list=PL9AZY-sBZ1t9N5XSDLMP--G-BEndqB41M&index=4)

Tori Kelly - Nobody Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uy7Nlphrys&list=PL9AZY-sBZ1t8_3aFmG4AqzBnsSrBOR1ea)

Todd Rungren - Love is the Answer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWnIkIiVRPQ)

[rsvman]

Took a look. Very nice.

And I have a cover band I like too. I like First Aid Kit (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBwKp6QhIvE) (a country/folk band, just not this country), but my favorite is Foxes and Fossils out of Atlanta. The name is a pretty good description since it is old farts on the instruments and the next generations, a daughter and friends doing vocals. I love their harmonies. They started over a decade ago, but didn't blow up on YouTube until fairly recently.

Their very first gig, a live performance at a Taco joint in 2010, they did CSN - Suite Judy Blue Eyes when the girls were 15 and 16. Not an easy song and they pulled it off nicely. It was that performance that started getting lots of YouTube hits around 2018.

Foxes and Fossils - CSN - Suite: Judy Blue Eyes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S23VK1v9dB8).



Here's a sampling with each of the three girls singing lead.

Neil Young, Harvest Moon cover. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA0Vl0gre6U&list=PL9AZY-sBZ1t9N5XSDLMP--G-BEndqB41M&index=4)

Tori Kelly - Nobody Love (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uy7Nlphrys&list=PL9AZY-sBZ1t8_3aFmG4AqzBnsSrBOR1ea)

Todd Rungren - Love is the Answer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWnIkIiVRPQ)
I like that group, too, and have enjoyed many of their covers over the years.

[lotusland]

I like this cover version of Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks”. It’s been on my main playlist for a few weeks and it grows on me a little each time I hear it. It’s from the soundtrack of a movie I’d never heard of - Catherine Called Birdie and it’s by “members of The Killers/Alice in Chains/The Shins/Afghan Whigs/Dragged Under”.

https://youtu.be/A8p1ynR5tO8

[nmduke2001]

I like this cover version of Rod Stewart’s “Young Turks”. It’s been on my main playlist for a few weeks and it grows on me a little each time I hear it. It’s from the soundtrack of a movie I’d never heard of - Catherine Called Birdie and it’s by “members of The Killers/Alice in Chains/The Shins/Afghan Whigs/Dragged Under”.

https://youtu.be/A8p1ynR5tO8

Thank you for posting. I had never really paid attention to the lyrics other than the chorus from the Rob Stewart version. Much more melancholy than I had remembered. Great cover.

[mpj96]

Story is, someone once asked Eric Clapton what it felt like to be the greatest guitarist in the world. Eric replied:

“I don’t know. I’m not Prince.”

My favorite part of the clip is the look on Dhani Harrison’s face when he looks over at Prince — he knows what’s coming.

Just love it when Prince picked up the axe. Good lord he was talented.

[lotusland]

Just love it when Prince picked up the axe. Good lord he was talented.

And when he tossed it up into the ether at the end? A little showmanship isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

[ramdevil]

So many great versions, but, IMO, this is the best lead guitar work….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c&pp=ygUjcHJpbmNlIHdoaWxlIG15IGd1aXRhciBnZW50bHkgd2V lcHM%3D

Thank you for posting this! I recall watching it right after Prince passed away... too soon... Amazing.

[moonpie23]

So many great versions, but, IMO, this is the best lead guitar work….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWRCooFKk3c&pp=ygUjcHJpbmNlIHdoaWxlIG15IGd1aXRhciBnZW50bHkgd2V lcHM%3D

Prince schooling every musician on that stage......and they all knew it...

[burnspbesq]

Prince schooling every musician on that stage...and they all knew it...

Not bad, but I’m not seeing what all the fuss is about. Not even remotely Prince’s best work. Pretty pedestrian, actually. A lot of noise over simple changes. I can name a thousand guitarists who can do that.

[tommy]

Not bad, but I’m not seeing what all the fuss is about. Not even remotely Prince’s best work. Pretty pedestrian, actually. A lot of noise over simple changes. I can name a thousand guitarists who can do that.

As someone who knows a little something about playing guitar, I can tell you, my friend, that ain't "noise."

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Not bad, but I’m not seeing what all the fuss is about. Not even remotely Prince’s best work. Pretty pedestrian, actually. A lot of noise over simple changes. I can name a thousand guitarists who can do that.

I mean, many of the most talented guitarists in our lifetime were on the stage and disagree with you.

I'll side with them. And my ear and my limited and pathetic personal guitar experience.

[Skydog]

... I can name a thousand guitarists who can do that.
Ok, go!

[CameronBlue]

Just listened to the Luke Combs version. Meh. I'm not a fan of contemporary country music. His version loses the pain and immediacy of the original song. Over produced, too many instruments. It felt like a decent, but ultimately false, version of a great song.

Yes, yes yes yes yes. I can't second this take strongly enough. Combs did his best, clearly he was trying to pay homage to a great song. But this is Chapman's voice and her story. It's not Combs story. He took a risk, and did okay. But "okay" was the best he could've hoped for.

[lotusland]

Yes, yes yes yes yes. I can't second this take strongly enough. Combs did his best, clearly he was trying to pay homage to a great song. But this is Chapman's voice and her story. It's not Combs story. He took a risk, and did okay. But "okay" was the best he could've hoped for.

I just wish it would have been a number 1 hit back when a number 1 hit paid the songwriter serious money for life.

Not a cover but this may be the Tracy Chapman classic song that is most prescient today:
https://youtu.be/IrRA7WMI1ks

And I just really like this one:
https://youtu.be/LWSzAONrE3s

[Phredd3]

Not a cover but this may be the Tracy Chapman classic song that is most prescient today:
https://youtu.be/IrRA7WMI1ks

How have I not heard that before? Powerful stuff. Thanks for posting that.

[lotusland]

There are almost unlimited covers if you include live performances and tribute albums. As far well known/commercially successful covers, here are some worthy covers of my favorite song writers:

1. JP https://youtu.be/s4S1Q1vfngA
2. Kris Kristopherson https://youtu.be/5Cg-j0X09Ag
3. Dylan https://youtu.be/wcIxcvrjEx0
4. Guy Clark https://youtu.be/sLAuzVb-C_o
5. Towns https://youtu.be/_5rBGFmQ3-Q
6. Kate Bush https://youtu.be/6o96bRMJ7z4

[lotusland]

Dylan covers could be a thread of it’s own but I think these are my favorite studio covers, although I reserve the right to amend my choices:

https://youtu.be/j3OcjuGaIsg
https://youtu.be/9tzzHUJgUjE

[Kdogg]

I'm calling this a cover because even though Roger Waters wrote the song David Gilmour is the voice. The Dark Side of the Moon turns 50 this year and Waters is re-recording it as The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux. The first release is...to be kind...strange as hell. I'm not sure a poetry slam mid-song works.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw

Roger Waters has always been a prickly pear and has just leaned into it as he's aged. He's never been afraid of speaking his mind even though the rhetoric has been increasingly unhinged.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

I'm calling this a cover because even though Roger Waters wrote the song David Gilmour is the voice. The Dark Side of the Moon turns 50 this year and Waters is re-recording it as The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux. The first release is...to be kind...strange as hell. I'm not sure a poetry slam mid-song works.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw

Roger Waters has always been a prickly pear and has just leaned into it as he's aged. He's never been afraid of speaking his mind even though the rhetoric has been increasingly unhinged.

On his most recent tour through NC, he has a certain number of tickets that he set aside for people working in social justice. A coworker of mine who is VERY passionate about labor rights and gender equality issues was given some tickets. She said they were REALLY nice tickets and she got to meet him before the show. They also let them do some tabling with their flyers and events.

Just saying - Waters is my kind of unhinged when he's doing this sort of work and support.

[Kdogg]

On his most recent tour through NC, he has a certain number of tickets that he set aside for people working in social justice. A coworker of mine who is VERY passionate about labor rights and gender equality issues was given some tickets. She said they were REALLY nice tickets and she got to meet him before the show. They also let them do some tabling with their flyers and events.

Just saying - Waters is my kind of unhinged when he's doing this sort of work and support.

Oh, I'm not saying all his ideas are unhinged and he his passionate but when RJK Jr first supports you and then denounces you it's says something.

[duke74]

I'm calling this a cover because even though Roger Waters wrote the song David Gilmour is the voice. The Dark Side of the Moon turns 50 this year and Waters is re-recording it as The Dark Side Of The Moon Redux. The first release is...to be kind...strange as hell. I'm not sure a poetry slam mid-song works.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUVmeYgo1Iw

Roger Waters has always been a prickly pear and has just leaned into it as he's aged. He's never been afraid of speaking his mind even though the rhetoric has been increasingly unhinged.

He is a flaming antisemite and should be cast into the dustbin of history.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

He is a flaming antisemite and should be cast into the dustbin of history.

*Heads to Google*

Yikes.

[nmduke2001]

Taylor Swift has broken the record for most number 1 albums by a female artist and she broke the record with a cover album of her own songs. If you don't know the story it's really fascinating; Swift owns the writing rights to her songs but the actual recordings belonged to the label. The label sold the songs to a PE fund owned by a guy that she hates (some Kanye issues and other stuff). Swift decided to use a loophole in the copyright law (maybe that's not entirely correct, an attorney can correct me) and rerecorded the songs since she is the writer. The crazy thing is that she wanted to make the master copies worthless, so she has spent lots of time and money to exactly replicate her old catalogue basically making the new recording indistinguishable from the originals. Even crazier, her fans are buying the music even though most own the original already. The power of Taylor Swift is real.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/18/entertainment/taylor-swift-billboard-album-history/index.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

We recently saw Tears For Fears, and the encore was interesting. They kicked it off with a cover of Radiohead's Creep.
It was surprising given that had a ton of their own songs that they hadn't played yet. They did a great job with it, though. (The whole concert was excellent.)

[tommy]

He is a flaming antisemite and should be cast into the dustbin of history.

Amen. Plus this version of the song is boring. Didn't even finish it.

[OldPhiKap]

I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. I could not get past the 3’40” mark without exiting the video.

This seems like a huge ego project run amuck.

[cato]

I am a huge Pink Floyd fan. I could not get past the 3’40” mark without exiting the video.

This seems like a huge ego project run amuck.

Speaking of Pink Floyd and covers, Dark Side of the Mule is an excellent live album: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UACNY7NOvo&list=OLAK5uy_mANAeU9Cck0eXMLmYSKGCUSVHz3wCSnYE

[nmduke2001]

I think that most people are aware that Sinead O’Connor’s biggest hit “Nothing compares 2 u” was a remake of Prince’s original. I’m sure it was covered plenty more times but my favorite is Chris Conrnell’s version. All three versions are great, which is a testament to Prince’s writing genius. Sadly all three artists are gone now. Here are all three:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cpGA0azFdCs&feature=shareb

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0-EF60neguk&feature=shareb

https://youtube.com/watch?v=IuUDRU9-HRk&feature=shareb

[rsvman]

I never liked that tune, and after listening to Chris Cornell and Prince, I still don't like it. But I do think Prince's version was the best of the three.