Cover songs...yea or nay

[devildeac]

Y'all decide:

[OldPhiKap]

Y'all decide:

I apologize in advance:

[devildeac]

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

[snip]-only 1 video allowed per post

I'll see your apology and raise you:

[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 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...ABF5&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:

[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.

[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!):

[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