The Best COVER Songs?

"In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song." - Wikipedia

Of course, this is biased, but two great covers were those that I had elected to my SETLIST edition of THE CLASH: "I Fought the Law"* and "Police on My Back"**

But as well one I found the other day. The late CLASH frontman Joe Strummer's cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" that was released after Strummer's death.

"I Fought the Law"

"Police on My Back"

Joe Strummer - "Redemption Song"

But are other great "Cover" songs?

*=Covered several times, originally recorded by Sonny Crocket
**=Originally recorded by The Equals

Thanks for the definition

And of course thinking *only* Clash-related songs are The Best would be considered biased.

At least you got that right.

But to answer the question, I'd have to think about it more...


...are other great "Cover" songs, what? Mr. Awkward "Writer".

Nirvana - The Man Who Sold the World
Nirvana - Oh Me (although the original song by the Meat Puppets is wayyyy better)
Nirvana - Where Did You Sleep Last Night
Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah
Cat Power - Moonshiner
Cat Power - Wild is the Wind

One of the best cover versions i have heard recently is punk bands Social Distortion's version of Johhny Cash classic "Ring of Fire".
Excellent!

"The Thrill Is Gone" - B.B. King (Roy Hawkins)
"All Along the Watchtower" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Bob Dylan)
"Hey Joe" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Billy Roberts)
"I Fought the Law" - The Clash (The Crickets)
"Teardrops" - Jose Gonzales (Massive Attack)
"Needles and Pins" - The Ramones (The Searchers)
"My Way" - Sid Vicious (Frank Sinatra/Paul Anka)
"Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)" - The Doors (Kurt Weill)
"Where Did You Sleep Last Night" - Nirvana (Leadbelly/old folk)
"The Man Who Sold the World" - Nirvana (David Bowie)
"Oh, Me" - Nirvana (Meat Puppets)
"Lake of Fire" - Nirvana (Meat Puppets)
"Plateau" - Nirvana (Meat Puppets)
"Here She Comes Now" - Nirvana (The Velvet Underground)
"Planet Caravan" - Pantera (Black Sabbath)
"Paranoid" - Megadeth (Black Sabbath)
"Cocaine" - Eric Clapton (J.J. Cale)
"Fire" - The Red Hot Chili Peppers (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
"Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley (Leonard Cohen)
"Ain't It Fun" - Guns N Roses (The Dead Boys)
"Knockin' On Heavens Door" - Guns N Roses (Bob Dylan)
"Louie Louie" - The Kingsmen (Richard Berry)
"Little Wing" - Derek & The Dominos (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
"Bold As Love" - John Mayer (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
"Respect" - Aretha Franklin (Otis Redding)
"Voodoo Child (Slight Return) - Stevie Ray Vaughan (The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
"Because the Night" - Patti Smith (Bruce Springsteen)
"You Shook Me" - Led Zeppelin (Muddy Waters)

More to come when I remember them.

I dislike covers.Come up with your own 100% original compositions.

"Just Like a Woman" - Bob Dylan, cover by Richie Havens

I like "Knocking On Heaven's Door" covered by GNR, as DV stated.

Also:

"Darling Nikki" is a great Prince remake redone by Foo Fighters
"Cum On Feel the Noize" - Quiet Riot orig. by Slade
"Trapped" - Springsteen covering Jimmy Cliff
"You Shook Me" Led Zeppelin covering Willie Dixon, Jeff Beck, and countless others

"Hurt" by Johnny Cash - originally by Nine Inch Nails
"Put Your Hand On Your Heart" by José González - originally by Kylie Minogue

Both of the above make my heart swell.

EDIT: Oh, and because it was infinitely better than the (actually decent) original, I loved Calvin Harris's rendition of Natasha Bedingfield's "I Wanna Have Your Babies", which he performed on Radio 1's Live Lounge a few months ago over here.

Why this hostility? Besides, I listed Clash covers because those were such covers I knew off the top of my head, and I had YouTube clips for.

Besides, "But what are other great "Cover" Songs?" You happy now? You think of me like a clown, to AMUSE you?

Haven't heard Harris' version, but people keep nagging me to hear it, saying how good it is. Because of you Capo, I might check it out.

John Lennon-Stand by me
Elvis-Thats Alright Mama
Guns and Roses-Knockin on heavans door..
Beatles-Please Mr Postman

"My Back Pages"--The Byrds (Dylan)
"Johnny B. Goode"--Jimi Hendrix (Chuck Berry)
"All Along the Watchtower--Jimi Hendrix (Dylan)
"It Ain't Me Babe"--Turtles (Dylan)
"That's My Desire"--Channels (Frankie Laine)

While I do enjoy and appreciate the cynicism (and, I assure you, I'm completely serious when I say that), covers can be fun. Cover bands, on the other hand, are pointless entities. But, if you're in a band that already has a handful of originals, what's wrong with taking a pre-existing song and then tweaking it a bit? Of course, that's what has to be done. I wouldn't recommend trying to completely recreate a recording, which is absolutely impossible in regards to recreating the exact same energy that makes the song great to begin with. Find your own energy and use the chemistry among your band-mates to apply to the song, and make it your own. I think the best compliment you could receive in critique to a cover is "this doesn't sound like the original." It's just a shame that people are so dense that they manage to convince themselves that that's an insult.

I like Joe Cocker's cover of The Beatles "With A Little Help From My Friends."

Then again, maybe it's because I loved The Wonder Years...

Is it just me, or does he cover a hell of a lot of Beatles songs?

Alright, well, I can think of two off the top of my head. But it wouldn't surprise me to find that he has done more.

Whats wrong with covers? Half of Johnny Cash's career is covers.

Frank Sinatra is probably 99.9% covers. Some covers are better then the original.

[/quote]
Cover bands, on the other hand, are pointless entities. [/quote]

I disagree. Your live festival band that plays anything is kind of bad since they are usually not that good. However I was unable to see the Grateful Dead live being that I was way to young. But cover bands like Dark Star Orchestra allow me to hear what a live GD concert was like. if you are not familiar with Dark Star they learn every note of a GD concert and basically replay the concert live. At the end of teh concert they will announce what city and year they just played.

Hayseed Dixie is the best cover band ever..I can tell you that.

You like them DMC?

Exactly. Music is a legacy to be enjoyed and built upon. Why rule out the possibility that someone down the road can improve on what we already know and love?

Cover bands, on the other hand, are pointless entities. [/quote]

I disagree. Your live festival band that plays anything is kind of bad since they are usually not that good. However I was unable to see the Grateful Dead live being that I was way to young. But cover bands like Dark Star Orchestra allow me to hear what a live GD concert was like. if you are not familiar with Dark Star they learn every note of a GD concert and basically replay the concert live. At the end of teh concert they will announce what city and year they just played. [/quote]

Plus, Tribute bands...its people usually who are devotees of that act's catalogue, and they usually show it in their performances.

As for cover bands...hey, some people gotta work a living.

Nah..i stand by what i said earlier.How can you be proud to become famous by doing a cover?Even if you make it "better".You didn't write the song,it's not your soul's invention.

I have (and love) Kiss My Grass (KISS songs) and A Hillbilly Tribute to AC/DC

...and on top of it, as much as I like rock, I also like bluegrass, so a perfect mesh

So a doctor can't be proud of curing someone's disease simply because he, personally, didn't come up with the cure?? Well... that leaves about 99.99% of doctors wasting their time apparently.

I'd be proud.

I think music is a bit different Don JG.
All i'm saying is, i consider music,the language of the soul.
That being said,live your own music,not someone else's.
God with all the bullshit so called musicians make these days,some originality would be a breath of fresh air.

Billy Idol made "Mony Mony" bigger than Tommy James & the Shondells..... at least I think so...... Does that make Billy Idol less of an artist? I don't think so... but he also had plenty of his own -- and his BEST songs were probably with Generation X, a band no one's heard of...! But that doesn't mean he's unoriginal -- it just (usually) means they simply 1) like the song, and/OR 2) think they can make some money off it..... good for them, IMHO!

I've seen them live!
Great show!

I think covers are great, especially at a live concert. Heart, who I was never particularly fond of, used to cover Zepp's "Rock & Roll" in concert regularly. Zeppelin used to do a medley of old blues songs and incorporate Elvis into "Whole Lotta Love" during its live performances. Springsteen, for years, played a great medley of songs "Devil with a Blue Dress/Jenny Take a Ride/CC Rider/Good Golly Miss Molly," and "Twist & Shout."

One of the best covers that I forgot in an earlier post is "People Get Ready" by Rod Stewart & Jeff Beck. The original artist escapes me at the moment.

Many of Elvis' early hits were covers.

So I guess there is no art in putting your emotion into another song like many singers do. B.B. King didn't write "The Thrill is Gone" but it is not only better then the original but one of the best songs ever. He transferred his emotions perfectly in the song.

We all do it to an extent. We all listen to music that resonates to our feelings and sometimes we sing it or keep playing it over in our head. The difference is some make an art out of it. Not to say all covers are great. I personally have more respect for those who write their own material but I don't shit on them if they don't. Otherwise why listen to Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Elvis, or Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson is another example. In Off the Wall he really put himself in the song "She's Out of My Life."

Furthermore, a lot of people who don't mind cover songs hold cinematic remakes in disdain.

But wouldn't dare shit on the canonical, high-culture Ulysses by Joyce.

Yeah, but I don't think most bands mentioned in this thread became famous because of a cover. They were already there. Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, Led Zeppelin, Chili Peppers, Nirvana..

What's wrong with putting your soul into a song someone else has already put their soul in? Double the soul!

Completely different medium. Covering a song doesn't take nearly asm uch to remake a film. And most of the time, they're done for different reasons. Most covers are done as a tribute to inspirations, some done to convey their emotions in someone else's words, and some just to redo something popular. That last reason is the one behind most cinematic remakes. I hate it when people remake already great films just to bring a breath of fresh air into it without accomplishing anything. Leone managed to experiment his style with a remake of Yojimbo, but it worked. However if say Scarface was remade tomorrow, it would be to take advantage of the original's popularity like most remakes these days are.

But like I said, I can pick up my guitar right now and play a Nirvana, Alice in Chains song, whatever. It's entirely different from me directing a remake of a film. It may not sound different, but it's much more convenient and easier to do.

I disagree. I think most cover songs are done for commercial appeal, to update the song for new generations. Pop charts are littered with them. I think what you're saying is a cynical misconception that favours renditions in one medium but treats with disdain renditions in another.

I disagree. Like I said it's a completely different convenience. Sure, there are covers done for commercial reasons, and some work, but most fail. Britney Spears doing "I Love Rock N Roll" made me wanna shoot myself.

But most with actual talent cover songs as a tribute to those who inspired them (John Mayer) or simply because they aren't primarily writers and convey their emotions through someone else's words (Frank Sinatra/Michael Jackson). Though I guess if you wanna make logical parallels, Michael Jackson singing "She's Out of My Life" is no different then many directors who didn't write the original screenplay, but directed the final product.

Most with talent, yes.
A lot of pop stars don't write their own music. They do perform it, though.

Anyway, what a boring discussion.

Back to listing our faves.

Elvis never wrote none of his music, but he was the greatest thing to come out of modern music

He was a way for white people to relate to music created by African Americans

He didn't intend to do this.He just did what was natural to him..

If he never went in too Sunrecords on the off chance to record a song for his mum,music would be a whole lot differant..

Same with Eminem

But with Eminem,he had 40 years of music to inspire too.Elvis started it all.

So Elvis and Eminem are ways for the white man to like black music without having the black people?

Sure.

haha It helped them relate to the style of music.
Just like how they depict Christ as white with blue eyes.

If that's true, then there would be no Elvis. Elvis liked blues and played it. Just because he was white doesn't mean he's any less then any normal blues player. I don't think of race when judging anyone from Elvis to Robert Johnson or BB King.

And as far as Eminem goes, rap has been popular since the early 80's, so I highly doubt he was thr white savior.

And Jesus probably wasn't black. He was Hebrew and if not white would probably be Middle Eastern, but now we're getting ridiculously off-topic.

Bottom line, in the 50's/60's, you didn't have to be black to appreciate or play depressing music.

Who said that..

That's not what DeNiro said. Before we go any further, Elvis & Eminem do not even belong in the same musical conversation.

Elvis was the first white singer to gain massive popularity singing songs written by black artists. He's been referred to as the first white singer who had sounded like he was black. In essence, he was one of the first "cross-over" artists.

As wealthy as Elvis was, he could have been the Donald Trump of music had he written his own songs. Regardless, he was one of the pioneers of rock music.

Aerosmith - Train Kept a Rollin' (LIVE 1974)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hge_il6COU
The Yardbirds Cover

Guns N' Roses - Mama Kin (LIVE @ The Ritz)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-7mH9yTiRo
Aerosmith Cover

Guns N' Roses - Jumpin' Jack Flash (LIVE 1986)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LCvkK-8Nlw
The Rolling Stones cover

Van Halen - The Rover (Demo)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu2IbWYxgAY
Led Zeppelin Cover

I'm not sure if that has been posted already but this has to be one of the best cover songs ever at least in the sense that it was covered and done differently than the original.

Dynamite Hack - Boys in the Hood

As much as I like that era of VH, that has to be one of the worst covers I have ever heard. DLR does not hold a candle to Plant's vocal range and Roth's weaknesses are glaring in this song. I do like what Eddie did with the guitar (no big surprise).

Van Halen's cover of "You Really Got Me" is a classic remake IMO.

Sex Pistols - Substitute
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBc-ROF-1uk
The Who Cover

Really? Come on now. Honestly.

So name someone bigger, apart from Sinatra

The Beatles

I'm talking in the musical sense, not about merchandise and all that garbage.

Since "I Fought the Law" was writter by Sonny Curtis and originally recorded by Curtis and the post-Buddy Holly Crickets, I would argue that the Bobby Fuller Four version is also a pretty damn good cover version. Fuller's life, and death, are a very interesting story.

A couple of songs I especially like...and I'll climb "under the covers" because I like the original just as much...

Me and Bobby McGee -- Janis Joplin
Originally written and recorded by Kris Kristofferson. Joplin's version is spectacular, but Kristofferson's original is equally as compelling.

City of New Orleans -- Arlo Guthrie
I believe it was no less than David Allen Coe that called this the best damn train song ever written. He was actually talking about the original version by Steve Goodman, the Chicago folk music legend, and not Guthrie's version which got more recognition. Goodman's version is bouncy and happy. Guthrie's is plaintive and forlorn. Goodman actually felt Guthrie got it right.

Old '55 -- The Eagles
First appeared on Tom Waits' album Closing Time. The Eagles made it a more "radio friendly" song and consequently a modest success. Waits is an excellent songwriter, but his songs and style are definitely an acquired taste...one I acquired by seeing Waits on the original Soundstage television series produced by Chicago's public television station. I heard his version of Old '55 well before The Eagles when I bought copies of Waits' first few albums in the 1970's, and the album is filled with songs that could have been hits were they recorded by anyone else.

(Big Joe and) Phantom 309 -- Tom Waits
Originally written by a little-known country musician named Tommy Faile and recorded by Red Sovine. Like Guthrie's version of Goodman's CNO, Waits absolutely nails this on his live album Nighthawks at the Diner. There's no way this works except as a live version.

tony b.

...Good stuff there, TonyB. Here's another:

AC/DC - Baby Please Don't Go (LIVE 1974)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VlRUIHwygc&feature=related

Sex Pistols - Something Else
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsq7AXUYGVc
Eddie Cochran Cover

Sex Pistols - C'mon Everybody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1PAZQhjbZ4&feature=related
Eddie Cochran COVER Song

Guns N Roses - Ain't It Fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmTueySPqEI
The Dead Boys cover

Here's an interesting one:

Sex Pistols - Rock Around The Clock
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGPdy3HQKBk
Billy Haley & The Comets Cover

Led Zeppelin - San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z19xIhUNgxI

"San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" is a song, written by John Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas, and sung by Scott McKenzie. It was released in 1967 ("Summer of Love"), and became a cultural icon of the 1960s counterculture of Haight-Ashbury, San Francisco.
In Central Europe, young people adopted "San Francisco" as an anthem for freedom, and it was widely played during Czechoslovakia's 1968 Prague Spring uprising against Soviet rule.
"San Francisco" was extensively used by Led Zeppelin in their live performances, during their Dazed and Confused era, and is featured in the concert film, The Song Remains the Same.

The Doors - Gloria (LIVE)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAg6m3-Eq-M&feature=related

The Doors - Albinoni's Adagio in G Minor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4soaYPTp2A8