Which cover versions improve on the original?

Continuing on the subject of Mr. Hannon, I'm sometimes like The Divine Comedy's cover of "there is a light that never goes out" to the original.

Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention - "Happy Together", live at the Fillmore 1971(?) ... though there were a couple of Turtles present, so maybe it isn't strictly speaking a cover.

On a similar tip -- I prefer Siouxsie's "Dear Prudence" to the Beatles'. That song was just MEANT to be gothed up.

I like Klaus Nomi's version.

And nothing, ever, in the past, present or future, is ever going to convince me that the A-Teens deserve to share the planet with right-minded souls. So wrong. And this comes from someone happy to tolerate the Star Girls From Planet Groove, so you'll see my threshold is pretty low as it is...

http://www.geocities.com/pat_ateens/backs.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/pat_ateens/floorfiller.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/pat_ateens/sm.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/pat_ateens/newa.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/pat_ateens/newateens.jpg

http://members.lycos.co.uk/vicc13/mp3/backs.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/vicc13/mp3/floorfiller.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/vicc13/mp3/newateens.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/vicc13/mp3/sm.jpg

Please, somebody tell me what's to like about them? Or am I suffering from an irony bypass (again)?

ps. pics now working, miraculously - annoyingly, they look like I *should* like 'em...

Wow! This sentence makes me look like an idiot. Nice.

the orig. does NOTHING for me.

and it's not like i hate bruce or anything.

If you would consider a remix a cover, then on the topic of Elvis the single "A little less conversation" (Elvis vs. JXL) also improves rather than simply changing/modernizing.

However, I must submit "The Logical Song" by Scooter, which is undeniably a visionary work of genius and MY single of the year thus far (sorry Missy, sorry Nelly). Siberia is, as it were, the place to be.

The Smokey Robinson version is better while I'm listening to it (those ragged backing vocals!)

a score-draw I suppose.

"none of the band seem to give a shit about making an effort or even know what it is they're singing (cf. Sugababes "Freak Like Me")"

Grrrr FITE! The 'babes know damn well what it is they're singing, and they know why they're singing it, too- it's an important public service to make the masturbational fantasies of teen boys (and girls) more interesting. Nuff respect.

adeva's "respect" pisses all over aretha's original.

Apart from the fact that nothing could ever possibly piss over Aretha Franklin, the original "Respect" is actually by Otis Redding.

"massively unpopular opinion: Chuck Berry's "Rock and Roll Music" was much improved when the Beatles did it."

"The Beatles version of 'You've really got a hold of me' is better while I'm listening to it (that clomping piano!).

Other Beatles covers that improve on the originals- "Baby It's You" and "Money" (not as good as The Flying Lizards tho.)

i feel such a fool.

(Well, it's a tired answer. I had to make it interesting somehow.)

Also, the Ramones' version of "Let's Dance" is ace.

And I dunno if it's better, but Cinerama's version of London runs the Smiths very, very close...

I also remember Paul Heaton doing a fantastic version of Lean On Me a few years ago too, the Radio 1 Christmas Carols thing.

I bet Ronan could!

There are several gothy/new beat versions of early Depeche Mode songs on _I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous_ that I vastly prefer to the originals. I'm thinking in particular of Systema The Affliction's "Shouldn't Have Done That", Pouppe Fabrik's "Photographic", Signal's "My Secret Garden" and Ater Koma's "The Sun And The Rainfall". S.P.O.C.K's "Ice Machine" comes very, very close to beating the original.

Better than the Johnny Cash original?! This is something I have to hear.

Yes, a whole album of covers of songs by other dead stars, called Gravelands. The first three tracks on it (Come As You Are, Love Will Tear Us Apart and Song To The Siren) are all terrific, though most of the rest is rather less good.

"Gravelands" was ace but by the time "Return To Splendour" was released the joke had pretty much worn thin (I mean, "Under The Bridge"? "CHILD Of A Preacher Man"??)

Peaches version of Rock Show

I'll think of some more in a minute. My mind's gone blank.

.. Vanilla Fudge's version of "You Keep Me Hangin' On"

My Bloody Valentine's cover of 'Map Ref 41°N 93°W' ever so slightly improves it also.

bis's recent cover of 'Shack Up' was better than the A Certain Ratio version they were covering (it was an ep of Factory covers) but not as good as the Banberra original.

That's all Ican think of at the moment that hasn't been mentioned.

Am I the only person who prefers Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" by far? I don't think it's a very good song in the first place and I think Hendrix' version gives it a gravitas it really doesn't earn, and unearned gravitas = horrible bombast, nice guitar work or no.

Actually Justyn is right in that the Byrds also did this, and I love them because they make everything sound so flat and pretty. So my point sort of falls apart.

chocolate watchband: "baby blue"

shellac: "jailbreak"

the swamp rats: "louie louie"

hendrix's "like a rolling stone" at monterey is better than his other dylan covers. it's also a proven scientific fact that loadsa dylan songs are done better by other people. i think d. zarakov will back me on this...

Ditto the Pixies, Leonard Cohen, I Can't Forget, I'm Your Fan

End of discussion.

Is Robert Wyatt's 'Shipbuilding' a cover or Elvises'? It was written for him. Any way, I think much better than the Costello version.

The Clash tribute album had a zydeco version of White Riot that was much better than the original. Which wasn't hard.

Daphne And Celeste's "UGLY"! I had the misfortune of hearing the Fishbone original and the quality gap is a galaxy wide!

(very pleased people seem to have liked my first ever thread...)

nina simone - i put a spell on you.

yeah, it's a Goffin/King/Wexler song, but Aretha's is the famous version. as for "Respect", Aretha took that away from Otis Redding, but hers has been overplayed so much who wouldn't rather hear the original nowadays...

and one bit of Blasphemy...
The vibrant, fizzy version of "How Soon is Now" off the soundtrack to The Craft is better than the listless, hissy original by the Smiths.

i decided it is my favourite song ever

(hey custos, is The Craft what became Charmed? cz i agree w.you abt that version of "How Soon is Now", if the TV version is the same as the one yr talking abt) (also The Smiths didn't star Shannon Docherty)

The Warlock Pinchers "I Think We're Tiffany"

Went down vrey well at a recent wedding party at 2am. Doesnt translate well to record.

Neither. XTC! (off "White Music")

You what? Is it as good as their versions of The Creation's "Painter Man" and The Smoke's "My Friend Jack"?

As for Bowie's "Fill Your Heart", it's not in the same league as Tiny Tim's version.

I've only heard "Painter Man." In its own way, yes, it is as good as that! It's a killer.

My friend jack eats sugar loaves
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
Sugarman hasn't got a care
He's been traveling everywhere
Been on a voyage across an ocean
Heard the sweet sounds of wheels in motion
He's seen hawks fly high to hail the setting sun
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
Sugarman hasn't got a care
He's been traveling everywhere
He's seen the people in the city
And the bright lights looks awful pretty
He's followed dusty tracks into eternity
Eating sugar cain in cuba
Try to grow it in japan
On the west coast, he's real famous
Kids they call him sugar man
My friend jack
My friend jack
My friend jack
My friend jack
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
Sugarman hasn't got a care
He's been traveling everywhere
Been on a voyage across an ocean
Heard the sweet sounds of wheels in motion
He's seen hawk fly high to hail the setting sun
Eating sugar cain in cuba
Try to grow it in japan
On the west coast, he's real famous
Kids they call him sugar man
Been on a voyage across an ocean
Heard the sweet sounds of wheels in motion
He's seen the hawk fly high to hail the setting sun
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
Sugarman hasn't got a care
He's been traveling everywhere
My friend jack eats sugar loaves
My friend jack eats

Therapy? - Isolation
Nine Inch Nails - Dead Souls

Now you can hate me...

Anyways, "Mr. Tambourine Man" remains my fave answer here.

Now you can hate me..."

It's not better than the original, but the NIN version does do it justice.

"It's Not Unusual" by the Wedding Present (injects Tom Jones' signature track with an amphetamine-fueled, post-punk twitch).

http://andrewpaulwoodworth.com/4758290687fg6b689erbg69349gh5g5.html

Oh, I guess lots would say the same about Janis Joplin's treatment of Me and Bobby McGee...

Seconded, and exactly the same argument applies to "Eloise", as covered by the Damned.

A Perfect Circle "Imagine". They can make anything sound scary. Including this.

Bette Midler "Beast Of Burden". She rocked it.

Foo Fighters "Darling Nikki".

Frankie Goes To Hollywood "Born To Run". I love Brooce, but this is great.

Filter "One". I don't even like Filter that much, but I love this cover.

Much as I love the original, I am hugely fond of the Trash Can Sinatras' take on "To Sir With Love".

Divine Comedy's "Life on Mars"

Kustomized's "Dead Souls"
Volcano Suns' "Red Eye Express"

...with "Needles In The Camel's Eye" at least equalling the Eno vsn, which is in my book to touch godhead.

Has no one mentioned The Gourds' version of "Gin & Juice" ?

Agreed Killdozer's "I'm Not Lisa" good call.

Glass Eye's Celicia blows away S & G, speaking of which as does an old Micronotz cover of "Scarborough Faire"

Speaking of which (Glass Eye, not S & G) I just love K McCarty's "Worried Shoes" though again topping D. Johnston, like topping B. Eno is probably just not possible in my book.

Continue discussion...

Aretha - The Long & Winding Road
Bryan Ferry - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
Pavement - The Killing Moon
Arto Lindsey - Simply Beautiful

I used to think it was the greatest thing ever; now, not.

Maybe it was b/c of its use on the episode of "The OC" where Seth was sailing across the Pacific Ocean or whatever.....

http://www.geocities.com/telephonepolesmusic

Thanks, Brian Hall.

'Gloria' - Patti Smith
'Black Steel' - Tricky
'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' - Saint Etienne
'Your Song' - Billy Paul
'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' - Isaac Hayes
'My Favourite Things' - John Coltrane
'Song to the Siren' - This Mortal Coil
'Hallelujah' - Jeff Buckley
'Hurt' - Johnny Cash
'Heartbeats' - Jose Gonzalez

If you want to hear it sung by a man instead of a boy, try John Cale's version.

and the newer 'sunglasses at night' sounded better that the original

Meh. This is another case of "Oh, someone's turned a pop song into an acousticy earnest number, so it's good," innit?

And does anyone remember the Slappin' Mammy's? New Jersey group (I think) in the early '90s released a disc Blackface In Bondage featuring thrashin' versions of Al Jolson cuts.

http://plaatjes.hemisphere.nl/007782.jpg

I liked this entire disc better at the time and probably still might because I heart metal and could give a shit about Al Jolson.

A third vote for Siouxsie's Dear Prudence, which is amazing.

Kiki and Herb do a very unusual cover of Total Eclipse Of The Heart that almost, but not quite, frees the song of its soft-rock ballad associations.

And I've gotta mention the Spacemen 3 cover of Rollercoaster by the 13th FLoor Elevators. They make that song everything it would have been if Erikson could have just gotten enough acid.

Kiss - Age of Chance

as great as the orig is .. this version still holds a lot of power over my psyche.

Not heard this, but I find it hard to believe, seeing as the original is the greatest 8 minutes of music ever committed to tape. And the fact it's by TFF.

Buckley's Hallelujah is lush, but yeah, Cale nails it.

Talking of Laughing Len, Antony has been doing an almost unbearably gorgeous The Guests on tour. Like his Candy Says, it's possibly the equal of the original.

i like us maple's 'lay lady lay' a lot more than dylan's

Patti Smith rarely improves on anything

'Black Steel' - Tricky

Tough one. Certainly arguable, especially since the PE song goes on for way too long.

'Only Love Can Break Your Heart' - Saint Etienne

Absolutely.

'Your Song' - Billy Paul
'By the Time I Get to Phoenix' - Isaac Hayes

never heard

'My Favourite Things' - John Coltrane

boring, but the original is hardly unfuckwithable to begin with. Weak inclusion.

'Song to the Siren' - This Mortal Coil

Absolutely

'Hallelujah' - Jeff Buckley

y'know, I'm not sure if I've ever actually heard the original, but Buckley certainly did a fantastic job of making the song his own (unlike Rufus Wainwright, whose version makes me want to punch myself)

'Hurt' - Johnny Cash

Again, arguable, though I still probably prefer the original (and without the video, might not even be a contest)

'Heartbeats' - Jose Gonzalez

Of course not. Do people actually think this?

Donna Summer - "MacArthur Park"
Boys Town Gang - "Can't Take My Eyes Off You"
Cyndi Lauper - "When You Were Mine"
Pet Shop Boys - "It's Alright"
Miss Kittin & The Hacker - "Dirty Talk"
Alcazar - "Crying At The Discotheque"
Peaches - "Keine Melodien"

boyce & hart - jumpin' jack flash

Japan's "Ain't That Peculiar"

Woven Hand's "Ain't no Sunshine"

The Gurus' "Louie Louie"

Natacha Atlas's "I Put A Spell On You"

Vampire Weekend's Exit Music over the original anyday.

I'd take 'The Day Before You Came' by Blancmange over the Abba original, definitely. I like the fact that Neil Arthur turns the writer from Marilyn French to Barbara Cartland, that's really funny! But I also think Neil Arthur's delivery is close to perfection -- he adopts a tone somewhere between Neil Tennant and Billy McKenzie and they add lots of percussive and instrumental flourishes which make their version more interesting.

John Coltrane's My Favourite Things (Sound Of Music), Flamingoes I Only Have Eyes For You (think it was a broadway musical).
LOve Little REd Book
Roberta Flack No Way To Say Goodbye, First Time Ever I saw Your Eyes.
several Steeleye Span tracks from the first couple of lps, though the Dubliners' versions are also pretty great and that was presumably the source.
Gun Club Run Through The Jungle or at least I certrainly listen to it more than the CCR track it reinvents
MC5 I WAnt You? another major reinvention as regards the Troggs source, though I do like the Troggs

Coltrane's version is great but I prefer Mark Murphy's.

I Only Have Eyes For You is indeed from 1934 but it was written for this film: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dames

That one is a great suggestion.

(from the spiney-shivery thread)

Cecil Taylor's "This Nearly Was Mine" (South Pacific)

not sure as i never heard the original but i cannot imagine a better version of susie q than the one by creedence clearwater revival.

Yeah, I like CCR version better too.

Still a good time to plug the original. Such a small place the world's been lately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ex4D-L0cLZA

Wrong Hawkins pplains. The original is by Dale Hawkins not Ronnie Hawkins and it's miles better than that one you posted. The CCR is really good and I'd also say it's an improvement even tho I love Dale's version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-ej9wmOrY4

Galaxie 500's version of 'Ceremony' by New Order

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6Ot_4UpFk

On that tip, I'll add that Luna's version of 'Indian Summer' by Beat Happening.

Aw, Hawkins cousins be cousins.

Love Cave and the Bad Seeds version of "All Tomorrow's Parties." Great squalls of guitar and the frantic drumming...

who is Love Cave? Nick's daughter?

I hadn't realised until someone pointed it out the other day that Adeva ‘Respect’ was THE Respect. I really should pay attention to lyrics.

Elvis Presley -- "Sweet Caroline"
^^this. Elvis and the TCB Band take a good song and give it that little extra push over the cliff.

Jeff Buckley's version of "Lilac Wine".

Well, The Flamingos' 1959 cover of 'I Only Have Eyes for You' still knocks pretty much every other version of the song out of the water, but it sure beats the first recording by Ben Selvin from 1934.

Niece knew there was an original of that, thought that was it. Although I thought the same thing of the Marcels's "Blue Moon" for longer than I should admit.

Wilson Pickett - "Hey Jude"
Fotheringay - "The Way I Feel"
Fairport Convention - "Time Will Show the Wiser"
Grateful Dead - "Morning Dew"

I'm a huge fan of Dillinger Escape Plan's cover of Come to Daddy, featuring the radiant vocals of Mike Patton

I am sure we had a thread on this but the search is closed so there we go again.

I wanted to mention The Feelies dynamic version of "Everybody has got something to hide except me and my monkey" again.

Which cover versions improve on the original?

I mean, you can still search within a thread.

You know I tried to open a new thread and then ILM suggested this thread and by accident I posted on it automatically, I thought I'd get the choice but I didn't. That's all.

I think "I Call Your Name" by The Mamas and the Papas (Beatles cover) might be one of these.

Donald Byrd - where are we going?
Jorja Smith - rose rouge
Melanie De Biasio // every cover she has made is an improvement on the original

The Cramps also tend to improve every song they touch with their filthy hands.

Dorothy Ashby Fool on the Hill

obviously Sinéad's "Nothing Compares 2 U"
Nico "These Days"
Cat Power "I Found a Reason"

Hijokaidan "Silver Machine"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBCWxjV_M64

My top 10, in order:

Stevie Wonder - We Can Work It Out -- I searched this thread and there are *two* different version of We Can Work It Out listed, and somehow neither one is the miraculous Stevie interpretation.

The Clash - Police On My Back — The Equals original is just fine. The Clash version dials the energy up to 11 and lights the guitar riff on fire.

Al Green - How Can You Mend A Broken Heart -- Maybe this is the definitive version? If not, it should be. The Bee Gees version is great, but the slow build of the Al Green version turns it into an absolute epic.

The Main Ingredient - Summer Breeze — This Main Ingredient album had two different Seals and Croft covers, both of which improve on the originals. Their Summer Breeze adds tons of flute and vibraphone (xylophone?) and blows the tune wide open.

All Mixed Up - Red House Painters -- I know, i know, Mark Kozalek. But I loved this song for years before I realized that I already knew it as a Cars song, and his cover of it has so much more depth.

Nouvelle Vague - In A Manner of Speaking -- The Tuxedomoon original is so gawky, I'm a bit surprised that anyone heard the potential in this.

Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane — Another song that gets improved by sanding down the rough edges. The disparity is most striking on the bridge. Technically, Margo Timmons is singing the same notes as Lou Reed, but there’s just no comparison.

REM - Crazy — Maybe I just like Stipe’s vocals better than the jerky-jerky Pylon singer. My favorite track on Dead Letter Office.

Jackson 5 - Doctor My Eyes — The Jermaine verse almost tanks the whole endeavor, but MJ (who is only 13 here) just hits it out of the park. Exuberant.

Toots and the Maytals - Take Me Home Country Roads — A little corny (“West Virginia” becomes “West Jamaica”), but undoubtedly an upgrade.

I’m also ashamed to admit at one point of my life that “all mixed up” cover was one of my favorite songs ever.

Bongwater - The Drum
Galaxies 500 - Listen the snow is falling
Butthole Surfers - Hurdy Gurdy Man

Nico "These Days"

Is it technically a cover if it comes first?

Basically EVERY cover of "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is an improvement on the original, which I just heard a couple years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXYPb0rrwbA

But apparently Peggy and Ewan MacColl were especially down on Roberta Flack's definitive take, so fuck 'em.

It also applies to “it’s all over now baby blue”, every cover I’ve heard tends to improve on the original.

13th floor elevators and Them versions being the peak so far.

Dylan version is so… soulless. You’d never guess it’s one of his best written songs if you went by the original version.

Even the Anonhi version which sounds as if recorded on a potato is better.

In a similar vein, does anyone stan for Leonard Cohen's original version of Hallelujah?

Rod Stewart – Tom Traubert's Blues
Rod Stewart – Downtown Train
Bruce Springsteen – Jersey Girl

(hmmm, I see a pattern developing here)

Fairport Convention – Percy's Song
Nick Cave – Death Is Not the End
Marianne Faithfull – The Ballad of Lucy Jordan
10,000 Maniacs – Everyday Is Like Sunday
10,000 Maniacs – Hello In There
Tindersticks – If You're Looking for a Way Out
This Mortal Coil – Song to the Siren

Nina Simone - Feeling Good (the original Broadway musical version ("The Roar of the Greasepaint, the Smell of the Crowd") of the song is...uhh...fairly unremarkable)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPdoWp-PHFU

Nina Simone also makes the most definitive version of Sinnerman. I wasn’t even aware it was a cover until recently via another thread on ilm.

Nina Simone's "Who Knows Where The Time Goes?" is also the definitive version IMHO.

I still love the original but boy is this one smooth take on this song

kali uchis - venus as a boy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47oiB_quDf8

Nina Simone does a lot of reinventions of very white singer songwriter stuff on the material I have collected as Sugar In My bowl.
Have found that an odd companion to black militancy which I thought she was about at the time.
BUt the versions are really good from what I've heard of them and I'm really glad to have them

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSgZ3B-2q-g