and the newer 'sunglasses at night' sounded better that the original
― nique (nique), Friday, 13 January 2006 12:40 (eighteen years ago) link
Meh. This is another case of "Oh, someone's turned a pop song into an acousticy earnest number, so it's good," innit?
― brittle-lemon (brittle-lemon), Friday, 13 January 2006 12:42 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Friday, 13 January 2006 12:47 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― klee (klee), Friday, 13 January 2006 13:30 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― js (honestengine), Friday, 13 January 2006 14:36 (eighteen years ago) link
― retrokid, Friday, 13 January 2006 14:52 (eighteen years ago) link
― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Friday, 13 January 2006 14:53 (eighteen years ago) link
― retrogurl, Friday, 13 January 2006 15:57 (eighteen years ago) link
Kiss - Age of Chance
as great as the orig is .. this version still holds a lot of power over my psyche.
― mark e (mark e), Friday, 13 January 2006 16:06 (eighteen years ago) link
― Huk-L (Huk-L), Friday, 13 January 2006 16:08 (eighteen years ago) link
― Brian O'Neill (NYCNative), Friday, 13 January 2006 17:26 (eighteen years ago) link
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.
― stew!, Friday, 13 January 2006 17:43 (eighteen years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Saturday, 14 January 2006 04:13 (eighteen years ago) link
― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Saturday, 14 January 2006 04:14 (eighteen years ago) link
― Cunga (Cunga), Saturday, 14 January 2006 05:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― prof. felchenstein, Saturday, 14 January 2006 05:01 (eighteen years ago) link
i like us maple's 'lay lady lay' a lot more than dylan's
― 6335, Saturday, 14 January 2006 08:42 (eighteen years ago) link
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?
― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Saturday, 14 January 2006 08:47 (eighteen years ago) link
― Drew Daniel (Drew Daniel), Saturday, 14 January 2006 08:53 (eighteen years ago) link
― pfaff, Saturday, 14 January 2006 10:02 (eighteen years ago) link
― Dr X O'Skeleton, Monday, 16 January 2006 12:37 (eighteen years ago) link
― fact checking cuz (fcc), Monday, 16 January 2006 18:16 (eighteen years ago) link
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"
― LeRooLeRoo (Seb), Monday, 16 January 2006 20:49 (eighteen years ago) link
― Stephen C (ihope), Monday, 16 January 2006 20:54 (eighteen years ago) link
― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 16 January 2006 21:04 (eighteen years ago) link
― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 16 January 2006 21:10 (eighteen years ago) link
― powpowpow, Monday, 16 January 2006 21:41 (eighteen years ago) link
boyce & hart - jumpin' jack flash
― scott seward (scott seward), Monday, 16 January 2006 21:47 (eighteen years ago) link
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"
― Cliftonb, Monday, 16 January 2006 22:01 (eighteen years ago) link
― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 16 January 2006 22:20 (eighteen years ago) link
― Curt1s Stephens, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 21:12 (sixteen years ago) link
― ógy, Wednesday, 25 April 2007 21:27 (sixteen years ago) link
Vampire Weekend's Exit Music over the original anyday.
― lambchopelbow, Thursday, 28 April 2011 18:32 (twelve years ago) link
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.
― Grandpont Genie, Saturday, 28 April 2012 16:39 (eleven years ago) link
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 BookRoberta 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 reinventsMC5 I WAnt You? another major reinvention as regards the Troggs source, though I do like the Troggs
― Stevolende, Saturday, 28 April 2012 18:21 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Moka, Saturday, 28 April 2012 18:36 (eleven years ago) link
(from the spiney-shivery thread)
Cecil Taylor's "This Nearly Was Mine" (South Pacific)
― Tarfumes The Escape Goat, Saturday, 28 April 2012 20:31 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― alex in mainhattan, Saturday, 28 April 2012 21:38 (eleven years ago) link
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
― pplains, Saturday, 28 April 2012 21:39 (eleven years ago) link
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
― Moka, Monday, 30 April 2012 07:45 (eleven years ago) link
Galaxie 500's version of 'Ceremony' by New Order
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_6Ot_4UpFk
― fishermen are coveted by whores & stoners (Pillbox), Monday, 30 April 2012 09:38 (eleven years ago) link
On that tip, I'll add that Luna's version of 'Indian Summer' by Beat Happening.
― fishermen are coveted by whores & stoners (Pillbox), Monday, 30 April 2012 09:47 (eleven years ago) link
Aw, Hawkins cousins be cousins.
― pplains, Monday, 30 April 2012 13:57 (eleven years ago) link
Love Cave and the Bad Seeds version of "All Tomorrow's Parties." Great squalls of guitar and the frantic drumming...
― kwhitehead, Monday, 30 April 2012 23:19 (eleven years ago) link
who is Love Cave? Nick's daughter?
― one dis leads to another (ian), Monday, 30 April 2012 23:43 (eleven years ago) link
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.
― Chewshabadoo, Monday, 17 June 2013 10:14 (ten years ago) link
Elvis Presley -- "Sweet Caroline"^^this. Elvis and the TCB Band take a good song and give it that little extra push over the cliff.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 21 April 2014 20:45 (nine years ago) link
Jeff Buckley's version of "Lilac Wine".
― vmajestic, Monday, 21 April 2014 20:51 (nine years ago) link
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.
― sikeclops, Monday, 21 April 2014 23:32 (nine years ago) link
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.
― Kid Creole Meets Señor Coconut at a fIREHOSE Show (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 22 April 2014 03:45 (nine years ago) link