Just wondering what peoples views are on artists covering other's songs?
Personally I think there are lot of good covers out there, but also some really bad ones that just make me really cringe.

some good covers:
Dream Theater - Perfect Strangers (originally by Deep Purple)
Dream Theater - The entire Master Of Puppets album live (originally by Metallica)
Tomoyasu Hotei - Immigrant Song (originally by Led Zeppelin)
Faith No More - War Pigs (originally by Black Sabbath) - probably my favourite cover of them all!
Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust (originally by David Bowie)
Jack Off Jill - Lovesong (originally by The Cure)

bad covers:
All Saints - Under The Bridge (originally by the Chili Peppers)
All of Steps Abba rip-offs!

trying to think of more covers.. hmm? well guys? good covers? bad covers? covers that make you wanna cry they're so bad?

I like covers when the artist makes the song their own in a way. The best example of a cover is probably New England as sung by Kirsty McColl. She changed a lot of the lyrics in that one.

I'm sure there are far more terrible covers than good ones.

There are some interesting covers....

Hurt - Johnny Cash (NiN)
Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics (Rod Stewart)
Only Love can break your heart - St Etienne (Neil Young)
Downtown Train - Rod Stewart (Tom Waits)
Downbound Train - Johnny Cash (Bruce Springsteen)

Nothing wrong with a cover that adds something to the original.

Joe

Originally posted by JoePritchard
Hurt - Johnny Cash (NiN)

OMG Joe, that surely is interesting... that is a horrible cover IMO, I absolutly love the original by NIN... I'm off now to cry and listen to the NIN version repeatidly till Johnny Cash is out of my head!

Bauhaus - Ziggy Stardust (originally by David Bowie)

Come on, Xafier! Bauhaus' version was rubbish. I remember them having a bash at it on The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1872 - clearly, on this occasion, Ziggy couldn't play guitar for toffee! To be fair to Bauhaus, David Bowie's version of the Stones' 'Let's Spend The Night Together' was even more of an insult to the original than their ham-fisted, 'pub-rock' attempt at Ziggy. Bauhaus were funny, though, I'll give them that.

And no, I don't expect a response...........

I was mightily impressed with Coldplay's cover of Kylie's "Can't Get You Out Of My Head" at Glastonbury. Wonderful stuff.

One of the worst covers I've heard was The Dickies destroying "Paranoid". Dire. And from the same era, The Damned made an embarrassing hash of "Help" by the Beatles. I was ashamed to be a Punk fan.

"Surfin' Bird", covered by The Ramones, is still a headbanging classic. In fact most covers by The Ramones hit the spot for me.

Ooh, definitely Faith No More - War Pigs, I love that but I do love Mike Patton anyway, so I'm probably a touch biased :lol:

Limp bizkit - Faith - George Michael.
Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love - Fine Young Cannibals, erm.......sure I know plenty but can I remember them off the top of my head, can I heck as like.

Originally posted by JoePritchard
There are some interesting covers....

Stereophonics (Rod Stewart)

Nothing wrong with a cover that adds something to the original.

Joe

Chris Farlowe recorded the original version of this song (Handbags & Gladrags - written by erstwhile Manfred Mann vocalist Mike D'Abo) in 1967. Rod's version came a couple of years later in 1970.

In fact, before Rod recorded it, it was also covered in 1967 by The Love Affair and a year later by a Birmingham duo called Double Feature.

It's hard to name a cover that eclipses the original, but Joe Cocker's version of With A Little Help From My Friends is, dare I say it, even better than the Beatles' original recording.

The Beatles even sent Joe a telegram and took out ads in the music press congratulating him on reaching number one with the song in 1968. And I'm sure it wasn't just the thought of all those songwriting royalties that prompted this act of largesse, either!

The best covers don't try to emulate - they bring something extra to the party :banana:

A band I knew in Peterborough had just performed a rendition of 'Pretty in Pink'. It was it's first outing and they had worked hard on it. Everybody else at the table nodded and made 'yes, good' noises, but before I knew what I was doing I was blethering a critique that was suitable for denting anybody's ego :blush:

the entire company were agast :( :blush:

It boiled down to the fact that no vocalist could carry off the gravelly vocals of the original, and if they were going to continue performing it, it would need some serious re-work to support Richard's voice.

(Just realised - Richard moved to Sheffield :suspect: Are you here Mr Babblefish?)

The next time I heard it by them, it seriously rocked :headbang:
The original sounds a bit weak now :(

*sigh*

Joe cocker covers a lot of other artists songs and has the knack of making them his own.
one of my other faves is the old Ultravox song 'Vienna' done by Clawfinger

The best covers group must be the Beatles.

That Abbey Road cover with a de-sandalled Paul is a classic and Rob Freeman's black and white shot for With the Beatles is iconic and timeless.

Oh and Roxy music usually had semi-naked ladies on their album sleeves didn't they?

I also once put marmalade on a CD, just to see if what they said in the ads was true (it wasn't true I'm afraid). Can I say that I covered Brothers in Arms?

Huh? Wha? Eh? It's okay, oh look, here comes Matron....,

Thanks Matron, those tablets seem to be working.

Some good cover versions (as originally intentioned):-

First Cut Is The Deepest covered by Rodders

Somewhere Over The Rainbow c/b Eva Cassidy

Dear Prudence c/b Siouxie and the Banshees

Hazy Shade of Winter - Bangles

Eloise - Damned

Cupid - Detroit Spinners

It Must Be Love - Madness

More Than A Woman - Tavares

and I liked Kylie's scruffing of Tears on My Pillow

Def leppard's bringing on the heartbreak song.now that was a fave of mine till i hear mariah carey version of the song.. i do not like the woman the best of times,but i was so shocked and felt sick in the stomach when i hear her sing this song.

I don't mind covers as long as the artists have their own songs and as long as it's not the same thing with a bit of a dancy rhythm added to it. :rolleyes:

Good:

The Divine Comedy - Life On Mars
The Divine Comedy - No One Knows (QOTSA)
NIN - Dead Souls
Coldplay - 2000 Miles

Bad:

whoever did that dance version of Love Will Tear Us Apart
T.aT.U. - How Soon Is Now?

the worst i EVER heard was barry manilow torturing meatloafs read em and weep more hear it and cringe

dave

I love Tori Amos' cover of 'I don't like Mondays'

Originally posted by Hook
I love Tori Amos' cover of 'I don't like Mondays'

She also does a good cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit and you can actually tell what the words are!

Originally posted by mojoworking
She also does a good cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit and you can actually tell what the words are!

I only have the 'I don't like Mondays' because I'm a huge West Wing fan, although I did buy "Tales of A Librarian". I'll have to buy Smells Like Teen Spirit of iTunes on Friday once I've been paid (I did type 'Tori Smells' into my iTunes library and didn't get a single result! :gag: )

As anyone heard of an artist called "The King".
He has a couple of albums out, full of cover versions all sang in the style of........Elvis P.

Some of the more memorable include" A whole lotta Rosie", "Blockbuster", and "Love will tear us apart".

Top Stuff>:thumbsup:

The recent cover of Hounds Of Love is quite good, and I liked the cover of "Mad World" from Donnie Darko.

I hated Westlife's cover of Barry Manilow's "Mandy", I mean WTF?! And to think one of my mates is convinced I'm a Westlife fan just cos I bought that one song of "theirs" :loopy:

That and Will Young's version of The Doors' "Light my fire", how dare he bastardise a classic in that way?! :rant:

I also like William Shatners cover of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" and "Mr Tamboreen Man"

Yes they do realy exist.

http://www.pathcom.com/~boby/lsd.htm

Originally posted by Hook
I only have the 'I don't like Mondays' because I'm a huge West Wing fan, although I did buy "Tales of A Librarian". I'll have to buy Smells Like Teen Spirit of iTunes on Friday once I've been paid (I did type 'Tori Smells' into my iTunes library and didn't get a single result! :gag: )

It appears on an EP of cover versions she did titled Crucify. Other tracks were Angie (Rolling Stones) and Led Zeppelin's Thank You. It's still available from Amazon, I think.

Originally posted by JoePritchard


Hurt - Johnny Cash (NiN)
Handbags and Gladrags - Stereophonics (Rod Stewart)


Both really good covers, Johnny Cash did a superb cover of an already excellent song (infact the entire album was brilliant!). I personally rate Marylin Manson's version of Tainted love, that also is a cover that makes a quite dark emotive song even more potent.

I can't abide some covers though, I remember the flying pickets did a cover of Nirvana's smells like teen spirit ..... oh it was so very, very bad :(

As mentioned before, my all time favourite cover is:

Eva Cassidy - Fields of Gold

And her version of Somewhere over the Rainbow.

Such a hauntingly beautiful voice, and such an incredible waste of a young life.

I think 1 in 100 covers make a good attempt and may be better than the original. Got one of the free sample cd's in the paper the other week of 1969/70 covers by Elton John ( don't really like him but the cover of Spirit in the Sky was equal or better than the last two hit versions.

Anyone remember 'Stairway to heaven' by that aussie rocker Rolf Harris?

Originally posted by 40summat
Anyone remember 'Stairway to heaven' by that aussie rocker Rolf Harris?

Nooo that was the younger version by Z Z top :hihi: :hihi:

Generally covering songs is a bad idea, though there are some exceptions.

It's amusing when generic uninspiring trash like All Saints cover what they probably feel are 'nice songs' like Under The Bridge. It never fails to raise a chuckle watching non-entities dancing badly and singing about heroin.

Originally posted by Agent Gypo
It's amusing when generic uninspiring trash like All Saints cover what they probably feel are 'nice songs' like Under The Bridge. It never fails to raise a chuckle watching non-entities dancing badly and singing about heroin.

I have to agree whole heartidly, I think thats probably the worst cover of all time... that song has so much meaning and is so amazing, and that cover... aside from the fact that the music is all wrong, and the singers sing so badly... well, it just ruined the whole meaning of the lyrics and the song...

did nobody tell them before hand the song was about one mans drug addiction and how he ended up having nobody in his life and nearly dying? :? there really are songs some people shouldn't touch!

Originally posted by Joule
whoever did that dance version of Love Will Tear Us Apart
T.aT.U. - How Soon Is Now?

OMG! Until this moment I was blissfully unaware of the existence the above.... I won't even begin to start wondering what these $#*$#*$#* offences against the human race sound like :rant:

Although I expect they're something like the 'version' of Teenage Kicks as 'performed' by Busted..... :gag: ad infinitum!

THE example of how a cover version should be created can only be Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah' - beauty beyond words.

StarSparkle

some cover versions are much better than the originals 2 songs what spring to mind are lucy in the sky with diamonds by elton john and light my fire by jose felenco , both in the 7os but some songs should never be coverd anyone remember the really bad version of stairway to heaven in the 80s ?

Some great songs have been mentioned and deserve to be called classics in their own right.

Apparently the song voted best cover version of all time went to Jimi Hendrix version of Bob Dylans' All Along The Watch Tower.

Some of my faves are:

Joe Cocker - With a little Help From My Friends

Kirsty MacCall - New England

Beautiful South - Everybody's talkin'

Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses

The Clash - I Fought The Law

Sid Vicious - My Way

Siousxie & The Banshees - Dear Prudence

Eva Cassidy - Over The Rainbow

Duran Duran - Perfect Day

Johny Cash brilliant cover of Motor heads Ace of Spades, yeah honest.
Roxy Music covered John Lennon's Jelouse Guy. Superbe.

Got really irritated by Marty Pellow's rendition of Beatles song Yesterday. Heard on the radio when it was in the charts dj refering to ''the genius of marty pellow''. Beg pardon someone called Paul McCartney wrote that little ditty. Sung it a lot better to. That song is so synominous (is that how you spell it?) with McCartney & the Beatles it makes me cring when some one else covers it.

Resurrecting this thread due to hearing Crazy little thing called love by McFly this morning (Was this perhaps worse than covering Pinball Wizard)

I love the live lounge covers on Jo Whiley's show... liked Lilly Allen covering the Kook's Naive the other week (after she called them Old Men) Liked Arctic Monkey's version of Girls Aloud's Love Machine.

I agree with New England Kirsty MacColl(Billy Bragg) and It must be love Madness (Labi Siffre) Dear Prudence Siouxie and the Banshees (Beatles)

Some others - I tend to like both versions of these.
Sinead O Connor Nothing Compares 2U (Prince)
They don't know Tracey Ullman (Kirsty MacColl)
Placebo Where is my mind? (Pixies)
Tin Tin Out Here's where the Story ends (The Sundays)

Some that were not released but turned up as B sides or on tv shows... again i like both in most cases.

Travis Baby one more time (Britney Spears)
Nerina Pallot Confide in me (Kylie Minogue)
Natalie Imbruglia Pineapple Head (Crowded House)
Kelly Jones Revolution/I'm only sleeping (Beatles)
Kelly Jones First time ever I saw your face(Roberta Flack)
Kelly Jones Nothing compares 2 U (Prince)
Kelly Jones Sunny Afternoon (Kinks)
Ok I'll shut up about the Stereophonics now...
Oasis Carnation/To be someone (The Jam)


Sure i will need to add some more as time progresses.

So what cover versions do you like?

Much as I like Kirsty MacColl's version of 'A New England', Billy Bragg's is better. I agree with Elvis Costello's cover of 'Good Year for the Roses'; it's an excellent song.

Radiohead covered Elvis Costello's 'I'll Wear it Proudly', which has promise, despite Thom Yorke forgetting the first few words.

Other superb covers:

Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley (and also Rufus Wainwright).
Wonderwall - Ryan Adams.
The Other End of the Telescope - Til Tuesday.
Piano Man - Tori Amos.

Meatloaf did Boyzone's "No Matter What" on an album a couple of years ago, and usually Meatloaf is tops, but his version of No Matter What sucked balls IMO.

He also ruined the old School assembly classic "Morning has broken" on the same album!

Meatloaf did Boyzone's "No Matter What" on an album a couple of years ago, and usually Meatloaf is tops, but his version of No Matter What sucked balls IMO.

He also ruined the old School assembly classic "Morning has broken" on the same album!
i totally agree with you on this:thumbsup:

Bad cover - McFly - Dont Stop Me Now. In a way its good cos its for Sport Relief but personally I think no-one can cover Queen songs without making a mess of them.

Freddie Mercury was one of a kind

Bad cover - McFly - Dont Stop Me Now. In a way its good cos its for Sport Relief but personally I think no-one can cover Queen songs without making a mess of them.

Freddie Mercury was one of a kind

Agreed... Whoever allowed McFly to kill that song needs shooting IMHO :rant:

As for good covers, AllSTARS' cover of Bucks Fizz's "Land of make believe" wasn't TOO bad IMO.

Agreed... Whoever allowed McFly to kill that song needs shooting IMHO :rant:

As for good covers, AllSTARS' cover of Bucks Fizz's "Land of make believe" wasn't TOO bad IMO.


Get in the queue...lol :D

As anyone heard of an artist called "The King".
He has a couple of albums out, full of cover versions all sang in the style of........Elvis P.

Some of the more memorable include" A whole lotta Rosie", "Blockbuster", and "Love will tear us apart".

Top Stuff>:thumbsup:
yes ive got an album by him great stuff

Good covers:

Tower of Song by Jesus & Mary Chain
Whole Lotta Love by Temple City Kazoo Orchestra
Satisfaction by Devo

Bad cover:

A version of Big Yellow Taxi I heard on the radio - only slightly different from the original, which makes it both pointless and hard to listen to. IMO a good cover has to do something new, like the way in which a good dub wittily deconstructs the original.

elvis did a fair amount of cover songs as did jerry lee lewis

Whilst on this thread, As much as I hate Westlife. I bought my mother the "Allow us to be Frank" and despite my despise towards pop bands covering geniune original unparalleled musical genius, I thought they did a decent job :thumbsup: