the Greatest Covers of all time

[carcharias]

Rex you are so right my mistake !
and yes a great song with two chords only .

thanks for the PM by the way.
I thought I might know you.


Shivers
Written by: Rowland S. Howard
Officially released on: single and Door, Door
Other released version: The cover by The Witches from Israel includes Nick singing in the background.
Live performance history: Played by the Boys Next Door from late 78 to late 79. A version with Rowland sining and Nick on guitar circulates. Shivers may have been played on the Bad Seeds' April 1995 tour of Greece/Israel. Nick performed the song with The Dirty Three two times in 1995.
Video clip: Paul Goldman
Other artists' versions: The original version was of course recorded by Rowland Howard's Young Charlatans in 1978. Rowland has also played it live in solo concerts in recent years. Other cover versions include The Screaming Jets, Marie Hoy and Friends, Big Band Combo, Love Position and Spurs For Jesus.
Comments: The song appears in the film Dogs In Space.

 

[Red Bear]

Reel Big Fish - Take On Me...goes like a zyertec.

Great version (way better than all the boring boy band versions!). I also like their version of "Come on Eileen" but it isn't as good as the original.

Speaking of the Fugees, I'm surprised nobody has selected "Killing Me Softly".

Agree, Take On Me is awesome

 

[PARRA_FAN]

The Screaming Jets version is heaps good, in fact better than the original.

 

[L.P.P]

Jeff Buckley HALLELUJAH - (Lenord Cohen)
Ryan adams - Wonderwall (Oasis)
Travis - Hit me baby one more time (Britney Spears)
Bodyjar - Hazy shade of winter (to many to name)
Living End - Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Nirvana - Man who sold the World (David Bowie)
Lemonheads - Mrs Robison (Bob Dylan)
Reel Big Fish - Take on me (A-HA)

 

[carcharias]

Bodyjar - Hazy shade of winter (to many to name)
Lemonheads - Mrs Robison (Bob Dylan)

Both written by Paul Simon from the album " Bookends" from Simon and Garfunkel.

Both covers are better than the originals I reckon.


Warren Zevon and the Hindu love gods - Rasberry Beret - ( prince)

 

[LESStar58]

i thought madonna's american pie was good, and quite catchy

WHAT THE F UCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

 

[LESStar58]

The Living End- Tainted Love (soft cell), girls on film (duran duran) rip it up (little richard), I get A Kick Out of You (Cole Porter), Baby, I'm a Want You (Bread) I've just seen a face (the beatles), sunday bloody sunday (U2)

the black keys- she said, she said (the beatles) & no fun (iggy and the stooges)

social distortion- under my thumb and backstreet girl (both by the rolling stones)

 

[PARRA_FAN]

i thought madonna's american pie was good, and quite catchy

WHAT THE F UCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?

She ruined a very good song, #-o a song that ends parties and its good when we're all p1ssed singing it, surely you cant play Maddona's version after a party.

What's she gonna do next Khe Sahn?

The thought of it makes me wanna :-&

 

[dimitri]

madonna brought that song into the modern era

she turned it into a song which could be played anywhere

not just parties where everyone is smashed off their nut

 

[incredible_holc]

bringing up an old thread

has anyone heard soundgardern - come togethe (beatles) very good imo, one of the best covers ive heard

 

[elyod138]

Danzig - Trouble (elvis cover) pretty good cover, havent heard the original but the cover is a top song

 

[Manurewa_Marlins]

Fugees - Killing Me Softly (Roberta Black)
Bone Thugs - Cleveland Rocks (???????)
Wutang Clan - Sukka Emcees (Run DMC)
Run DMC - Walk This Way (Aerosmith)
Puff Daddy - Missin You (????????)

 

[supersaint]

Best covers of all time are Roxy Music's cover or John Lennons Jealous Guy
and also Guns N Roses cover of Live and Let Die.

 

[Once Dead]

Viking - HELL IS FOR CHILDREN (Pat Benatar) - cult thrash band from the 90s do a killer job on this track!

 

[Munky]

Hurt - Johnny Cash, cover of the Nine Inch Nails song.

You Really Got Me - Van Halen, cover of the Kinks

 

[Alex28]

A few of these have already been mentioned...but any way...

Hurt - Johnny Cash (most amazing cover ever)
Sea of Love - Cat Power
Crazy Mary - Pearl Jam
...Baby One More Time - Travis
Since U Been Gone - Ted Leo & The Pharmacists
Toxic - Local H
Teenage Licks - Snow Patrol
Love Will Tear Us Apart - Squarepusher
Seven Nation Army - Flaming Lips
The Golden Age - Flaming Lips
Army of Me - Helmet
Stuck in the Metal (Middle) - Eagles of Death Metal
Masters of War - Pearl jam
Indifference - Ben Harper (and Ed Vedder - they play it on JJJ every so often...)

 

[strewth_mate]

In terms of horrendous covers, Cosima did a number on 'When the War is Over'... almost had me throwing up violently on the nearest preniers...

I liked, amongst others mostly mentioned elsewhere:
No Surprises - Luka Bloom (Radiohead)
Superstar - Sonic Youth (The Carpenters)
Under the Milky Way - Jimmy Little (The Church)
Billie Jean - Neil Finn (Michael Jackson)
Bouree - Jethro Tull (Bach)
Dear Prudence - Doug Parkinson (The Beatles)
Dizzy - Vic Reeves (Tommy Roe)
Easy - Faith No More (Lionel Richie)
With a Little Help from my Friends - Joe Cocker (The Beatles)
Yellow Submarine - Leningrad Cowboys (The Beatles)

Not particularly noteworthy but it's opinion hey...
I spose worth a mention in some way are live versions by a band of their own songs that are reinvented and better as a result (Nirvana, The Pretenders), and things like Weird Al Yankovic and Richard Cheese sometimes are better than the original they are parodying.

 

[Slappy]

Down in the Park -- Foo Fighters

Who sang the original? Was it Gary Numan?

Yep it was him.

 

[Slappy]

Jeff Buckley HALLELUJAH - (Lenord Cohen)
Ryan adams - Wonderwall (Oasis)
Travis - Hit me baby one more time (Britney Spears)
Bodyjar - Hazy shade of winter (to many to name)
Living End - Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Nirvana - Man who sold the World (David Bowie)
Lemonheads - Mrs Robison (Bob Dylan)
Reel Big Fish - Take on me (A-HA)

Tainted Love was originally recorded by Gloria Jones. The song is appropriately named cos' it licks taint, which in fact is what Marc Almond did for a living before forming Soft Cell.

 

[Slappy]

RATM - Renegades of funk
Faith No More - War pigs
Roxy Music - Jealous Guy
Guns n' Roses - Sympathy for the devil (Stones version sucks)
Hendrix - All along the watchtower
TOOL - No Quarter
Siouxsie & the Banshees - Dear Prudence
Siouxsie & the Banshees - The Passenger (Iggy Pop)
Dandy Warhols - Hells Bells (ACDC)
Campervan Beethoven - Pictures of matchstick men
Offspring - Smash it up (the Damned)
DEVO - Head like a hole (as good as NIN)
Tricky - Black Steel (loosely covers Public Enemy)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Heard it through the grapevine (Marvin Gaye?)
The Fall - Victoria (the kinks)
Ministry - Lay Lady Lay (Bob Dylan)
Butthole Surfers - Hurdy Gurdy Man (Donovan)
The Bangles - Hazy shade of winter (Simon & Garfunkel)

The greatest failed cover in my opinion is Rage Against the Machine's cover of DEVO's Beautiful World. Could've been great but they really f**ked it up.