I always find listening to covers interesting because you have to balance keeping the song close enough to the original so it's recognizable and change it enough so it's your own.
That being said, what are your favourite covers and why?
Mine are:
Green Day - Working Class Hero (John Lennon cover)
I'm not ashamed to admit I hadn't heard the original until I heard this one. It sticks to Green Day's trademark sound while keeping true to the original. It also we seemlessly switches to the John Lennon version at the end.
Alter Bridge - Kashmir (Led Zepplin cover)
It's a shame they don't have a studio version but cover it live. Mark Tremonti excels at getting that heavy distorted guitar into a standard rock song and this is no exception. The shredding in the solo is a nice addition.
David Garrett - Smooth Criminal (Michael Jackson cover)
Distorted rhythm guitars with the vocal melody replaced by a violin. Nuff said
All of these are on YouTube if you're curious.
Lets hear your favs
"In what, twisted universe does mastering Eddie Van Halen's two handed arpeggio technique count as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?!" - Dr Gregory House
Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower is, IMHO, better than Bob Dylan's original.
Damon Johnson (from Brother Cane) does a very cool acoustic version of Working Man Blues (Haggard).
Chris Cornell's slowed down, bluesy version of Billie Jean is very cool.
Chris Cornell's slowed down, bluesy version of Billie Jean is very cool.
You got me curious so I gave it a listen. It's amazing. It reminds me of Shinedown -Simple Man which is coincidentally another cover!
"In what, twisted universe does mastering Eddie Van Halen's two handed arpeggio technique count as ABSOLUTELY NOTHING?!" - Dr Gregory House
Proud Mary - CCR
Twist and Shout - The Beatles
Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Gimme Some Lovin' - The Blues Brothers
Georgia on My Mind - Ray Charles
All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Hallelujah - Alexanda Burke No just kidding :lol: - Jeff Buckley
John Frusciante - How Deep Is Your Love
Thank You - Chris Cornell
I'm not saying I prefer any of these to the originals but I love the cover versions.
Ben Folds - B*tches ain't s*it - Originally by NWA (N***as with attitude)
together we stand, divided we fall..........
One of my all time faves: Born to Be Wild, by Stars of Stage and Screen. They turned an up-tempo, hard rock icon into a re-harmonized, down-tempo, stoner shoegaze anthem. You'll either love it to death or despise it forever.
Playing guitar and never playing for others is like studying medicine and never working in a clinic.
Baker Street-Foo Fighters
Almost blow the speakers when that one comes on the radio :lol:
All the covers I like to the point where I'd listen to them again (not necessarily in preference to the original, but covers I'd just listen to the original instead) have done something to make the song unique.
Rodrigo y Gabriela - Orion (they also do a good Wish You Were Here, but don't think there's an album version). Just one good Rodrigo y Gabriela of many, but Orion is the best of their covers I know.
Jeff Buckley - ... Lilac Wine (does Corpus Christi Carol count as a cover?). It's his voice that always gets the attention (rightly), but the pacing he gives to any of the standards he's done is really what draws me in.
Imelda May - Tainted Love. Rocks it up a bit, if that were possible.
Led Zeppelin - You Shook Me. Much has been said about which of their early blues numbers they attributed, or failed to attribute correctly. What gets missed in that debate is that when you compare to other people doing the same things around the time (I'm thinking of Jeff Beck, not untalented by any means), the Zeppelin material always seems fresher and more energetic.
Then there's an easy 'spot the link' list:
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man
The White Stripes - One More Cup of Coffee
One More Cup of coffee is probably the only one where I could say I outright prefer it to Dylan's version, but I like all of them because they adapt the song in a way that seems like a commentary on the original, and when you go back to the original you see it in a different light. I think that's possible with Dylan in a way it maybe isn't for other artists because of the sparsity of his songs (the early ones at least). The uneasiness that pervades All Along the Watchtower, the trippy, melodic, Mr Tambourine Man and the oppressive spaghetti western heaviness of One More Cup of Coffee all find their roots in the original.
Edit: And off-the-wall, Scott Walker - Jackie. (Because it works much better if you can understand the lyrics...)
Hot Smoke and Sassafras - Bubble Puppy
Mississippi Queen - Mountain
Time Machine - Grand Funk Railroad
Lord Have Mercy - Black Oak Arkansas
The Wild Bunch - Black Oak Arkansas
All Right Now - Free
I will survive - Cake
By the bye, I was watching the video right now and the bass player plays a Precision 51 with a humbucker (I never saw it before). It looks impressive.
Melissa Etheridge has done a few covers live, though I've never seen them released. They're were great in person.
Maggie May - complete with mandolin
Shook Me All Night Long - knockin' me out...
Born To Run - on TV from one of the post 9/11 tribute shows.
And if you like Bruce:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cXzFhZVMnQ
Joe Cocker's version of "I get by with a little help from my friends" is one of the all time-great covers for me....he turned an inconsequential pop song into a raw bluesy anthem. Strangely enough, it's been a #1 hit about 3/4 times over here - all the others are faitful almost note-for-note reproductions of the original.
Any Manfred Mann cover of a Dylan song....and there were quite a few, from "If You Gotta Go" in '65 to "Mighty Quinn" in '68, then the Earth Band's version of "You Angel You" in 1979. The Earth Band also did some great covers of Sprinsteen songs, particularly "Spirit In The Night" and "Blinded By The Light."
I'm a big Peter Green fan, and a big Carlos Santana fan....I think I just prefer Santana's version of "Black Magic Woman" to F. Mac's.
Rolf Harris's version of "Stairway To Heaven"....on second thoughts, no, even though it was slightly more interesting than the Far Corporation's version.
The Four Top's version of "Walk Away, Renee"....
Hendrix's version of " All Along The Watchtower".....not a huge Hendrix fan, but his version is so good Dylan plays it that way now, and has done for a long time!
The Byrd's versions of "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Turn Turn Turn".....
The Damned's cover of "Eloise" - I loved the original by Paul and barry Ryan, but the Damned's version was pretty (pun alert) damned good, too....
There are probably many more.....I'll get back to this one later!
:-) :-) :-)
Vic
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
All Right Now - Free
That's originally by Free isn't it?
On the other hand:
I'm a big Peter Green fan, and a big Carlos Santana fan....I think I just prefer Santana's version of "Black Magic Woman" to F. Mac's.
I've always considered myself a Fleetwood Mac fan and never even realised that was originally Peter Green.
Which got me thinking, is there anything else I like which I never realised was a cover? I'm not usually in the, "Isn't that originally by Sheryl Cole?" camp, but it turns out there's at least one:
Cecilia Ann - Pixies. (And I think I prefer it to the Surftones's version.) This is pretty handy: http://www.coversproject.com/
Oh I have a few... Ill go a bit farther and post vids if I can find them...
First time I heard the Arron English band play Kashmir/Norweegen wood... I was flat blown away!!!! A) who knew the two songs would fit together... and B) I LOVE the more rocking Norweagen wood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1e_0cF6whM
So last week I got a CD of Joe Bonamassa live acoustic. Great CD BTW... any way on it he did a cover of Seagull... first of all... the Bad Company "Seagull" is a great song.. realy GREAT song!!! and IMHO Paul Rodgers is one of the best rock singers EVER!!! that being said I realy enjoyed the Joe B cover of it. It has the same spirt, but adds a slightly diferent flavor to it. I realy enjoyed it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2p1NzLICx7o
Another is Chris Whitleys Perfect day. He took the Lou reed song, and brings it to a new level of melancholy... I love it!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mznsTiVA8Lo
and last for now... OK, one of my top five Blues standards is Key to the highway. Well there are hundreds of remakes of that song out there... MANY hundreds!!! That being said... I just LOVE the feeling and phrasing of the Little Walter cover of it!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3guFiuBPCHk
Many more... those are the first I could think of.
Paul B
