Official Remake Song better than Original Thread

MadScientistMatt wrote: The song sounds a lot less whiny when the guy singing it knows he's not got that much longer to live

probably true about any words a person speaks

"With a little help from my friends" Joe Cocker > Beatles (in this case)

I like Devo and all, but their cover of "Satisfaction" just doesn't do it for me.

Disturbed's cover of "Land of Confusion" isn't different enough to justify it being better... it just has a little more distortion and that percussive coughing-up-phlegm sound the lead singer does.

Limp Bizkit's cover of Faith is horrible. Give me 10,000 George Michaels before a single Fred Durst. Though along those lines, when I saw the Aquabats, they covered "Careless Whisper", and it was berkeying EPIC.

Metallica's cover of "Turn the Page" is decent... but Bob Seger's version sounds much more honest.

I've never met a Bob Dylan song I didn't like the cover of better. Of particular note is "One More Cup of Coffee for the Road" as done by the White Stripes.

For the obscure stuff, Jimi's "Hey Joe" is a cover, though I couldn't tell you who did the original..

I like my punk covers, but I'm not sure that I'd say any were "better" than the original songs, just more listenable.

For the absolute best cover, though, I'd have to go with Hurra Torpedo covering "Total Eclipse of the Heart": Youtube - Hurra Torpedo

4 Pumpkin Escobar's of fury wrote:

alex wrote: "All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi > Dylan

"All Along The Watchtower" - Dave Mathews Band > Jimi > Dylan I know, I know...blasphemy

Dave Mason (co-founder of Traffic) does a better version than Mathews. And Mason played acoustic guitar on Jimi's studio recording.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=01Bd2W2XAo0&feature=related

MadScientistMatt wrote:

MrJoshua wrote: Apparently in GRM world: sympathy for Jonny Cash's drug addicted lifestyle > sympathy for Trent Reznor's drug addicted lifestyle.

Why, yes. The song sounds a lot less whiny when the guy singing it knows he's not got that much longer to live, versus being still young and having more time to make up for your mistakes.

The young one sounds like a guy in the midst of addiction realizing he is screwing up his and everyone else around hims life. The old guy has realized that 100 years ago and is just repeating the same pathetic behavior.

I like Cash a lot. I just don't think the singing of that song stands on its own merit. I think everyone loves it too much just because it sounds so much like his life.

I know-opinions are like shiny happy people

alex wrote: "All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi > Dylan

I know this will sound blasphemous, but I support the following classification:
"All Along The Watchtower" - Hedges > Jimi > Dylan

Solo acoustic FTW (especially at 1:48 in the above video)

I'll commit a similar blaspheme with this one:
"Hey Joe" - Jimmy Dawkins > Jimi

Javelin wrote: Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm > Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

+1

"You can keep your hat on - Joe Cocker > Randy Newman

Glad someone got the one that first popped into my head, Killswitch Engage's "Holy Diver" over Dio's, which kinda sucks. To hear KSE play that live is freaking mind-blowing.

"Surrender" Less than Jake > Cheap Trick

"Down in the Flood" Derek Trucks Band > Dylan

"Summertime Blues" The Who > Eddie Cochran

"The Maker" Dave Matthews Band > Daniel Lanois

"Mississippi Queen" Ozzy > Mountain (yea, look it up, it's berkeleying badass)

"The Ghost of Tom Joad" Rage > Springsteen

"Taxman" Nickel Creek > Beatles

"Spit on a Stranger" Nickel Creek > Pavement

"War Pigs" Cake > Ozzy (I like it, anyway)

And when the Zac Brown Band opened for DMB this summer, they played "Killin' In the Name Of." Just sayin'.

Baby got Back.. Throwdown> Sir Mix a lot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4VDy2JcY9w

Forgot one, "Superstition" SRV > Stevie Wonder.

JoeyM wrote:

Javelin wrote: Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm > Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

+1

+2

Hayseed Dixie > Anyone they cover.

Trans_Maro wrote: Voodoo Chile - SRV > Jimi. Enter Sandman - Motorhead > Metallica ... Forgot one, "Superstition" SRV > Stevie Wonder.

Yeah, those. Aside from those and the Johnny Cash "Hurt" cover, I don't really like cover songs. I used to like Metallica's Breadfan...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z6cVUOhLDw&fmt=18

...until I realized it was a cover of a band called Budgie, which was a lesser-known contemporary of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg&fmt=18

I know, contrary to the thread title, but Budgie rules!

In reply to David S. Wallens:

I agree, but check out Joe's effort (a lot of people don't even know Joe did the original):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlaAG2XmKUo

ReverendDexter wrote: For the obscure stuff, Jimi's "Hey Joe" is a cover, though I couldn't tell you who did the original..

I don't know the original either, but I do like Robert Plant's cover of it:

Plant's Hey Joe

I did find a page with some Hey Joe history

Hey Joe page

Then for something different, there's Stewie Griffin's cover of Rocket Man:

Stewie's Rocket Man

Which was a tribute to Shatner's cover

Shatner's Rocket Man

In reply to RexSeven:

Budgie was/is a pretty obscure band, but good.

And Roger Dean did some of his work for their album covers, but that's a different kind of cover..........

Trans_Maro wrote: Hayseed Dixie > Anyone they cover.

+1

Sabbath BLoody Sabbath: Anthrax > Black Sabbath

War Pigs: Faith No More > Black Sabbath

and I'm a big Black Sabbath fan

my wife says

Sexual Healing: Soul Asylum > Marvin Gaye

but I disagree

and from before they were Bob Costas:

A Million Miles Away: Goo Goo Dolls > Plimsouls

The Beach Boys did a good job with "California Dreamin'" as an 'original' track on one of their greatest hits compilations, thinking somewhere around 1988. Pretty faithful to the Mamas & the Papas but that's not a bad thing.

And it might be blasphemy but White Lion kicked much ass doing "Radar Love" in the height of the hair metal era. I still crank that up to 11 when it shows up on my MP3 player.

Oh man, I forgot one of my all time favorite covers:
"Sea Of Love" - Tom Waits > Phil Philips
x a bajillion

Claff wrote: The Beach Boys did a good job with "California Dreamin'"

Especially funny is that a lot of people think the Beach Boys were the original.

Ah, one of the more recognizable ones that I remembered, since it was in a car ad:

Heartbeats Jose Gonzolez > The Knife http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4_4abCWw-w vs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ow0bA4H3BQ

The tone brings me back to the late 80s.

Dear Prudence Siouxsie > Beatles