cover songs, love em or hate em??

lycanbreed7 · #1 01-23-2010, 04:30 PM

Got this Idea from a conversation in another thread. Well known musicians or bands doing cover songs. Do they do them justice or butcher them?

what are some songs you think where done better by the cover?

what are some songs you think where butchered beyond belief?

Eland · #2 01-23-2010, 04:47 PM

what are some songs you think where done better by the cover?

U2's One by Johnny Cash

what are some songs you think where butchered beyond belief?

U2's One by Mary J. Blige

ggunn · #3 01-23-2010, 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed7

Got this Idea from a conversation in another thread. Well known musicians or bands doing cover songs. Do they do them justice or butcher them?

what are some songs you think where butchered beyond belief?

Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park" was butchered by Waylon Jennings.

pbass6811 · #4 01-23-2010, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed7

what are some songs you think where done better by the cover?

what are some songs you think where butchered beyond belief?

Good-Definitely not better, as the original was AMAZING, but this is THE cover that we all love-Higher Ground-by Stevie Wonder/Red Hot Chili Peppers

Bad-I think Chris Cornell is a rock god, but his cover of Billie Jean is AWFUL!

duff beer · #5 01-23-2010, 06:01 PM

G'n'R has butchered every single cover song they've done...badly.

MRDOOM · #6 01-23-2010, 06:08 PM

done better:
Use Somebody- paramore
This magic moment- The misfits
All Along the Watchtower- Jimi Hendrix

Butchered:
The KKK took my baby away-Marilyn Manson
(Im usually a Big MM fan, but that cover SUCKED)

JTE · #7 01-23-2010, 06:52 PM

To me, if the cover is like the original recording, then there's no point in doing the cover. Hence, covers that suck to me include whoever redid the Monkee's song "Now I'm A Beleiver" for the movie Shreck. Actually, it's a Neil Diamond song because he wrote it and The Monkees only made a record that happened to be a hit.

Same for Uncle Cracker (?) remake of "Drift Away"- other than the bass is dull and lifeless compared to Dobie Gray's version, it's the same record. Pointless drivel, totally pointless. Add in whoever redid "Last Kiss" (was that Pearl Jam), Mick Jagger's remake of Bill Withers' "Use Me", Travis Tritt's "Take It Easy" (even if he DID get The Egos back together to sing on it), etc. And the worst cover of all was Rare Earth's lame and utterly unfunky rendition of "Get Ready".

Other just awful things are the way Nazareth totally ruined "Love Hurts"- As Emmylou Harris said "Love hurts, but the song shouldn't". Almost all of the "Sgt. Pepper" soundtrack comes to mind as bad covers. The only two that worked at all were Earth, Wind, & Fire's approach to "Got To Get You Into My Life" and Aerosmith's "Come Together" (I can forgive Joey Kramer's heavy handed and almost grooveless drums).

GOOD covers bring something totally new to the song. So, everything I've heard Casandra Wilson do is great, especially covering the Robert Johnson material, and U2's "Love Is Blindness", Hank Williams "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry". Also Annie Lennox's (of the Eurythmics) entire cover album because they reinterpret the SONG and aren't slaves to the RECORD.

Robben Ford does a great job on reinterpreting things too. Check out his version of the Nina Simone song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" (also covered by The Animals who did a good job too).

John

stratovani · #8 01-24-2010, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ggunn

Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park" was butchered by Waylon Jennings.

"MacArthur Park" is a song that richly deserves to be butchered, but Thank God Celine Dion never got a hold of it! That would be audio terrorism! Could be used as a torture device!

Richland123 · #9 01-24-2010, 10:06 AM

Grand Funk Railroad's version of Some Kind Of Wonderful was done well and kept the original vibe of the song but rocked it out.

The original version of Some Kind Of Wonderful by Soul Brothers Six from 1967?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MouM59AbnE

The Fantastic Johnny C did a version in 1968, a year after the original by Soul Brothers Six and before the Grand Funk Railroad version in 1975.

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

Here is the Grand Funk Railroad version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7B5jXYRy3Q

xgator4u · #10 01-24-2010, 11:34 AM

Well this will turn into a pis*ing war between cover band bassists, and holier than thou original bassists. JUST like every thread of it's kind before it. IF the O.P. was not a newbee I would call troll...

lycanbreed7 · #11 01-24-2010, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

Well this will turn into a pis*ing war between cover band bassists, and holier than thou original bassists. JUST like every thread of it's kind before it. IF the O.P. was not a newbee I would call troll...

Seems like everybody is playing nice to me, and sure there is bound to be some disagreement but it doesn't need to be a peeing contest. Besides I think almost anybody would agree some songs have been hacked beyond belief. You could even like the artist that did the remake but agree they hacked the song. It could well go the other way also.

And just because a person asks a valid question, with some hope of maybe gaining some new knowledge does not mean they are trolling.

standupright · #12 01-24-2010, 02:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

Well this will turn into a pis*ing war between cover band bassists, and holier than thou original bassists. JUST like every thread of it's kind before it. IF the O.P. was not a newbee I would call troll...

Lazylion · #13 01-24-2010, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed7

what are some songs you think were done better by the cover?

Crossroads - Cream (another thread reminded me of this one)
Summertime Blues - The Who (will we hear it at the Super Bowl?)
Johnny B. Goode(live) - Peter Tosh from Complete Captured Live
any Bob Dylan song done by the Byrds (original lineup)
any cover by the Neville Brothers
any cover by Ray Charles
any cover by Jeff Beck
any cover by Danny Gatton
any cover by Dread Zeppelin - if you never heard them you are missing greatness!
Jaco's version of The Chicken
I Don't Need No Doctor - Humble Pie
Stairway To Heaven - Frank Zappa
many more...

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed

what are some songs you think were butchered beyond belief?

I don't like to dwell on the negative...
But if I must...

anything by Michael Bolton.

tycobb73 · #14 01-25-2010, 07:12 AM

Johnny Cash's Hurt is infinately better than the already pretty good Nine Inch Nails version.

foq1978 · #15 01-25-2010, 08:07 AM

Tim Buckley's Hallelujah is as good or better than Leonard Cohen's version.

As someone said, G'n'R are not so good with covers. I particularly don't like their Since I Don't Have You.

PJSShearer · #16 01-25-2010, 08:15 AM

Better/Best:

"Over the Rainbow" by Eva Cassidy - it makes me weep everytime I hear it.

Worst:

"Over the rainbow" by just about everyone else (I've backed a lot of lounge singers!!)

Lazylion · #17 01-25-2010, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PJSShearer

Better/Best: "Over the Rainbow" by Eva Cassidy - it makes me weep everytime I hear it.

+1 truly awesome!

T-Bird · #18 01-25-2010, 10:24 AM

Hi.

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

Well this will turn into a pis*ing war between cover band bassists, and holier than thou original bassists. JUST like every thread of it's kind before it.

Eh, did You read the question?

I doubt that any "well known musicians" that answer will lower themselves in a pissing contest.

I haven't been here long, but I think this is the first time it's been asked. At least I haven't noticed the thread(s).

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed7

Got this Idea from a conversation in another thread. Well known musicians or bands doing cover songs. Do they do them justice or butcher them?

what are some songs you think where done better by the cover?

The Usual by John Hiatt: Both the Dylan and George Thorogood versions are more to my liking.
The original ain't bad either.

Quote:

Originally Posted by lycanbreed7

what are some songs you think where butchered beyond belief?

There's a few rather recent covers of classic rock tunes that shall remain un-named. That's all.

Just my 0.02€
Sam

PaulMacCnj · #19 01-25-2010, 10:31 AM

Jerry Garcia played a great cover of Irving Berlin's "Russian Lullaby"; both the fast and slow versions.

Sahm · #20 01-25-2010, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgator4u

Well this will turn into a pis*ing war between cover band bassists, and holier than thou original bassists. JUST like every thread of it's kind before it. IF the O.P. was not a newbee I would call troll...

Yeah seriously, did you read the question? This is not cover bands vs. original bands.

As for me, Anthrax's version of Got the Time is way better than the original.

Whoever did that nu-metal version of that George Michael song, that stinks!

Also, Pearl Jam's, Where or Where Did My Baby Go? My wife is a huge Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder fan, but that always gets changed when it comes on the radio!