Best Cover Version?

Anything Stevie Ray Vaughan covered is bound to be great. His version of Hendrix “3rd Stone From the Sun” on the El Mocombo DVD is amazing.

Frente’s version of Bizarre Love Triangle (which I seem to hear at least once a week on the radio here in Taiwan - and I don’t listen to radio at home).

Nick Cave “Black Betty” - it’s hard to top the Leadbelly original, but Nick does a pretty good job.

Weezer “Hit Me One More Time” - at least I think that’s what it’s called - the big Britney Spears song that made her famous.

Any of the covers on Nirvana"s Unplugged CD.

Tori Amos “Smells Like Teen Spirit” - just piano and vocal.

Hendrix doing the Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” - I actually read once that Clapton saw Hendrix for the first time, and got inspired to write a song. So he wrote “sunshine…”. Hendrix then saw the Cream perform “sunshine” and was blown away, so he decided to do a cover. Don’t know if that’s true or not.

Joe Satriani - “Flight of the Bumblebee”.

Velvet Revolver “Money” - a good version of the Pink Floyd song, and “It’s So Easy” by Guns n Roses (although is it really a cover if most of the band are ex-GNR?).

A whole new universe just opened up to me . . .

I’m a sixties child and my old man had the best reel to reel on the block and probably further beyond. He was a Cash fan back then and I learnt to thread those tapes . . . but fark me! I just heard Johnny Cash do Nine Inch Nails Hurt! And then . . . One by U2. I’m back into Cash land . . . and thinking of seeing that movie. After a thirty year hiatus, the man in black is back. Sweet.

HG

Edit: Sorry cfimages, I’ll look at your suggestions, which do look good indeed, just let me spend some time in Cash land . . oh, I’ve warped over to the Carter family . . . back soon, hopefully.

My cover version of ‘It takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry,’ by THE MAN (love you flicka) always goes down a storm! Well, my shower seems to appreciate it.

Was reading the beginning of a Cash bio at a friend’s house in Munich and discovered why he was so brilliant – he (well, his family) originally came from a place called Strathmiglo in Fife, Scotland – about 10 miles from where I was brought up. It all made sense to me after that.
Serendipity, Ms Ratchett – I’ve got The San Quentin concert and American Recordings on rotation in the car. Great stuff. Drive on, it don’t mean nothin’…

Serendipity indeed!

It all makes sense . . . I’m returning soon to Taiwan but it has to coinciide with a Muddy arse ramblers. You could call it unfinished business.

I’m doing Cash, Carter family and Baez just now . . my skin’s crawled off and hid in the corner. I’ll shower soon and I’m sure it’ll come back.

Cheers!!

HG

Black Magic Woman by British bues man Peter Green, originally performed by him when he fronted Fleetwood Mac, but brilliantly covered by Mr. Santana. :bravo:

As an 80’s child, I distictly remember “Word Up” by Gun. It’s lovely to see a crappy dance tune converted into a nice punchy rock number. Usually, it’s the talentless techno, R+B and dance idiots that completely ruin a decent song.

Ditto Alien Ant Farm rocking ‘smooth criminal’ to a new level.

What band was that wee Jimmy Sommerville guy in again? The Cosomonauts or something? They did a version of “Don’t Leave me this Way” that I used to really like.

The Communards

He was in Bronski Beat before that.

Arthur Brown’s cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ [i]I Put A Spell On You[/i]…

allfear.f9.co.uk/arthur/iput … exeter.mp3

arthurbrownmusic.com/
godofhellfire.co.uk/
salon.com/people/obit/2000/02/18/hawkins/

[quote]Quote:
Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Dylan’s all along the watchtower

TomHill wrote:
Oh yes, that were the daddy!

[/quote]

And then there is Dave Mason’s version as well !

Raced out and bought Johnny Cash Americam IV today. Ooohhh!!

The film clip for his cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, Hurt is awesome. Meloncholic but strangely uplifting too. What a man.

You can watch listen and download it here.

Thanks for the tip Sandman.

HG

Currently reading:
whoops! this was supposed to go in the current reading list…doh!

Wrong thread canucktyuktuk. But thanks. :laughing:

CS, indeed a goodly cover.

HG

The Vanilla Fudge’s cover of [i]Shotgun[/i] by Junior Walker and the All-Stars.

I know this thread has been cold for a while, but BBC 6 Music (my regular online radio station - great listen) have just had a listener vote for the best cover versions. They did a top forty, plus a top ten worst covers of all time.

Cover Lovers

I love a good cover version and several of my favourites are in that list - Johnny Cash doing Hurt, Elbow’s superb northern pub band version of Independent Woman by Destiny’s Child and Cake’s I Will Survive. One version I like that didn’t make the list was Mark Ronson’s version of Britney Spears’ Toxic - great sense of humour. Go to his myspace page and click on Toxic (right hand side) to hear it.

Completely justified was the appearance at number one on the worst covers list of Madonna, with her dire, dire take on American Pie. Talentless, soulless hack. :rant:

The full programme featuring the top 40 countdown is available to listen to at the Cover Lovers link above - it’s three hours long, but a rewarding listen.

black betty by Spiderbait is pretty good. the song is WAAAY old, like 100 plus. they make it rock, a lot.

goldfrapp’s cover of Olivia NewtonJohn’ Physical

primus version of FunkyTown. (lipsInc original??)

Minor Threat covering “Steppin’ Stone” on the In My Eyes EP.

Here’s a live snippet from the Buff Hall show in Camden in '82.
Definitely Ian at the top of his game.
Ah the salad days…

The Stones doing “Carol” by Berry (live is good)
Guns doing “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”