OT (Music Notes): Greatest Covers Ever

Cover, n., also cover version, a recording of a song by a singer, instrumentalist, or group other than the original performer or composer.

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Here's what serves as a Christmas Card from TOP this year. As usual, we'll be off for the next several days—see you back here on the 27th or so. To tide you over, here's my take on ten great cover songs.

1. Jimi Hendrix, "All Along the Watchtower." Written and first performed by Bob Dylan. Dylan has always been covered extensively (as a joke, I once put together a mixed CD of the entirety of "Blood on the Tracks," all in cover versions)—but never more effectively than here. Hendrix boldly transforms the original, making it violent, caustic, and dark—and, oddly perhaps, more tuneful than Dylan's flatter, plainer, folkier version. As with all the songs on this list, the cover definitely takes on a life of its own, eclipsing and surpassing the original.

2. John Coltrane, "My Favorite Things." A show tune written in 1959 by Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein for their musical The Sound of Music, it was first performed by Mary Martin on Broadway, although most people nowadays are more familiar with Julie Andrews' version from the movie. Early on, it received this towering cover by the then-35-year-old Coltrane during his transition from bebop to free jazz. The scintillating soprano sax of this thirteen-minute-plus jazz opus, delicate yet dazzling, captivated audiences from the start, and the album of the same name, then and now, is one of Coltrane's most popular.

3. Billie Holiday, "Strange Fruit." A great if deeply disturbing song and one to which the sweetly mournful, ever-blue chanteuse was always fiercely loyal, making various sacrifices throughout her career on its behalf. It was written by a Jewish schoolteacher and prolific songwriter named Abel Meeropol (writing as Lewis Allan), who with his wife later adopted the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg after their executions. It was originally published as a poem. There's been lingering confusion over the claim in Holiday's autobiography that she helped write the music, but the autobiography was ghostwritten (when asked about it, Billie said "I ain't never read that book"), and the song had already gained notoriety around New York City when she first recorded it in 1939. To get us briefly back on topic, the song was most probably inspired by a photograph, taken by Lawrence Beitler.

4. The Beatles (John Lennon), "Twist and Shout." First recorded by an obscure band called the Top Notes, Bert Berns' song had already been covered, and charted, by the Isley Brothers (guided by Berns, who didn't care for what the Top Notes had done to it) when it appeared on the Beatles' First album, Please Please Me. Covered innumerable times since, and made into a concert staple by the Who (not to mention being lip-synched and danced to by a cast of hundreds in the comedy classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off), no one's ever matched the wholehearted ebullience of Lennon's superb rock and roll vocal—done in a single take when he had a bad cold, no less. Lennon said later it took his voice weeks to recover.

John Coltrane at about the time he recorded "My Favorite Things"
fifty years or so ago. (That's no soprano sax, though.)

5. Frank Sinatra, "New York, New York." The closer you live to New York City, the more you will have heard this one. It was written by John Kander (music) and Fred Ebb (lyrics), and first performed for the 1977 Martin Scorcese film of the same name by Liza Minelli. Sinatra performed it a year later and recorded it a year after that, and, well, owned it—and has owned it ever since. A bit of trivia: The Yankees used to play Sinatra's version after a win and Minelli's after a loss, until Minelli issued the team an ultimatum: they had to play her recording after wins sometimes, too, or she wouldn't allow them to play it at all. As a consequence, the Yankees now use Sinatra's version exclusively, win or lose.

6. Johnny Cash, "Hurt," the Nine Inch Nails song written by Trent Reznor. A stripped, emotionally raw intergenerational swan song recorded by the artistically courageous country veteran only shortly before his death. This was the unlikeliest of covers; it's not only that nobody (including Reznor) expected it to work, it's that nobody expected it at all. The original doesn't seem like a song that's begging for a cover by any means. But Cash's radically different perspective on the song and his simple declamatory delivery of the lyrics transforms its meaning and makes it into an elegy of the heart's longing, reminding us all too poignantly that death is a deep loss for the departed as well. The video is especially touching.

7. Sinéad O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U." Some songs seem written just to await their cosmically designated cover artist. The original, written by the prolific artist known at that time as Prince for a now-obscure band he produced called The Family, never made much of a splash. But in the hands of the mercurial, conflicted, and talented Irish singer it became an international sensation at the end of the '80s, vaulting to Number One in multiple countries across the world. (I have to be honest and admit that along with the rest of the world, I was, um, influenced by that incredible music video—they were a big thing at the time. She really sells the emotions, and Sinéad was one good-looking human being 21 years and four kids ago. A must-see if you never have. Song needs a better ending, though.)

8. Stevie Ray Vaughan, "Little Wing." First recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience on Axis: Bold as Love. Normally I'm not much on flashy white blues guitarists, especially since Jimi gave them all the idea that they don't need vocalists even though they can't sing themselves (appropriate in Jimi's case, but a really woeful concept when it came to, say, Roy Buchanan). But good art convinces, and Stevie Ray's incredible version of "Little Wing" from his posthumous 1991 album The Sky is Crying is like a Beethoven piano sonata of the electric guitar. You can hear the tube amp humming away as Vaughan sweeps us all along on the virtuoso electric guitar performance to end all virtuoso electric guitar performances.

9. Janis Joplin, "Me and Bobby McGee," written and first performed by Kris Kristofferson. Greatest of the white rhythm-and-blues singers, the doomed and tragic Joplin was not much of an original writer but could sing to virtually any mood. She seemed to inhabit the songs she sang. In Kristofferson's beautiful road anthem she seems both optimistic and resigned, satisfied and regretful. Sad Janis left too little behind, once she'd flamed out on her own last trip.

Johnny Cash, from the "Hurt" video.

10. Tricky, "Black Steel." Sometimes things that just shouldn't work, do—like this '90s English trip-hop cover of Public Enemy's rap "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos." Tricky (Adrian Thaws) made his inexperienced girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird virtually improvise her singing cold. Mid-song, she surreally intones, "I am a black man and I could never be a veteran." Ohhh-kay. Co-producer Mark Saunders said the floor of the studio was littered with vinyl to sample; it took the irate label (Island) months to identify all the sources and clear all the rights.  "Black Steel" should be played to the point of distortion in the car on a city commute to fully bond with the hallucinatory vocals floating atop the crashing, chaotic beat.

•     •     •

And as an honorable mention, an instant comedy classic: Jimmy Fallon, doing his impersonation of Neil Young, joined onstage mid-song to dramatic effect by the Boss, cover the teenybopper hit "Whip My Hair," which (I had to go look this up) is a highly produced bubblegum-hop video by Will Smith and Jada Pinkett's 10-year-old child Willow. When grizzled old Springsteen in the fake beard growls "whip your hair" in the call-and-respond break, I thought I was gonna lose it. Very funny.

Your turn....

Mike

ADDENDUM: I probably shouldn't have written this today. Ever since I finished I've been listening to more covers, checking out comments' suggestions, thinking of things I didn't think of when I was coming up with the list.

Here's one you really should check out: M. Ward's cover of Daniel Johnston's "The Story of an Artist" from The Late Great Daniel Johnston / Discovered Covered, a compilation of Daniel Johnston covers by various currently well known groups and individual artists. I couldn't find it on iTunes, but it's on eMusic. You probably need to know about the severely mentally ill singer/songwriter (who, again, is no relation, except possibly ancestrally) to fully appreciate the cover, but if you don't know about him you'll be fascinated finding out. The documentary film The Devil and Daniel Johnston is on iTunes—and from Netflix, but not "on demand" (i.e., streaming). But, man, if there was ever a theme song for the lives of most artists, this is it.

Special mention, too, to a performance Oren Grad turned me on to a few years ago, and that I've mentioned before on the site—the a cappella group Transit doing a not quite a cappella rendition of Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" (arranged by Joseph Bates). It's on iTunes, but it's hard to find—it only appears on an a cappella compilation called "Sing Three: Mélange à Trois." I've since learned that "Hide and Seek" is something of a holy grail for a cappella groups, and for good reason—it seems like it was tailor-made for them. If you haven't heard Transit's performance already, seek it out.

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Featured Comment by Jez: "Nice list, and as a bit of a cover-song afficionado, allow me to add my top ten...

1) Otis Redding, Satisfaction. According to them, the version the Stones do live these days is, basically, a cover of the Otis version.

2) Wild Billy Childish And The Buff Medways, Fire. Curmudgeonly old Brit garage-punks tear through the Hendrix classic.

3) The Ramones, I Don't Wanna Grow Up. Not many people realise this is a Tom Waits tune.

4) Tom Waits, The Return Of Jackie And Judy. Where Tom Waits returns the favour and covers The Ramones.

5) The Dirtbombs, No Expectations. For the uninitiated, The Dirtbombs do covers. A lot. Like a whole album—Ultraglide In Black—of rockin' soul covers. But this one—a Stones cover—mixes it up a bit with Sympathy For The Devil's 'woo-woos' and Hey Jude's 'nananananas' added at the end. Shouldn't work, but does.

6) Thane Russal & Three, Security. Obscure '60s uptempo mod version of an Otis Redding track.

7) The 101'ers, Gloria. Joe Strummer's pre-Clash outfit give the Them song the live once-over.

8) Johnny Cash & Joe Strummer, Redemption Song. They've both covered this separately as well as a duo. This version can bring a tear if the time is right. RIP, Johnny and Joe.

9) Solomon Burke, Diamond In Your Mind. Another Tom Waits cover that the late, great Burke makes his own.

10) Merry Clayton, Gimme Shelter. Clayton did the backing vox on the original and quite possibly gives it more on her own version.

Featured Comment by Mani Sitaraman: "I used to strongly feel that Siouxsie and the Banshees' cover of the Beatles' 'Dear Prudence' was sheer genius, but 25 odd years later I'm not so sure. The original holds up really well now.

"Many covers are unique and are easily 'co-equal' to the originals but few definitely surpass the originals. After all, their intrinsic superiority is why the originals do get covered.

"In that sense, Joe Cocker's many covers all measure up to the originals, but even his most famous covers, 'With a Little Help From My Friends' or Traffic's 'Feelin' Alright,' original interpretations and strong performances though they are, don't really eclipse Ringo's version or Dave Mason's—they stand side-by-side with the originals.

"I do think there is a limited parallel to celebrity portraiture here. The originals are the celebrities, and the covers are the portraits, and in both photography and music the familiarity of the original boosts the impact of the portrait or cover so inextricably that it's really hard to judge the cover against the original.

"There are exceptions of course, IMHO, and Mike's list is a very well considered list compared to many of our humble suggestions. Sinéad O'Connor is phenomenal in her cover of Prince's 'Nothing Compare 2 U,' and the song stands on its own even if you have never heard the original.

"I don't think I feel the same way about the Rolling Stones' Chuck Berry covers (though their live versions on 'Get Yer Ya Ya's Out' are very good indeed). You still need the original somewhere in the back of your head to make them stand out."

Mike replies: I like your idea about good covers being "co-equal" to the originals...I have to say I've felt that way about some of the covers people have been mentioning in the comments and to me privately.

It's curious how our current conceptions of songs differ so radically from the early days of recording. I've just been reading about this in Elijah Wald's How the Beatles Destroyed Rock and Roll. He says that in the early days of records, recordings of songs weren't exclusive to one label or artist—a newly popular song might be recorded by several labels and several bands or singers at once. The structure of commerce at that point had been in the sale of sheet music, which people used in order to play the songs themselves, and this was still an important source of revenue. So the last thing record producers wanted to encourage was the idea that a particular recording or a particular singer was in any way distinctive—the important thing was the song, not the performance or the performers. The money was made when the sheet music was purchased. If people came to the store to buy a record of a newly popular song, and the store was out of one label's record, the customer would simply buy another label's record of the same song. They were considered interchangeable. It took a little while for the idea to take hold that one recording might be better than another—or that "art" rather than just documentary might be contained in the recording.

Comments

[Mike Plews]

I love cover albums. Willie Nelson's Stardust is a classic but sometimes they can backfire.
A few years ago there was a Patsy Cline tribute album. It had great performers and they turned in terrific recordings.
The problem is that I can't get much more than three cuts into the thing before I have to spool up the real deal.
It happens.

[Adam Maas]

Hurt is just about the best cover I've heard in years, and I'm a lover of good covers. Note that there are a LOT of covers in Cash's American albums, and all but Personal Jesus worked very well. His takes on 'Four Strong Winds' and 'I Hung My Head' (on American V and American IV respectively) are brilliant.

A few more to check out:

Aretha Franklin - 'Respect' - originally an Otis Redding song, something few realize

Tori Amos - 'Raining Blood' - It's a signature Slayer song turned into a haunting ballad

Joss Stone - Fell in Love With a Boy' - A gender-flipped and soul-infused cover of the catchy but annoying White Stripes song 'Fell in Love With a Girl'

Gun's 'n' Roses - Live and Let Die - Arguably better than the original as Axel simply sounds the part in a way McCartney never will.

Joan Osborne - 'Son of a Preacher Man' - A classic up with the Dusty Springfield version

Disturbed - 'Land of Confusion' - Another case where a louder, angrier version works better than the original.

Nightwish - 'Over the Hills and Far Away' - A somewhat cheesy Gary Moore song re-rendered as operatic metal.

Nine Inch Nails - 'Get Down, Make Love' - Dirty and grungy take on the Queen song

Hard to Handle - The Commitments - Most think of this as a Black Crowes song but it's not and IMHO the Commitments did it best.

The Corrs - Eevrybody Hurts - Brilliant take on the REM classic

The Headstones - 'Tweeter & The Monkey Man' - This semi-obscure Canadian band did a great take on a good song which wasn't all that well done in the original recording.

White Zombie - 'I'm Your Boogie Man' - Disco turned into Metal. Works surprisingly well and one of Zombie's best known tunes.

The Tea Party - 'Into My Arms' - tear-jerking live-only cover of the Nick Cave song

The Rolling Stones - 'Like a Rolling Stone' - Stripped down acoustic version of the Dylan song, done straight.

[Friedrich]

R.E.M.'s cover of First We Take Manhattan by Coen is, IMHO, much more driving and much less 80s-pop-ish.

It's relatively unknown since it was only released as a b side, so I can't find any youtube links. Here it is on iTunes preview, though, in the context of the EP it was on: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/drive-ep/id5131351

[robert e]

I'm glad someone mentioned Cake's cover of "I Will Survive".

I guess my picks are largely a product of my generation and the music I grew up with.

Is it fair to cite blues numbers? Among a few seminal covers on the sole Blues Breakers album with young Eric Clapton, the great cover of Freddy King's "Hideaway" stands out as harbinger of Clapton's later work with Cream. That road culminates in Cream's "Crossroads", which in my mind is not a great cover, and more of an obscuration, but is archetypal British blues.

In 1969, Del Shannon arranged a cover of "Baby It's You" for the band Smith, turning a nice Bacharach love song--originally performed by the Shirelles and also covered fairly straight by the Beatles--into a sexy rock number.

The Pretenders' cover of the Kinks' "Stop Your Sobbing", like all great covers, makes the original sound like a mere demo.

Among the many gems on Nirvana Unplugged is a wonderful--if fairly straight--acoustic cover of Bowie's "The Man Who Sold The World".

Shonen Knife's artful garage punk version of The Carpenters' "Top of the World" is a guilty pleasure.

The Bangles did a great job of polishing and updating Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter"--not an easy feat.

UB40 recorded the definitive version of Neil Diamond's "Red Red Wine", while Urge Overkill did the same for his "Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon".

I'm sure there's many more that are simply not coming to mind at the moment. Great topic, Mike. Happy Holidays!

[Steven House]

"Cover, n., ..." it'll take a while to get through a post for each meaning. I look forward to 'copulate' and also to its relation to cricket.

Seriously though could you throw some light on photographic album covers, perhaps separating those that are band portraits, from those that are not and those that were commissioned directly for the cover.

[Eamon Hickey]

I seem to like slowed down covers for some reason:

Luna doing Guns n' Rose's "Sweet Child O' Mine" -- very different from the original, quiet and lovely.

Mates of State doing Fleetwood Mac's "Second Hand News" -- again, slower than the original, with the beautiful harmonizing this couple is known for.

[Larry Wilkins]

To the Johnny Cash fans out there, have you heard Mingo Saldivar's Spanish-language version of Ring of FIre, "Rueda de fuego"? REcommended.

[Rp]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Cash's cover of "One" by U2. Better than "Hurt" IMO.

[Nacho]

Fantastic thread! Here are a few that I find just fantastic:

Calexico's rendition of "All the Pretty Horses" (Wow)

The Best Dylan cover album: "I Shall be Unreleased" (just awesomeness in every track -- no longer produced I think, but all the covers are just magnificent) -- check it out in Amazon.

Karrin Allyson: "Here, There, and Everywhere" (nice light vocal jazz version). Also "Say it, Over and Over Again" (in her CD Ballads: Remembering John Coltrane). Smoooooooth voice!

Rickie Lee Jones "Second Time Around" (glorious, awesome, gotta love that voice, This is such a nice simple version.)

Sinead O'Connor also sings a mean "The Foggy Dew" in the Chieftain's The Long Black Veil CD (a bit atmospheric, but the voicing I think is quite nice) (and by the way, she does a good job of Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered -- although not my favorite, I was pleasantly surprised by her skill with that classic)

Susana McCorkle did a great job with Waters of March (although for me Astrud Gilberto is the pre-eminent voice here)

Eva Cassidy did an awesome job with Time after Time (fabulous rendition -- my preferred version quite relaxing, sentimental)

Bruce Springsteen, "I Ain't got no Home" (beautifully done)

Cowboy Junkies (Blue Moon)

[PushProcessed]

Blue Cheer "Summertime Blues".
Nuff said.

[Kevin]

Great call on "Hurt".

My vote: "Sweet Jane" by Cowboy Junkies (originally by Lou Reed)

[John]

Fun topic; good list. Bound to be subjective. Commenting on the comments, I actually didn't know that "I don't want to grow up" was a Tom Waits tune but I have to agree concerning his "cover" of Judy is a Punk. Almost makes the Ramones sound tame.

[Brad]

A few of my favourites...

Johnny Cash - The Mercy Seat (Nick Cave)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8CzFVm1Yio

Billy Bragg & Lisa Miller - Reason to Believe (Tim Hardin)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QmplIdMtcc

The Clash - Police and Thieves (Lee Perry/Junior Murvin)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljjN3DSa9X0&feature=fvw

The Specials - A Message to You, Rudy (Dandy Livingstone)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGDQ85Dg-ss

Roy Orbison - The Comedians (Elvis Costello)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFjWIooPq0s

Joe Cocker - Never Tear us Apart (INXS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XeaO7D7jB1A

Dave Edmunds and Rockpile - Girls Talk (Elvis Costello)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fpW1thGues

Indigo Girls - Clampdown (The Clash)
Paul Kelly - Khe Sanh (Cold Chisel)

Couldn't find anything on You Tube for those last two. I'm sure to think of plenty of others as soon as I've posted this comment :-)

[Rp]

I have a nit to pick--to me, a cover is a new version of a song made *famous* by another artist. It isn't simply a new version of a song written by another artist. So songs like "nothing compares 2 u" or "because the night" on't really qualify.

[David H.]

I had soured on Johnny Cash after seeing the movie about him, but his version of Hurt---which I had missed---sorta reversed that. I have now listened to and watched it about a zillion times in the last 2 days.

[Jonathan]

Eamon mentioned Luna, which reminded me how much I like their cover of The Velvet Underground's Ride Into The Sun (which was also covered by Throwing Muses): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IH99Oeps-_U

And speaking of album covers, my vote goes to Anders Petersen's photograph used for Tom Waits' Rain Dogs.

[Louis McCullagh]

Its a very old cover but I always thought it was much much better than the original by the Everleys in fact its hard to imagine there version as being the same song.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soDZBW-1P04

[Louis McCullagh]

Mike
Is Springsteen a favourite? Do you like massive horn sections then Southside Johnny's cover of The Fever is something you ought to hear. You might never listen to Springsteen's version again .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aDLeWoxbms

[Marc]

Anita O'Day performing "Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Tea for Two" during the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agp2on83hrA

A truly stunning performance by Miss O'Day.

[erlik]

Oh, yes, Hurt. Absolutely brilliant.

I wouldn't agree about Little Wing, though. I think that this version by Derek and the Dominos functions much better as a song. That is, it doesn't sound like "mama, look what I can do with a guitar". But then, I've been off guitar gurus for a long time. :) Which is funny. For those who don't know, Derek and the Dominos was Eric Clapton and other people.

Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees might not be as good as the original, but their version of The Passenger is still better than Iggy Pop's.

Metallica. Yep. Turn the Page is terrific. But Garage Inc. has two more excellent covers. One is, of course, Whiskey in the Jar. (The video shot with a wide angle lens. :)) Sheer exuberance and power. Accidentally, the cover is of the Thin Lizzy version, not The Dubliners' one. And Loverman is simply better than Cave's original, for all they sound quite similar. Hetfield invests more feeling into the song, plus the band sounds more apocalyptic than Cave, more appropriately for the song.

And then, The Commitments and Try a Little Tenderness. Leaves Redding behind. And the singer, Andrew Strong, had 16 at the time.

Pity that Because the Night doesn't really satisfy the cover requirements. It would certainly be in Top 10.

[Darren Melrose]

The Sugarcubes did an incredible job of Motorcycle Mama, a song originally done by the Sailcats (or so google says, I haven't heard it) on the Rubaiyat - Elektra's 40th Anniversary album.

The White Stripes version of Jolene, a Dolly Parton cover is amazing.

And, I am not sure if it exactly counts, but there is an R.E.M. version of "One", where U2 actually play back up, but Michael Stipe sings that is wonderful. I think it was done at a benefit concert in San Francisco.

The Kronos Quartet does a pretty cool cover of Television's Marquee Moon, it is on some CD I have, can't remember exactly which.

These pop into my head, though there are hundreds more.

[Gary Fitzgerald]

Thanks, Mike for this OT column...alot of great suggestions to follow up on here.

I discovered 2 great covers through American Idol (ouch!). Chris Cornell's (Soundgarden, Audioslave)slowed-down version of "Billy Jean". No moonwalking here but a much darker feel to the story. The second cover is from Eva Cassidy, already mentioned here for Sting's "Fields of Gold". I think (with apologies to Yip Harburg) her arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" is amazing, and seems to be the "de facto" version for all young singers when doing this song nowadays.

BTW, there is a CD series (3 releases, each 99 covers) from the UK called Best Covers Ever I, II , III (or something like that) which is worth looking for as there are some truly bizarre takes on well known songs (and some rewards as well.

Gary

[Mike Johnston]

Louis,
I like Southside Johnny but not Springsteen. And I like J. J. Cale but not Clapton...and Nirvana but not Pearl Jam...and I could go on here....[g]

Mike

[Mike Johnston]

Marc,
That is just stunning footage. Love it. The audience shots, the photographers, that surreal woman with the ice cream on a stick. Really captures the feel of that time. Wonderful. Thanks for that.

Do you know who did the footage or where it comes from?

Mike

[Neill Brower]

Great list. I think your comment about the inevitability of O'Connor's cover of Nothing Compares 2 U applies with equal force to the Cowboy Junkies' cover of Sweet Jane (Velvet Underground).

[mtw]

I'd like to add two of my favourites: Queenadreena/Katie Jane Garside's cover of "Jolene" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSx5IWSjL_0 ), and The Birthday Massacre's version of "I Think We're Alone Now" ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eMyAbg6CWQ ).

[Louis McCullagh]

Mike

Sound judgement.

I just watched a doc on Springsteen and his approach to making his 2nd or 3rd LP was very revealing. He is a perfectionist on the wrong side of perfection. Not dissimilar from some photographers who have no limits to what they will do (not always apparent from their photos iykwim).

Similar to Jacques Tati who bankrupted himself making Playtime. His camera man asked him at the end of the first year of filming "How much have we got (to keep..)" Tati replied "That they were "getting close"! There was nothing Tati was yet happy with, the camera man left the film as he didn't want to commit to several more years (a life choice)!

[Jeffrey Goggin]

I'm surprised not to see any love here for Peter Gabriel's Scratch My Back CD, which is nothing but covers. I especially like how he reconstituted the rock songs for a chamber orchestra. IMO, his versions of Bowie's "Heroes" and Paul Simon's "Boy In The Bubble" are worth the price alone!

[Tom V]

The Beatles tearing up "Red Sails in the Sunset", on the amateur recorded "Live at the Star Club". It rocks hard.

Big Joe Turner doing the same song with Roomful of Blues (that album produced by Doc Pomus).

-Tom-

[Marty McAuliff]

How strange. I heard both the Johnny Cash version and the original version of "Hurt" on the way from New York to New Hampshire today, on the radio.

[chris]

wow, this is a very fecund topic. but i have to add one more:

first, if you don't remember "my humps" by the black eyed peas, watch the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEe_eraFWWs
or just watch the first minute or so if you can't get beyond that--it doesn't change much, though it helps to appreciate the full effect of the 'cover' by alanis morissette:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRmYfVCH2UA
this is a rare example where the cover absolutely slams the original, ruthlessly exposing all of its faults, makes no sense except in satiric reference to the first performance, and yet still manages to be an almost transcendently lovely original work in its own right. quite a trick.

[robert e]

I can't believe we've overlooked Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's celebrated, angelic medley of "Over The Rainbow" and "What a Wonderful World".

For "standards", for me The Clash's recording of "I Fought The Law" is the definitive one, like the Robert Gordon/Link Wray version of "Sea Cruise", or Cheap Trick's rendition of "Ain't That A Shame".

Also, I dig Jeff Beck's instrumental cover of "She's A Woman" more than The Beatles' original.

[sebastel]

coming late ... but maybe of interest.

the cover of "sweet jane" (lou reed) that i know is by 'two nice girls', appeared on the first rough trade sampler.

"tomorrow never knows" (the beatles) was nicely covered by '801', phil manzanera's band after h eleft roxy music.

and finally, something rarely heard of in the western world: "lotus in the snow" 雪中蓮 (original by deng li jun alias teresa teng), covered by wang fei (aka faye wong). both available on youtube.

[Mani Sitaraman]

Mike, Wiki and ye shall know.

http://en.wikipedia.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_on_a_Summer%27s_Day">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_on_a_Summer%27s_Day">http://en.wikipedia.orghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jazz_on_a_Summer%27s_Day

The cameraman is none other than photographer Bert Stern.

It's truly wonderful to see high quality color documentary footage from the 1950s, as opposed to the almost de rigeur black and white.

Smartly dressed folks, back then, by the way.

[rp]

Chris -- I like Alanis Morissette's version of "My Humps," but I don't think the original version is quite as shallow as she's suggesting. I've always thought that the original is meant to be satirical and a commentary on the culture it's describing. (But maybe I'm giving the BEPs too much credit.)

[Daniel Valdez]

Thank you Robert E.! I have seen the Hubble IMAX documentary at the Rose Center of Earth and Space in the American Natural History Museum half a dozen times with my son. They play Kamakawiwo'ole's cover during the credits and I cry every time. The photos and renderings from the telescope are beyond awe. So much so that I never remember to look for that beautiful, bittersweet song. It is now safe and sound in my iTunes library thanks to you (and Mike's wonderful blog, of course!)

http://www.amnh.org/visitors/imax_shows.php?src=e_h

[Paul W. Luscher]

Go with you on Hendrix. Of course, he also did a killer cover of "Like A Rolling Stone"--and then there's his cover of the The Seeds' "Hey Joe." Their version was good, but with HIS version, Hendrix OWNED that song....

"Little Wing": yes, SRV was the only one who got close the capturing the feeling of that song. Never liked Clapton's version--too stiff and slow.

And while we're at it-- SRV's version of "Voodoo Chile" has all the stratospheric power of the original. It was his version of this song that made me sit up and take notice of Mr. Vaughn...

And yes, did like Tricky's version of "Black Steel." Has a kind of loopy edge to it which makes it interesting...

[Player]

I don't know this guy's name but his Nick Drake covers are nothing short of amazing. Here's Black Eyed Dog:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBZs5SCtlVA&feature=related

All of his Drake covers are great though. Check 'em out.

[Marc]

Mike,

As Mani pointed out, the footage is from Bert Stern's 1960 documentary "Jazz on a Summer's Day".

I still remember watching a brief part of this performance on TV when I was a kid, now perhaps forty years ago.

Apart from the remarkable musical performances, the film offers a fascinating glimpse of life in the fifties.

Highly recommended.

Marc

[charlie]

I swear I left a comment days ago but...

The Feelie's version of The Stones Painted Black, Neil Young's Sedan Delivery, The Velvet Underground's What Goes On, The Beatles' She Said, She Said, and The Stooges Real Cool Time are some of my favorites.

I think they stand as wonderful versions of songs they love, not so much better or worse.

Brilliant stuff IMO.

Nice list we have going here...

[Joe C]

Mike
For me it has to be Janis
Power - Passion & Pain
She could break your heart with one tender
note.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w66Wx_Wfn-A

Original by The Chantels was brilliant but
Janis takes it to another place.
Love the way she rubs her hands together at the beginning , like she can't wait to tear into it.

[Nerius]

Amazing topic. Especially since I love music even more than I love photography. Of course a hundred different favorite covers popped into my head a second after I read the name of the post, but I'm only going to mention a couple.

Of course, I have to agree with the first commenter about Eva Cassidy - she was amazing. Basically everything she did was great. Like Ain't no sunshine or People get ready. May she R.I.P.

But the one that I really want to point out is the one that not too many people know but I really love. And since you mentioned the cover already I will give you another version:

I'm talking about The Electric Light Orchestra (or The Orchestra) doing a cover of Twist and Shout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NNdET4d-XU

I love it because of its cello solo and its minor arrangement (instead of the positive "original").

[Mike Plews]

UFFDA!
I just had one of those North Dakota palm slap on the forehead moments.
The Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks. By definition all are covers. Except that Cole Porter called her recording of his work "definitive".
I haven't read all 143 posts so someone may have already thought of this.
In any case of you have a few hundred bucks laying around you could do a lot worse.

[Nathan deGargoyle]

Brel Amsterdam -Bowie
Brel Au Suivant - NEXT = Sensational Alex Harvey Band
Brel - Le Chanson de Jacky - Jackie - Scott Walker

Bowie and Scott Walker are almost as good as Brel but Harvey transcends the original (for the English speaking world at least) as does the SAHB version of Delilah

[Richard N]

"The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game" - The Marvelettes original (?) version is superb, but so are the covers by Blinky, Ella Fitzgerald, Grace Jones, and Blondie. (All on Spotify)

[daragh]

Miles Fisher's cover of Talking Heads' This Must be the Place is great, and best appreciated in tandem with the video (if you've seen American Psycho).

[Ludovic]

More proof that I should never go on vacation ever, is: missing that post.

I am a cover version freak, for some reason. There are dozens of titles I actually like better as covers than I do the originals. So I won't even try to list my fave, but I'll just submit one that hit me in the face hard when I first heard it last year, and still does: Roots Manuva's cover of "Yellow Submarine".

Sounds absolutely nothing like the original. Gets played three times in a row whenever my shuffle feature brings it up.