Covers......better or worse than the originals?

There are some covers that are way better than the original songs.....do you agree?
This is my first example......

Rolling in the Deep........by Linking Park........just wow!




The original....still good, but not the same.

Another example where I like the cover better than the original.

Cover:



Original:

a reply to: Agartha

Wow that Limp Bizkit one is pretty cool. I didn't know there was a cover of that one haha. Thanks for that. My girl has actually been listening to the Who lately..

The main one that always comes to my mind because I thought it was his song is Johnny Cash's Cover of "Hurt."


Nine Inch Nails: "Hurt"



I like some of the Covers John Lennon did as well, but I'm obsessed with him, so yea.

I prefer Placebo's version of Running up that hill over Kate Bush's original. The original is still a great tune.





Also like Goldfraap's version of Physical by Olivia Newton John

Covers are strange beasts. Some are clearly better, some are worse, and some are just different.

I prefer Billy Joel's version of "Shameless" to Garth Brooks'.





Billy's version is bluesier IMO, and I prefer that. I've also never been much into country music.

Or how about this pair:





Genesis released "Land of Confusion" and Disturbed covered it not too long ago. I like both versions having both some retro '80s music, including Genesis, in my playlist and being partial to Disturbed. Both versions are pretty straight up. I have to say I think maybe it works a bit better the way Disturbed does it.

a reply to: KnightLight

Hurt was going to be my next one! I love the Johnny Cash cover!

I will listen to the other posts now!

cant explain by the who.................scorpions version is better

vid upload fail

Hmmm, well I failed to get the vids to post correctly, but I love Type O Negative's cover of Paranoid. Far better than Black Sabbath's original.

And that cover of Rolling in the Deep by Linkin Park is amazing

Another one ... I grew up listening to Barry Manilow, The Carpenters, The Beach Boys because they were what my folks always played. No one, no one has a finer voice than Karen Carpenter (no woman anyhow); Freddy Mercury may come close on the male side. But I still have some Carpenters kicking around so I can hear her voice. So there's this:





"Superstar" was a cover by The Carpenters that was then covered by Sonic Youth. The Sonic Youth is creepy, but considering that it's meant as a tribute to Karen Carpenter who died of anorexia nervosa ... I think that's entirely fitting, but it works in that context, otherwise Karen's vocals win for me.

When I think about exceptional covers this one always springs to mind......

Jeff Buckley- Hallelujah




and the original....he actually wrote many many different verses and many artists including himself have used different combinations of the verses at different times.

a reply to: Logos23

That's a really good one, too.

There are so many.





Here's a quirky one. Shrek made this one famous along with Smash Mouth, but The Monkees, arguably America's first boy band, did it first.

Ok, sorry, my husband has two more based on Pearl Jam.





My husband didn't like Vedder's version a whole lot until he really thought about the lyrics then he realized that the Pearl Jam cover fits the lyrics a lot better. The original makes you want to go to a sock hop and be-bop around in your poodle skirt or leather jacket while the band is happily singing about the love of someone's life dying in a tragic car wreck.





This one I like both versions. Otis is the classic, but I think Vedder has the right kind of voice and style to pull it off, making the song his while still being a good homage.

a reply to: ketsuko

Yes there are many great ones!


Some do irritate me though....especially if the cover gets more of a following or recognition than the original when it isn't justified, but I suppose that's personal choice and opinion.

One cover that irritates the hell out of me is Love Spit Love - How Soon is Now ( Charmed theme song) PPffftttt!




and the original by The Smiths....why oh why did anybody tamper with it!! lol

Cool thread! Here's my contribution....

Robert Smith of the Cure can (could) be a great songwriter but they were always too fey for me...



Great lyrics, but the arrangement is waaay too pink and fluffy

So you ask me, Dinosaur Jr utterly nailed it with this cover, a favourite of mine



God knows what happened to the end, that's how they released it!

Tainted Love - Soft Cell: Original... Good song!



Tainted Love - Marilyn Manson: Cover... Owns it!

a reply to: skalla

You are advocating a "The Cure" cover?......... Absolute sacrilege!! lol

I may have to go lie down after that as I'm feeling a little flustered!

a reply to: Agartha

I don't much prefer covers. More often than not, they come across the same way artificial sweeteners do: close enough to make you want the real thing, but too far off to give it to you.

I love both the cover and the original equally. But they are very different.

www.youtube.com...



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Oooh, another cover from my teens.....

Black Sabbath:




And The Butthole Surfers



It's better to regret something you have done, than to regret something you haven't done! Both are works of pure awesomeness