NationStates Jolt Archive

What's the best cover song ever?

Obvious: All Along the Watchtower - Hendrix cover of Dylan

Sleeper: I Wanna Be Your Dog - Uncle Tupelo cover of The Stooges

Master of Puppets-Metallica
Purple Haze-Jimmy hendrix
Battle Hymns-Manowar
Smoke on the Water-Led Zepplin

Ziggy Stardust - Bauhaus

• "I feel the earth move" - Martika
• "Summer Rain" - Slinkee Minx
• "Baby give it up" - Ace of Base

I know I'm old. :rolleyes: :p

Not the best ever, but
Baker Street - Foo Fighters

What's the best cover song ever?

Sleeper: I Wanna Be Your Dog - Uncle Tupelo cover of The Stooges

I was going to say Sonic Youth's cover

How about Nirvana, Man Who Sold the World?

Aerosmith's cover of "Come Together" by the Beatles.

Master of Puppets-Metallica
Purple Haze-Jimmy hendrix
Battle Hymns-Manowar
Smoke on the Water-Led Zepplin

I'm confused. Smoke on the Water - Led Zep? Eh?

Best Covers:
Jane's Addiction cover of Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll".
Eric Clapton's cover of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight".
Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt"

Worst Covers:
Limp Bizkit's cover of The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes".
Guns n Roses cover of Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".
Marylin Manson's cover of Johnny Mandel's "Suicide is Painless".

Most overdone covers:
The Rolling Stone's "Wild Horses"
Bo Diddly's "Who Do You Love"

Cover I'd like to see:
Tori Amos covering Dobie Gray's "Drift Away".

Aerosmith ruined that song...

Joe Cocker - With a Little Help from my Friends

Bob Dylan "Subterrnian Homesick Blues"

A Perfect Circle-Imagine (John Lennon)

Bruce Sprinsteen- Born in the USA

Meatloaf- Bat out of Hell

Bruce Sprinsteen- Born in the USA

Meatloaf- Bat out of Hell


Those aren't covers ... they're the original artists.

Best song ever? Difficult to tell since this "ever" here is only 20th century. We don't have records of everything before, only written textbooks, I am absolutely not sure that the 20th century prevails to everything writen before.

Altough I like Jimmy, Led Zep, Brel and many others, I think we can not say "ever" but only speak about the recorded songs we now.

Yes we have some songs that survived the ages, but lots of others did not.
And we can not testify about those minestrels or other specific artists long ago. :rolleyes:

Best song ever? Difficult to tell since this "ever" here is only 20th century. We don't have records of everything before, only written textbooks, I am absolutely not sure that the 20th century prevails to everything writen before.

Altough I like Jimmy, Led Zep, Brel and many others, I think we can not say "ever" but only speak about the recorded songs we now.


Hence the term COVER.

Metallica's song "Am I Evil" is actually a loose Cover of Holst's "Mars". Without the lyrics, obviously, as those were Metallica original.

I was going to say Sonic Youth's cover

How about Nirvana, Man Who Sold the World?

Best Covers:
Jane's Addiction cover of Lou Reed's "Rock and Roll".
Eric Clapton's cover of J.J. Cale's "After Midnight".
Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt"


Excellent choices guys, I love all of them.

Hence the term COVER.



Yep, I know (was to fast), want me to delete it?

Best song ever? Difficult to tell since this "ever" here is only 20th century. We don't have records of everything before, only written textbooks, I am absolutely not sure that the 20th century prevails to everything writen before.

Altough I like Jimmy, Led Zep, Brel and many others, I think we can not say "ever" but only speak about the recorded songs we now.

Yes we have some songs that survived the ages, but lots of others did not.
And we can not testify about those minestrels or other specific artists long ago. :rolleyes:

Lot easier question than you make it out to be. In your opinion who recorded the best version of another person's song.

All along the watchtower. By Jimi Hendrix

Also

Hurt, by Johnny Cash
Sweat Dreams by Marilyn Manson

and Don't Fear the Reaper by HIM isn't too bad (but cannot touch the original)

With all of the mention of Metallica on here, I hope that everyone here has heard of Apocalyptica.

All along the watchtower. By Jimi Hendrix

Also

Hurt, by Johnny Cash

dont forget One by Johnny Cash covering U2

Manfred Mann's cover of Springsteen's Blinded by the Light is pretty good stuff.

I always liked the "Let it Be' album by Laibach
Also a lot of the Beatles early covers were good
'Fever' by Junior Byles is a cool reggae/skank version

But overall, I have to agree with the posters above:
'Hurt' by Johnny Cash is by far the best cover. He took a decent hard metal song and totally owned it. I can't listen to the NIN version anymore without thinking of Cash's version. Brilliant.

'Hurt' by Johnny Cash is by far the best cover. He took a decent hard metal song and totally owned it. I can't listen to the NIN version anymore without thinking of Cash's version. Brilliant.

Nod ... it just seems so much more poignant coming from an old man about to die than it does from an angst ridden 30 year old. Johnny Cash totally pwn3d that song.

Tori Amos- Smells like teen spirit.

Nod ... it just seems so much more poignant coming from an old man about to die than it does from an angst ridden 30 year old. Johnny Cash totally pwn3d that song.

Yep....Cash puts a totally different spin on it. He gets rid of the recurring dissonant note in the verses and eliminates all the distortion and electronic effects. But he keeps the basic structure and lyrics the same (except for the replacment of one gratuitous obscenity), and still makes it his own. NIN's version is pretty good too; it's just very different.

Since everyones mentioned the hell out of Hurt, I'll mention some other covers from the American series of recordings that I also think benifits from the same effect:

Solitary Man-way more believable coming from him then Neil Diamond.

I Won't Back Down-recorded with Tom Petty, and tougher.

In My Life. Yeah, don't get teary. Whatever. I notice you 'scratching' your face....

Moving from Cash...

My favorite cover is Emporer's Theme by The Evil Genius Orchestra-lounge versions of the Star Wars theme. Pretty kick-ass.

Manfred Mann's cover of Springsteen's Blinded by the Light is pretty good stuff.

Did Springsteen ever actually sing that one, or did he just write it?

And I'm not entirely sure of the best cover I've heard. But I know I'm sick of the cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit" that I hear on the bookstore radio every time I go to work, and now I'm more or less annoyed at whoever did it, even though I don't know who they are.

Sweat Dreams by Marilyn Manson


Sweet dreams, you mean :p Yes, that's a great version.

I'd say the Dead Kennedys version of "I Fought the Law"

Hmm, also Ram Jam's version of "Black Betty"

Pat Boone - Enter Sandman

XD

"Imagine"- A Perfect Circle

I can't say what the best cover is, because most covers are similar to the original and therefore are good depending on how good the original is. I can, however, say that the most improved cover (improved from the original) is:

"Stand By Your Man" by Motorhead and Wendy O. Willams (R.I.P.)

Other honorable mentions are:

"Turn the Page" by Metallica
"Viva Las Vegas" by the Dead Kennedys
"Eight Miles High" by Husker Du

This isn't the best song ever, but the Doors' version of Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill is decent. And I'm not usually a Doors fan.

Obvious: All Along the Watchtower - Hendrix cover of Dylan
That's an awesome song.

Also Marilyn Manson's cover of Working Class Hero by Lennon. I dunno, I just like it. Leave me alone! :p
Rufus Wainwright's version of Across the Universe
Freddie Mercury doing The Great Pretender

David Bowie's ultrasexy cover of the Who's 'I Can't Explain', and The Mike Flowers Pops' rendition of 'Light My Fire' by the Doors.

its gotta be mettalica's cover of the eagles "turn the page" oh crap someone said that already... oh well IM SAYING IT AGAIN

its gotta be mettalica's cover of the eagles "turn the page" oh crap someone said that already... oh well IM SAYING IT AGAIN
"Turn the Page" was a Bob Seger song.

its gotta be mettalica's cover of the eagles "turn the page" oh crap someone said that already... oh well IM SAYING IT AGAIN

Actually, that song is by Bob Seger, and the remake completely abandons the tone of the original. It isn't an angry song, its a tired sad song.

Johnny Cash's cover of One by U2 (i think its by them right?) That song is a brilliant cover.