Iron & Wine did an acoustic cover of the Postal Service's "Such Great Heights", which was originally an electronica song. Iron & Wine's version is eons better.

Something strange is happening.

"Sacrifice" was originally recorded by Elton John and performed so much better by Sinead O'Connor on the Two Rooms album. If you like emotion filled and sad vocals you owe it to yourself to give her superior version a listen. You will be glad that you did.
Aqueronte, I am going to have to say that Van Halen's version of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" and The Pretenders version of "Stop Sobbing" are better than your singer. So nnyyahh.
Me First and The Gimme Gimmes perform "Danny's Song" and "I Only Want To Be With You" so much better than the originals that it always takes me a minute or more to recollect how Loggins & Messina and Dusty Springfield or The Bay City Rollers performed the the songs prior.
Cheap Trick cover "Aint That A Shame" so well that noone knows it is a Fats Domino song. No that is a slight exaggeration of course but the band from Rockford also do a better version of "Waitin' For The Man/Heroin" than Lou Reed's lifeless version.
The Beatles may have performed a dozen or so songs that were not theirs but were played with great improvements while very few have covered Beatles song that could be even considered as good let alone superior. Joe Cocker does come close though I'll admit.
And I would be remissed if I failed to mention John Mayall and The Bluesbreaker's version of the Freddie King song, "Hideaway". One of Clapton's best early works and should be considered the standard version over the original.

Some Other Jackass Wrote:Aqueronte, I am going to have to say that Van Halen's version of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" and The Pretenders version of "Stop Sobbing" are better than your singer. So nnyyahh.

(Grabs figurative red hot iron from the coals.) You must repent of this heresy. Do you retract this blasphemous utterance? If not, it must be... purged! (Grins sadistically.)

Well then, we'll teach you to say nnyyahh with some real feeling!

rolanddoe Wrote:

Some Other Jackass Wrote:Aqueronte, I am going to have to say that Van Halen's version of "Where Have All The Good Times Gone" and The Pretenders version of "Stop Sobbing" are better than your singer. So nnyyahh.

(Grabs figurative red hot iron from the coals.) You must repent of this heresy. Do you retract this blasphemous utterance? If not, it must be... purged! (Grins sadistically.)

Well then, we'll teach you to say nnyyahh with some real feeling!

I think the somewhat faster tempos of the newer versions are immediate improvements from The Kinks' versions. Chrissie must have studied Ray very well in more than one way but that early release from The Pretenders has a lot going for it.

I much prefer the humorous delivery of lines like "stop it stop it" by the One Ray. (The way he turns the word now into three syllables is also brilliant Kinkness.) Also, neither of these covers alters the arrangements substantially, something I consider a prerequisite for even attempting to redo a classic song. I would also say that Eddie Van Halen somehow deprives the riff used in WHAtGTG of it's slinky slurriness in their remake. And that's probably the single most appealing musical attribute of the song it's taken from. (Tired of Waiting for You; same bassline.) Hah! The Dave One also rules!

Jumpy Wrote:Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" as done by Hendrix.

Robosteve Wrote:Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends (originally by The Beatles)

Agreed. These are stand-out examples, despite the obvious credentials of the songwriters.

Some Other Jackass Wrote:Me First and The Gimme Gimmes perform "Danny's Song" and "I Only Want To Be With You" so much better than the originals that it always takes me a minute or more to recollect how Loggins & Messina and Dusty Springfield or The Bay City Rollers performed the the songs prior.

Very true SOJ. Re the Gimme Gimmes` version of Dusty Springfield`s "I Only Want To Be With You", I`d argue that The Tourists did the REAL spade-work rockifying that song back in `79, as Punk bled into the mellower "New Wave".
Check the young-looking, pre-bleached Dave Stewart...
... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cXOesI1Aw0#

A lot of songs done by Bob Dylan were covered and made better.

All Along the Watchtower (Hendrix) , Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Clapton and GNR) , and a lot of Byrds covers.

Dylan just writes so many good lyrics, and unfortunatly doesn't sing them half as good as he writes them.

But again, his voice suits him perfectly and it works for him in a lot of his songs.

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Oh ya. The somewhat lost Billy Stewart version of "Summertime" from the musical Porgy and Bess is arguable a better version than Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald whoever recorded it first. But Janis fans will have their say on this as well. There are probably only a handful of people on the forum who can recall the Stewart version with it's scat and bebop jazz treatments.

Summertime Blues. Who's version was better than Blue Cheer's.

Original was pretty good as well.

chromeboomerang Wrote:Summertime Blues. Who's version was better than Blue Cheer's.

Rush's?


Okay, not really.

Three quarters of the world are starving
Three quarters of the world are starving
The rest are dead
The rest are dead
Overdosed on insensitivity,
All varnished to crosses