10 Covers Better Than the Original

Attila · 2011-11-19T09:52:15+00:00

10 Covers Better Than the Original Written by The Guitar Squid November 17, 2011 3:46 PM Sometimes a song just needs a breath of fresh air, but more often it takes a complete overhaul. Musicians have been covering popular songs, or even obscure songs for that matter, since the beginning of popular music. Sometimes those covers are complete reinventions of the song, taking a good song in a new, exciting direction. Sometimes guitarists can take an electronic song and make it a beautiful troubador ballad. Or, sometimes pop drivel can become a grunge rock masterpiece. Sometimes the covers are just awful. For whatever reason, these 10 covers, some well-known, some not so known, are better than the original tune. Obvious choices like "All Along the Watchtower" were not included because, well, everyone knows about those. Do you know of any not so well-known covers that are better than the original? Let The Squid know! The White Stripes - "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" Originally written by Burt Bacharach and made popular in the '60s by Dusty Springfield, The White Stripes version really summons the heartbreak and anger this song needed to put it over the top. The crunchy guitars and Whammy lines don't hurt, either. = Jose Gonzalez - "Heartbeats" Originally written and recorded by Swedish electro-pop duo The Knife in 2002, Jose Gonzalez put the song to his guitar and made this lovely cover, helping to propel both versions of the song into the spotlight. = Jeff Buckley - "Hallelujah" If you haven't heard this cover of the Leonard Cohen's now well known tune, you might have been living under a rock the past few decades. Originally made popular by The Velvet Underground's John Cale, guitarist Jeff Buckley performed a chilling rendition of the song on his debut album Grace. = The Gourds - "Gin and Juice" What could be better than taking a well-known '90s Snoop Dogg song and completely reinventing it as a killer bluegrass tune? Not much if you're a fan of some good ol' twang. = Pantera - "Cat Scratch Fever" While the Pantera boys didn't do a whole lot different with this classic Ted Nugent track, they brought a certain heaviness to the song that was much needed. = Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" When Noel Gallagher says this about Ryan Adams' cover of the Oasis hit, you know that the cover is better than the original: "I never got my head round this song until I went to see heard Ryan Adams play and he did an amazing cover of it. So now I'm going to cover one of my own songs in the style of Ryan Adams." = Local H - "Toxic" Taking on a pop diva like Britney Spears is no small task. "Toxic," the shiny, over-produced 2004 Spears' single was already an earworm that the masses had eaten up before Chicago duo Local H released their stripped-down, dirty, distorted version in 2005, providing a much needed breath of fresh air to the catchy tune. Oh, and more Whammy usage never hurts. = Rage Against the Machine - "Maggie's Farm" Say what you will about this polarizing band, but this downright heavy cover of the classic Bob Dylan tune just seems like the natural evolution of what Dylan was trying to accomplish when he went electric. Plus, Zach de la Rocha brings a necessary anger to the song that was missing in the original. = Andy McKee - "Africa" When a great soaring melody like the one found in this Toto hit sounds dated thanks to heavy use of synthesizers and '80s production techniques, it's high time for a great guitarist to make a timeless cover of a good song. = Johnny Cash - "Hurt" Again, if you haven't heard The Man in Black's cover of this Nine Inch Nails tune yet, you've been living under a rock. One of Cash's last recordings, the song and the video won countless awards in 2003 and 2004. =

Hammeron

A long gone German power metal outfit called 'Dark at Dawn' did an amazing cover of Chris Deburghs 'Don't pay the Ferryman'. A gotta hear.

IceCreamMan

Hammeron wrote A long gone German power metal outfit called 'Dark at Dawn' did an amazing cover of Chris Deburghs 'Don't pay the Ferryman'. A gotta hear.

never ever tease without a linkie ?

=

I like the running bass on this ......

=

Band still going btw

Hammeron

Thanks ICM! I have a very weak connection. I new someone would come to the party! ?

ThomasN

I agree some covers are better, as has been pointed out already, with SRV / Hendrix and Joe Cocker / Beatles covers.
Some are just epic colossal cock-ups though ☹

Like take this one as an example.
I got this bootleg in about '88, and is still an unreleased track from G 'n R.

These guys Asphalt Ballet, and 2000 other people have tried to cover it, and every single attempt sucks... badly.

The original bootleg was horrific quality, but what can be heard is still WAY better than any cover Ive ever heard.
Im patiently waiting for Mr Saul Hudson to at some stage remember this song, and cover it with a new vocalist.
Chris Cornel or Ian Astbury would be my first likely choice's 8) Damn man, every time I listen to that condemning riff I get goosebumps :'(

sharonzaz

some of the covers i've recorded through the years...

=

« Previous Page