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Some off the top of my square head:
Guns and Roses - "Since I don't have you" - one great cover off an otherwise horrible album.
The Who - "Twist and Shout".
Joan Jett - "I love Rock and Roll".
No Doubt - "It's my life" - good, almost as good as the original one from Talk Talk.
-A
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03-22-2006, 10:08 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2006, 10:47 PM by Chaerophon.)
Pearl Jam - Last Kiss
EDIT: Adding another two Pearl Jam favourites (not sure that they're "better" than the originals, but they're still pretty darn good): Tom Petty - Won't Back Down, Neil Young - Keep on Rockin' in the Free World.
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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03-22-2006, 10:34 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-22-2006, 10:53 PM by VoiceMan.)
I think alot of this also is connected to which version you heard first. Working in radio for many years now has allowed me to hear all kinds of music, as I work in various formats. But my favorite versions of songs invariably remain the ones I heard first. For example: I think "Oh Pretty Woman" originated with Roy Orbison, but I actually first heard Van Halen's version. Same thing with "Dancing in The Street"....a number of people recorded it prior to Van Halen covering it...but my favorite has always been Van Halen's.
I too feel that "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" belongs to the Nylons. But, I was in a couple of Nylons cover groups in high school and college, so I have super soft spot for the Nylons anyway. I prefer their version of several songs over the original......"Drift Away"..."Kiss Him Goodbye"..."Chain Gang"...."Poison Ivy"...."Happy Together"...to name a few. Nothing against Sam Cooke, or The Turtles, or any of the original artists.
But again..I know with myself, much of my preference is based upon which version I heard first, and therefore got used to the most. :P A couple of exceptions I'm finding lately are Michael Buble's covers of the old Standards, i.e. "Sway" (the Dean Martin Classic) have become my favorite. But again....Buble's cover of Lou Rawls (who we lost last month unfortunately) "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine" is wretched, in my opinion. :P Other exceptions I can think off off-hand..... Prince wrote and first recorded "Kiss", but I much much prefer the version "Art of Noize" did with Tom Jones.
Just my two cents worth....if it's worth that much. ;)
VoiceMan
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jahcs,Mar 22 2006, 11:38 AM Wrote:I felt the same way. The song just didn't seem to have any flow and the timbre of his voice didn't seem to fit either. I do salute him for taking a song that obviously meant so much to him and opening it up to the world though.
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Have you heard Johnny Cash do Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage"? You wouldn't think that it could work, but...
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
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Joined: May 2003
Rusty Cage was good.
Lenny Kravitz doing Are You Going to Go My Way.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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Doc,Mar 22 2006, 04:07 PM Wrote:Rusty Cage was good.
Lenny Kravitz doing Are You Going to Go My Way.
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Then there's Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman". I think "soulless" is the word for that...
But whate'er I be,
Nor I, nor any man that is,
With nothing shall be pleased till he be eased
With being nothing.
William Shakespeare - Richard II
Posts: 1,991
Threads: 103
Joined: May 2003
Chaerophon,Mar 22 2006, 07:33 PM Wrote:Then there's Lenny Kravitz's "American Woman". I think "soulless" is the word for that...
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I lost all respect for Lenny when he cut off his dreadlocks to fit in better with the packaged formula image.
His dear departed mother laid the foundations for those in his hair. Helped them start.
SHAME.
Sell out. Nobody.
All alone, or in twos,
The ones who really love you
Walk up and down outside the wall.
Some hand in hand
And some gathered together in bands.
The bleeding hearts and artists
Make their stand.
And when they've given you their all
Some stagger and fall, after all it's not easy
Banging your heart against some mad buggers wall.
"Isn't this where...."
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Threads: 48
Joined: Feb 2003
I liked Jagged Edge's take on "All Out of Love." I found the original a bit too....airy. Too "Take My Breath Away by Berlin-ish." The modern version had a nice hook in the beginning.
"Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. At least you'll be a mile away from them and you'll have their shoes." ~?
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Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!
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Take any song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and it's better than the original.
Rule: punk or ska cover > original.
"My doctor says that I have a malformed public-duty gland and a natural deficiency in moral fibre, and that I am therefore excused from saving Universes."
-- Ford Prefect
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03-23-2006, 01:29 PM
(This post was last modified: 03-23-2006, 01:32 PM by Maitre.)
Yogi_Baar,Mar 23 2006, 02:58 AM Wrote:Take any song by Me First and the Gimme Gimmes and it's better than the original.
Rule: punk or ska cover > original.
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Perhaps as a general formula, but all the punk-ish versions I've heard of "99 Red Balloons" haven't made it any better than the original. Of course I don't have much esteem for the original so this may be an example of multiplying an infinitesimal number by a really big, but finite number.
Speaking of infinitesimal originals, has anyone out there heard a cover of "We Built This City (On Rock and Roll)" [Wasn't that song recently voted as the worst song ever?].
edit: speling mistaxe
but often it happens you know / that the things you don't trust are the ones you need most....
Opening lines of "Psalm" by
Hey Rosetta!
