This thread got me thinking; there’s several tunes I’ve listened to and enjoyed without realising they’re covers, but then discovering the original and actually being blown away, as well as discovering very good older artists and bands in the process.

Two examples the come to mind are Metro by Berlin (covered by Alkaline Trio) and Son of a Gun by The Vaselines (covered by Nirvana).

What else is there out there?

(And if you say One Way or Another by One Direction I may be forced to find you and set fire to your underwear drawer)

The Saturdays – “Just Can’t Get Enough” 😀

Seeeeriously though – I discovered Pigeonhed through Lo-Fidelity Allstars cover of Battleflag.

Got The Time by Anthrax. Not bad

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be7iNHw8QoQ[/video]

Original by Joe Jackson. Much better
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HlaAG2XmKUo[/video]

Jealous Guy: cover by Brian Ferry/Roxy Music, original by John Lennon. I prefer the cover.
All Along the Watchtower: cover by Jimi Hendrix, original by Bob Dylan. Dylan liked the cover so much he covered it!

Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder: I heard the excellent cover by the Red Hot Chili Pepper first. The original is superb as well.

And All Along the Watchtower by Hendrix IS the definitive version of that song, IMO. I’m not even sure I made it through the whole of the original, when I heard it.

Jealous Guy: cover by Brian Ferry/Roxy Music, original by John Lennon. I prefer the cover.

+1 on that

I only heard this great song…
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5UK40sSo8I[/video]

After this cracking cover…
[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ss1MbL4NYf0[/video]

Original by Joe Jackson. Much better

Wow – that’s another another to add to the list.

Nothing compares2U. The Prince version of his song, particularly live with Rosie Gaines, smashes that mental skin-heads version.

that mental skin-head

Hmm. How jolly unkind. 🙁

Nothing compares2U. The Prince version of his song, particularly live with Rosie Gaines, smashes that mental skin-heads version.

Always nice when people’s mental health difficulties are used to stigmatise them, isn’t it?

Or indeed, their haircuts.

I first heard Wonderwall performed by Oasis but the Mike Flowers Pops original was far superior…

Anyway, without feeling the need to insult any artists, I rather shamefully first encountered Marlena Shaw’s “Woman of the Ghetto” via the extensive sampling on Blueboy’s “Remember Me”

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMOGy3MXQSA[/video]

as sampled in

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2Eah_EGiDc[/video]

Anyway.. was surprised to see M Nesmith on the label when I bought this back then.
Gorgeous song. Mike’s original is a bit of a country thing, but still nice. Was he a bonkers one, or was that Mickey Dolenz? Evan Dando was a junkie long-haired hippy I know that!

[video]https://youtu.be/XipsuDA89-g[/video]

*feel quietly proud to have enriched someone’s life to a small extent*

That Galaxie 500 cover sounds like what it would have been had Joy Division created the original.

This is obviously going to turn into a covers better than the original thread, so I’ll throw a few in :-

It’s All Too Much – Steve Hillage rather than The Beatles.
Absolutely Sweet Maria – Jason and the Scorchers rather than Dylan.
Stairway to Heaven – Led Zeppelin totally eclipsing the Rolf Harris original.

Shipbuilding by Wyatt (orig. Costello)

Green Manalishi – Judas Priest (originally Fleetwood Mac)

^ nice job, kcal – came here to post that.
Only recently found out that Costello’s “I can’t stand up (for falling foe )” was a cover of a Sam & Dave original.

Ohh, another – She – Elvis Costello (originally that French bloke)

Nothing compares2U. The Prince version of his song, particularly live with Rosie Gaines, smashes that mental skin-heads version.
“Always nice when people’s mental health difficulties are used to stigmatise them, isn’t it?”

Erm sorry, didn’t realise she had mental health issues – I was referring to the pro IRA type stuff!

Apologies if anyone took offence.

Green Manalishi – Judas Priest (originally Fleetwood Mac)

Really? Priest just add their generic (fair play to them, they created the genre!) chug-chug-chug and strip out all the menace of Greeny’s acid-trip based paranoia.

Having always been into hip hop, sampled music and funk and soul there’s a lot of crossover…. I wouldn’t even know where to start 😀

nobody mentioned ‘Hurt’ yet?

the classic for me is tainted love. obvs heard soft cell version first but gloria jones’ original destroys it.

and on Marlena Shaw and remember me – she used the ging ging ga ging bit in liberation conversation as well.

you tube linky

DezB, that version of the song doesn’t come close to being the original version, that’s the Stone Poneys version recorded in 1967:

[video]https://youtu.be/TGZznJXY1Xc[/video]

Mike Nesmith, the one wearing the woolly hat in The Monkees, was already an established songwriter, and the TV network bought the rights to his songs so they could be used in the TV series.
It was some time before he covered his own song, I can’t track down a date for it as I’m not sure which of his albums it was on, as he also recorded with the First National Band.
The young lady singing is the truly wonderful Linda Ronstadt, posessed of a fabulous voice, and who was the girlfriend for a time of another superb songwriter, John David Souther, co-writer of a number of the Eagles greatest hits.
Who is also a real gentleman in person.

Really? Priest just add their generic (fair play to them, they created the genre!) chug-chug-chug and strip out all the menace of Greeny’s acid-trip based paranoia.

But isn’t this thread about the original being better?
Another one from the great Peter Green – Black Magic Woman, far better than Santana.

Third uncle, first heard the Bauhaus version thought it was great then heard the original by Eno and that is even better

Valerie – The Zutons
Well I’d actually forgotten it until the Ronson/Winehouse colab came out. Still prefer the original by a country mile

Erm sorry, didn’t realise she had mental health issues – I was referring to the pro IRA type stuff!
Apologies if anyone took offence.

Fair play.

DezB, that version of the song doesn’t come close to being the original version,

Interesting! But much prefer the Lemonheads myself. Actually, the Stone Poneys is quite humourously bad 😆

Hanging on the telephone by Blondie, however their cover is better than the original.

Third uncle, first heard the Bauhaus version thought it was great then heard the original by Eno and that is even better

Ah, yes! that reminds me of a John Cale cover I had and tracked down the original, which is amazing… will have to find it!

Heard Metallica’s cover of ‘Breadfan’ before Budgie’s original….it’s better too IMHO.

Wasn’t Robert Wyatt’s Shipbuilding released before any Elvis Costello version, so not really a cover? I oculd be wrong.
But, covers better than original, Elvis Costello, this comes to mind

Ah, of course, this John Cale song was also covered by Bauhaus. Both versions are superb, but the original is amazing just because its so … original!
[video]https://youtu.be/WFpQi2_JWKg[/video]

Heard this one first –

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZVpR3Pk-r8[/video]

A cover of this –

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSehtaY6k1U[/video]

My favourite cover of it –

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkKulSH2nNc[/video]

Extra points for Marylin Manson for having Joy from My Name is Earl in the video

I first heard “Silent House” done by Crowded House.

The Dixie Chicks > Crowded House.

🙂

The Man Who Sold the World – Bowie/Nirvana