Lazy coat tail riders or valid artistic activity?

Cat Power’s The Covers Record is one of my favourite albums of all time.

Valid, imo.

Good thread.

It all depends…

I’m not generally a fan of cover versions when they’re released as singles, but then there are exceptions to this:

The Futureheads ‘Hounds of Love’
Joyrider ‘Rush Hour’
The Lemonheads ‘Mrs Robinson’

There are some great examples of cover versions as album tracks too:

Therapy ‘Isolation’
Dinosaur Jr ‘Just Like Heaven’
Nina Gordon ‘Straight Outta Compton’

If it’s some lame manufactured pop act doing it to make up numbers on a lacklustre album and secure an easy hit, that’s something else entirely.

the fray………hip’s dont lie. awesome…….. 8)

Gary Jules version of Mad World by Tears For Fears.

It makes my son laugh, but it makes me cry, particularly when I hear it in Donnie Darko.

Johnny Cash version of “Hurt”

Thin Lizzy with “Rosalie”

And señor coconut withsmoke on the water

Cover versions can be ace, some people get more out of the song that the original author – William Shatner’s cover version of Common People, although its a bit camp, is a far better rendition of the song than the original for example.

Its a fairly recent phenomenon that its considered (more) valuable to be both the author and performer of a song, and that its somehow less ‘genuine’ or even a bit lazy not to be, whether you’re rerecording someone elses song or having one written specially for you. Songs used to more of a currency, some people wrote them others performed them, the songs travelled but the performers were local.

It’s embarrasing but…

Daddy Cool by Placebo

Love it 😳

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDl9ZMfj6aE[/video]

I love this – Randy Crawford Cajun Moon

To be truly great then the original song should be rubbish.

I give you the finest example.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFVqygmYNmk[/video]

All along the watch tower
Always on my mind
A New England

I guess there is the odd exceptional artist who can put there all into the right song and it comes off, but in general I consider most just to be lazy money, little more than karaoke no matter how they dress it up.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F062h9ePl4Q&feature=related[/video]

some work

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Km9lRswVy4[/video]

some don’t

but it’s still all fun 🙂

I actually prefer this to the clash original

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrcpxpbgAnc[/video]

Been trying to find out for ages which female vocalist did a cover of the song, Don’t be cruel (to a heart that’s true).

It’s pretty similar to this cover;

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3fITdfg6nQ[/video]

But sung by a lass. It sounded quite contemporary and minimalist, and had the same dirge kind of thing going on in the background – any thoughts?

A New England

nah, no one can touch billy’s version

Lenny Cohen’s “Chelsea Hotel” is a brilliant track, but Rufus Wainwright really does it justice.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4rQ03pl2Og[/video]

I’ve been having an 80’s night on you tube, amazing just how many songs have covers and how quite a few people rate the cover ahead of the original, I really ought not read the comments…

Mad world seems to be very contentious I think the cover is too miserable..

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv_rQ2c3Fa8[/video]

When it’s just a totally faithful cover that’s pretty pointless… But plenty of bands add their own twist and make something that’s interesting in it’s own right.

Therapy?’s take on Isolation was mentioned up the page, it’s almost unrecognisable from the original. And the classic example’s Hallelujah, since the original’s horrible frankly. Hell is For Heroes version of Boys Don’t Cry is another. Plenty of others.

Then of course you’ve got your Fairytale of New Yorks 👿

Richard Cheese – the master. Be it Sunday bloody Sunday or Baby got back

When it’s just a totally faithful cover that’s pretty pointless. IMO

Fixed it for you. Don’t remember asking for your opinion on it. I like it, it’s a cover, others may enjoy it…

All Along The Watchtower takes some beating, as cover versions go

The Sisters Of Mercy did some interesting cover versions before AE disappeared up his own ever decreasing circle

Knocking On Heaven’s Door (Dylan):
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dQV_8hhKZg[/video]

Emma (Hot Chocolate):
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GuKrVFm0Hg&feature=related[/video]

Jolene (yes, Jolene)
and for me, the best was

Gimme Shelter:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mgmXng5rto[/video]

BUT

don’t EVER do a carbon copy

+1 Nina Gordon ‘Straight Outta Compton’. Astounding.

Skin’ead O’Connor’s version of ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ is another worthwhile cover, as is Tricky’s Black Steel.

Crucially, all bring something very different to the songs they cover.

All Along the Watchtower is a brilliant cover.

Depends I reckon, if it’s just a karaoke version with nothing added or taken away, why bother? if something has been done with it that really makes it differ from the original then I can’t see why not.

Like this one…..

And this one

nickc – Member

“Fixed it for you. Don’t remember asking for your opinion on it. I like it, it’s a cover, others may enjoy it…”

Breathe deep, you seem to have gone a bit ****ing nuts.

i’d agree that a cover for the sake of a cover (vexes me) is rather pontless, but if an artist can take it and add their own to it then it becomes valid. the Easy Star All-Stars’ cover of OK Computer (“Radiodread”) is as magnificent an example as springs to mind – i got so much more from that than i ever did from the original: especially
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oA1g7P1D6pk[/video]
ace ace ace

on the all along the watchtower front, i adore XTCs version – you can almost feel Andy Partridge’s nervous breakdown (bugger, i can’t find an album version to link to on the webnet, it’s on spotify though – go nuts)

best cover version by a country mile

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTNC9l46oR4[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5j-ipGFcko[/video]

classic example of taking a song and making it your own to the point where most folks don’t even know the gloria jones original
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBWrLhgiX74[/video]

& the much better original…

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

Northwind, I’ve noticed you seem to take huge offense at a lot of my posts, you seem almost to go out of your way sometimes. Are you stalking me?

I have to tell you, I’m happily in a relationship… 😉

Either that or drink less coffee.

In the category of “bobins original, class cover” I’d like to submit Florence and the Machine’s cover of Halo. It’s live, so a bit rough round the edges, but a great cover imo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu6GhJSj3HI

Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer doing Bob Marleys Redemption Song

Blimey, a music thread I actually agree with.
Yeah cover versions purely made for commercial success are invariably shit, but then again that goes for 99.9% of music made purely for commercial success.
This is my fave cover of the moment cos I’m seeing the band tonight!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVU5UwLyDXw[/video]

on the 17th November, the London Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing Death and Trans?guration (Strauss – not the cricketer), isn’t that just a ‘cover version’?

one of my favourites is ‘baby one more time’ – Travis, with Mark and Lard backing vocals…

John Simm has been ‘doing’ Hamlet at the Sheffield Crucible – isn’t that just a different type of cover-version?

William Shatner doing ‘Rocket Man’ – the man is a genius.

1 At the risk of having the piss ripped royally, Richard Thompson’s cover of Oops I Did It Again was brilliant.

2 Less controversially, How Can You Mend A Broken Heart, as covered by Al Green, has become the accepted version of the song. Originally written by The Bee Gees, but I don’t recall it being a hit for them.

3 Because The Night proved that Springsteen could write, but his own versions have never been as good as Patti Smith’s. Mind you, I still maintain it’s the best thing she’s ever recorded…not much of a PS fan.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnxtFtaL46w[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ5WPXxNzPU[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJd3IKUSWwc[/video] 😆

Johnny Cash version of “Hurt”

I was going to mention this as well. My wife didnt believe me that it was a NIN cover