Covers which are better than the original song

Sadly no YouTube video of this one, The Five Blind Boys Of Alabama, The Dimming Of The Day
http://www.last.fm/music/The+Blind+Boys+of+Alabama/_/Dimming+of+the+Day
A stunning version of a great song.

Therapy Dianne.

Cat Power’s cover of Wonderwall i think is pretty ace….and i’m as big a ‘man-chest-aaah’ oasis following skally as they get.

This is so subjective, it’s impossible for me to say in any of these debates which version of any song is better. But from where I stand, I’ll happily accept any cover version as long as it puts a different style on the song.

As example – For me, this one’s a bit samey, until the finale when it becomes a billy Bragg version.

And I think this is fabulous

Both on Ruby Trax, an old NME cover versions CD.

Lennon and Maisy Stella, much better than the Lumineers version

Stranglers – Walk on By

Dinosaur jr – just like heaven
DOA & Jello Biafra – we gotta get out of this place

Also Stranglers and Walk on By – by coincidence, I emailed my sister last night saying exactly that.

I have to disagree on Hallelujah – I don’t think Leonard’s original can be beaten. However, I give you Thea Gilmore’s cover of the whole of John Wesley Harding, Cream’s ‘Born under a bad sign’ and if we’re looking for a good cover of a Cohen song, Anthony (out of Anthony and the Johnsons) ‘If it be your will’. Oh and Jennifer Warnes’ ‘Joan of Arc’

Inexplicably I haven’t seen this mentioned yet

Also

Approximately 98,764 times better than that poodle rock crap! 😉

Private Life … prefer Grace Jones to Prentenders original

One of my favourite covers – how a cover should be done. (Not better than the original, but then neither are most of the selections on this thread!)

then there’s… (I’ve never heard the original 🙂 )

You’ve got the love by Florence and the machine I originally thought blew the original by Candi Statton out of the water however I now don’t think that is the case and prefer the original .

[pedant] what about the original, original, frankie knuckles version, nothing beats that??? {pedant]

err, I prefer all saints under the bridge to the RHCP version. Sorry, IGMC

I love Frank Turner’s version of Dancing Queen… It’s weird but just by stripping it down to acoustic and voice, and being a little bit whiney, it ends up being a song about… Loss, I guess. Shortness of youth.

Also his District Sleeps Alone Tonight doesn’t do anything clever, it just un-ruins the Postal Service version by removing all the wankery.

Rolling Stones doing ‘I wanna be your man’

birky – Member
Private Life … prefer Grace Jones to Prentenders original

Pretty much any of the Grace Jones songs are better than the original, even Night Clubbing. You can say that about many Iggy songs.

You can say that about many Iggy songs.

I hope you missed off “ ‘t” …

Possibly this one as well.

Not sure if anycovers are actually better, just different.

Sorry DezB! I did miss the “t”. Pleased you knew what I meant though.

I do love a good cover.

How about The Gourds doing Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice”

Or Otway’s version of “House of the Rising Sun”

Damn! How could I forget Richard Thompson’s ‘Oops I did it again’

Damn! How could I forget Richard Thompson’s ‘Oops I did it again’

Faxed Head’s California Coalinga Love.

original aint bad though tbh

not better, but different.

I kind of like James Blake’s cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Case of you’ and I also like his cover of Feist’s ‘Limit to your love’.

Everyone needs some Dick Cheese in their life.

Anyone covering bob dylan

Forever Young acapella by Audra Mae. One of many…

Damn, beaten to the Richard Cheese 😀 His cover of You Oughta’ Know by Alanis Morissette is soooooo much better than the original.

This is haunting…

Pavement just turn everything to gold

And finally 😆

I prefer Roxy’s cover of Jealous Guy but maybe just cos the video is pretty hilarious

I Fought the Law.

The Clash version was a revved up version of the Bobby Fuller Four’s (very good) original.

I might be biased because I don’t really rate The Beatles at all, but Stevie absolutely kills it, obviously.