Writer's Block: Cover me

[gridlore]

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All Along the Watchtower. Originally by Bob Dylan, but the cover by Jimi Hendrix was such an improvement that Dylan adopted Hendrix's arraignment.

The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown) Original by Fleetwood Mac, far better cover by Judas Priest.

Comments

[shadowcat48li.livejournal.com]

do parodies count?

Wierd Al Yankovics parody of Achey Breaky Heart was a vast improvement on the original

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

I consider parody to be distinct from covers. A cover is a rerecording of the original song possibly in a different style or with a different arraignment. Parody is a deliberate rewriting of a song for comedic effect.

[supersniffles.livejournal.com]

I often get slammed for my opinion that Roger Daltry's version of 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me' is better than Elton John's.

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Not from me you won't. I love that version.

[fragbert.livejournal.com]

Nor me. Roger's version is far and away the better one.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Let's see:

- Bow Wow Wow's version of "I Want Candy" is better than the original.

- R.E.M.'s "Superman" is better than The Clique's.

- Barenaked Ladies' "McDonald's Girl" beats the holy hell out of Dean Friedman's version.

I'm also partial to Nirvana's version of the "The Man Who Sold The World" over Bowie's, but I undersand there's room for disagreement there. Same goes for St. Etienne' "Only Love Can Break Your Heart" over Neil Young's.

[lostwanderfound.livejournal.com]

This Mortal Coil's version of Song to the Siren (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mUmdR69nbM) blows the Tim Buckley original out of the water.

And, while there's nothing wrong with the original, I'll take The Be Good Tanyas' cover of Waiting Around to Die (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwumPYSHop8) in preference to the Townes Van Zandt version. They also do a fantastic version of In My Time of Dying (notice a theme?); that's an old gospel tune of mysterious origin, although apparently Blind Willie Johnson did the first recorded version.

Also check out the Cowboy Junkies' mindblowingly good version of Springsteen's State Trooper. It's off their covers album, Whites Off Earth Now, which is fantastic start to finish.

[pauldrye.livejournal.com]

Oh! And the Cowboy Junkies' "Sweet Jane" is better than the original.

[lostwanderfound.livejournal.com]

...as officially endorsed by Lou Reed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2007_05_mon.shtml).

[fragbert.livejournal.com]

Type O Negative's cover of Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" is several orders of magnitude better than the original.

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

God help me, I prefer Tiffany's version of "I Think We're Alone Now". And Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On".

I have no excuse; I am a child of the 80s.

This would be the place to throw in Marilyn Monroe's "Happy Birthday To You", also :>