Sheryl Crow - First cut is the deepest
Cover songs that are better than the originals.
There is an active thread about terrible cover songs so I thought I'd start one about cover songs that are better than or have completely eclipsed the originals. I'll start:
Randy Newman wrote Momma Told Me Not to Come for Eric Burdon who recored it with the Animals and Newman recorded it too. I have the Newman version and like it but Three Dog Night really seem to capture the mood of the song best in my opinion.
Randy Newman wrote Momma Told Me Not to Come for Eric Burdon who recored it with the Animals and Newman recorded it too. I have the Newman version and like it but Three Dog Night really seem to capture the mood of the song best in my opinion.
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Wow slaw, two songs I haven't heard. So Steve Miller's "Mercury Blues" is a different song the Lindley's? I admit I haven't heard it. I saw The Steve Miller Blues Band (his original band name) in '67, before the first album came out, with Boz Scaggs playing rhythm guitar (a Gibson ES-335) only, not singing. I'll bet Chilton's "Summertime Blues" is an interesting version, but haven't heard it. So much music, so little time! |
@bdp24, I’ll check it out right now. I was wondering what to play? You post reads like you’ve never heard Steve Miller’s version? "El Rayo-X", in which "Mercury Blues is found on, to my ears is mostly a reggae influenced record and is what I consider upbeat. SQ = excellent! On my MFSL "Fly Like an Eagle" , "Mercury Blues" is presented in a slinky, bluesy fashion that IMO, serves the lyrics and the song as a whole, much better. After all the song's title is mercury blues. For me, I much prefer the SM version. |
@n80, I got to see/hear both The Kinks and The Who live in '68 and '69, and both were really great live. You expect that of The Who, but not necessarily The Kinks. Ray Davies in one of my favorite writers ("Waterloo Sunset" !), and he was also a great performer, very entertaining. Believe it or not, The Kinks were louder than The Who. Ray's Telecaster was piercingly bright, to the point of painfulness. |
I have never seen that footage and in my youth and ignorance probably would have flipped to another channel when they were on SNL. That's right about the time my homeroom teacher was trying to improve the tastes of a room full of Philistines, preppies and Saturday Night Fever wannabes who thought he was nuts. For me it was all Zep, Who, Kinks, etc. I will see if I can find that footage on YouTube. Would love to see it. |
@n80, have you seen The Band's performance of the song on Saturday Night Live? Astoundingly great, their best. It was late in The Band's original run, maybe in 1976. While SNL always gave the musical guest time for only one song, Lorne Michaels gave them time for three, the only time I've seen that. THAT'S how much respect The Band commanded from other artists. They had the horn section they later had at The Last Waltz, playing the parts heard in the studio version, absolutely essential to the song. Those horn parts not being in Baez's version renders it unacceptable imo. |
I often initially prefer which ever version I hear first and am most familiar with. The Baez version of "The Night....." was the first version I heard of that song. It got a lot of radio air time. The Band's version got zero air time. The first time I heard the Band version was in high school home room where our nutty teacher was trying to convince us all that the Band was the best band of all time. I hated the Band version of the song. But that only lasted until I got into the Band. After that I'd turn the radio off if the Baez version came on. |
To me there aren't that many covers I like better than originals, I posted a few a ways back. Perhaps those few are because I am more familiar with the cover than the original but for songs where I am fairly familiar with the original I find I can enjoy covers but very rarely prefer them. I think it has to do with when I listen to the cover in my mind I still "hear" the original if that makes any sense. |
In two places in the song Baez got the lyrics wrong. She sped up the song, destroying the Southern feel of The Band’s version, which was ideal for the song’s story. The song is about rural people; Baez's version is pure city slicker. And I really miss the horns (trombone, tuba) heard in the original, which were there for a reason. The huge vocal group heard in the chorus of the song in her recording, drenched in reverb, sounds completely out of place. And then there’s her warbling, extreme vibrato, which some people don’t care for. Other than that it’s fine ;-) . |
I figured someone would say that. It was the most popular rendition after all. And yes, it does all come down to opinion so there are no right or wrong answers. My take on that particular song is that she polished a song that, by its nature and lyrics, was intended to be rough around the edges. That smooth polished performance is incongruous with the content. Also, Baez singing in a voice that is so feminine does not fit either. I don't have a problem with the gender reversal per se. For instance, on Raising Sand I like Krauss singing "Through the Morning, Through the Night." Maybe if Janice Joplin had done "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" I would have liked it better. It surely would not have been over polished or over produced. But finally, what really blows it for me is that Baez makes the song over sentimental, almost saccharine. Levon Helms does not. His delivery has pathos and emotion without being sentimental. Anyway, that's my take. It isn't any more valid than anyone else's. |
Lots of good stuff here. But it seems like we're getting into some esoteric stuff in regard to some covering musicians. Obviously music is a matter of taste and it is going to be common for someone to hear a cover by a band or artist and like the cover better than the original but other than that there isn't much to support the cover being better than the original. My example of Jerry Lee Lewis doing "Over the Rainbow". That pretty much just comes down to me since not many people have ever heard Lewis's cover of that song including Wikipedia. So maybe we should narrow the field and rather than saying covers that are better than the original or that eclipsed the original, maybe we should say covers that are better than AND have eclipsed the original in terms of critical reception, sales, popularity etc. I think the "AND" is important because there are notable covers that eclipsed the original but are still pretty awful..."The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by Joan Baez being a prime example. She made it a hit song but she also made it an awful song. |
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+1 on Hendrix All Along the Watchtower Hendrix - Gloria Minor Threat's version of Stepping Stone Iron & Wine - Such Great Heights from the Postal Service Lynyrd Skynyrd- Call Me The Breeze Willie Nelson- Wisky River (and about 20 other songs) Cake - I Will Survive Pretenders - Thin Line Between Love and Hate +1 Talking Heads - Take Me to the River Dandy Warhols - Hells Bells Devo - Satisfaction Plenty of others |
Hard to believe that Sinead O'Conner (or anyone) topped Prince, but she did on "Nothing Compares to You." He recorded that song as if he didn't think it was anything that special, but she poured her soul into it. How about the Who's version of "Young Man Blues"? If you haven't, check out the original by Mose Allison. OMG, never heard a jazz throwaway turned into a rock masterpiece. |
SRV - Texas Flood Joe Cocker - Unchain My Heart Joe Cocker - You Can Leave Your Hat On "Mystery Train" has been covered by many, Elvis, being the most famous. Here's a couple more that are definitely better than the original, Junior Wells Brian Setzer And how could we overlook, "That's All Right" by Elvis or https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tDWfOSKccLM |
Really? No mention of Joe Cocker turning “A Little Help From My Friends” over under sideways down and then inside out at Woodstock? Sheesh! Hard to believe it’s the same song and it continues to give me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Absolutely OWNED it. So far as “Respect” by Otis Redding goes I’ll give the nod to Aretha but both versions are damn fine in every...respect. Aretha pretty much OWNED it as well but when ya listen to Otis - anything by him - you can’t help but...well, same goes for Aretha. Truly incredible artists. Fun thread... |
The one the only late great Ms.Laura Nryo .Was a great song writer and performer.Wedding Bell Blues-5th.Dimenson ,Stoney End -Barbara Streisand,And When I Die-Blood,Sweat and Tears ,Eli Coming-Three Dog Night ,Stoned Soul Picnic -5th Dimension ,its Gonna take a Miracle -Royalettes -Dennis Williams ,Save the Country-5th Dimension .All I can say is Wow.She recorded released all the songs on her own. |
One of the last songs the late GREAT Stan Rogers recorded was Mary McCaslin's "Going Down the Road". I'd guess that most people aren't familiar with him. Listen to this song. It's amazing. Stan could take a song that I never cared for the first time around and turn it into gold. I felt his loss like many felt when John Lennon died. Enjoy. Joe https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpis0Q3VBFg |
Thanks Tomcy6. That solo gives me goosebumps everytime. According to the insert of his best of CD. He heard it and said I have to record it. He went into the studio and didn't what on his bass player. He had the inspiration and creativity in that window of time and he nailed it! He had to what to release it. |
Gram Parsons' original recording of his "A Song For You" (on his debut album GP) is real fine, but the cover by The Continental Drifters is much, much better. The Drifters were a 1990's L.A. supergroup with members from The Bangles, The db's, The Cowsills, The Dream Syndicate, and a great drummer named Carlo Nuccio (who played on Tori Amos' first album). They made one album in L.A., hosted Tuesday nights at Raji's on Hollywood Blvd., then moved to New Orleans where they recorded two more albums. A great group. |
I love Eva Cassidy I prefer her _Songbird_ to Christine McVie’s But my favorite _Over the Rainbow_ is by Impellitteri https://youtu.be/fsebbb_xTtQ |