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Song covers that are better than the originals

I was listening to Billy Idol's cover of LA Woman, and I thought to myself that his version is way better than the original. So I thought I'd post a few covers that I enjoy more than the originals and see what others can add. My top five in no particular order:

LA Woman - Billy Idol
Just a Gigolo - David Lee Roth
Feelin Alright - Joe Cocker
Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
MacArthur Park - Donna Summer
slanski62
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,287 posts
 

I am hesitant to comment on Harold’s post, but sheesh!

Hendrix not only turns a beautiful, subtle, personal prayer into a crass display of vulgar guitar pyrotechnics (okay, I admit to not caring for Jimi’s playing. I know, a minority opinion), but he also obviously has NO idea what the song is about. Just awful.

"Superstition" by Beck, Bogart & Appice better than Stevie’s own?! Wow---I’m speechless. Beck’s worst band, he absolutely butchers a song done magnificently by Mr. Wonder, who plays every instrument on his recording. On this, Harold, I do believe you may be alone in your opinion. Nothing wrong with that (in principle)!

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,287 posts
 
Dave Edmunds’ electrifying reinvention of Smiley Lewis’ "I Hear You Knocking".
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,353 posts
 
BDP24, yes you are truly in a minority regarding Jimi's playing and his version of "All Along the Watchtower".  On multiple occasions Dylan has acknowledged that Jimi's version is superior to his.

"Superstition" is one of my favorite Jeff Beck solos, but his version is not better than the original.  There's a story that Wonder wrote the song specifically of Beck.

Otis Redding said "the girl stole my song".  Aretha's version of "Respect" is probably better.
larryi
4,355 posts
 
I like Marianne Faithfull's "Sister Morphine" more than the Stone's version, but, I don't know which is the cover (Jagger and Faithfull co-wrote the song).

Peter Paul and Mary's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" is another decent cover.

I like covers that change the tempo and nature of the song radically. Though not better than the originals, I still like My Chemical Romance's uptempo "Desolation Row" and Nouvelle Vague's down tempo "Guns of Brixton."  For weird and fun, anything covered by Shonen Knife will be fun to hear once in a while.
unsound
7,370 posts
 
Hoiiiiin
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