What are the 3 best cover tunes, in your opinion, and also 3 that should not have been done...?

Question

... either due to the sheer impossibility of improving the original, or because the cover was laden in utter horrendousness. I love Van Halen's cover of the Kinks' "You Really Got Me", Nazareth redoing "This Flight Tonight" by Joni Mitchell, and also Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground" being covered by Red Hot Chili Peppers. All the originals are great too, and there are so many other amazing cover tunes.
Now, here are 3 off the top of my head that should not have been done: I like some Guns and Roses tunes, but their version of "Live and Let Die", in my opinion, is crap. Why Aerosmith redid the Beatles' "Come Together" is beyond me, and of course Madonna's "American Pie" is an insult to anyone who ever heard Don McLean's classic.

Answer 1

This is a good question. Although it's a little tough to only pick 3 best and worse covers when there are so many. Instead of picking the best and worst, I'll give you 3 good ones and three bad ones, because if I was trying to figure out my 3 favorites, I could be here for days.



Good: Social Distortion "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. Nuff said.

The Clash "Police and Thieves" by Junior Murvin. This song was the first bassline I ever learned to play.

Elvis Costello " What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love, and Understanding?" by Nick Lowe. A good song made truly great by one of the author's best friends.



Honrable Mention: Me First & The Gimmie Gimmies "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel. Lots of fun.



Bad: Celine Dion "You Shook Me All Night Long" by AC/DC. The fact that she does air guitar while singing it, makes it all the more worse.

Nirvana "The Man Who Sold The World" by David Bowie. If you're going to cover a song, at least change it up a little, or what's the point? Kind of like Aerosmith doing "Come Together" as you so well pointed out earlier.

Smash Mouth "Why Can't We Be Friends" by War. Because, you just can't improve on perfection.



Had a lot of fun with this question. Thanks. Oh. and you're dead on with the American Pie thing. Madonna should be ashamed.

Answer 2

Best covers:

Higher Ground ~ Red Hot Chili Peppers (orig Stevie Wonder)

All Along the Watchtower ~ Jimi Hendrix (orig. Bob Dylan)

*** On Feel The Noize ~ Quiet Riot (orig. Slade)



Worst covers:

Smells Like Teen Spirit ~ Flyleaf (orig. Nirvana)

Behind Blue Eyes ~ Limp Bizkit (orig. The Who)

Sweet Child O' Mine ~ Sheryl Crow (orig. Guns'N'Roses)



I haven't heard Madonna's cover of Don McLean's American Pie, but the very thought makes me cringe. I'm going to try my best to go through life without ever hearing it.

Answer 3

The only cover I really listen to is Mae's cover of "A Day in the Life" by The Beatles. I think they actually did a great job.

Answer 4

particular, I particular do. I bear in ideas establishing Elton John's "see you later, Yellow Brick street" (It grew to become right into a double album, and the conceal opened like a e book), and in simple terms seeing how the artists who did the interior artwork created a flowing tale out of song lyrics that truly had not something to do with one yet another. fairly, you observed that this grew to become right into a slice (or various) of existence, with distinctive layers; or maybe a non secular experience. the conceal artwork for Alan Parsons project's "memories of puzzle and mind's eye" grew to become into staggering to boot. once you have the artwork artwork alongside the song, it makes the full adventure greater visceral, greater genuine; something you so fantastically expressed right here, 8 song. technologies is superb, even though it comes with a cost tag... one such tag being the sluggish diminishing of the fee of resourceful human beings and issues. regrettably, we've become what I term "roboticized". EDIT: *Nods energetically in contract with FuriousB.*

Answer 5

Love:

Johnny Cash - Hurt.

Marilyn Manson - My prerogative.

Em... Happy Birthday?



Hate:

Britney Spears - I love Rock n Roll.

Frankie J - More than words.

Em...Happy Birthday?