Best and Worst Cover Songs?

POSTED BY: PhoenixRose
UPDATED: Thursday, January 31, 2013 19:33
VIEWED: 5710
PAGE 1 of 2

1 2 NEXT PAGE

PHOENIXROSE

Monday, January 21, 2013 8:37 AM

So I was going through my itunes, and I realized I have a lot of covers in my library. So, I started making a playlist, just for them, and I really enjoy it. I'd like to discuss cover songs with anyone who's interested, here, since a lot of you folks have pretty good taste. Now, this is partly so I can get recommendations on good music to add to my playlist, but I know that the bad covers will have to come up, because some are memorably terrible, even traumatic. I'd appreciate hearing about at least one cover song you enjoy, but mostly it's whatever you'd like to mention.

Some of my favorites:
Jonathan Coulton singing "Baby Got Back"
Disturbed rocking out "Land of Confusion"
Sarah McLachlan doing "Dear God"
Shawn Mullins doing "Changes"
The Barenaked Ladies goofing through "Material Girl" (a bootleg I heard years ago and haven't found again, sadface)
Hugo singing "99 Problems" ...with a banjo.
Tarja Turunen (formerly of Nightwish) singing "Poison"
The Goo Goo Dolls doing "American Girl"
Eric Cartman doing "Come Sail Away"
Ra rocking out "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic"
William Shatner doing his sarcastic Shatner thing through "Common People"
Evanescence acoustically playing "Heart Shaped Box"

Some that I think are travesties that should never have happened:
Britney Spears daring to sing "I Love Rock and Roll" (or "Satisfaction" for that matter)
My Chemical Romance and The Used whining their emo way through "Under Pressure"
Vanessa Carlson using her little-girl-sounding voice to sing "Paint it Black"
...and so on.

Thoughts? Anyone? What are some of your favorites?

ECGORDON

Monday, January 21, 2013 2:10 PM

There are a few of those groups I'm not familiar with, and a few of the songs also. I have a question about Shawn Mullins cover version of "Changes." I assume that is a cover of Bowie's song, not Phil Ochs right?

PHOENIXROSE

Monday, January 21, 2013 4:25 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I assume that is a cover of Bowie's song

Correct. It's fairly easy to find on youtube, if you want to hear it.

What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.

ECGORDON

Monday, January 21, 2013 8:12 PM

I know I have a lot of cover songs in my collection too, it's just gonna take a while to track them all down. I've got my vinyl LPs (yep, still have a turntable), CDs, what is already on my iPod, stuff on my computer not yet tagged and loaded on the iPod, plus things in the Amazon Cloud, some of which I didn't even know I had.

I got an email from amazon this morning informing me I have mp3 versions of CDs I had purchased from them available in the cloud. I just listened to a Tom Waits album I am sure I never purchased, at least I know I have never had the physical disc in my possession from any source. Maybe I bought it for my son years ago and I just forgot about it.

LILI

Friday, January 25, 2013 7:00 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:

Eric Cartman doing "Come Sail Away"

That is amazing. I wish more official full-length songs would be released of Cartman's covers, they're hilarious.

Jonathan Coulton also did a cover of "You Oughta Know" that I liked.
Tori Amos does some wonderful covers. I also remember Cher doing a cover of "Walking in Memphis" in an X-files episode, I thought that was pretty cool. Judas Priest did a live cover of "Diamonds and Rust" that's very different from the original, and really well done. (I guess I kind of like gender-flipped covers. They're interesting.)

Facts are stubborn things.

FREMDFIRMA

Friday, January 25, 2013 7:29 PM

Dunno so much about good covers, although I too did like the Judas Priest one mentioned above, but BAD ones...

I think Metallibitchywhinycorporatewhorica has that market...
(wait for it)
....
Covered.

Whiskey in the jar was downright WINCE-worthy, like 3:15am at the pub by folks who couldn't carry a tune in a bucket and don't even know the lyrics bad... uggh!

-F

SHINYGOODGUY

Saturday, January 26, 2013 9:07 AM

Hi PhoenixRose,

While at work I listen to the local Classic Rock station, their playlist sometimes is limited but, they usually play some good classic rock. On occasion they play some songs that make me scratch my head, one song in particular that (ahem) covers the "bad" portion of your question is (for me):

Van Halen's Cover of Pretty Woman; it is THE worst cover that has ever assailed my ears (video is even worse). It's like a screeching cat and nails on a chalkboard. Roy Orbison should rise and slap them - bad.

In the Good category:

Natalie Merchant's Cover of Bowie's Space Oddity

Devo's Satisfaction

Manhattan Transfer's Birdland

Norah Jones - Cold, Cold Heart

Marvin Hamlisch's Solace (The Sting soundtrack)

To name a few..............

SGG

That beast puts steam in a man's stride....

SHINYGOODGUY

Saturday, January 26, 2013 9:24 AM

Hey EC,

I figured you for an old vinyl guy. I gave mine to my son who loves old-fashioned stuff (cars, typewriters, songs and records). He has a turntable on which to play; he really got a kick out of my old records especially Jean-Luc Ponty (especially the track: New Country) Imaginary Voyage, 1976.

Enjoy!

SGG

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I know I have a lot of cover songs in my collection too, it's just gonna take a while to track them all down. I've got my vinyl LPs (yep, still have a turntable), CDs, what is already on my iPod, stuff on my computer not yet tagged and loaded on the iPod, plus things in the Amazon Cloud, some of which I didn't even know I had.

I got an email from amazon this morning informing me I have mp3 versions of CDs I had purchased from them available in the cloud. I just listened to a Tom Waits album I am sure I never purchased, at least I know I have never had the physical disc in my possession from any source. Maybe I bought it for my son years ago and I just forgot about it.

Return to Forever: Medieval Overture

ECGORDON

Saturday, January 26, 2013 2:51 PM

I love Jean-Luc Ponty! I have four of his albums on vinyl, plus another on CD which is a collaboration with him and Stephane Grapelli.

PHOENIXROSE

Saturday, January 26, 2013 8:21 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by LILI:
Tori Amos does some wonderful covers.

Oh, yes. I have her cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on my playlist, actually. And a couple other Coulton covers, because I like pretty much all of them. I also remember that "Walking in Memphis" cover, I'll have to look for that.

Quote:
Originally posted by SHINYGOODGUY:
Natalie Merchant's Cover of Bowie's Space Oddity

Excellent! I hadn't heard that one; always great when an artist I like covers an artist I like.

On the subject of David Bowie, I enjoy the version of "Under Pressure" he sang with Annie Lennox. There aren't many singers whose voice I like as much as Freddie Mercury's, but she ranks up there.

What reason had proved best ceased to look absurd to the eye, which shows how idle it is to think anything ridiculous except what is wrong.

1 2 NEXT PAGE