Cover Songs
What are songs you have listened to that didn't know where covers or the cover is better than the original.
I had no idea this was a Bob Seeger song because I don't like Bob Seeger. The cover of Get out of Denver by English Pub Rock Band Eddie and the Hot Rods is better than the original.
Eddie and The Hot Rods www.youtube.com
Bob Seeger www.youtube.com
Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are a cover band and they do a lot of songs better than the original.
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes www.youtube.com
Garth Brooks www.youtube.com
This is tough it's hard to do Johnny Cash better than Johnny Cash, but Tim Armstrong of Rancid really kills it on one of my favorite Johnny Cash songs. Big River
Tim Armstrong www.youtube.com
Johnny Cash www.youtube.com
You may be right by Billy Joel
Avail www.youtube.com
Billy Joel www.youtube.com
Hurt by Nine Inch Nails
Johnny turns the tables on this one and makes a NIN song his. Even Trent Reznor thought so “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw, and it really then, wasn’t my song anymore.”
Johnny Cash www.youtube.com
NIN www.youtube.com
Changes by Black Sabbath
Charles Bradley www.youtube.com
Black Sabbath www.youtube.com
Redemption Song
Joe Strummer www.youtube.com
Hard song to do better than the original but Strummer's voice is just perfect for this song.
Bob Marley www.youtube.com
Comments
last commentWell, I've long been familiar with "Get out of Denver" as a Bob Seger song. It's not only my favorite song off of Seven, but it is probably my favorite Bob Seger song.
It is the first time I heard the cover you linked to, and I like the original better.
But it's an interesting subject.
I'll start with Guns N Roses covering "Knockin on Heaven's Door" by Bob Dylan.
Here is the original by Bob Dylan - www.youtube.com
And here is GNR - www.youtube.com
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As far as Get out of Denver, the first time I heard it I thought it was the Count Bishops they have a very similar sound. www.youtube.com
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I definitely hear the similarities to Seger in the band. The voice of the lead singer is totally different, but the rock-a-billy sound is there.
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And the Seeger version sounds like Chuck Berry with Beach Boys as the backing band to me. It's interesting how people hear songs differently.
www.youtube.com
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The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)
ORIGINAL: FLEETWOOD MAC
www.youtube.com
COVER: JUDAS PRIEST
www.youtube.com
WALKIN' THE DOG
ORIGINAL: AEROSMITH
www.youtube.com
COVER: RATT
www.youtube.com
best for last:
BLINDED BY THE LIGHT
ORIGINAL: SPRINGSTEEN
www.youtube.com
COVER: MANFRED MANN
www.youtube.com
"wrapped up like a douche"
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Blinded by the Light is such a weird song. Did you ever hear the Eagles of Death Metal version from Super Troopers 2?
www.youtube.com
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There is no doubt about Manfred Mann taking ownership of "Blinded by the light"
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ok, I am veering off course a bit here. You would be hard pressed to get me to say that any cover of a Lynyrd Skynrd song is better than the original.
And I won't be saying that now.
But the version of Simple Man by Shine Down is worthy of serious respect.
Skynrd - www.youtube.com
Shine Down - www.youtube.com
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Deuce not douche lol. Heard it through the grapevine. Marvin Gaye/CCR. Needles and pins jackie Deshannon/searchers/ramones.
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Johnny Cash nailed "Hurt", no pun intended.
I can't even stand Bob Seeger after hearing Metallica's "Turn the Page" [TUSCL note; the video is not flattering to strip club hobbyists].
Disturbed covering "The Sound of Silence" may be the single greatest musical work of the millenium.
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(Girl) You really got me now - decent song by The Kinks. Incredible song by Van Halen
The Kinks - www.youtube.com
Van Halen - www.youtube.com
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Disturbed. Awesome cover. Better than the original because it captures the emotion. It is a song of anger and frustration. Simon and Garfunkel sang it like a lullaby by comparison.
Pearl Jam's Last Kiss sounds like it is supposed to sound-- a fucking sad song. The original was was a sock hop dance song about a guy's girlfriend dying in his arms.
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yeah i know ski - it's revved up like a deuce but all that time growing up everytime i head that song on the fm dial i always went, all right it's time for douche.
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Joe Cocker's version of "With a little help from my friends" blows away the original by The Beatles
Joe Cocker - www.youtube.com
The Beatles - www.youtube.com
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Heavy metal? Typical skinhead music
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I can't really describe how much I hate KISS but I do like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones cover of Detroit Rock City
www.youtube.com
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The Crack cover Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting
www.youtube.com
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Summertime Blues has been done by a lot of groups, but no one does it like The Who
www.youtube.com
You got to love John Entwistles voice. I have a deep voice, but it doesn't even compare to Entwistles.
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Anyone covering Elton John is going to be better than the original - especially on a song about someone fighting.
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Black Flag Louie Louie www.youtube.com
Motorhead Louie Louie www.youtube.com
I may like Blag Flag a little more than Motorhead, but they are both awesome, I think Lemme wins this one.
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If you want the original Louie Louie, that would be The Kingsmen
www.youtube.com
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Another song done by numerous groups, but no one compares to the version of The House of the Rising Sun as performed by The Animals
www.youtube.com
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i know but I was going with the covers.
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ok, gotcha.
I've been including originals and a cover in my links - except when there are too many versions to determine easily who did the original. (Summertime Blues and The House of the Rising Sun)
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Love Song by 311
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Time for a little controversy.
Heart covering Led Zeppelin. Anne Wilson's voice is far better than Robert Plant's.
Immigrant Song
Led Zeppelin - www.youtube.com
Heart - www.youtube.com
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Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamikoowokiee (I cant spell that shit)
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Winex: Eddie Cochran co-wrote and recorded the original version of Summertime Blues in the mid to late fifties and I heard covers long before I knew of the original. Imho the original still rocks! www.youtube.com
The Animals and Eric Burden certainly put their stamp on some rock classics!
My subjective offering is: Take Me To the River:
Al Green
www.youtube.com
Talking Heads
www.youtube.com
I'm also of the delusion that Eric Clapton did the definitive version of "Knockin" On Heavens Door" www.youtube.com
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Battlecross - War Ensemble (The cover)[heavy metal haters, beware] - www.youtube.com
Slayer - War Ensemble (The original) - www.youtube.com
Aaliyah - Choosey Lover (The cover) - www.youtube.com
The Isley Brothers - Choosey Lover (The original) - www.youtube.com
Bad Wolves - Zombie (The cover) - www.youtube.com
The Cranberries - Zombie (The original) - www.youtube.com
311 - Love Song (The cover)[Already mentioned above, but I'm vouching] - www.youtube.com
The Cure - Love Song (The original) - www.youtube.com
These are a few of my favorite covers, on the top of my head.
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The Blue Bloods authority song is 1000x better than John Mellencamps
BLue Bloods www.youtube.com
Mellencamp www.youtube.com
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Sheer Terror is better than everyone so their cover of Boys Don't Cry is also superior. As well as Hub City Stampers rendition Skins Don't Cry.
ST www.youtube.com
HCS www.youtube.com
Cure
www.youtube.com
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Thanks for the links Rockie.
It's highly subjective, but the definitive version of Summertime Blues will always be the one The Who did. Maybe it's because I saw it performed live when John Entwistle was still alive (but Keith Moon was dead)
What is truly incredible is how many people did covers of Bob Dylan songs and did them better. The Birds made a living from doing that. It's also interesting how Hendrix's version of "All along the watch tower" influenced the way that Dylan played it after Hendrix covered it.
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The Cure taking it on the chin in the last few posts.
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@IME - the best thing I ever saw John Cougar do is get pegged in the head by a whiskey bottle and fall off of a speaker that he was dancing on.
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I think I like Dropkick Murphys version of Alcohol better than Gang Green's but it's close.
DKM www.youtube.com
GG www.youtube.com
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@wines I believe that
@eve I'm not a metal guy, definitely a punk and hardcore fan, but Battlecross kind of sounds like Municipal Waste. There is probably no band that is more fun than them. They also do a song with Tim Barry of Avail so that pretty much says all you need. www.youtube.com
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@IME - he actually did something that made me have some respect afterwards. He got stitched up, then came back out and finished his set.
He was opening for The Who on 10/31/82 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Az. The show had two names "Wholoween" and "The Last Who-rah" because it was supposed to be their last concert tour.
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To be honest... Municipal Waste sounds like the baby that popped out when Battlecross and Slayer had sex.
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Type O Negative did some great covers as well.
Type O Negative Summer Breeze www.youtube.com
Seals and Croft www.youtube.com
TON Cinnamon Girl www.youtube.com
Neil Young Cinnamon Girl www.youtube.com
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@Eve - for once I wish you were a little less honest...
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Battlecross never got laid they sound like a Dungeons and Dragon metal band, ha.
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If you want Dungeons and Dragons metal, then I have a good list of Folk/Viking metal groups I could drop, but once I get started on that, there's no stopping, and that's not the topic of this thread. LOL.
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Bathory and what not? I will take it over that awful Norwegian Black metal with a bunch of guys wearing corpse paint and trying to be more evil than the others.
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I am a fan of some Dylan written songs, but there are only 5 songs max that I'm okay with his version of.
Hell on earth for me is being imprisoned in someone elses car (or home) and being subjected to a Dylan commerative box set!
Thing Called Love
Bonnie Raitt www.youtube.com
John Hiatt www.youtube.com
Riding With The King
BB King & Eric Clapton
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Does it count if you play on a cover of your own song?
RUN DMC and Aerosmith
www.youtube.com
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So Rockie - what are those 5 songs that you are comfortable with?
I've never seen Bob Dylan in concert. The reason why is that I am kind of afraid of seeing him live. There are two kinds of Bob Dylan performances - very good ones, and very bad ones. And the bad ones are far more frequent these days. (or in the days when concerts still existed)
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IME - it only counts if you think the version from Toys in the Attic blows away the Run DMC version.
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Riding With The King
BB King & Eric Clapton www.youtube.com
John Hiatt www.youtube.com
And the other Hiatt glitch from 2 minutes ago
www.youtube.com
And my glitch
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Chromeo’s funk makes this Lorde song better than the original and is a great jam:
youtu.be
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Both versions are good, but Live and Let Die is a better song when Guns N Roses does it than when Paul McCartney and Wings do it
Guns N Roses - www.youtube.com
Wings - www.youtube.com
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Guns n Roses Mamakin better than original by Aerosmith
GNR youtu.be
Aero youtu.be
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Joan Jett released some good covers:
Do You Want to Touch Me (Gary Glitter originally released it)
www.youtube.com
I Love Rock and Roll (The Arrows originally released it)
www.youtube.com
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (AC/DC originally released it, some may disagree but if nothing else she looks way better singing it than Bon Scott)
www.youtube.com
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I agree IME - and I like both GNR and Aerosmith a lot.
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On the subject of covering yourself - Lynyrd Skynrd. No one compares to Ronnie Van Zandt. His younger brother Johnnie is nowhere near as talented.
But the version of Gimme Back My Bullets that Skynrd did with with Kid Rock is interesting
Original Skynrd - www.youtube.com
Kid Rock with Skynrd survivors - www.youtube.com
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municipal sound cool. just heard a few of their songs. it's a combo of anthrax and suicidal tendencies before rocky george, and another band to round it up.
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@BaggerRider - good call
Joan Jett's version of Crimson and Clover is also better than the original by Tommy James and the Shondells
Tommy James and the Shondells - www.youtube.com
Joan Jett - www.youtube.com
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EARTHQUAKE
ORIGINAL: GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION
www.youtube.com
COVER: 24-7 SPYZ
www.youtube.com
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This one is a bit of a stretch, but what the hell
The Star Spangled Banner
Original version - Francis Scott Key - www.youtube.com
Jimi Hendrix - www.youtube.com
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TWISTIN THE NIGHT AWAY
ORIGINAL: SAM COOKE
www.youtube.com
COVER: ROD STEWART
www.youtube.com
RIDE LIKE THE WIND
ORIGINAL: CHRISTOPHER CROSS
www.youtube.com
COVER: SAXON
www.youtube.com
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Jimi Hendrix, All Along the Watchtower
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ZZ Top blows away Elvis in Jail House Rock
ZZ Top - www.youtube.com
Elvis - www.youtube.com
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There is not enough money to ever coerce me to see Dylan live.
Dylan songs that don't drive me absolutely nuts, because vocally he is brutal! As an aside, there actually might be a couple of more songs (2), but this is more pain to contemplate than I can tolerate in one day. I have spent 45 years wondering what the fuuuk I missed and it must be the quality of the drugs needed to hear his genius when the mfer is singing!
Hurricane (Desire Album)
Lay Lady Lay
Like A Rolling Stone (Highway 61)
Just Like A Woman (Blonde On Blonde)
I Want You (Blonde On Blonde)
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I've always liked:
Tangled Up In Blue ( www.youtube.com )
It Ain't Me Babe ( www.youtube.com )
Positively 4th Street ( www.youtube.com )
Subterranean Homesick Blues ( www.youtube.com )
and a lot of others (including the ones you mentioned)
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this version of like a rolling stone by hendrix i way prefer over dylan's:
www.youtube.com
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Shinedown's version of Simple Man is horrible.
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It turns out a lot of Led Zeppelin 1 and 2 were covers.
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It's certainly not better than Lynyrd Skynrd's version. But I think it is decent.
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ritchie blackmore did say that jimmy page must have a great record collection
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"As far as Get out of Denver, the first time I heard it I thought it was the Count Bishops they have a very similar sound."
The first time I heard it was over the closing credits of a quirky, little known, but IMO great movie, "Things to do in Denver when you're dead". In my case I instantly knew it was Seger.
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One of the best examples of a band owning a cover song is Metallica covering Diamond Head's Am I Evil?
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I've never really been into Metallica. But I knew Jason Newsted before he was in the band.
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Don Henley - Boys of Summer
www.youtube.com
The Ataris - Boys of Summer
www.youtube.com
Solid effort by the Ataris, but Don Henley wins by a mile for me... Don's version is probably top 5 best songs of the 80s for me.
I can't tell the difference between these two:
Toto - Africa
www.youtube.com
Weezer - Africa
www.youtube.com
All versions of this song suck:
Dead of Alive - You Spin Me Round
www.youtube.com
Flo Rida - Right Round
www.youtube.com
Jessica Simpson - Spin Me Round
www.youtube.com
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I'm not an Eagles fan by any means, but I always prefer the songs not sung by Don Henley.
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@yahtzee the Metallica Tuesday's Gone, with Pepper Keenan, John Popper, Jerry Cantrell and a bunch of other guys is great.
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Blackmore has a youtube channel and he has some videos where he explains what songs he took riffs from to make new Deep Purple songs. The riff if pretty much the same but the resulting songs are very different.
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Stone Cold Crazy cover by Metallica of Queen might be my favorite of their covers aside from some of the Misfits ones. youtu.be
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BAD ROMANCE
ORIGINAL: LADY GAGA
www.youtube.com
COVER: HALESTORM
www.youtube.com
lzzy hale has fucking pipes!!!!!
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For the hair metal guys here is the Unseen cover of Every Rose Has it's Thorn with an unlincensed Breakfast Club outro.
youtu.be
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Leonard Cohen’s “Light as the Breeze” covered by Billy Joel.
Even Leonard thought he produced a much better version:
www.leonardcohenfiles.com
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Most of the songs I can think of that fit the first category also fit the second. Apologies to Stevie Wonder, because I'm mentioning him twice to start.
Ribbon In The Sky (cover, Intro: original: Stevie)
Lately (cover, Jodeci: original, Stevie)
Also, the most famous cover of all time...
I Will Always Love You (cover, Whitney Houston, original: Dolly Parton)
Most of the covers, I didn't know were covers because I was young when I heard them and the internet wasn't a thing yet. I just found one out by looking up the cover.
Tainted Love (cover, Soft Cell: original, Gloria Jones)
Where else can we go...
It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday (cover: Boyz II Men, original: GC Cameron)
Am I Dreaming (cover, Ol Skool: original, Atlantic Starr)
Baby I'm For Real (cover, After 7: original, The Originals)
Don't Disturb This Groove (cover: Backstreet Boys, original: The System)
Who Can I Run To (cover: Xscape, original: The Jones Girls)
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Here are a few from one of the all time best Boston bands Blood for Blood. Their shows could be truly terrifying, when you went you had no idea what was going to happen, and it was probably going to be something violent and their was tension in the air that everyone felt and you couldn't recreate if you tried, nor would you want to, but damn it was fun.
They also don't screw around with covers. If your going to cover Motorhead you gotta do it right.
Ace of Spades
B4B www.youtube.com
Motorhead www.youtube.com
Dead Boys Cover
All this and More
B4B www.youtube.com
Dead Boys www.youtube.com
For the Record Dead Boys > Sex Pistols
And for any of youz that like old school English Punk/Oi!
The Oppressed
Violence
B4B www.youtube.com
The Oppressed www.youtube.com
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The Business covering the Faces - Borstal Boys
The Business www.youtube.com
Faces www.youtube.com
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This is a GREAT thread, thanks IME! I don’t know when I’ll have time to check out all these links, but what a great list.
I like the covers done by Five Finger Death Punch, especially their cover of Kenny Wayne Shepherd’s Blue on Black, plus Kenny plays on their cover!
I also LOVE the covers done by the Hollywood Vampires, I think my favorite is I Got a Line oh You, originally released by Spirit.
If you listen to Alice Copper’s radio show, he always does a segment called Cooper’s Covers which has some gems from time to time.
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Dream Theater : Funeral For A Friend/Love Lies Bleeding
www.youtube.com
Original Elton John version:
www.youtube.com
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@Eve, hook me up with some of the D&D metal. By PM if you'd like.
+1 for Disturbed's The Sound of Silence
Marilyn Manson's version of Tainted Love, I know that's not a popular opinion.
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Voodoo Chile by Jimi Hendrix, and this may sound like blasphemy to some, but Stevie Ray Vaughn does it better.
Both versions are live.
Jimi Hendrix - www.youtube.com
Steve Ray Vaughn - www.youtube.com
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here's some more blasphemy:
-i like srv's version of little wing way better than hendrix's.
-ozzy with brad gillis live versions of black sabbath songs > original studio versions of those songs
-ozzy w/jake e lee live versions of songs written by randy rhoads> original studio versions
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@Rattdog - Bring on the blasphemy.
Have you seen the version of Voodoo Chile by SRV that I linked to? It's from a concert in Nashville in 1987. The reason I asked if you have seen it instead of heard it is because SRV goes a bit crazy with one handed guitar and playing behind his back. He's even standing on the guitar at the end of the song.
It really needs to be seen as well as heard.
As for Ozzy doing Black Sabbath - the first time I saw him in concer was on the Blizzard of Oz tour - back when Randy Rhoads was still alive.
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damn - srv really abused that guitar.
i was at that nyc metropolitan museum for that rock guitar exhibit a year ago. one of srv's guitar's was displayed. also saw the page guitars used during those zep tours.
what people don't know about srv - those notes he makes when he bends the strings. he was playing while using string gauges range .013-056. do you know how hard it is to make those bends under that gauge? the norms are mostly .009-.042 followed by .10-.046, which ware way lighter and easier to bend to make those sounds.
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It’s not abuse - just pure love.
I didn’t know about the gauge of the strings, but I have read that playing so hard used to cut open his fingers. He super glued them back together so he could keep playing.
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SRV’s credo was to use fat strings, tune low, and FLOOR IT!
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i tried those fat strings a couple of times. fuck that. i'll stick to the lighter strings.
i saw srv's guitar up close in that museum. it was really scuffed up.
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After seeing that video I linked to, do you have any idea how it got scuffed up?
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Not really a "cover" but I think the version of Comfortably Numb on The Wall - Live in Berlin is better than the original thanks to the addition of vocals by Van Morrison. It can also be found on the soundtrack from The Departed.
www.youtube.com
Also on Live in Berlin, Sinead O'connor (with The Band) does a version of "Mother" that's awesome. Can't say it's "better" than the original, just very different and equally great.
www.youtube.com
Again, not exactly "cover" versions as Waters plays on both of them, but performed with new voices and unique inflection that add an interesting sound to the classic songs.
I recommend listening to the whole album, or better yet, get the DVD of the full concert. www.amazon.com
Other highlights are The Scorpions being driven onto the stage in a white stretch limousine to open the show with In The Flesh, Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2) by Cyndi Lauper, and various performances by Thomas Dolby, Levon Helm, and Joni Mitchell, among others.
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we you saw what he did at the end of that clip. you could use that as a starting point. and don't forget he used more than one guitar for his shows.
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@Rattdog - I'm just kidding. His guitars gotten beaten up because he loved them.
Just call it tough love.
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tough love, domestic abuse, spicing up a marriage. i dunno-depends on the perspective of each.
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