Three Tune Tuesday. Cover Songs That Are Better than the Original.
I dabble a bit in the guitar. I 'm in no way a Van Halen and I have reached my level but I am always on the look out for covers to do that are a bit mad. I love a good cover and the wackier they are the better. And the further away from the original it is the better I think. I have one other little love that some acts do during a cover. They start singing another cover at the end of their first cover. I never forget when Noel Gallagher came out and said that the Ryan Adams version of Wonderwall was actually better than their own version. Personally I think that's bullshit and Noel was probably trying to bait his brother but who knows. What do you think?
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Different and good but no way beats the original no?
Read My Mind - Catfish and the Bottlemen
This brings me onto Catfish and the Bottlemens cover of the Killers Read My Mind. Personally I think this one is better than the Killers version as he puts his own stamp on it. I am not sure if I prefer the acoustic version so if the Killers did one I may love this but what did it for me at the end is when he finishes the song with a classic. The original artist of said classic is currently in prison for horrendous crimes against women so we may never hear this song at the end again. Thankfully this video any of the R Kelly stuff came to light because I doubt they would be covering it now.
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Guns n Roses Live and Let Die
Slash wrote in his book that the Live and Let Die cover of Paul McCartney was a disaster but I bloody love it and think Axl's voice makes the whole song better than the original. From the start to finish Axl owns this one and his voice is perfect. Maybe Slash didn't like it because it was more around Axl's voice than Slash's guitar playing. What a song though.
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All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Ah Jimi . Most people think this one is his but it's not. It's his good friends Bob Dylan. It's funny about Bob Dylan. He writes such great songs but the people that cover them always perform them better. That solo at the start. Unreal. He just puts his stamp on it and makes it better,
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Sometimes the cover is better but the original will always be my favourite.
However there is something about Bob Dylans croaky voice that gives me the urge to belt songs out with my own shit voice. I was at Bob Dylan just before Covid hit down and had to ask the lad standing next to me if the song he was singing was his classic "Like a Rolling Stone" .
" I think so "said the puzzled man next to me who was trying to make it out himself.
Bob didn't give a shit. He was singing his own version of it that was as far away from the song as you could imagine. It was so bad that it was good.
"It ain't me babe is a great example of Dylan's genius. The man in Black Johnny Cash covered "It ain't me Babe" and cleaned it up. But I prefer the gutter version. The husky voice. The feeling in it. Sometimes the shitier original version is the way to go.
So have you a cover that you think is better than the original? Have I asked this before. I am not sure. I seem to remember a TTT like this one.
Ah sure I may as well ask it again.
Covers that are better than original or covers that are better but you prefer the original.
I'm confusing myself now.
Thanks to @ablaze me aul 1985 flower for starting this thing up. Things are slow of a Tuesday so this is great fun to do.
You got some great songs here @blanchy. I have a band who do some awesome covers for my TTT this week as well. I would include Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt as well, that cover is a masterpiece I think. Wishing you a wonderful week xxx
God @trucklife-family I was only thinking of adding that song today. That whole album full of covers is great. Even my own personal jesus.
Well you know what they say about Great Minds and plus we're Irish xxx
I actually like all of these, the originals and the covers. The covers are so different so that makes them as good as the originals. Almost like a whole different song. Usually I do think the original is better. At least at the moment I can't think any song where the cover is better than the original, I'm sure there are those, but as I like so many different genres and song interpretations I usually like both, original and the cover. That is, if it's done well.
You are right. I suppose the original is always special because the artist wrote it so there is the genius there. The cover artist is just duplicating it or adding their slant to it.
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Ryan Adams version of Wonderwall is very very good, but I'm with you, Oasis version is the benchmark, I'm yet to hear a better version, I'd say Noel was definitely baiting Liam, and that would not be hard! Liam cracks me up, gas man altogether..
Catfish and the Bottlemen version is quality, though I do like the Killers version too, probably more, it's very hard for a cover to be better than an original for me, there's not that many out there for me. This was a great attempt though and the lyrics stand out more in this acoustic version.
Tell Slash to fuck off for himself, that's a cracking cover for me and rare cover beats original in my book.
It's easy to forget that All Along The Watchtower is not Jimi's song, he does a serious auld version of it, and it's another cover beats original.
I would have Sinead O'Connor doing Nothing Compares and Johnny Cash doing Hurt on the list too and of course All Saints Under the Bridge. Pause....... Not!!! I doubt they even knew what the fuckin song was about, a bloody travesty of an attempted cover, God bless them!