Non-Urban Music The best and worst cover songs of all time.

[Casey]

Nominate your favorite and your most hated cover songs of all time and give reasons why. Feel free to talk about ones that you're unsure of as well. For example, I think Limp Bizkits cover of the George Michael track 'Faith' was alright, but it's not good enough to go in my best list, or bad enough to go in the worst list.


BEST

--------------------------------
KoRn's cover of "Word Up!", originally by Cameo.

Cameo are one of my favorite funk groups of all time, and Korn are one of my favorite rock bands. So I knew this would be something special. Korn RIPPED IT UP! I actually play their version more than the original now!
--------------------------------


Nirvana's cover of "The Man Who Sold The World", originally by David Bowie.

Kurt sang this so hauntingly, it gives me shivers when I hear it. Breathtaking.

--------------------------------

Rage Against The Machine's cover of "Microphone Fiend", originally by Eric B & Rakim.

Ripped it up. Genius.

--------------------------------


Swami's cover of "Controversy", originally by Prince.

.... OK, so no-one else has heard this yet, unless you've been to any of our gigs in the past 8 months or so. But I think we did a good job

--------------------------------

--------------------------------

--------------------------------



WORST
--------------------------------

Alien Ant Farm's cover of "Smooth Criminal", originally by Michael Jackson.

If you're gonna cover an MJ song, and you fuck it up, you should be killed IMO.

--------------------------------

Ginuwine's cover of "When Doves Cry", originally by Prince.

Covering a Prince song and sucking is even worse than covering an MJ song and sucking.

--------------------------------


Rage Against The Machine's cover of "Fuck Tha Police", originally by N.W.A

Please remember the words next time, Zack. I respect your principles, and obviously you only jammed this live, but sorry to say, it sounded crap. No worries, though, cos RATM smashed it up on their cover of "Microphone Fiend" like i already said.

--------------------------------

Tori Amos' cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit", originally by Nirvana.


Please god make it stop make it stop make it stop.

 

[roaches]

Great:
Jimi Hendrix's covers of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Hey Joe"
Santanta's cover of "Black Magic Woman"
Johnny Cash's covers of "Hurt", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", and "Personal Jesus"
Otis Redding's cover of "Satisfaction"
Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends"
Ray Charles's cover of "Yesterday"
My Morning Jacket's cover of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"

Terrible:
Sheryl Crow's cover of "Sweet Child of Mine"
Any of ironic rock cover of a hip-hop song
Any of Snoop's remakes of hip-hop classics
Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman"
Madonna's cover of "American Pie"
The Ataris's cover of "Girls of Summer"
Gnarls Barkley's cover of "Gone Daddy Gone"

 

[Dogmatic187]

Best
Aerosmith - "Come Together"; originally by The Beatles

Audioslave - "Killing In The Name Of"; originally by Rage Against The Machine (they did it live, and it was fucking great)

Johnny Cash - "Hurt"; originally by Nine Inch Nails (it's more emotional and painful than NIN's version)

Ray Charles - "Drown In My Own Tears"; originally by Lulu Reed

Dynamite Hack - "Boyz-N-The Hood"; originally by N.W.A.

The Clash - "I Fought The Law"; originally by The Crickets

Eric Clapton - "I Shot The Sheriff"; originally by Bob Marley

Jimi Hendrix - "All Along The Watchtower"; originally by Bob Dylan

Gary Jules - "Mad World"; originally by Tears For Fears

Alicia Keys(f/ Adam Levine from Maroon 5) - "Wild Horses"; originally by Rolling Stones

KoRn - "Another Brick In The Wall"; originally by Pink Floyd

KoRn - "Word Up!"; originally by Cameo (I agree Militant I listen to their version more)

Marylin Manson - "Personal Jesus"; originally by Depeche Mode

Marylin Manson - "Sweet Dreams"; originally by Eurythmics

Nirvana - "The Man Who Sold The World"; originally by David Bowie (fucking excellent)

Pearl Jam - "Last Kiss"; originally by J. Frank Wilson & The Cavaliers

Rage Against The Machine - "Kick Out The Jams"; originally by MC5

Rage Against The Machine - "Microphone Fiend"; originally by Eric B. & Rakim

Red Hot Chili Peppers - "Higher Ground"; originally by Stevie Wonder

Stone Temple Pilots - "Break On Through(To The Other Side)"l originally by The Doors

Tool - "No Quarter"; originally by Led Zeppelin



Worst
311 - "Love Song"; originally by The Cure

Sheryl Crow - "Sweet Child O' Mine; originally by Guns-N-Roses

Alien Ant Farm - "Smooth Criminal"; originally by Michael Jackson

Billy Idol - "Don't You Forget (About Me)"; originally by Simple Minds

Guns N' Roses - "Knocking on Heavens Door"; originally by Bob Dylan

Marylin Manson - "Paint It Black"; originally by Rolling Stones

Dolly Parton - "Stairway To Heaven"; originally by Led Zeppelin

Britney Spears - "Satisfaction"; originally by Rolling Stones

 

[Little Skittle]

Great:
Jimi Hendrix's covers of "All Along the Watchtower" and "Hey Joe"
Santanta's cover of "Black Magic Woman"
Johnny Cash's covers of "Hurt", "Bridge Over Troubled Water", and "Personal Jesus"
Otis Redding's cover of "Satisfaction"
Joe Cocker's cover of "With a Little Help From My Friends"
Ray Charles's cover of "Yesterday"
My Morning Jacket's cover of "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man"

Terrible:
Sheryl Crow's cover of "Sweet Child of Mine"
Any of ironic rock cover of a hip-hop song
Any of Snoop's remakes of hip-hop classics
Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman"
Madonna's cover of "American Pie"
The Ataris's cover of "Girls of Summer"
Gnarls Barkley's cover of "Gone Daddy Gone"

i think the song is called "boys of summer" and its a good cover:thumb:

 

[PuffnScruff]

ben harper and jack johnson "high tide or low tide" originally by Bob Marley

jack johnson "plastic jesus" i still havent been able to track down the who or where this song originated but paul newman sings it in the movie Cool Hand Luke

eric clapton "after midnight" & "cocaine" originally by j.j. cale

subline "scarlet begonias" originally by the grateful dead

the dead "shine on you crazy diamonds" i heard them do this song live, its was awesome

i'll think of some others that i love later, i cant really think of any covers i hate at the moment

 

[k69atie]

worst cover ever cross roads by blazing squad that was just awful!

 

[Casey]

good suggestions everyone.

 

[Cooper]

worst cover ever cross roads by blazing squad that was just awful!

Easily :thumb:

Favs:

Mariah Carey - Without You, I'll Be There

 

[k69atie]

best:

neyo did a cover of U2 sometimes you can't make it on your own and it was amazing (he did it on radio 1)

 

[Casey]

Easily :thumb:

Favs:

Mariah Carey - Without You, I'll Be There

Mariah deserves a mention in the WORST category as well. For her horrendous cover of "The Beautiful Ones" by Prince.

 

[hizzle?]

Korn's cover of Another brick in the wall...

fucking a-mazing!!!!

Jimi Hendrix' covers of Bob Dylan (All along the watchtower, Like a rolling stone-live-) and Hey Joe


Worst... Britney's "I love rock and roll" and "satisfaction" covers...please get a life...

 

[Shot 21]

Dunno about worst (I will probably go with any song Westlife or Girls Aloud covered) but for the best:

Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love
Az Yet - Hard To Say Im Sorry
Brandy ft Ray J - Paradise
Lenny Kravitz - American Woman

More to come...

 

[Casey]

Dunno about worst (I will probably go with any song Westlife or Girls Aloud covered) but for the best:

Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love
Az Yet - Hard To Say Im Sorry
Brandy ft Ray J - Paradise
Lenny Kravitz - American Woman

More to come...

Agree with 'Tainted Love'. I blast the Marilyn Manson version ALL the time. As for American Woman, nah, the original shits on Lenny's remake.

 

[Cooper]

Mariah deserves a mention in the WORST category as well. For her horrendous cover of "The Beautiful Ones" by Prince.

Haha yea....I generally like her covers tho

I Still Believe is another good 'un :thumb:

 

[Casey]

It wasn't a particularly bad cover, but what really irks me is when people say Alicia Keys is talented, and then they cite "How Come You Don't Call Me Anymore" as an example.

They don't realise that Prince wrote and released that song back in 1982, and Alicia's cover is HORRIBLE when compared to the original. Same with Sinead O Connor's cover of "Nothing Compares 2 U"...

 

[Rene]

"Stand By Me" by John Lennon originally by.....???

but i know its not him but he does an awesome job!

:thumb:

 

[Salar]

^Originally done by Ben E King

Best
nirvana - man who sold the world (originally david bowie)
anberlin - love song (originally cure)
Marolyn Manson - Tainted Love
perfect circle - imagine (originally by john lennon)
frank sinatra - Girl from ipanema (originally by astrud gilberto... i think)
worst...
there are so many that i don't even know where to start!

 

[Illuminattile]

I like Jose Gonsalez's cover of Heartbeats, very different to the original (which is probably better, but still)

Rufus Wainwright and Jeff Buckley's covers of Hallelujah.
Radiohead's cover of Nobody Does It Better.
The White Stripes' covers of Jolene, I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself, Walking With A Ghost and One More Cup of Coffee.

Worst has to be some of the live covers Avril Lavigne's done. Basket Case, Chop Suey...horrible.

 

[Tha_Wood]

BEST
Fall At Your Feet - James Blunt originally Crowded House
Faith - Limp Bizkit originally George Micheal
Word Up - Korn originally by cameo
Land Of Confusion - disturbed originally by Genesis
Home Sweet Home/Bitter Sweet Symphony - Limp Bizkit originally ??? and the Verve

 

[KanDeeMan]

I'll try to list ones nobody's said yet:


Best:

Andre Wilson-Computer Love (Zapp & Roger)

Beck-Everybody's Gotta Learn Sometimes (The Korgis)

Bobby Womack-Nobody Wants You When You're Down & Out (Old Blues Standard)

Corey Taylor-Room 13 (Black Flag, from the Flag benefit record Henry Rollins put out years ago)

D'Angelo-She's Always In My Hair (Prince, the one good Prince cover I could find)

Fozzy-The Prisoner (Iron Maiden)

Guns N' Roses-Since I Don't Have You (The Skyliners)

Isaac Hayes-Never Can Say Goodbye (Originally by Jackson 5, I'm pretty sure)

The Isley Brothers-Hello It's Me (The Nazz)

Lauryn Hill-Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack)

Metallica-Turn the Page (Bob Seger)

Monster Magnet-Kick Out the Jams (best MC5 cover out there)

The Platters-My Way (Frank Sinatra)

Prince-I Can't Make U Love Me (Bonnie Raitt?)

Roger Troutman-Living For the City (Stevie Wonder)

Santa Esmerelda-Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (The Animals)

Seu Jorge-Life on Mars (David Bowie, sung in Portugese)


Worst:

Bone Thugs N' Harmony-Fuck the Police (NWA)

Disturbed-Shout (Tears For Fears, not that the original was that great a song, either)

Everclear-Brown-Eyed Girl (Van Morrison)

Freddie Mercury-The Great Pretender (The Platters?)

Guns N' Roses-Sympathy For the Devil (Rolling Stones)

Mariah Carey-Bringing on the Heartbreak (Def Leppard, it's HILARIOUS)

Maroon 5-Everyday People (Sly & the Family Stone, in fact, that whole Sly tribute record was bullshit)

Prince-La La Means I Love You (The Delfonics)

The Used/My Chemical Romance-Under Pressure (Queen, this is the one track where I wanted to beat someone up as soon as I heard it, it's HORRIBLE!!!)


And I have to mention one that was already mentioned, it's that bad:

Sheryl Crow-Sweet Child O' Mine (Guns N' Roses, she actually won a Grammy for this cover song, are you kidding me???)