I love covers! Familiar, but new. Every song by Me First And The Gimme Gimmes. And this guy (who needs a PRS). EARWORM WARNING. Don't listen if you don't want to sing it all day.
Even though I've been cursed at for saying someone did it better than "The King", I like Dwight Yoakam's version of Suspicious Minds.
Fire -- Pointer Sisters Venus -- Bananarama You Really Got Me -- Oingo Boingo War Pigs -- Dresden Dolls Summer Breeze -- Type O Negative Unchained Melody -- Righteous Brothers (anything) -- Tori Amos, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Type O Negative, Elvis Presley Suspicious Minds -- Dwight Yoakum (?sp) (not next level better, but still, considering what I just said, I'm surprised how much I prefer his version) A friend of mine has a band, Gunsmoke & Cheap Perfume, and his covers of The Way (Fastball) (done as a surf-ish instrumental) and If I'd Shot Ya Sooner (Whiskey Chimp) (played a little straighter, more rock'n'roll, with a little less country twang) are superior to the originals by a fair margin
Sweet Dreams - Marilyn Manson Personal Jesus - Johnny Cash Close My Eyes Forever - Device (with Lzzy Hale) Baker Street - Foo Fighters Bad Romance - Halestorm But the best one ever must be Zakk Wylde playing N.I.B on a Hello Kitty mini acoustic:
Hellz yes on "Sweet Dreams"! Also: "All Along the Watchtower" - Hendrix (mentioned in another thread, but a cover!) "Land of Confusion" - Disturbed I'm sure there are more that aren't coming to me. There was big streak of 80's-era covers several years ago that were all really good. Honorable mention to a late-night live TV show cover of "Back in Black" in 1989(?) by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They played half the song in a 30-second blast and I nearly died of laughter.
Written by Bo Diddley, but as you can hear, a woman's voice and a waycool guitar solo made the difference.
Mainly because I'm not a Garth Books fan...this kills and check the PRS dudes got in the video! The Thunder Rolls...All That Remains.
Megadeth's version of "These Boots Were Made for Walking" without a doubt craps over Lee Hazelwood's/Sinatra's original version. An infinitely preferable version, indeed.
I cannot honestly not say this is better than the original but to me when a band can cover a song and make it their own that is where the magic lies ( i.e. early Metallica Breadfan, The Prince)
i think ‘funny’ ‘punk’ covers are especially cheap, cf pennywise. the metallica cover of ‘turn the page’ is as unfunny and dire as the bob seger original.
Which is umm.. good, right? (regarding Metallica, I loved "Crash Course in Brain Surgery," but I've never heard the original)