Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

[BWV]

Which version do you like best? The Buddy Holly original?



Or this cover by Blind Faith with Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton, and Ginger Baker:



Or this Santana cover?

Blind Faith, speaking of:

 

[BWV]

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YYZ_(song) (1981)

RUSH - YYZ / 2112 / Tom Sawyer (Medley) - Live In Toronto 1984 (2021 HD Remaster 60fps)


Rush - The Making of YYZ

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YYZ-RUSH- by ameri1122 (2008) - see also https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...ck-which-ones-are-better.1050205/post-6870297 posted earlier by @Hornbein


ASTERISM 『YYZ』（Rush cover）2018/05/16


Martin Miller & Paul Gilbert - YYZ (Rush Cover) - Live in Studio (2019)


YYZ - Rush (LIVE Cover by. Jewel Box) (2022)

 

[morrobay]

 

[morrobay]

 

[BillTre]

Here is Led Zepellin's Rock and Roll song with Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dancing to it.

 

[pinball1970]

Here is Led Zepellin's Rock and Roll song with Fred Astaire and Rita Hayworth dancing to it.

Ha ha that made my day. Rita Hayworth and John Bonham, I think they would have got on.
Fred Astaire is iconic to a certain age in the UK. Rock and Roll Led Zep though?
Brilliant just brilliant. Thanks Bill.

 

[pinball1970]

This floored me @robphy To see you youngsters playing Rush is something, YYZ? Not the easiest.
They don't look at each other! Am I taken aback because they are young, girls AND from Indonesia? Yes! I just didn't think that sort of music was a thing in that neck of the woods.

 

[pinball1970]

And Led Zep. This is one of my favourite tracks

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welcome_to_the_Jungle

Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (1987)


2CELLOS - Welcome To The Jungle [OFFICIAL VIDEO] (2013)


Welcome To The Jungle - Vintage Orchestral Guns 'n' Roses Cover ft. Daniela Andrade (2015)


(Guns N' Roses) Welcome To The Jungle - Fingerstyle Guitar Cover | Josephine Alexandra (2021)


Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle (Gamazda Cover) (2021)


Welcome To The Jungle - Guns N' Roses (LIVE Cover by. Jewel Box) (2022)

 

[morrobay]

I think these boys bested the original. And when they arrived in the U.S alot of bands (Doo Wop) ... we're looking for work.

 

[morrobay]

 

[e_jane]

Is it totally awful that, when my kid was doing a report on Michael Jackson in high school, we listened to various versions of "Man in the Mirror" and... we liked the "Glee" version better than the original?

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_in_the_Street

• Martha and the Vandellas - Dancing In The Street (1964)
  

Karen Carpenter Drum solo 1968 Dancing in the street HD


SInce the original video link was made private, here is another

 

[morrobay]

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimme_Chocolate!!

BABYMETAL - ギミチョコ！！- Gimme chocolate!! (OFFICIAL) (2014)
181M views


See also BABYMETAL - Gimme Chocolate!! (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) (2016)

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One-Man BABYMETAL Cover by 66Samus of Decrepit Birth (w/ guitar solo) | MetalSucks (2015)


BABYMETAL - Gimme chocolate!! (Full Cover By Piotr Galiński) ギミチョコ！！ (2016)


BABYMETAL Gimme Chocolate!! [Cover mix](English Vocal) #2 (2016)


Gimme Chocolate - Babymetal (1920s Jazz Cover) ft. Tara Louise (2017)


Gimme chocolate!! BABYMETAL - ギミチョコ！！- cover (audrey123talks) (2018)

See also BABYMETAL - Gimme Chocolate!! - #ギミチョコ!! guitar cover (audrey123talks) (2022)

 

[pinball1970]

Is it totally awful that, when my kid was doing a report on Michael Jackson in high school, we listened to various versions of "Man in the Mirror" and... we liked the "Glee" version better than the original?

As a kid I loved "Fame" American TV series in the 1980s. Pretty sure they did a lot of covers.
When I saw what the format of Glee actually was, I thought cheerleading? Really?
It's Fame though 2.0, my niece loved it. So, fair enough!

 

[pinball1970]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gimme_Chocolate!!

BABYMETAL - ギミチョコ！！- Gimme chocolate!! (OFFICIAL) (2014)
181M views


See also BABYMETAL - Gimme Chocolate!! (The Late Show with Stephen Colbert) (2016)

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One-Man BABYMETAL Cover by 66Samus of Decrepit Birth (w/ guitar solo) | MetalSucks (2015)


BABYMETAL - Gimme chocolate!! (Full Cover By Piotr Galiński) ギミチョコ！！ (2016)


BABYMETAL Gimme Chocolate!! [Cover mix](English Vocal) #2 (2016)


Gimme Chocolate - Babymetal (1920s Jazz Cover) ft. Tara Louise (2017)


Gimme chocolate!! BABYMETAL - ギミチョコ！！- cover (audrey123talks) (2018)

See also BABYMETAL - Gimme Chocolate!! - #ギミチョコ!! guitar cover (audrey123talks) (2022)

Er ok. The YT images look pretty weird but I will give them a go!

 

[Hornbein]

Boston's More Than A Feeling, from Finland

 

[morrobay]

Hank Ballard was original

 

[morrobay]

 

[Hornbein]

 

[robphy]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_It_(Devo_song)

Devo - Whip It (Live On Fridays) (1980)

See also Swiffer Wet Jet - Whip It / Devo /commercial 2003
See also Jerry Casale w/ Deva perform “Whip it” @devo5k 2021 in Akron, Ohio (2021)

MOBY - Whip It (DEVO cover) (1996)


Pearl Jam - Whip It - 10.31.09 Spectrum Philly 4 - Halloween (2009)


Dananananaykroyd cover DEVO 'Whip It' for Like A Version (2009)


Whip It (Dev2.0, 2009)


Whip It (Devo cover) - The Engagements (2018)

 

[Hornbein]

I'm not going to listen to six Whip Its. Pick the best and leave the rest.

 

[pinball1970]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_It_(Devo_song)

Devo - Whip It (Live On Fridays) (1980)

See also Swiffer Wet Jet - Whip It / Devo /commercial 2003
See also Jerry Casale w/ Deva perform “Whip it” @devo5k 2021 in Akron, Ohio (2021)

MOBY - Whip It (DEVO cover) (1996)


Pearl Jam - Whip It - 10.31.09 Spectrum Philly 4 - Halloween (2009)


Dananananaykroyd cover DEVO 'Whip It' for Like A Version (2009)


Whip It (Dev2.0, 2009)


Whip It (Devo cover) - The Engagements (2018)

I like the fact you offer at least four versions!

 

[DennisN]

Ok, a bit of a guilty pleasure here from me...

I have to admit I love this song...
...it's Italo Disco, and the sounds are dated and the video is a bit cheesy, but I think the song is darn good; I can't resist the melodies and arrangement .
And I favor the original because it's more rough than the cover.

Raf - Self control (Official Video)


Covered by Laura Branigan in the 1980s:

Laura Branigan - Self Control


And the song has had a huge influence:

"Self Control" is a song by Italian singer Raf, released in 1984. [...]
The track topped the charts in Italy and Switzerland, and started the explosion and dominance of Italo disco-style recordings in continental European charts during the 1980s.

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_Control_(Raf_song))

Although Italo disco was successful in mainland Europe during the 1980s, only few singles reached the UK charts, such as Ryan Paris's "Dolce Vita", Laura Branigan's "Self Control", Baltimora's "Tarzan Boy", Spagna's "Call Me" and Sabrina's "Boys", all of which were top 5 hits. Italo disco maintained an influence in the UK's underground music scenes in the UK, and its impact can be heard in the music of several British electronic acts such as the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure and New Order.

(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_disco)

 

[pinball1970]

Ok, a bit of a guilty pleasure here from me...

I have to admit I love this song...
...it's Italo Disco, and the sounds are dated and the video is a bit cheesy, but I think the song is darn good; I can't resist the melodies and arrangement .
And I favor the original because it's more rough than the cover.

Raf - Self control (Official Video)


Covered by Laura Branigan in the 1980s:

Laura Branigan - Self Control


And the song has had a huge influence:(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_Control_(Raf_song))(from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italo_disco)

First look @DennisN it does look heavy on the fromages de belles France but I will give it a go, as it's you!

 

[DennisN]

First look @DennisN it does look heavy on the fromages de belles France but I will give it a go, as it's you!

I sure can't guarantee you'll approve of it .
I'd say it's best to try to filter out the dated sound when listening, and listen to the feeling and composition of it, it's very catchy, and with a strange dark feeling to it.

(The bassline is bad though, in my opinion, so try not to listen to that ).

 

[pinball1970]

I sure can't guarantee you'll approve of it .
I'd say it's best to try to filter out the dated sound when listening, and listen to the feeling and composition of it, it's very catchy, and with a strange dark feeling to it.

(The bassline sucks though in my opinion, so try not to listen to that ).

Cheese vid, 80s sound, meh baseline....This better have a killer chord progression that Bach would be proud of and lyrics that would make Lennon weep!
No, open mind. @fresh_42 posted a strange video that I like to watch. It's so bad it's good kind of thing.
A few pages back! I will repost.

 

[DennisN]

This better have a killer chord progression that Bach would be proud of and lyrics that would make Lennon weep!

No sorry, it hasn't at all . It's pop, but I somehow like the dark vibe in it (and the sort of double chorus, which is unusual in a song... in my ears it has two different choruses following eachother, which I think is cool).

 

[robphy]

I'm not going to listen to six Whip Its. Pick the best and leave the rest.

I like the fact you offer at least four versions!

For me, it's about first giving credit to the original.
Then, it's about variations of the covers (who is playing it and how they are playing it)...
not just the best (by some standard or by my current opinion)...
and not necessarily note-for-note covers.

Choose the video with the thumbnail or the title that seems appealing to you.

 

[pinball1970]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whip_It_(Devo_song)

Devo - Whip It

Whip It (Devo cover) - The Engagements (2018)

That is not your bar by the way, four versions, one is enough!
Some of the overseas stuff has blown my mind.
By over seas I mean, over the English channel. That is very far.

 

[fresh_42]

This is an interesting way ...



to cover ...

 

[morrobay]

 

[Hornbein]

This is an interesting way ...



to cover ...

Dang. I thought they were covering Blue Jay Way.