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

[pinball1970]

Since I listened to a few covers, YouTube has been serving me up a steady diet. It seems I could spend the rest of my life listening to covers of King Crimson tracks alone. The number of covers of Starless is extraordinary. One group of what looked like college kids had even roped in the late John Wetton to sing the lyrics. There is everything from full-on prog-rock versions (although perhaps Starless is so prog it's not rock anymore), a zany avant garde version, a folk version played in the woods and a solo acoustic guitar version played in a cathedral.

It's extraordinary that young people are playing this music. How do they even know about this material? By the early 1990's I was ridiculed for still listening to 1970's prog rock. Perhaps it's ultimately the quality and originality of the music that has helped it survive. It shows that that with music perhaps you can't tell what will endure the test of time. I must admit I feel somewhat vindicated.

I always felt the 1980s were mostly style over substance and I never really understood the point of the music video. If the music is good enough, what is the need for a video? The best videos, for me, are just the band playing the music. I saw an interview with Keith Richards where he said something like this - that the eyes eventually dominate the ears.

Anyway, here's the latest cover of Starless. @pinball1970 I particularly like the percussion on this one (and the two guitars):

I really like that track. I am not that familiar with King Crimson but looking at the players I am going to YouTube a few. Gaps in my music are folk, folk rock and bands like KC, the Nice, the Strawbs.
Also the Rolling Stones (you are now thinking, "totally just lost any musical respect I had for this loser")
Thing is I never had any of the Albums, I know all of the singles pretty much but never got round to listening to the album stuff.
We all have gaps!

 

[difalcojr]

Do we all have gaps?! I'm hearing things I never heard back when, lots of them! Here's a couple early Stones songs, one at least I am sure you will know. One from the Between the Buttons album. Like how it speeds up.



The Aftermath album has lots of early hits too
One from album High Tide and Green Grass, an early greatest hits album. Lot of covers of this.

 

[pinball1970]

Do we all have gaps?! I'm hearing things I never heard back when, lots of them! Here's a couple early Stones songs, one at least I am sure you will know. One from the Between the Buttons album. Like how it speeds up.



The Aftermath album has lots of early hits too
One from album High Tide and Green Grass, an early greatest hits album. Lot of covers of this.

I will try it.

 

[Hornbein]

요요미 - One night in Bangkok (Murray Head) Cover by YOYOMI

 

[pinball1970]

요요미 - One night in Bangkok (Murray Head) Cover by YOYOMI

Brilliant singer. @strangerep will recognize the Ian Gillan connection!

 

[difalcojr]

요요미 - One night in Bangkok (Murray Head) Cover by YOYOMI

She sings beautifully. Is she singing this to her contemporaries? Young Japanese men? Her eyes and facial expressions at the end suggest this, possibly?

 

[Hornbein]

요요미(YOYOMI) - La Isla Bonita (Madonna) 가로버전 Cover by YOYOMI​

Great bass line.



Of which viewers said "Поклон Вашему таланту с острова Сахалин!"

[Bow to your talent from Sakhalin Island!]

 

[pinball1970]

Pet Peeve whilst we are on Webber musicals. Conversations on the net regarding Jesus Christ Superstar, end up discussing Nealy and his successors without mentioning Gillan.
Also Murray Head who was the original Judas. Both those Album performances recorded in hours were phenomenal.

 

[pinball1970]

Yvonne Elliman on this one although she was in the film too. Doubt there is a good cover of it.

 

[Hornbein]

She sings beautifully. Is she singing this to her contemporaries? Young Japanese men? Her eyes and facial expressions at the end suggest this, possibly?

Singing to men in general. She's from South Korea and is also popular in Russia.

 

[Hornbein]

1956 Johnny Burnette Trio - The Train Kept A-Rollin’​

 

[Hornbein]

Tina Turner's hit songs don't do anything for me, but she sure could rock.
Covering Robert Palmer's Addicted To Love.

 

[Hornbein]

Tiny Bradshaw - "The Train Kept A-Rollin'" [King #9068] 1951

 

[Hornbein]

Dywayne “Mononeon” Thomas Jr. gets my vote as King of the Ebass.

Covering Steely Dan’s Josie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgpTgotVleg

 

[OCR]

Well. . . I like this. .





.

 

[Hornbein]

Foxes and Fossils cover Wynonna Judd.

 

[JT Smith]

"Respect" - I think and pretty much everybody else agrees/agreed (including Otis) that Aretha's cover was better.

 

[Hornbein]

Rage Against The Machine covers
Renegades of Funk

The orig is by Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force
.but I don't much like it.

 

[rcgldr]

1956 Johnny Burnette Trio - The Train Kept A-Rollin’​

A clip of Stompy Jones cover of The Train Kept-A-Rollin at Carnation Plaza from around 2015. Disneyland had big | swing bands on Saturday nights for over 60 years (that stopped with Covid). You'll probably need to turn up the brightness.

Stompy Jones - The Train Kept A Rolling

 

[Arjan82]

So, for me the two songs that spring out as better than their original are Jeff Buckly, Hallelujah. And then specifically this live version:


And Nirvana, "The man who sold the world", also specifically this version:


Honorable mention:
From the same MTV Unplugged session: Nirvana, "Where did you sleep last night", again, specifically this version (although this is a bit cheating, since this is a folk song, original unknown ;):

 

[Arjan82]

Some more honorable mentions, it is a bit hard to call these better than their original, but they are pretty much on par as far as I'm concerned:











Ok, I'll stop now. I think I can fill this entire thread :)

 

[Hornbein]

The Locomotion

LIttle Eva was Carol King's babysitter. I used to think Carol was the baby, but realized later this was unrealistic. Further reducing the glamor, Carol contacted her as a singer first. The babysitting was just a side gig.

Little Eva

Kylie Minogue

 

[fresh_42]

I always wonder where they got all the hair from for that hairstyle from the fifties and the sixties.

 

[BillTre]

I always wonder where they got all the hair from for that hairstyle from the fifties and the sixties.

Grows out of their heads, or gets added in some way.

 

[morrobay]

Grows out of their heads, or gets added in some way.

The bee hive is added. The Ronettes ethnicity: African American, Cherokee, Irish American, and Puerto Rican

 

[Hornbein]

Jingle Bell Rock - Gabriella Quevedo

 

[pinball1970]

I always wonder where they got all the hair from for that hairstyle from the fifties and the sixties.

Wigs! EDIT: Really big ones

 

[DennisN]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_in_Black_(song) (1980)

Another cover of the song by Muse (UK), live with Brian Johnson on vocals:

Muse & Brian Johnson of AC/DC - Back In Black [Reading Festival 2017]

 

[DennisN]

Ok, I just came to think about a cover that I like...

Original: Iggy & The Stooges - Search & Destroy (actually mixed by David Bowie)
Cover: EMF - Search & Destroy (I like it because of the energy and the guitars )

 

[strangerep]

@strangerep will recognize the Ian Gillan connection!

Indeed!

Have you seen the (very poor quality) video of Ian Gillan recording "Gethsemane"? Every time I hear someone else (except Petr Elfimov) sing that song (e.g., John Farnum, and others) I just want to sigh and turn them off.

Have you seen Petr Elfimov's orchestral renditions of both Gethsemane and Child in Time? Not bad, I thought, although the theatrical aspects of his performance seemed to me a touch (but only a touch) less genuine than Gillan, who always comes across as totally committed.

 

[pinball1970]

Have you seen the (very poor quality) video of Ian Gillan recording "Gethsemane"?

Yes post #705! The film of JCSS was unwatchable for me. Murray Head was fantastic on the album as was Gillan. @strangerep

 

[jogezep]

These dudes are cover masters (by no means I think the original Zeppelin one is any worse though):



But oh, that guitar solo...

 

[pinball1970]

These dudes are cover masters (by no means I think the original Zeppelin one is any worse though):



But oh, that guitar solo...

This was posted before I think and I did not give it a chance. Yeah I was very hasty. Great cover.

 

[Hornbein]

Sophie Lloyd -- Van Halen's Panama

Her originals are good too.

 

[Hornbein]

Cover of Steely Dan's Aja.