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

[Hornbein]

 

[Astronuc]

I think LeonarD got the percussion. Carl Palmer was busy on those sets.

 

[robphy]

"Mean Street" by Van Halen (1981) from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Warning_(Van_Halen_album)

[ Gary Cherone [Extreme] is the singer in this lineup of Van Halen III ]
(1998) EDDIE VAN HALEN (VH) - mean street


Here is the original lineup with David Lee Roth... but the video is only a lipsync for tv
Van Halen - "Mean Street" - 1981 Italian TV Performance Lip Sync [HIGHEST QUALITY]

---

• In recent news,
  Joe Satriani was inadvertently put on the spot by Sammy Hagar on the Howard Stern Show (2023)
  
  (2023) What's Eddie Van Halen’s Most Difficult Guitar Riff to Play?
  
  which caused some negative buzz.
  

  “I royally screwed up, which hurt like a thorn in my side, but I’ll get over it”
  -Joe Satriani
  https://www.guitarworld.com/news/joe-satriani-van-halen-mean-street-howard-stern

and probably inspired this video

• (2023) - Deraps - Van Halen Mean Street Intro Cover
  
  
  see also
  - intro live on stage (2019) @t=49s Deraps Hot For Teacher/Mean Street Intros Live 2019
  - entire song (2014) Deraps (was 16 in 2014) - Van Halen Mean Street Cover
  
• Nuno talked about it recently @t=750s
  (2023, Nov) Nuno Bettencourt from EXTREME on Satriani playing "Mean Street", his "Rise" solo and Eddie Van Halen - Jeremy White
  
  [ Even Nuno didn't want to play the intro, as a guest with a cover band ]
  (2020) The Atomic Punks w/ Nuno Bettencourt “Mean Street” MORC 2.10.20
  start at @t=35s
  

update:

• (2017) Shirin Siavashi - Van Halen - Mean Street, intro cover
  
• "Mean Street" Eddie Van Halen's Creative Peak. Dweezil Zappa explains. Sunset Sound Roundtable

 

[robphy]

http://www.queensrycheofficial.com/music/greatest-hits/track/take-hold-of-the-flame/

(1984) Queensryche - 7. Take Hold of the Flame [Queensrÿche - Live in Tokyo 1984/08/05]
@60s

---

(2020) Chad Barnes - Queensryche "Take hold of the flame" Cover
@75s


(2010) Chris Miyai - Take Hold Of The Flame - Queensrÿche (Cover - Technique Demonstration)
start @34s , @90s


(2020) Will Shaw - Queensrÿche - Take Hold of the Flame (LIVE Vocals by Will Shaw)
@55s

see also (2008) Will Shaw @58s

---

---

(2020) AJP Music Works - Queensryche - Take Hold Of The Flame Cover Collab
@56s


(2020) Phoenixx - Take Hold Of The Flame (Queensryche Cover)
@58s


Honorable Mention:
(2019) Bscoㅣ비스코 - Queensryche - Take Hold of the Flame(cover by Bsco)
@55s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mIy5gn-JEE

 

[robphy]

From the A Rain Song thread,

I posted Slayer's Raining Blood and published covers by Tori Amos and by Ice-T.
I found some more interesting covers that I thought might be worth sharing.

Raining Blood - Slayer (1986)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raining_Blood

• Slayer on Jimmy [ Fallon ] - (Jimmy Fallon, Tonight Show, 2017) [ a better, fuller video on Facebook ]
• - Kids CRUSH Raining Blood by Slayer / O'Keefe Music Foundation (a very good cover/variation)
• - (guitar cover) Mel cover SLAYER - "RAINING BLOOD" [Guitar Cover + TIPS]

Raining Blood - Tori Amos (2001)
https://toriamos.fandom.com/wiki/Raining_Blood

Here's a version where the lyrics are much easier to hear. (turn on captioning)
[ Ice-T and his ] BODY COUNT - Raining In Blood / Postmortem 2017 (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodlust_(Body_Count_album)
https://genius.com/Slayer-raining-blood-lyrics

Live in Brazil - Slayer - Raining Blood | Vkgoeswild piano cover
@40 - after offering choice between Ace of Spades (Motorhead) or Raining Blood (Slayer)

earlier version up-close: Slayers - Raining Blood - on a 134 years old Bösendorferg grand | Vkgoeswild piano cover


( VishapKnight57 ) Slayer - Raining Blood: Violin Cover
@30


(again) Mel cover SLAYER - "RAINING BLOOD" [Guitar Cover + TIPS]



( Christophe Deremy ) Raining Blood on Acoustic ... For the skeptics (Slayer Cover)




( Rob Scallon ) Slayer - Raining Blood (Banjo cover w/ solos)



(silly, but creative)
(Andy Rehfeldt's Variety Show ) Raining Blood by Slayer, but it's Straining Puff #slayer #rainingblood #fart #piano


honorable mention:
[with his hands] Man Farts Slayer | Metal Hammer - (this guy was on Britain's Got Talent )

 

[DennisN]

I recently stumbled upon an impressive cover of ABBAs awesome song "Lay All Your Love On Me"...

What I like about it is that it's so emotional and passionate, really emphasizing the intense emotion of the lyrics (regretfully the clip doesn't show the entire song, if anyone can find the entire song from this performance please let me know ) :

Cover: Cody Frost performs ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’


An alternative version: Cody from The Voice - Lay All Your Love On Me


Original: ABBA - Lay All Your Love On Me

-----

Bonus video:

I recently saw an interesting video where the producer Rick Beato interviews ABBA member Björn Ulvaues on how ABBA wrote and recorded some of their hit songs, and they also talk about the entrance of AI tools into the music scene.

I think the video is extra interesting for those who have been into composing, recording and mixing music (in short: they basically jammed a lot, and chose only the very best of what they came up with, and they were very careful that every piece had to be really good to make it on an album).

(and e.g. the beat to "Dancing Queen" was inspired by a US disco song in slower tempo, and the lyrics to "Take A Chance On Me" originates from the sound of the hihat (cymbal). )

ABBA Interview: Björn Ulvaeus On Making ABBA's Timeless Hits

 

[pinball1970]

Another great rendition, I have hope for the youth!

 

[pinball1970]

Artfrob is a true artist, getting pleasure from videoing players in Cardiff. This is one.
My heart sank a bit when I saw this (my favourite pop song.... possibly. It changes.)
This is nice though. Misses the harmony but just a guy with a guitar, not bad.

 

[pinball1970]

Last of this Russian lady for now. She mainly plays the track BUT sticks the melody in as well which is not simple.

She impressed me because it's young crazy kids playing 1960s and 70s.

 

[robphy]

Here are some covers by Matteo Mancuso - (Matteo Mancuso Youtube) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matteo_Mancuso
He's got an interesting finger-style technique (without using a pick).

---

YT (2012) Paul Gilbert - Technical Difficulties
( (1999) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technical_Difficulties_(Racer_X_album) )

• (2014) Technical difficulties-Paul Gilbert (Matteo Mancuso)
  

  I don't like this video. Audio quality is very bad and the performance was meh, I was thinking about deleting this but I will leave it here, yeah I was a metal guy back in the teenage days.

  • (2022 version) Matteo Mancuso Technical Difficulties (HQ audio) w/ Simone Martinelli, Matteo Bertoldi

YT @2m00s (2012) Eric Johnson - Cliffs Of Dover - Live
( (1990) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffs_of_Dover_(composition) )

• (2016) Eric Johnson - Cliffs Of Dover - Matteo Mancuso
  

  Poor audio but I really Enjoy playing it! there's one cut at the end

#154 ( The Kinks - You Really Got Me )
(1964) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Really_Got_Me

• (2023) Matteo Mancuso - "You really got me"
  @37s
  

#167 (Van Halen - Eruption)
YT Eruption (2015 Remaster) - audio only
YT (1994) Eddie Van Halen - Eruption (Live) High Quality
(1978) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_(instrumental)

• @7m20s - (2024) Eruption segment from Rick Beato - Matteo Mancuso Interview
  (2024) Rick Beato - The Matteo Mancuso Interview: The World's Greatest Guitarist?

 

[pinball1970]

That is crazy technique!

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

Dreams - Van Halen by Alyona​

What a genius was Eddie. But he could not quit the booze.

 

[DennisN]

I just happened to listen to an amazing cover of a song, and of course I had to post it in this thread .

The song is U2:s "Red Hill Mining Town" from their fabulous album The Joshua Tree.

Note this: this song is so difficult to sing that U2 never performed it live on their Joshua Tree tour in 1987, because the singer couldn't do it.

But here is a singer that manages it brilliantly live:
(what a performance! , and at 4:20- he just blows the roof of the building )

U2 - Red Hill Mining Town LIVE by Lemon Chile


The original song is here.

The song is about this:

The focus of the song is on the National Union of Mineworkers' 1984 strike in Great Britain that occurred in response to the National Coal Board's campaign to close unprofitable mines.

 

[BillTre]

Man of Constant Sorrow
apparently some traditional folk song
I first heard in the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?:



I just recently heard this acapella version which I really like.
They use no instruments, only mouth sounds.

 

[robphy]

from #786

#167 (Van Halen - Eruption)
YT Eruption (2015 Remaster) - audio only
YT (1994) Eddie Van Halen - Eruption (Live) High Quality
(1978) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eruption_(instrumental)

• &t=7m20s - (2024) Eruption segment from Rick Beato - Matteo Mancuso Interview

(2010) eddie van halen eruption in his backyard live

---

These are mostly tributes done shortly after Eddie Van Halen passed away on Oct 6, 2020.

(2020) Deraps - Eruption - Eddie Van Halen Tribute


(2020) Marc Giovanetti - "Eruption" One Handed- Tribute to Eddie Van Halen


(2020) CharlesBerthoud -Van Halen ERUPTION Performed By PRO Bassist
&t=1m51s


(2020) "Stevie-T" Steve Terreberry - Van Halen - Eruption (In 20 Different Styles)


(2020) Regina Rothe -"Eruption" (Van Halen) auf der Querflöte: "Flute Eruption"


(2020) Eruption Van Halen on Accordion! CPez - Cory Pesaturo


Honorable mention:
(2021) Unlucky Morpheus - violin【Live Cover】Eruption(Van Halen) ～ The Dance of Eternity(Dream Theater) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC2A1hbuLmI

 

[pinball1970]

A cover of "To sir with love," by Foxes and Fossils

 

[pinball1970]

The original here.

 

[jack action]

This doesn't really belong here but I thought it would be the place to be appreciated:

In 1978, an FM radio station accidentally played the song at the wrong speed of 45 rpm. The radio station received favorable calls and opted to let the song play at the incorrect speed. Sonically, the vocals resembled the voice of Stevie Nicks, who later heard of the incident and purchased the record. Upon playing the record at 45 rpm, she said that it gave her the chills and that it sounded "exactly like something I’d sing, the way I’d sing it". While Nicks was presenting demos for the Tusk album, she mixed in the sped up version of "Imaginary Lover" with her other material. One of her bandmates, Christine McVie, assumed that it was an original composition from Nicks and complimented her. Fleetwood Mac engineer Hernán Rojas later heard that the Atlanta Rhythm Section learned of the incident and "didn't find it as funny as we did".

45RPM version:

​

33RPM version:

​

 

[robphy]

This doesn't really belong here but I thought it would be the place to be appreciated:
..snip..
45RPM version:
..snip..
33RPM version:

Along these lines is
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Spring_Harbor_(album)
by Billy Joel

emphasis mine

Through an error in the album's mastering, the songs played slightly too fast, causing Joel's voice to sound unnaturally high (one-half of a semitone higher—Joel joked that he sounded more like the Bee Gees or one of Alvin and the Chipmunks than himself). According to a long-standing rumor, when Joel first heard the finished product, he "ripped it off the turntable, ran out of the house, and threw [the record] down the street."[1] Artie Ripp, owner of Family Productions and hence the owner of the original master tapes, was responsible for the production error, and the mistake cost him his friendship with Joel.

(30m49s)
Billy Joel Cold Spring Harbor Family Productions (Original 1971 Incorrect Speed Pressing) FULL ALBUM


(32m33s)
Billy Joel - Cold Spring Harbor [Vinyl Remastered]

 

[Hornbein]

 

[Hornbein]

Imaginary Lover -- 35% percent is an awful lot of speedup. I thought the sound was poor so sped up the original by 16% myself.

 

[robphy]

​

Nice techniques.
Here's another one by Tory Slusher:
Flight of the Bumblebee (IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY LEVEL)

 

[morrobay]

And from City Radio Pattaya, FM 90.25 . On my new retro radio: 3"x6"x8" Up tempo.

 

[pinball1970]

Nice techniques.
Here's another one by Tory Slusher:
Flight of the Bumblebee (IMPOSSIBLE DIFFICULTY LEVEL)

That's amazing.

 

[morrobay]

First time I've heard this cover:

 

[pinball1970]

First time I've heard this cover:

It's good but I knew what kind of approach he would take to it. Soul and blues it up and the song doesn't need that.
I think the Mamas and the Papas harmony is too ingrained in my mind on this one.

 

[pinball1970]

The Original, "Sunny" Bobby Hebb.

 

[pinball1970]

What about this, two of the greatest voices of the 1960s/70s possibly all time for their genre? It's great BUT less is more when the tune and words are this good.
Bobby Hebb just starts with voice and bass. I am not 100% sure about the claim regarding why he wrote it. He allegedly started writing an album after his brother was killed, the day after JFK was assassinated as he was devastated by both events.

EDIT: correct video this time, Ella Fitzgerald and Tom Jones

 

[pinball1970]

I found a live version, just him on guitar and bass accompanying just amazing.
It deserves to go in the "music to lift my soul" thread.

 

[Hornbein]

The Original, "Sunny" Bobby Hebb.

Wow! Never heard of this guy. A lot more authenticity/sincerity than the hit version.

 

[pinball1970]

Wow! Never heard of this guy. A lot more authenticity/sincerity than the hit version.

Check out the live version on "Music to lift your soul," amazing.

 

[Hornbein]

Check out the live version on "Music to lift your soul," amazing.

To me that's more mannered. Soul singers tend toward that.

I once went to an expensive concert where I said to myself, "if this guy goes yeah yeah yeah or baby baby baby or oohoohoohooh one more time I'm going to walk out of here."

 

[pinball1970]

To me that's more mannered. Soul singers tend toward that.

I once went to an expensive concert where I said to myself, "if this guy goes yeah yeah yeah or baby baby baby or oohoohoohooh one more time I'm going to walk out of here."

Yeah I get that and that is why I don't like the Tom Jones/Ella Fitzgerald version. It is good music, I like the singing ability BUT it's too much for the track which is much more impactful the way he recorded it. He reproduces that perfectly live and I am very impressed with the guitar playing too, what he does with his left hand in particular.
He has such a great voice but if I had not have looked up the song, I would not have been able to name him.

 

[Hornbein]