Are Cover Versions Better Than the Originals?

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SUMMARY

This discussion centers on the subjective nature of music covers, with participants sharing their opinions on various cover versions they believe surpass the originals. Key examples include David Gray's cover of Bob Dylan's "Meet Me in the Morning," Johnny Cash's rendition of "Rusty Cage," and Primus's interpretation of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar." The conversation highlights the artistry involved in creating unique arrangements and the emotional connections listeners have with both original and cover versions.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of music theory and arrangement techniques
  • Familiarity with notable artists and their works, such as Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Primus
  • Knowledge of the cultural impact of cover songs in various music genres
  • Awareness of platforms for sharing music, such as YouTube
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the impact of cover songs on music charts and artist careers
  • Explore the differences in arrangement styles between original songs and their covers
  • Analyze the emotional responses elicited by different versions of the same song
  • Investigate the legal aspects of covering songs, including licensing and royalties
USEFUL FOR

Musicians, songwriters, music enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the dynamics of music covers and their cultural significance.

  • #91
DiracPool said:
You said that would never happen again, you FRAUD!
The woes of being a teenager sire
 
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  • #92
WannabeNewton said:
The woes of being a teenager sire

That's OK, just do something significant with your talents...specifically, make Lee Smolin look small because he has some explanation of the Alpha Magnetic spectrometer results, which are to be released in a few days. I don't know if I like these dinosaurs wandering around a psuedo-Microsoft-type campus thinking they are all that, and wearing T-shirts that say "Perimeter institute" on them. Where's Nathan Hale?
 
  • #93
I'd love to one day be able to sport an earned Perimeter Institute t - shirt lol.
 
  • #94
I spent hours composing a post and as always the forum trashed it, so you get this instead. A heavy metal version of the My Little Pony theme song.

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

Better post really.
 
  • #95
Not a cover exactly... better than the real thing(s) if you're ear is tired of hearing both of the originals...

 
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  • #96
1977ub said:
Not a cover exactly... better than the real thing(s) if you're ear is tired of hearing both of the originals...

That's good fun. I think that the following mashup is pretty hard to beat though. It's better than either original, which I wouldn't have believed could be done. Alex van Halen is perfect for ABBA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-POrLVkOuM If I ever have the money to waste I'll do a mashup of Paul McCartney singing Let It Be over Axis: Bold As Love. That would be f****** awesome.
 
  • #97
we don't need no stinkin' titles

Wow, this thread has really taken off!

I think I posted this in Best Songs (a long time ago), but it remains one of my all-time favs. A cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRFZFmEq9o

 
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  • #98
lisab said:
Wow, this thread has really taken off!

I think I posted this in Best Songs (a long time ago), but it remains one of my all-time favs. A cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRFZFmEq9o


Oh, I almost forgot about that one! Good pick, lisab. That's one of the best covers ever.
 
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  • #99
Bohemian Rhapsody on a ukelele.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3RbO7updc

In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida sung in Finnish by the most famous singer in Finland. The duck call solo is awesome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8pYnFV77Eo

A solo version of The Police's Message In a Bottle.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-fpLmJHLvw

There are thousands of great covers from Japan, but if you aren't familiar with the the originals then some of the effect is lost. Here's one of a familiar number. Yamaha got its start as an electric organ company -- its company logo is three tuning forks -- and has kept up the tradition. They hold contests for children.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pS5xzOWbwo
 
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  • #100
Nevermore's reinterpretation of the Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. It is a reinterpretation rather than a cover, but all the harmonies are in there, though sometimes well hidden. This version made me realize how dark the lyrics already have been in the original version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uG7sd-YPmE
 
  • #101
lisab said:
Wow, this thread has really taken off!

I think I posted this in Best Songs (a long time ago), but it remains one of my all-time favs. A cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHRFZFmEq9o



I always liked that song (ever since I first heard it in Oliver Stone's "Natural Born Killers"), but never realized it was a cover.
 
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  • #102
Cthugha said:
Nevermore's reinterpretation of the Sound of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel. It is a reinterpretation rather than a cover, but all the harmonies are in there, though sometimes well hidden. This version made me realize how dark the lyrics already have been in the original version.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uG7sd-YPmE

I'm such a metalhead, but I have to say this - the S & G original blows this away. And the original is just so much darker for its quiet contemplative brooding delivery.

For the same reason, I like Tori Amos' cover of Slayer's Raining Blood. But in that case, cover and original both have their own virtues to offer.
 
  • #103
Remember Billy Idol?

 
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  • #104
lisab said:
I think I posted this in Best Songs (a long time ago), but it remains one of my all-time favs. A cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane"

This is great, I love it. =)
 
  • #105
lisab said:
I think I posted this in Best Songs (a long time ago), but it remains one of my all-time favs. A cover of Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane"

I love this - was introduced on the Wild At Heart soundtrack. I hadn't actually heard the original.
 
  • #107
Oh, speaking of OK Computer covers ... Easy Star All-Stars covered the whole album in dub/reggae and it's so good :) It's called Radiodread, here's Subterranean Homesick Alien, which ... if I remember correctly, was a cover already? Bob Dylan?



They've also done Dub Side Of The Moon, which .. is pretty good, but not particularly cohesive, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Dub Band, which is really quite good. Dub is a pretty inoffensive way to re-interpret a tune IMHO.
 
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  • #108
Love this. Turns out to be a cover of a Yardbirds song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOKVTsC4XsQ
 
  • #109
 
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  • #110
I like the dub version there. Also reminded of this nice mash-up (ok not a cover again).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwicb2g3TNk

but here what's this? an acoustic cover of the mash-up. nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY98H6Vyf-E
 
  • #111
Cool! I'll see your Karma with the Zombeatles and raise you the Beatnix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WfoccRna6I

A Hard Day's Night of the Living Dead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP6nYs9Il7c
 
  • #112
ImaLooser said:
Cool! I'll see your Karma with the Zombeatles and raise you the Beatnix.

Quite like the Beatnix. It's fun to listen to the Rutles either as xtra Beatles songs with slight tongue in cheek or to ferret out the original Beatles songs being referenced.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfhGVIe1gvg
 
  • #113
If zombies performed "Tainted Love" it might sound a little like this...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GUnUGKgWDY
 
  • #114
Jim Nabors, aka Gomer Pyle, sings The Beatles:
 
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  • #115
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=?v=aroicTD3gj8
 
  • #116
Tainted Love was originally by Gloria Jones. Later she had a baby with Marc Bolan.

The Lost Fingers do Tainted Love and a bunch of other covers. Here's my fave, an AC/DC number. Nice bass solo. Let's see Cliff Williams do that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_dIm-NweR8

While we're at it, the Harp Twins do lots of very nice covers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JWE9x0twn4

My fave of all AC/DC covers is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cjymPx4xJg
 
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  • #117
The Vitamin String Quartet does all sorts of covers. I like their Jimi Hendrix. Especially Manic Depression. It sounds nuts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p74CJs2J-T4

Many Hendrix covers are done by violinists. It's easier to sound like Jimi on a violin than on a guitar. Here's Emilie Autumn doing his Star Spangled Banner while sporting fairy wings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kws__FNfgis
 
  • #118
Here's a Beatles medley-of-covers which I prefer to the real things probably simply because I got to know it before the Beatles versions. I love this whole first Fever Tree album BTW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKFaeEwRjP0
 
  • #119
1977ub said:
Here's a Beatles medley-of-covers which I prefer to the real things probably simply because I got to know it before the Beatles versions. I love this whole first Fever Tree album BTW.

Nice@ I never would have found that one.
 
  • #120
KidzBop: Today's Greatest Hits Sung by Kids for Kids

It's almost sad when the kids version sounds less infantile than the original.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xpKvOj4cSU

Off topic, but my daughter actually drives around with kids music CDs in her car for her kids. I seriously feel she at least needs better quality kids songs if she's going to do that (at least when I have to sit in the car, too!), so I've been looking for better kids songs.

Who knew They May Be Giants has put out several albums of kids songs? There's even a kids album by the Grateful Dead! And Woody Guthrie!
 
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