Better Than The Original?

[Geoff O'Donoghue]

I like the Dionne Warwick version of Walk On By but The Stranglers version is sheer genius. It still makes an appearance in their set lists these days.
(I didn't read the entirety of this thread so apologies if someone has already mentioned this cover).

[Progbear]

Although I like Ike & Tina's version of "Proud Mary" (they pretty much made a new song out of it) I can't agree that it's better than Creedence's. I will however assert that I like Creedence's version of "I Heard It through the Grapevine" more than the original.

ELP - PAAE, Barbarian, Hoedown

Don’t take this the wrong way, guys, but stop smoking crack. I think that Ike & Tina’s version of “Proud Mary” brings new life to what was otherwise fairly ordinary tune. And don’t get me started on CCR’s “I Hoid It Through the Grapevine.” John, you’re a white, suburban dork from El Cerrito, stop trying to convince us you’re a rootsy Delta bluesman! (Sacramento Delta, maybe.) Marvin Gaye’s prior cover and Gladys Knight & the Pips’ original are both superior in every way.

And ELP’s tacky bastardization of Pictures better than Mussorgsky’s original piano suite? Seriously? It’s not even good for ELP! It makes Tomita’s cheesy (yet entertaining) Moog version seem tasteful by comparison.

People don't usually think of Dylan covering others, but I think this one is a riot, given that he's doing a duet with himself:

This one’s even riot-ier, as Dylan didn’t want it released. Columbia released it to spite him when he left them for Asylum:



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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison

N.P.:nothing

[ronmac]

Don’t take this the wrong way, guys, but stop smoking crack. I think that Ike & Tina’s version of “Proud Mary” brings new life to what was otherwise fairly ordinary tune.

The problem with their version is that they gave it a form that doesn't fit the lyric.

[Rarebird]

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

‘“What blow, Goblin?” said Corinius.’ --E. R. Eddison

N.P.:nothing

Not much difference between this version and the original.

[unclemeat]

Not bad.



cf also his "Billy the Mountain" a capella version.

[PeterG]

Wow! how many archive pages did you read through to get to this or did you search for the thread title? Do you realise you have responded to a THREE year old thread?

[NogbadTheBad]

I always find it weird when an old thread pops up with a random new post, I do love it though.

[Zeuhlmate]

I always find it weird when an old thread pops up with a random new post, I do love it though.

yes, its fine. Instead of making a new thread repeating all over.

[PeterG]

I don't have a problem with it either, as long as the posts of the previous 13 pages aren't repeated by all the people who wrote them three years ago.

[rcarlberg]

I don't have a problem with it either, as long as the posts of the previous 13 pages aren't repeated by all the people who wrote them three years ago.

I just heard on the radio a whole set of Beatles tunes done by jazz musicians. While pleasant and in places creative, the originals are so perfectly realized it's awfully hard to top the Beatles versions. Maybe Sergio's Mendez's version of "Blackbird" or Gryphon's version of "Mother Nature's Son" come close.

That's not always true. Santana's version of "Oye Como Va" became THE standard. Santana's version of "Black Magic Woman" blows Fleetwood Mac's original out of the water too.

What other cover versions are better than the original?

[Watanabe]

Santana's studio version of Black Magic Woman was better than Fleetwood's, but the live extended version Mac played trumps any Santana version imo.

[Spiral]

I just heard on the radio a whole set of Beatles tunes done by jazz musicians. While pleasant and in places creative, the originals are so perfectly realized it's awfully hard to top the Beatles versions.

Maybe it depends what you consider perfectly realized (and of course what the treatment is). In my book, it's a rare Beatles song that isn't greatly improved without the words.

[PeterG]

I've always thought, regardless of individual musical tastes, that Nos. 1,2,3 on everybody's list should be:

1. Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower
2. Santana - Black Magic Woman
3. Aretha Franklin - Respect

[rcarlberg]

I've always thought, regardless of individual musical tastes, that Nos. 1,2,3 on everybody's list should be:

You need to BACK THE F**K OFF, buster!

JK

[unclemeat]

This is very good indeed.

[rapidfirerob]

I just heard on the radio a whole set of Beatles tunes done by jazz musicians. While pleasant and in places creative, the originals are so perfectly realized it's awfully hard to top the Beatles versions. Maybe Sergio's Mendez's version of "Blackbird" or Gryphon's version of "Mother Nature's Son" come close.

That's not always true. Santana's version of "Oye Como Va" became THE standard. Santana's version of "Black Magic Woman" blows Fleetwood Mac's original out of the water too.

What other cover versions are better than the original?

Santana's Black Magic Woman is different than Fleetwood Mac's, certainly not better.

[The Dark Elf]

Santana's Black Magic Woman is different than Fleetwood Mac's, certainly not better.

I agree, it's different, not better. Love the original Fleetwood version.

[Calabasas_Trafalgar]

Quatermass' Gemini - much better than Eric Burdon & the Animals version.