Some great shouts in this thread, particularly Wayne Gibson's Under My Thumb and Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude.
Personally:
Another Wilson Pickett cover - Stagger Lee
Kenickie - It Started With A Kiss
The Coasters - Love Potion No 9
Shed Seven - Wired For Sound (Cliff Richard cover!)
Madness - It Must Be Love (originally by Labi Siffre)
Edwin Starr - Movin' On Up (Primal Scream cover from the soundtrack to Blue Juice)
The Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths cover) - I particularly love the instrumental version of it that's on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack
The Third Degree - Mercy (Duffy cover, and a billion times better than the original)
Suede - Shipbuilding (cover of an Elvis Costello song written for Robert Wyatt)
Ella Fitzgerald - These Boots Are Made For Walking
Two Eddie Floyd covers:
Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - Knock On Wood
Rosetta Hightower - Big Bird
Also, some covers I like a great deal, although it's questionable whether or not they're an improvement on the originals...
Lulu - Heatwave (Martha & The Vandellas cover)
Reel Big Fish - Take On Me (A-ha cover)
The Muffs - Kids In America (Kim Wilde cover)
The Wannadies - Blister In The Sun (Violent Femmes cover)
Quite a lot of Joan Baez's versions of Bob Dylan songs, in my opinion. But I think that's more evidence of Dylan being a great songwriter than the original versions being less good.
Good point well made.
Guns and Roses' live version of Knocking on Heaven's Door destroys the original. Likewise Adele did pretty damned well with Make you Feel my Love.
Moving on, I prefer Otis Redding's cover of A Change is Gonna Come to Sam Cooke's original, but its hard to say one's better than the other.
I'd like to nominate an entire covers album please. I know this concept is often associated with being a money-spinner for artists possibly beyond their most creative years, but this is a peach. Headless Heroes, "The Silence of Love". I know little about them other than being fronted by Alela Diane, and one of the musicians previously being in one of PJ Harvey's live line-ups.
Many moons ago, whilst listening to the John Peel Show, he played the original version of Night Nurse by Gregory Isaac. When it finished he just said, “Mick Hucknall my arse” and started the next track.
Comments
Some great shouts in this thread, particularly Wayne Gibson's Under My Thumb and Wilson Pickett's Hey Jude.
Personally:
Another Wilson Pickett cover - Stagger Lee
Kenickie - It Started With A Kiss
The Coasters - Love Potion No 9
Shed Seven - Wired For Sound (Cliff Richard cover!)
Madness - It Must Be Love (originally by Labi Siffre)
Edwin Starr - Movin' On Up (Primal Scream cover from the soundtrack to Blue Juice)
The Dream Academy - Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want (Smiths cover) - I particularly love the instrumental version of it that's on the Ferris Bueller soundtrack
The Third Degree - Mercy (Duffy cover, and a billion times better than the original)
Suede - Shipbuilding (cover of an Elvis Costello song written for Robert Wyatt)
Ella Fitzgerald - These Boots Are Made For Walking
Two Eddie Floyd covers:
Otis Redding & Carla Thomas - Knock On Wood
Rosetta Hightower - Big Bird
Also, some covers I like a great deal, although it's questionable whether or not they're an improvement on the originals...
Lulu - Heatwave (Martha & The Vandellas cover)
Reel Big Fish - Take On Me (A-ha cover)
The Muffs - Kids In America (Kim Wilde cover)
The Wannadies - Blister In The Sun (Violent Femmes cover)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y21VecIIdBI
My computer wouldn't let me insert a link.
I meant embed a video.
Wild Horses by The Sundays
Good point well made.
Guns and Roses' live version of Knocking on Heaven's Door destroys the original. Likewise Adele did pretty damned well with Make you Feel my Love.
Moving on, I prefer Otis Redding's cover of A Change is Gonna Come to Sam Cooke's original, but its hard to say one's better than the other.
Obadiah Parker - Hey Ya
I'd like to nominate an entire covers album please. I know this concept is often associated with being a money-spinner for artists possibly beyond their most creative years, but this is a peach. Headless Heroes, "The Silence of Love". I know little about them other than being fronted by Alela Diane, and one of the musicians previously being in one of PJ Harvey's live line-ups.
A rather lovely version of Jackson C. Frank's Blues Run the Game.
T'other thread reminded me of:
Ace of Spades - Hayseed Dixie
GWAR covers West End Girls:
http://www.avclub.com/video/gwar-covers-pet-shop-boys-211000
Cover of Tiswas theme
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjCHNEtudR0
The Polyphonic Spree - Lithium
I know Rod Stewart covered the original, but the Stereophonics version of "Handbags & Gladrags" was better than the Rod Stewart version.
Many moons ago, whilst listening to the John Peel Show, he played the original version of Night Nurse by Gregory Isaac. When it finished he just said, “Mick Hucknall my arse” and started the next track.
Still cracks me up
Watching Chef reminded me of this gem:
Hot 8 Brass Band - Sexual Healing
I like Five Finger Death Punch who have covered a lot of songs. I really like Wrong Side of Heaven. Obviously the original is good, I like the lyrics.
A cover I heard for the first time recently that is WAY better than the original is Bobby Womack's version of "Everyone's Gone to the Moon"