Cover songs that actually do the original justice.

ElvisFan said:
I seriously doubt you've even listened to them.
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You might have had a point but in this wonderful age of digital media I can listen to pretty much anything and those covers aren't exactly hard to find on YouTube, so I did just that before writing the post. Now the quality obviously won't be the same as from a decent source but then again since I'm listening to everything through the same hifi so it makes relatively little odds.

You're never going to agree with me but for something to be a definitive version to me I'd have to associate it with a particular artist before I'd associate it with anyone else i.e. the cover was so good I immediately think of the coverer rather than the coveree. Elvis simply doesn't fit that criteria on any of the songs I highlighted, he could have been technically perfect on each and every one of them and I still wouldn't think of him first regarding those songs.
 
semi-pro waster said:
You might have had a point but in this wonderful age of digital media I can listen to pretty much anything and those covers aren't exactly hard to find on YouTube, so I did just that before writing the post. Now the quality obviously won't be the same as from a decent source but then again since I'm listening to everything through the same hifi so it makes relatively little odds.

You're never going to agree with me but for something to be a definitive version to me I'd have to associate it with a particular artist before I'd associate it with anyone else i.e. the cover was so good I immediately think of the coverer rather than the coveree. Elvis simply doesn't fit that criteria on any of the songs I highlighted, he could have been technically perfect on each and every one of them and I still wouldn't think of him first regarding those songs.
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Good points, but I still think this is the best version of "Bridge":


It's the arrangement I particularly like.
 
dmpoole said:
Elvisfan -

Nobody can deny that this is the best Elvis cover ever -
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I ordered a backing track so that I could learn it. Too many guitar bits in the original version for a solo act. I'd be standing there like a lemon. Easy to sing though, you're just singing an octave lower. Sits right on my voice.

If I had the arrangement from the clip I'd put it in the show.
 
Jimmy Eat World - Firestarter


Just awesome, it puts a whole new twist on the song and a completly different take on the lyrics. Love the original and love this cover.
 
I like FOB's Beat it until the solo starts then it just gets dreadful.

Best Beat It cover I heard was off the Rock and Rhythm Van Halen Tribute CD. It was a covers band but sounded just like DLR era Van Halen doing Beat It.

Other than that:

Jeff Buckley, Hallelujah (orig. Leonard Cohen)
Jon Gomm - Wait In Vain (orig. Bob Marey) -
Nick Harper - Titties 'n' Beer (orig. Frank Zappa)
Leona Lewis - Run (orig. Snow Patrol)
Jamie Cullum - Frontin' (orig. Pharell Williams)
Jimi Hendrix - All along the watchtower (orig. Bob Dylan)
The Clash - I fought the law (orig. The Crickets)
Joss Sone - Fell in Love with a Boy (orig. The White Stripes)

Edit: Someone mentioned Newton Faulkner's Teardrop. That was absolutely fantastic when he just did it on acoustic guitar live, before the record company smeared ear candy all over it. What were they thinking?
Edit: Adding another Jon Gomm effort. Radiohead's High and Dry -
 
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Some great stuff has been posted above, I'll try and list a few I haven't seen.

Gary Jules - Mad World

Monte Montgomery - Romeo and Juliet (live version)

Jenny Owen Youngs - Hot in Here

Scala - Teenage Dirtbag

Beatles - Twist and Shout

Petra Hayden - Don't Stop Believing

The Doors - Backdoor Man, Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)

Eric Clapton - Cocaine

Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Joe Strummer / Johnny Cash - Redemption Song


I also like the newer "Watchtowers" cover, the one featured in Battlestar Galactica, can't remember the artist right now, and I've listened to several great versions of Comfortably Numb, but again, struggling to remember the artists. Will research it tomorrow.

Also there's a lot of other really entertaining covers, although not necessarily "good" among them some Britney Spears covers Nickel Creek - Toxic and Richard Thompson - Oops I did it again, Ben Kweller - Ice Ice Baby, The Automatic - Gold Digger, etc.



And for true cover song fans, do yourself a favour and check out http://www.coverville.com
 
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Controversial one now: Leona Lewis - Run (Snow Patrol original). No really. I think she does a great job of it.

:o
 
I loved Saint Etienne's cover of Only love can break your heart, the original was neil young.

ryan adams wonderwall is nice too.
 
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