Now here's one with a rather complicated history:

The first version released was by Cyndi Lauper and I fell in love with it right away (this is her doing it live on VH1):

However, a posthumous collection of Roy Orbison's last recordings also included it and it sounded so great in his hands, I wondered if it was originally written for him. As it turned out, it was. He recorded for the album "Mystery Girl" (his last album before his untimely demise) but didn't use it on the album. So, Roy recorded it first, but Cyndi's version ended up coming out first. So who covered who?

And, to top it all off, Celine Dion covered it early in 00s:

My favorite? I'll give a Roy a slight edge because I think he had possibly the best male voice in the history of rock and roll (yes, I'm including Elvis in that), but Cyndi does a bang up job on it, too. Celine's is good but, to be honest, I've never been all fond of her so I may be selling her version short just because it's her.

Mendalla

Okay here's John Lennon's  "Jealous Guy"

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And here's Bryan Ferry's version (which I prefer)

(sorry can't seem to imbed---still)

waterfall wrote:

Okay here's John Lennon's  "Jealous Guy"

 

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And here's Bryan Ferry's version (which I prefer)

 

(sorry can't seem to imbed---still)

I've noticed that Youtube now has a different format for embed codes and that you have to have the "Use old embed code" checkbox ticked for the codes to work properly on WC. Not if that's what you ran up against, but it was a problem for me when I posted a video to another thread yesterday.

Mendalla

Yeah I discovered that too.

I prefer John's origional Jealous Guy. Though I love Brian Ferry, he's on eof my favorite male singers.

My fave cover is Cowboy Junkies Sweet Jane over the original by Velvet Underground. I heard the Junkies version first so that may be why...

I love the pain in the Junkies version. I really feel that.

I'm going though the cd's now!

More covers I like better than the originals are Japan's version of the Smokey Robinson's I Second That Emotion

The Damned's cover of Love's Alone Again Or

Will Shatner's cover of Pulp's Common People

I love Leonard Cohen's song, "Hallelujah" but kd lang's version is completely mesmerizing to me - it's like the song was written for her.

Great covers that are not necessarily better than the originals:

I really like Rooney's cover of the Ramones' Here Today Gone Tomorrow:

And Placebo did a great cover of Kate Bush, Running Up That Hill:

And the Futureheads did great covers both of the Hounds of Love, and Let's Dance:

(It actually has a great video with lots of cuddly dogs in it, but alas, not avail on YouTube.)

Hi, Elanor,

I'm at work so can't listen to what you posted, but I need to give those two Kate Bush covers a listen. I'm a huge Kate fan. Given what a fantastic songwriter she is, you'd think she'd be covered more than she is.

Mendalla

Here is a cover of My Sharona by The Knack. The cover version is done by power metal legends HammerFall.

Original: Detroit Rock City by KISS

Cover version: HammerFall

Original: Holy Diver by Ronnie James Dio (heavy metal legend)

Cover version: Killswitch Engage

Note: Killswitch Engage are known for their brilliant sense of humour. Thus....the video

Original: Land of Confusion by Genesis

Cover Version: by Disturbed

Song: O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Cover version : Theocracy (best...power metal....band....EVAR!!!)

Original: Imperial March by John Williams

Cover version: Epica (symphonic metal at its finest)

Personal Jesus by Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash covering Depeche Mode? I think I have to hear that. I know he was doing some pop stuff.

Mendalla, The Placebo one is live, because I wanted one with a moving picture, but of cource the studio recording is better.

I probly went a little overboard posting 9 songs! The Shatner one is funny. He sais it like he really means it! The singing bit is someone else.

Surprised this thread's been as quiet as it has. I've been thinking of more good covers over the past few days. Such as Brendan Perry's Song of the Siren, cover of Tim Buckley.

What did you think of those Kate Bush covers Mendalla?

Agreed on the quiet. I thought of some to post but haven't had time. Stay tuned.

I found Placebo's "Running up that hill" to be a bit too slow getting moving. The ending was good but it took too long getting there. Futureheads "Hounds of Love" is pretty good, though.

Mendalla

"Hallelujah" gets covered so much that there's room for everyone to have their own favorite. There are several that I like, but this one by the late Jeff Buckley is a true work of beauty:

And then there's John Cale (from Velvet Underground) who first recorded the song for the Cohen tribute album "I'm Your Fan". This live version is also good, but I believe the original version on the album had Cale alone on the piano and it was stunning. It was also, IIRC, the first recording to use the full lyrics (Cohen's version had cut out some verses).

Don't get me wrong. KD's version is good but this is one of my "desert island" songs and these are the versions I'd be choosing from for that desert island list.

Mendalla

Great Big Sea did some great covers early in their career in addition to their usual mix of traditional and original songs.

Here's a live version of their cover of Slade's "Runaway":

And of REM's "It's the End of the World":

Mendalla

Mendalla,

I hear WC really enjoys

this guy takes a song aboot addiction and makes it deeper than deep

A travelling troupe of senior citizen singers outdo Coldplay in their song "Fix You".

Some Tomita lovin'

ALOHA!  Somewhere over the rainbow

Queen lives!  Long live Queen!

Love the Cash version of that song but must confess that I've never heard the NIN version.

Oo, someone else who likes Tomita. Used to listen to him a lot at one time. Don't have any of his albums anymore (my tape of Tomita Live! died a while ago), but his electronic interpretations of the classics were often quite beautiful and surprisingly conventional in the orchestrations.

Mendalla

Hey, Elanor,

Here's another Kate Bush cover. While listening to the ones you posted, I recalled hearing that someone had done "Wuthering Heights" in recent years. This is probably the one.

I like it, but one could argue that it's a little too close to Bush's original.

Pat Benatar also covered it many years ago. Her version is a bit "rockier" and heavy on the electric guitars.

Mendalla

Oooo! Lots more stuff to load up here. We have at least one album of Cohen overs, I have yet to select my faves... ALso have an album of Carpenters covers, Depech Mode COvers, and John Denver covers...Lots more material to work with!

I dig the slowness of the Placebo as a downer type thing. Very keen to hear the Pat Bennetar. I like her.

I like Tomita too. I knew some NIN back in the day, but ot sure I know that one. I'll have to hear that again. I only ever had one 12" of his. I was more into Pop Will Eat Itself.

I was just lookign up Duran covers and found this one sung by the singer of the Sneaker Pimps (a group I;m not familiar with) with Simon on stage singing backing vocals, and it's pretty good!

A Cohen cover I really like, that comes instantly to mind and is likely my favorite is COncrete Blonde doing Everybody KNows....

That song, The Chauffeur, might even be my all time fave DUran song, which is saying something.

 Concrete Blonde: Everybody Knows

Well I like the Pat Benetar, but not the other one, she sounds too wet behind the ears. WHile watching that though I spotted the Puppini Sisters Wuthering Heights which I quite liked! DOne 40's style.

So I've been listenig to our covers albums here and my faves from the Carpenters covers album "If I Were a Carpenter" are:

Sonic Youth: Superstar

The Cranberries: Close To You

Cheryl Crow: SOlitaire

From the John Denver tribute:

The Innocence Mission: Follow Me

Red House Painters: Fly Away (done all electric guitar, instrumental)

Kozelek/Goswell: Around and Around

And from the (1) Cohen covers CD:

Tori Amos: Famous Blue Raincoat

Sting and the CHieftains: Sisters of Mercy

I also love a cover of Suzanne by Geoffrey Oreyema from Africa, from his album.

We have the wonderful piano covers of Radiohead cd by CHristopher Riley which is beautiful. Radiohead you can play when your parents come over! From that my fave might be "Let Down" so beautiful it makes me cry. A must for anyone who likes piano or classical.

Love the Queen! That's hilarious!

the clause "of popular songs" rules out all of my favourite cover versions

My all-time fav cover is Eddie Vedder doing Dylan's Masters of War.

At one time, my YouTube favourites had every cover of M of W I could find. Then Dylan got all copyright-pissy and poof. Gone.

Ever heard Kate's first version from 1978? She was only a teenager (17, I think) when she wrote and recorded it in the first place. Personally, I prefer the later version from "The Whole Story" where she kept the original backing tracks but re-recorded the lead vocal in her mature, 80s voice.

Mendalla

I just mean "popular music" as opposed to say versions of classical pieces. Doesn't mean that they have to be well known or anything (Kate Bush isn't exactly a household name, for instance, unless you're in my household). Could be anything from 20s jazz songs to the latest in pop (but please, if anyone posts the Duff sisters' cover of the Go-Gos, I will be seriously ill).

Mendalla

Crap. That may straightjacket my next intended post. I was going to look for some of my fave Dylan covers (e.g. GnR doing "Knockin' on Heaven's Door").

Mendalla

Strike out Van Morrison, too, then, Mendalla, as he's equally c-p. My guy had the Dead live doing a cover of Gloria, and it got him (temporarily) booted off YouTube.

Yeah I know the original recordning of Wuthering Heights, I also prefer the newer one.  But even early on, Kate was something special.

Good to see you here ArogantMan, I was thinking this would be a thread you should be in. Haven't seen much of you since the what do you all look like thread. I'd be curious to see what your favorite covers are. Hey, Hubby and I watched that Krautrock Documentary on YouTube recently and I thought of you. The history of Can, Tangerine Dream and Kraftwerk and all. It was good.

^ hey, that's cool :)

I'd actually have to think a bit to come up with some covers I like, but here's a good one to start

(can't remember how to embed videos on this site)

I'm also a big fan of The nice's cover of Dylan's She Belongs To Me, but can't find it anywhere to share

Edit: Oh, how about Porcupine Tree's cover of Hallogallo?  not as good as the originial, but still pretty cool

In more ways than one . I didn't think of it, but I could have included her in the heart-throbs thread.

Mendalla

Okay, back to the music. Another much covered song is "Love Hurts". My generation are most familiar with Nazareth's version from the seventies (someone's homemade video for it):

The original (as I understand it) was the version by the Everly Brothers:

But my personal favorite is Roy Orbison:

Mendalla

Speaking of Nazareth, time to play "covers" in reverse with the original of My White Bicycle!

beware: will hurt your ears with headphones (serious panning)

and how about covers of one's own songs?

Astronomy Domine:

Blue Eyed William: http://listen.grooveshark.com/s/Blue+Eyed+William/2xnQs8?src=5

 I was listening to R.E.M. on YouTube a couple of nights ago.  Here are a couple of great songs ...

Thanks, qwerty! Losing my Religion is on of my all time favorites, I think.

Not a cover though. I wonder if anyone has covered Loosing My Religion. I would think it's highly coverable.

ArrogantMan, No prob about imbedding, I (at least) watch all the videos on YouTube anyway as I can't preload them here in WC. Got teh Espers loading right now. We now have two of their albums. I'm keen to check out your own covers! Excellent!

Mendalla, Yeah, Kate is lovely. SHe was early inspiration to me, especially with WOman's Work and Sensual World. She still inspires me. Love her new album. She's just a fabulous artist and woman. By all means though, let's see your fave pic of her in the heart throbs thread!

I do, too, and something makes me think it's been done. I'll check around.

Mendalla

Went looking for one and found something better from the Guardian:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/18/kate-bush-new-music-2011

I find it hard to believe given her track record of going 8+ years between records, but they seem fairly sure of their sources so I'm cautiously optimistic.

New Kate! Woo hoo!

Mendalla

haha I tihnk you misunderstood me, I meant artists doing different versions, later, of their own songs.  The first one is Peter Blegvad's remake of a song he wrote for his old band Slapp Happy, the other is Pink Floyd's live remake of one of Syd Barrett's songs off Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Actually, there's several, but this one caught my attention for some reason.

And the same group has also covered my favorite Metallica song:

 Mendalla

Ha Ha, ok, sounds funny. Loading the loosing religion one first. ALso found an Eddie Vedder Masters of War, there's several to choose from.

Yesterday before going out I managed to hear all the Love Hurts versions, which was fun. I think I also like the Roy Orbison best, though they all have their good attributes.

Enjoyed the Porcupine tree though it was quite short, and the Espers was lovely, then we played the Bert Jansch one which was also very nice. The song is traditional.

I then discovered that my fave song on Dave Gilmour's debut solo album, There's No Way Out Of Here, is a cover by a group called Unicorn, so we checked that out, and it's excellent, but I still prefer Gilmour's.

I'll check out the Astronomy Domine later.  Ya know, it was the Voivod cover of that song that first got me into Pink Floyd. Once I heard the original I was hooked for life. And Voivod got so many of the words wrong!! I hate that!

Loosing my religion: Oh those poor monks!

Bette, which Eddie Vedder recording of Masters of War is your favorite? There's ones from different years and places.

So that Astronomy Domine is just the one from Ummagumma. I've owned that since I was 17.