Although it’s all
subjective opinion (or is it?), most cover versions aren’t a patch on the
originals (and that’s even truer when it comes to movie remakes) – but
occasionally a cover version bucks the trend and either slightly improves on
the original, or in some cases blows it out of the water. There aren’t many,
but here is my list of cover versions about which I think that applies –
divided into four categories:
Category 1 - The original is ok, but the cover version
is better
Soft Cell, "Tainted
Love" (Gloria Jones)Urge Overkill, “Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon” (Neil Diamond)
Category 2 – The original is good, but the cover
version is even better
Aretha Franklin,
"Respect" (Otis Redding)Mark Ronson
Matthew’s Southern Comfort, “
Yo La Tengo, “You Can Have It All” (George McRae)
Eva Cassidy, “Over The Rainbow” (Judy Garland)
Category 3 - The original is ok, but the cover version
completely blows it out of the water
The Beatles, ‘Twist and
Shout’ (The Isley Brothers)The Animals, ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ (Traditional)
Sinead O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Prince)
Led Zeppelin, “Babe I’m Gonna Leave You” – (Joan Baez)
Led Zeppelin, “Dazed and Confused” (Jake Holmes)
Category 4 – The original is great, but the cover
version completely blows it out of the water
Jimi Hendrix, "All
Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan)The Stranglers, “Walk On By” (Dionne Warwick)
Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah" (Leonard Cohen)
Now my top 5
1) The Stranglers, “Walk
On By”2) Jimi Hendrix, "All Along the Watchtower"
3) Led Zeppelin, “Dazed and Confused”
4) Aretha Franklin, "Respect"
5) Jeff Buckley, "Hallelujah"
Any further contenders
that you’re outraged I’ve precluded, do let me know.
