Nickyboy
Staff member
There are so many cover versions of great tunes that either do the original song justice, or make you want to stick pencils through your ear drums. Likewise, there are original songs that weren't all that great, but the cover version raises it from the gutter to at least the front stoop. One of my criteria for a cover song is that it shouldn't just be a verbatim copy of the original. It needs to bring something new to the track. Otherwise....meh, I will just listen to the original!
Post your favorite cover versions- the good, the bad, and the (aurally) ugly.
I will start.
As good as the original:
While there are countless covers of Beatles tracks, most tend to be lifeless copies of the original (although there are some truly deplorable versions also). One I've always enjoyed is Elton John's version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". He takes a classic, psychedelic track and transforms it into more of a poppie lilt and ends it with an almost Islands feel at the end.
Better than the original:
Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" strikes me as a sleepy, almost lullabye-esque track which he would have sung to a girl at a late night pot party to try to impress her. 80s/90s English group This Mortal Coil took the track and, in my opinion, infused it with the pathos and longing that Buckley's original fails to capture. You can feel the pain of loss in this version.
Hand me the sharpened pencils:
Mrs. Miller was somewhat a novelty act, although I think she took herself seriously, who was showcased quite regularly on the Mike Douglas show in the 70s. I don't think she knew Mike was laughing at her. The warbling (or caterwauling, if you will) makes this sound like a latter day Florence Foster Jenkins. And yes, she covered the Beatles and other 60s/70s acts quite a bit. Find it on youtube, or borrow the discs from Axo.
Whatcha got for me?
Post your favorite cover versions- the good, the bad, and the (aurally) ugly.
I will start.
As good as the original:
While there are countless covers of Beatles tracks, most tend to be lifeless copies of the original (although there are some truly deplorable versions also). One I've always enjoyed is Elton John's version of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds". He takes a classic, psychedelic track and transforms it into more of a poppie lilt and ends it with an almost Islands feel at the end.
Better than the original:
Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren" strikes me as a sleepy, almost lullabye-esque track which he would have sung to a girl at a late night pot party to try to impress her. 80s/90s English group This Mortal Coil took the track and, in my opinion, infused it with the pathos and longing that Buckley's original fails to capture. You can feel the pain of loss in this version.
Hand me the sharpened pencils:
Mrs. Miller was somewhat a novelty act, although I think she took herself seriously, who was showcased quite regularly on the Mike Douglas show in the 70s. I don't think she knew Mike was laughing at her. The warbling (or caterwauling, if you will) makes this sound like a latter day Florence Foster Jenkins. And yes, she covered the Beatles and other 60s/70s acts quite a bit. Find it on youtube, or borrow the discs from Axo.
Whatcha got for me?
