Covers Good and Bad

[Cajun 11746]

 

[locodos 5395]

 

[zzzz 39]

 

[WBT 20670]

 

Edited November 7, 2022 by WBT

[closetohumping 17474]

 

[GenXer 3026]

 

[noharleyyet 2849]

 

[HamsterHookah 112]

In the spirit of the season, I submit these amazing vocals on an all-time classic:

 

[WhatTheBuck 28798]

Just heard this on NPR a little bit ago during the break after the 1st qtr of the Celebration Bowl. New to me. Pretty sweet, I’d say.

 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

Pretty cool -- weird timing.  They're flipping the beat.

[Mdhorn 5987]

Talking Head's Television Man as performed by Man or Astroman

 

 

[VirginiaLonghorn 4781]

On 4/20/2019 at 4:00 AM, DalTxHornFan said:

But then there's the Leonid & Friends version:

 

[boilerhorn 1399]

Springsteen covers Chuck Berry.

 

[dcbc 14510]

 

[GenXer 3026]

 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

That's fantastic.

[Trey3216 15357]

Holy shit.  I never thought this song could/would be covered well…. Well fucking done Dave.   
 

 

[GenXer 3026]

 

[DougO 5256]

One of my favorite Beatles covers.

 

[closetohumping 17474]

Best Everywhere cover?

 

 

[davidg 4038]

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

IMO, the all time, world record beatdown, let’s pretend the original never existed cover is Priest’s version of this. 
 

 

 

Another I like, thought the original is pretty good, too. 

 

[Doc Daneeka 6769]

40 years later, live and even better. 
 

 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

Man, I saw Priest do that tune in the late afternoon of a sweltering hot summer day from about 20 yards out.  I think that version is even better.  Cool.

[davidg 4038]

Close enough to a cover so I’m gonna put it here …

 

 

 

[Brisketexan 105364]

Not at all sorry if this has already been posted. Lake Street Dive's latest EP is their second "covers" album (here's the first).
This is a song that's always been in my head... it's really hard to top the Cranberries (and Dolores O'Riordan!), but damn if Rachael Price's voice doesn't just resonate for me like no other.
So excited to see them on Sunday night...
 

Her cover of Can’t Find My Way Home is…damn…all time great song and she manages to make it meltingly sexy and powerful:

[TexPx 2324]

The Feelies

[BoomMF 1399]

SIAP

Both sound great, but when that second dude drops in...

 

[Frieda’s Boss 181]

 

[noharleyyet 2849]

 

[Underdog 28774]

[jimmyjazz 46150]

I still say the drummer has to be gay.

[abuelo gringo 321]

Bo Diddley with a San Francisco '60s twist.  Loved this song from when it first came out.

[davidg 4038]

Great Zeppelin cover 

 

[HiggyBaby 2545]

It was years before I knew Skynryd’s Call Me the Breeze was a cover. Clapton’s tribute to Cale a few years ago is equally great. IIRC he uses the original drum machine to start it off. 
 

 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

That's a great cover and a great video.

[closetohumping 17474]

Carrie Underwood’s “I told you so” is better than the original 

[boilerhorn 1399]

This one was shared by @jimmyjazz in the "cmt pulls aldean video" thread on "Daily Texan".  Might as well share it here.

 

Edited July 20, 2023 by boilerhorn

[closetohumping 17474]

Probably already posted:

 

 

[nolongerU2horn 767]

 

[Iowa Horn 55]

On 7/19/2023 at 10:29 PM, boilerhorn said:

This one was shared by @jimmyjazz in the "cmt pulls aldean video" thread on "Daily Texan".  Might as well share it here.

 

 

Jeez, what an abomination of a cover.  When it comes on the radio I can't change the channel fast enough, except half the time on shitty Austin radio its playing on at least one other station at the same time.  The dude broke the cover song honor code and didn't even try to change up his version, even a little.  It's generic and soulless.  Could you at least have made the song "Fast Truck", or sung it from the perspective of the other character (presumably the boyfriend) in the song?  Nope - instead we get to hear a country bumpkin twangin' on about being a homeless woman with an out of work boyfriend, desperately dreaming of a better life.  The whole thing just isn't plausible - I mean, redneck dudes don't live in shelters, work in convenience stores, have partners (girlfriends/boyfriends?) who put their arm around their shoulder while driving fast cars.  He even kept the line about how he's gonna work in the market as a checkout girl.  It's the same as if I learned to mimic 99 Luftballons so I could do a killer karaoke performance - yep, I could do it, but I wouldn't have a damn clue about the words I was singing.  The only silver lining of this atrocity is that it put a black female songwriter on the top of the country charts for the first time, and I can only imagine she's laughing at this cracker all the way to the bank.

 

[boilerhorn 1399]

@Iowa Horn - perhaps.  But there is some backstory to this song for Combs.  His dad played it for him and it influenced his musical passions.  As Combs was starting out, he played it in his sets.  Very few folks go to small bars for local new artists aspiring to see innovative renditions of 15+ year old songs.  "Hey, Jim, he sucks.  It sounds nothing like the original."  It's similar to the reason stud rock guitar players play the exact solo from the records.

On the upside (as you reference), there are estimates that this recording has earned Tracy Chapman in excess of $500k from writing and publishing royalties.  Given how shitty initial record deals at the time were (1988), I suspect she's totally fine w/ it.  Plus, it will move more copies of what is one of the best recordings of the late 80s.

I do not disagree about him breaking the cover honor code, but he's not a pioneer on that, esp. these days.

[boilerhorn 1399]

Did the search and did not see this one.  Likely there, but...

I like their version.  IMO, they have the crowd mixed in too high.  Moreover, I think Lars is also mixed in a little too high and Trujillo too low.

 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

2 hours ago, Iowa Horn said:

 

Jeez, what an abomination of a cover.  When it comes on the radio I can't change the channel fast enough, except half the time on shitty Austin radio its playing on at least one other station at the same time.  The dude broke the cover song honor code and didn't even try to change up his version, even a little.  It's generic and soulless.  Could you at least have made the song "Fast Truck", or sung it from the perspective of the other character (presumably the boyfriend) in the song?  Nope - instead we get to hear a country bumpkin twangin' on about being a homeless woman with an out of work boyfriend, desperately dreaming of a better life.  The whole thing just isn't plausible - I mean, redneck dudes don't live in shelters, work in convenience stores, have partners (girlfriends/boyfriends?) who put their arm around their shoulder while driving fast cars.  

 

A couple of details:  Tracy is gay, even if she hasn't said it.  Her lovers (like Alice Walker) have   So, the song is referring to a girlfriend, which amplifies the twist when a guy sings it.  It still works.

Beyond that, this "code" is fucking silly.  I mean, I get the basic idea, don't be an ACTUAL mimic of the song, but he's a long way from that.  It's a tip of the cap more than a new twist.  I think it's fine.

"Fast Truck" is absolutely the dumbest thing I've heard this month, and I've heard and read a whole bunch of dumb things this month.  You should feel shame.

Edited July 22, 2023 by jimmyjazz

[Iowa Horn 55]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

"Fast Truck" is absolutely the dumbest thing I've heard this month, and I've heard and read a whole bunch of dumb things this month.  You should feel shame.

Haha, so true - Fast Truck would be horrible, that idea.  It was intended as a dig on formulaic country songs, not as a way to make it better, but pointing out how he missed a golden opportunity to kill two birds with one stone (make the cover his own, and check the "truck" box for the song). 

[tbone_ 14165]

I don’t hate that Luke Combs cover. I think he did a great job with it.

[Underdog 28774]

On 7/14/2021 at 2:10 PM, Handcruser said:

 

She could probably do a whole album of Blondie/Debbie Harry covers and it would rock. 

[jimmyjazz 46150]

Girl can surely sing.

[HiggyBaby 2545]

Holy shit

[Trey3216 15357]

On 7/17/2023 at 9:04 PM, davidg said:

Great Zeppelin cover 

 

One of my favorite songs ever written.  She did it very well...and on the casting couch to boot.