Did you know The Smiths never had a No.1 single? True. And they still don’t, with Mark Ronson’s Soft Cell-soul re-think of ‘Stop Me’ sitting pretty a place off the top spot this week.
But, covers, eh? Seems you can’t move for them at the moment – Mark’s got his superstar mash-up album, Version, out this week (review on DiS soon), that disgraceful Patti Smith album of reinterpretations – really, it is very bad – is doing the rounds, and ‘Walk This Way’ by Sugababes and Girls Aloud is still loitering at the singles chart’s lower end. Oh, and then there’s the successful Radio 1 Live Lounge compilation album and Mel C’s glorious return with ‘I Want Candy’. There’s probably a whole lot more badness out there, but that’s enough if you don’t want to lose your lunch.
Naturally, covers can sometimes be a good thing. Our favourites include Nick Cave playing ‘Helpless’ by CSN&Y; the obvious glory that is Johnny Cash’s take on ‘Hurt’; Cat Power doing the Stones’ ‘Satisfaction’; The Beastie Boys doing ‘Screaming At A Wall’ by Minor Threat; and Muse’s sultry take on ‘Feeling Good’. William Shatner took ‘Common People’ to a whole new planet. Oh, and Mika covering Queen. All the time. Badly.
Bang in the word ‘cover’ into Hype Machine and you will find all types of oddities, monstrosities and magical things. Bjork doing ‘No Limits’? Check. Teenage Fanclub doing ‘Like A Virgin’? Yes. Elliot Smith poignantly offering ‘My Sweet Lord’? Indeed. And, really, it goes on… Until The Strokes do Marvin Gaye’s ‘Mercy Mercy Me’ and the world implodes.
Are Radiohead the most covered modern rock band? No shitty singer/songwriter’s career is complete without a shitty re-working of a Yorke-and-co-penned song dropped in the set. Mainly ‘Creep’ suffers – it was even played out by Korn. Cunts. Elsewhere, Alanis Morrissette butchered ‘Fake Plastic Trees’; Pedro The Lion have done ‘Let Down’; Panic At The Disco continue to massacre ‘Karma Police’; and, going back to Mark Ronson, he’s given ‘Just’ that jazz-wank treatment we all love. Or. Don’t. Equally, Radiohead have offered their own interpretations of Blondie, U2, REM, Carly Simon, Neil Young and Glen Campbell. No sense of humour? Pah.
Oh, and let us mention Placebo. They’re rubbish at covers, and their efforts at mimicking The Smiths and Kate Bush are evil and infuriating.
DiScuss: What are your favourite covers of all time? Do you prefer comedy nudge nudge, wink wink versions, or those spine-tingling homage pieces? Should ska bands ever be allowed to cover any bands, ever? And don’t mash-ups really annoy you now?
I would like to
disagree with you on a couple of points
1) The Placebo covers album is, bar one particularly hideous song and a couple of slight duds, ace.
2) I think that's it.
The worst cover
I've ever heard was Liberty X doing 'Fake Plastic Trees'.
I felt like crying...
Actually
it was 'High & Dry', apologies, the sheer awfulness made me forget for a moment...
The pumpkins
Covers of Landslide and Dancing in the moonlight are both awesome imo.
Although Jeff Buckley and Hallelujah deserves a shout.
Placebo
doing Where is my mind is bad.
Radiohead doing Nobody does it better is ace.
oooh, yes, i've got that
have you heard them doing rhinestone cowboy as well?
Devo's
cover of 'Satisfaction' is the best cover ever, equal with Hendrix's take on 'All along the watchtower'.
I also like TV on the Radio's acapella take on Mr Grieves by the Pixies. And the Pixies version of 'Head on; by JAMC pisses all over the original.
I've got a version
of "Satisfaction" done by Bjork and PJ Harvey. Tis fucking dire!
^
YES!
Devo all the way
what about
Nite Versions, where Soulwax cover themselves (sort of)? it's ace.
also, the Band's cover of A Change Is Gonna Come is great.
Or
The Wedding Present's version of Orange Juice's 'Felicity', which I reckon beats the original.
Also, Chapterhouse doing 'Rain' by The Beatles is ace.
And The Field Mice's interpretation of Loop's 'Burning World'.
St Etienne's mash-up/mix-up of The Boo Radleys' 'Rodney King' is also great.
Oh my
'Burning World' done by Field Mice. That's such an ace shout dom. (Y)
Jeff Buckleys hallelujah
surely silences anyone argues with covers?
have you heard that cover of Brimful of Asha by The View ? I think its called 'Same Jeans'
Also, Richard Cheese anyone?
The View are shit
Brimful of Asha... ha ha ha
hah
totally
"Should ska bands ever be allowed to cover any bands, ever?"
Yes, because they are good. Why the hate? :(
recently...
'Hounds of Love' was good, and i have a soft spot for 'Heartbeats' - both managed to take the songs to a new place and create something really good that doesnt have to be considered alongside the original.
i must say
i quite like the 'Hounds Of Love' version but it's annoying now and people saying it's better than the original frankly irk me. Plus Jose Gonzales' version of 'Heartbeats' is limp and dull.
Elliott Smith doing My Sweet Lord?
First I've heard of it and now i am curious. i knew he'd done a few harrison songs, anyone got a link to an mp3?
Covers - Its a tough one. I dont like it when people build a career on doing covers and I really don't like any of the Mark Ronson stuff I've heard but then some people can really make a song their own.
Favourites -
'Hurt' by Cash (goes without saying)
'Thirteen' by Elliott Smith
'Thats When I Reach For My Revolver' by Coxon
dyou know
where I could get hold of a recording of Elliott Smith doing 'Thirteen'? Would love to hear that. Wilco's version of that is also pretty sweet, though I do prefer the original.
Coxon's cover
of "...Revolver" is magic because it sounds exactly the same as the original and STILL manages to be better. He does the same thing to All Mod Cons live, too.
elliott doing my sweet lord
elliott did absolutely loads of amazing covers
http://www.blamonet.com/vb/showthread.php?t=102534
thats a list of all of them people could come up with, i can't find a link just to my sweet lord though, sorry.
xo
ska's shit
covers depend on the band/song. same with anything
problem solved
The smashing Pumpkins cover
of 'Never Let me Down Again' by Depeche Mode is great
In the same vein, Rammsteins cover of 'Stripped' by DM is hilarious.
I also Like QOTSA's cover of 'back to dungaree high' by Turbonegro
And 'Wild Honey Pie' and 'In Heaven' by Pixies
Balls to all that there
Afghan Whigs and the Wedding Present are the two best covers bands in history.
OH! and
Fanclub's version of The Bevis Frond's He'd Be A Diamond (among others)? That's nice.
Lemonheads' "Different Drum" by Mr Mike Nesmith? Ace. Better than Matthew Sweet and Susannah Hoffs' recent sickly version.
Untrue
Best cover band ever title goes to Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Anyone who's heard their take on 'Hats Off To Larry' will know that to be the truth.
dunno if this has been said
but biffy clyro's version of buddy holly by weezer is wicked as is obviously johnyy cash's hurt by nine inch nails.
their versions
of Take Me Out and You Can Go Your Own Way
are both rather enjoyable too
Gotta love FNM's
version of Easy!
some are better than others
some are better than the originals
elliott smith doing waterloo sunset silversun pickups covering the movies' creation lake
trail of dead covering the monkees 'porpoise song' (and making genesis listenable on the same single!)
nearly every afghan whigs cover is great
Then there's smashing pumpkins 'rock on' and 'once in a lifetime'
part chimp's 'wild honey pie'
My personal favourite cover
is Ryan Adams' re-working of 'a song for you' by Gram Parsons. Gorgeous.
Covers can be great
when they bring something new to the song. They make it a completely new song.
That's why Hendrix's 'All Along The Watchtower' works. It turns a folk song into a proper rock guitar workout.
Obviously, this isn't always guaranteed to work - just look at 'Stop Me'. It lacks the verve of the original (largely down to the vocals, I think. Musically it's fine.).
Sometimes, though, you just get straight, almost complete like-for-like covers. They never work. Ever.
.
My favourite is probably the Byrds covering Dylan's "My Back Pages".
Cover me bad
Placebo's version of Kate Bush is awesome... what are you talking about? Also great (as mentioned above) is Radiohead doing Carly Simon. But my personal favourite cover of all time is Pyogenesis (German metal-techno crossover band) doing Toto's 'Africa' and vastly improving the original.
I listened to the Mark Ronson album yesterday for the first time. Not particularly impressive. Hardly any of the tracks stray even remotely from the originals. A good cover should include an 'original' interpretation.
Incidentally, I believe there was a quote from one of the Gurls Allowed in the paper yesterday that said that they hated their own Tiffany cover and they are intending to refrain from doing any more cover versions in future.
you forgot
The Vandals version of 'Summer Lovin'
any
cover of 'Hallelujah' has got to be better than the original, and of course Jeff Buckley's takes it as several people have already said. But while we're on Cohen covers, Rufus Wainwright's version of 'Chelsea Hotel #2' is absolutely breathtaking.
oh yeah and
Ryan Adams' cover of 'Wonderwall' blows the original out of the water.
Paul Johnson, DJ Funk...
Soulwax's "cover" of (Daft Punk's) Teachers is ace.
^
...but their cover of (Prince's) Poplife is a bit naff.
actually
no doubt's version of the vandal's 'oi to the world' is pure pop brilliance, a guilty pleasure!
no mention of ten masked men yet?
The best cover ever.
Is Devo's cover of Satisfaction or The Boredoms covering The Mekons 'Where were You?'
engels!
thanku for mentioning tv on the radio's mr grieves cover. somehow that managed to pass me by, just downloaded it and its bloody awesome! awesome band
Been listening to..
Pixies- I've Been Waiting For You. Love it.
And Ryan Adams- Wonderwall
What is this?
Is it supposed to be a DiScussion? The only glimpse of anything resembling a DiScussion is the italicised text, but even that is just a cursory stab at bringing any sort of interesting discourse into the topic. The rest is a shopping list of 'artists wot you know wot done covers n ting'. And the comments so far haven't exactly sparked up on any interesting conversational topics. Basically this is one of those retarded list threads that clog up 50% of the music boards, where nobody really cares what you write but at least you got a chance to write something.
But when in Rome eh? Here's my favourite covers of the top of my bulbous head:
Devo - Satisfaction
X - Soul Kitchen
The Cramps - Fever
Patti Smith - My Generation
Patti Smith - My Generation
is fucking awful!
no it really isn't
really it is not
Good point
but while we're aimlessly listing covers wot we like, Arcade Fire's This Must Be The Place is pretty class
fools...
what about:
The Slits - Heard it through the grapevine
Arab Strap - You shook me all night long
Felix Da housecat - Musik is my life
Shampoo - I know what boys like
The Delgados - California uber alles
the Sick Anchors
(some of the lads from mogwai and arab strap) doing "You Can Make Me Whole Again" is suprisingly good and Arab Strabs "Its a Heartache" on the Ten Years of Tears comp is class.
Class enough for Mrs Pinball to shout down the stairs: "Is that fucking Bonnie Tyler of smack?"
Most of the Elvis Costello "Almost Blue" album.
Most of the "Tribute to the Bridge", Neil Young covers album from when I was just a nipper.
the sick anchors...
...also did you always hurt the one you love.
fucking class
what?!?
delgados?
california uber alles?
fetch me soulseek immediately!
What a dull subject to discuss.
I would say a performance should be judged on its merits rather than on whether it's a cover or not. Bear in mind that recording 'original material' is a relatively new requirement in the history of music. Getting bogged down in this sort of pedantry is restrictive nonsense.
Also - when people say 'ska' do they mean early reggae or ska-punk exclusively? It seems rather unfair (not to mention extremely ignorant and ill-informed) to write off the entire style in this way.
er.....
Dinosaur Jr. doing just like heaven and that Sparklehorse/Thom Yorke version of Wish You Were Here
good covers are good
BAD COVERS ARE BAD
Favourites are
The Residents doing 'Satisfaction' (Devo's is also good)
The Adult Net - Incense and Peppermints
Soft Cell - Tainted Love
Fatima Mansions - Shiny Happy People
The whole of Johnny Cash's 'The Man Comes Around' album.
Kiiiiiii - Brown Girl In The Ring
Killdozer - American Pie
Melt Banana - Surfin' USA
Akia Kane - Action Time Vision
In fact, any cover version by Japanese female fronted noise bands.
Ex- Girl - Pop Music
Michael Viner Bongo Band -Apache
etc
Adult Net?
On Turquoise Vinyl as I recall..
Fatima Mansions Shiny Happy People? Its like an oopah pah version with bad static interference.
But hey, whatever floats your boat, y'know.
Yooooaaawwwww
Lost and Lonely...
yeah. That's a good 'un, Just like Heaven. I think I have the 12" single in the gaff.
deftones' cover of No Ordinary Love
is fantastic. much better than the Sade original.
I Think it's worth it if...
... you actually DO something with it a la Radiodread/Dread Zeppelin. Admittedly, what they've done is sacreligious to some, but at least it's creative, even in a (possibly) slightly tongue in cheek way...
I know a few people who were so, so annoyed when Muse covered 'Feelin Good' just because of the height the bar had been set by previous versions (nina simone and john coltrane particularly).
Personally, I'm on the fence; If you do a cover to try and emulate/absorb some greatness from the original, you're a prick, but if it's a good song that you think you can pick up and run with, why not?
Rage Against The Machine
Renegades in general, they made each song their own.
Especially the cover of 'How I Could Just Kill A Man' it was as if that song was written for them. When they performed that song with Cypress Hill too, that was cool *youtube it*
!!!
did a good one too didn't they?
Has anyone mentioned...
Jeff Buckley's 'Hallelujah'?
shits all over Leonard Cohen. Placebo's 'where is my mind' was cack. Death Cab doing Bjork is very good however...
You're
new here aren't you?
i am,..
but i've held my own on sites with a faaaar higher concentration of coolsies and scenesters. What was it i said that got your skinny jeans in a twist?
respect to ben the mod
for dealing with pointless cretin in an assured manner
cheers man
appreciated
Haha
Don't be so prejudiced! I was referring to the fact that you asked if Jeff Buckley's version of 'Hallelujah' had been mentioned, when it's one of the most frequently discussed topics on this site! I wasn't being aggressive.
-=sigh=-
oh yeah
I love DCFC's 'All Is Full Of Love'.
totally depends
eg
Manics version of Guns N Roses It's So Easy is the bollocks. Whereas their version of Train in Vain is just bollocks.
Siouxsie and the Banshees version of Helter Skelter is a fucking mint song.
Nirvana's take on Love Buzz is also awesome, as is their cover of Bowie's The Man Who Sold The World.
Some of the Live Lounge stuff has been quite good - as much as it pains me to say it The Automatic's cover of Gold Digger was funny and the covber Elbow did of One Thing was flippin genius!
On the subject of the Manics...
...their cover of Suicide Is Painless is ace
Basically...
...covers aren't a band thing. It's just that shit bands/artists shouldn't cover shit songs. Shit bands/artists should also not attempt to cover good songs. I think that should really be the rule. Shit bands. No covers.
Sorry...
...I meant BAD thing not BAND thing...
cat power's
version of wonderwall is really nice.
and i quite like mountain goats cover of the boys are back in town.
Defintely
'I've been waiting for you' by Pixies! yes!
House of the Rising Sun...
...covered by Muse on a War Child album I think. Fecking marvellous.
Jimmy Eat World
doing Firestarter by Prodigy, has anyone heard this?
Is actually surprisingly ace.
Tori Amos
doing I Don't Like Mondays by Boomtown Rats also, was used on The West Wing n(greatest TV show of all time).
somewhat late I add my two-penneth
Great covers -
Jimi Hendrix - Day Tripper
Fudgetunnel - Sunshine of Your Love
Soup Dragons - I'm Free
Trivium - Master of Puppets
Ryan Adams - Wonderwall
Slowdive - Golden Hair
Reel Big Fish - Take on Me
The Byrds - Tambourine Man
The one cover I never want to hear again? Mary J Blige doing 'One' - plain murder that was...
Good Covers
Breeders - Happiness is a Warm Gun
Galaxie 500 - Ceremony/Listen the Snow is Falling/Dont Let Our Youth go to Waste
Neil Young - All Along the Watchtower
how bout ...
alabama 3's hotel california, or dresden dolls doing war pigs. never seen so many people moshing to a piano
on the subject of pianos, ben folds' soulful rendering of bitches aint shit raises an ironic eyebrow
best cover of all time's still jeffy b with hallelujah though, innit?
Check out
Duke Special on Fabchannel covering Elliot Smith's Baby Brita