Jul 122010
Townsman shawnkilroy: you asked for it, you’ve got it! As a comment in another thread the man wrote:
I would rather listen to Motley Crue’s “Helter Skelter” than The Beatles’ version.
It works better.Just as i would rather hear “Mr. Tambourine Man” sang by The Byrds, than Dylan.
Same goes for The Bangles’ “Hazy Shade of Winter” over the S&G original.
different thread i guess.
I guess so. Here it is!
The only example I can think of is I Fought The Law.
As for this:
“I would rather listen to Motley Crue’s Helter Skelter, than the Beatles’ version.
It works better.”
I say: absurd!
Al Green’s “How can you mend a broken heart” is one for me.
That’s a good one cher. I had to think about it for a second, because I too prefer Al Green’s version so much that I forget that the Bee Gees’ version was a fine hit in its own right. (Green’s “Take Me to the River” was more a deep cut for him, so the fact that I much prefer Talking Heads’ hit version does not count for this thread.)
I agree with cdm, too. I love both versions of “I Fought the Law,” but I prefer The Clash version.
Kilroy, is this specific version by the Crue the one you prefer? Just curious.
I like Al Green’s “How Can You Mend…” best too.
There are others, but that’s all that comes to mind right now.
I always liked Elton’s version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds better than the original.
And Zeppelin’s You Shook Me is heavy, baby, heavy. I suppose we could go hog wild with old blues numbers being remade. We should probably disqualify anything by Robert Johnson. Willie Dixon too? In that case, see first paragraph and disregard this one.
I don’t know if it would qualify, but I like The Stones’ version of I Wanna Be Your Man better than The Beatles cuz it’s heavier. If the story about it is right, then I’d assume The Beatles recorded it after The Stones.
I think my favorite cover of all time is The Troggs version of Wild Thing. I think it’s way heavier and that makes it better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rxDOncgSrY
Yes, Sonny, to keep this manageable let’s stay clear of great covers of relatively obscure blues artists. Many of us are familiar with who Robert Johnson was, but few of us grew up hearing his own songs as the “definitive” versions, as weird as that may be.
Funny you should mention Elton’s “Lucy in the Sky…” As a kid I owned that single and loved it, maybe as much as The Beatles’ version. It must be 30 years since I’ve heard it.
2K, isn’t The Troggs’ version of “Wild Thing” considered the definitive version???
To be clear, this isn’t any old cover that we like better but a cover that we like better than what’s considered the definitive version.
On the other hand, I agree with you on the Stones’ version of “I Wanna Be Your Man,” and this reminds me of another possible example (although it’s close to say which is the definitive version): I prefer the Stones’ “Not Fade Away” to Buddy Holly’s original. I also prefer the Stones’ “Around and Around” to the Chuck Berry original, but again, I’m not sure which is considered the “definitive” version, if any. Although it may be a “Golden Great,” that’s not considered one of Chuck’s big hits, is it?
Oates asks:
Kilroy, is this specific version by the Crue the one you prefer? Just curious.
Christ no! that’s dreadful. Just looking at them in the hot sun is almost unbearable. The version from Shout at The Devil is fuckin dope!
here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBMMCClIgTc&feature=PlayList&p=210C09BA12D2D731&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=48
skip to about 1:36 to get past the Mick Mars attempt at a Randy Rhodes sorta thing called God Bless The Children Of The Beast.
other covers I like better than originals:
Rock & Roll Pt.2 by D.I.
Wild is The Wind by Bowie
Ball of Confusion by Love & Rockets
Our Lips are Sealed by Fun Boy Three
Crimson & Clover by Joan Jett
Telegram Sam by Bauhaus
China Girl by Bowie
I prefer Snakefinger’s version of The Model to Kraftwerk’s.
I’d rather hear Fats Domino’s version of Lady Madonna. If you haven’t heard it, check it out here:
http://www.divshare.com/download/10916318-955
And I mentioned the Heptones’ version of Suspicious Minds last week.
Thanks for joggin me BigSteve:
The Model by Big Black
He’s a Whore by Big Black
Suspicious Minds by Fine Young Cannibals
On the subject of covers: Has anyone heard the latest Peter Gabriel project called Scratch My Back? The idea is that he does other people’s tunes and there will be a companion piece where those artists do one of his tunes. Apparently, the tribute to him wasn’t ready, so he went ahead and released his. The kicker? HE DOES HIS WITH A AN ORCHESTRA! Wow! How original. It’s Touch of Schmilsson meets Rod Stewart’s Great American Songbook. I like Gabriel’s voice (alot) and was very intrigued by this concept as he does some very cool song. The problem? It’s boring as hell. He does a nice enough job, but it’s all pretty lifeless.
Frank Zappa’s live cover of “Stairway To Heaven” from The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life is pretty smokin’.
TB
Dylan’s My Back Pages by the Byrds
Gene Clark’s Why Not Your Baby by the Velvet Crush
Van Halen’s Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love by the Minutemen
Aztec Camera’s “Jump” over Van Halen’s annoying song.
I like Elvis Costello’s sped up version of “I Can’t Stand Up (for Falling Down)” over Sam and Dave’s slower one.
And on Aretha Franklin’s take on Elton John’s “Border Song (Holy Moses)” her gospel cred is enough to make you forget that Elton and Bernie were just imitating the style.
And thanks, Kilroy, for posting the better Crue version. I just can’t abide LA hair metal and had to listen to the damn thing twice!
Wow, that Crue clip was something. Christ, they sucked.
I love Little Richard, but I have always thought the Beatles’ version of Long Tall Sally, complete with great sloppy solo from George, is definitive.
I like Richard Berry & the Pharaohs version of “Louie Louie” just a tiny bit more than The Kingsmen’s cover.
I’ll take Wilson Pickett’s “Sugar Sugar” over The Archies’.
And I’ll take The Pop O Pies version of “Truckin'” over The Dead’s original, any day.
Same goes for The Dickies cover of “Nights in White Satin”.
Yeah the George solo on Slow Down is probably my favorite George moment ever. I actually think Larry Williams’ original rocks harder (awesome sax solo too), but damn I love that guitar break on the Beatles’ cover.
I really liked the Peter Gabriel covers album on a track-by-track basis, but listening to it all the way through the sameness of the orchestral arrangements wears me down. Great voice though, and interesting track selection.
I read somewhere that some of the covered artists were dragging their heels on returning the favor. I’m looking at you Thom Yorke!
Btw, live or studio, That Mötley Crüe cover is just plain awful.
For Beatles covers, how did we miss Joe Cocker making a real song out of Ringo’s ditty?
I have to disagree with Lucy in the Sky being a genuinely better version. A cool take perhaps and not a let down like most Beatles covers.
While this cover of “Helter Skelter” is probably the best cover I’ve heard, it still does not quite live up to Paul’s. I think the element that the White Album’s version had that none of the others do is “rawness”. The Beatles version is possibly one of the most raw songs in Rock.
Now I remember who I wanted to talk about in this thread: The Isley Brothers. They owned this little sub-genre in the ’70s: “Summer Breeze,” “Listen to the Music,” “Love the One You’re With,” “Sunshine (Go Away Today.” Their “Ohio/Machine Gun” medley is bad-ass too.
I can’t beleive I just watched part of that Crue video — wow that was bad.
“I Should Have Known Better”
BigSteve, it was Long Tall Sally not Slow Down I referenced, but same goes for Slow Down. As I recall, Ian Macdonald is really down on these Beatle covers, too, and I think particularly abhors Slow Down. Pity. I always quite liked Bad Boy, too, not that I can recall ever hearing Larry Williams’ version.
Good LORD, but that Crue video sucked. I gotta go take a dump now!
Having said that, I have long preferred this to the original version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBBN0T5PYXY
… and this one ain’t bad, either:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jWESj-Lkw
How about this one, ha ha ha…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ta9KMLpiHM
I wonder why no one has pitched a remake of that movie to the Jonas Brothers and Justin Beiber.
I also like Steve Earle’s version of I’m Looking Through You better than the Beatles (but not much).
I love covers and sometimes it’s hard to say whether I prefer the original or the cover – a good cover adds a new interpretation. There seemed to be a time when there was a ton of “tribute” albums coming out. I have 2 that I like a lot. On “Brittle Days,” a Nick Drake tribute, Loop’s cover of Pink Moon is great. On “I’m Your Fan” which covers Leonard Cohen songs, there are 2 great versions of Tower of Song (by Robert Forster and by Nick Cave) and a lovely version of “Hallelujah” by John Cale.
Oh yeah, and for a fond but silly cover album, Camper Van Beethoven covered “Tusk.” Most of the songs are interesting interpretations, but I like their version of Honey Hi as it’s done in Spanish.
Also, Barry Adamson’s “heavy” version of “The Man With the Golden Arm.”
Oh, man. I just made myself sit through the entire Crue video, just to see how bad it gets. It’s truly awful, from beginning to end. Fascinatingly awful. I recommend it to fans of trainwrecks and such.