Covers that you know aren't as good as the originals but you prefer

[jobotic]

The Inmates - The Walk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzjusxr1SDE

Lee Dorsey - The Walk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjhOyYT0yTQ




ZZ Top - I Thank You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76X2nZksDd0

Sam & Dave - I Thank You

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLKiyo48VJI


I mean I like The Inmates, because they were great and it reminds me of being at my dad's as a kid. The ZZ Top is brilliant, no doubt about that, and they are both the versions I heard first which has a lot to do with it, but if you played them to people who didn't know any of the versions I reckon they'd pick the originals as best, and probably rightly so.

But they'd be wrong.

[popcorn]

Cheap Trick - I Want You to Want Me

Letters to Cleo - I Want You to Want Me

I prefer the female vocal and the brighter, cleaner production. Wrong, but there you are.

[popcorn]

This one's definitely wrong:

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

Puff Daddy - Come With Me

I love Zeppelin but I've never completely loved the slightly fuzzy psychedelic sound of Kashmir. Meanwhile I love the clinical bombast of the Puff Daddy treatment, the hugeness of the drums (that snare!), the brass in the chorus. But wrong for sure.

[A Hat Like That]

This one's definitely wrong:

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

Puff Daddy - Come With Me

I love Zeppelin but I've never completely loved the slightly fuzzy psychedelic sound of Kashmir. Meanwhile I love the clinical bombast of the Puff Daddy treatment, the hugeness of the drums (that snare!), the brass in the chorus. But wrong for sure.

Before Wolves Reading a few years ago, they played the instrumental version of come with me and that is a banger .

[Rich Uncle Skeleton]

Johnny And The Hurricanes - That's All

First time I heard it (before the original, I think) the title just made me think of them playing it at the end of a college dance or something. That first sax part sounds great when he lets rip with all that reverb on it. Honourable mentions to their versions of It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World, Sheik Of Araby and the James Bond.

[spaghetamine]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0bZofM6EOU

The Fall - There's a Ghost In My House

some great megaphone nonsense from MES towards the end

[Clatty McCutcheon]

I can only take The Fall in small doses (a Light User, if you will) but I would also suggest their magnificently ramshackle cover of the Kinks' 'Victoria'.

Cud's version of Lola is also a bit of a belter.

https://youtu.be/AVv2nCyyVHg

[alan nagsworth]

This one's definitely wrong:

Led Zeppelin - Kashmir

Puff Daddy - Come With Me

I love Zeppelin but I've never completely loved the slightly fuzzy psychedelic sound of Kashmir. Meanwhile I love the clinical bombast of the Puff Daddy treatment, the hugeness of the drums (that snare!), the brass in the chorus. But wrong for sure.

YES! Mate I paused an Aldous Harding song to listen to this. I never pause songs, I always have to wait for them to finish, and Harding has a tender beauty that absolutely refuses pausing and breaking her magical spell, but I paused her for this.

It was made for the 1998 "Godzilla" soundtrack and when I was 11 years old at that point I obviously fucking loved it, not knowing anything about Zep or even Puff Daddy. Fuck it, I still love it now. It's a MORONIC BANGER. Also, you know what Jimmy Page and Tom Morello play guitar and bass on it, right? UNREAL. What a fucking bunch of clowns.

The lyrics are complete garbage. If you read the whole thing it looks as though it took less time to write than it did to perform, serious "rhyming june with spoon" cookie cutter aggro hip hop trash. Some choice cuts:

"I'm here to stay. Forever and a day, that's never."

(Slow acoustic bit in the middle) "I close my eyes... and I see... you, standing there... and I cry... tears... of sorrow... I die..."

What an amazing song.

Also not meaning to divert the thread at all but that "Godzilla" soundtrack was great. It did have some really good songs on it but then also it has GREEN DAY FT. GODZILLA - BRAIN STEW (GODZILLA REMIX), which is fucking horrific even if you don't like the original (I love it, fuck off). It's just the original song with loads of bizarre instrumentation slapped on top, like additional percussion and digital sound effects and a whole orchestra layered throughout. Oh, and Godzilla himself of course, giving his trademark "RREEEAAAAAOOAOOAOAOGGHGHHWHHHH" on backing vocals numerous times. Unbelievable.

[MinnieTimperley]

Why would we prefer covers that are knowingly worse than the original?

I watched the Carpenters thing on Sunday night, did you know their entire back catalogue is covers of songs Richard picked up and converted. He had an ear for a song he could make a hit. Made loads of songwriters loads of money. You should see the weirdos who wrote Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

[alan nagsworth]

Oh my god the fucking video for that Puff Daddy song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrSyrOaoAug

It's 6 minutes long! How in god's name was the song not trimmed down for the single version or at least the video? The stuff happening in the video is just as equally repetitive and in your face, it's really really really excessive and boring. Its saving grace of course is that it has those miraculously dumb late '90s VFX that made so many hip hop videos solid gold nonsense. And amongst all this, Jimmy Page gets a grand total of about 5 seconds screen time, vaguely playing the rhythm section on the guitar. He's not even there in person, he's just on one of those huge screens you get on the buildings in Times Square and the line. How embarrassing.

I love how they censor a lot of the explicit lyrics with well-timed Godzilla going "RREEEAAAAAOOAOOAOAOGGHGHHWHHHH" except for ONE: right near the end where he goes "I'll fucking bite you" and they edited it so he says "I'll flipping bite you". That is the cherry on the cake, sensational.

[jobotic]

Why would we prefer covers that are knowingly worse than the original?

Memories? Nostalgia? The fact that you heard the cover first so it feels like the "proper" version to you? I don't know.

[pigamus]

The Joan Baez version of some Dylan songs. Ring Them Bells for one.

[MinnieTimperley]

Memories? Nostalgia? The fact that you heard the cover first so it feels like the "proper" version to you? I don't know.

Oh right....still don't get that BUT covers that are better than the original imo.

Walk on By - The Stranglers
Denis - Blondie
All Along The Watchtower - Hendrix
Whiskey In The Jar - Metallica
David Watts - The Jam
Rainy Days and Mondays - The Carpenters

[Captain Crunch]

For example, this is just a song:

The Love You Save – Jackson 5

But the same song by Madder Rose is not a song; it's girls in long skirts who smell of Dewberry, it's afternoons in the park, it's shouting at your mates from the top window of the bus, it's a rucksack heavy with trainers and a new mixtape, it's brown nail varnish, it's being happy because this week it's the Indie Chart on the Chart Show, it's ice cream and Tootie Frooties and Creamy Old England...

You get the idea. 

[drummersaredeaf]

No one's said any of the crap that Rick Rubin tricked Johnny Cash into yet.

[MinnieTimperley]

For example, this is just a song:

The Love You Save – Jackson 5

But the same song by Madder Rose is not a song; it's girls in long skirts who smell of Dewberry, it's afternoons in the park, it's shouting at your mates from the top window of the bus, it's a rucksack heavy with trainers and a new mixtape, it's brown nail varnish, it's being happy because this week it's the Indie Chart on the Chart Show, it's ice cream and Tootie Frooties and Creamy Old England...

You get the idea.

Yes I understand but you are openly admitting by posting in this thread that the original is the better song. It's a paradox.

[Tombola]

Aerosmith - Love Me Two Times

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IpN9LFqGsM

Not better than the original... but it is.

[Dewt]

Neil Hamburger - Jug Town

I was dismayed to learn it was a cover at all.

[Famous Mortimer]

Yes I understand but you are openly admitting by posting in this thread that the original is the better song. It's a paradox.

The title of the thread might have been a slight clue?

[popcorn]

It was made for the 1998 "Godzilla" soundtrack and when I was 11 years old at that point I obviously fucking loved it, not knowing anything about Zep or even Puff Daddy. Fuck it, I still love it now. It's a MORONIC BANGER.

Same.

The lyrics are complete garbage. If you read the whole thing it looks as though it took less time to write than it did to perform, serious "rhyming june with spoon" cookie cutter aggro hip hop trash. Some choice cuts:

"I'm here to stay. Forever and a day, that's never."

(Slow acoustic bit in the middle) "I close my eyes... and I see... you, standing there... and I cry... tears... of sorrow... I die..."

Same! My mate and I used to do the "I DIIIIIEEEE" bit in the playground, we thought it was hilarious. Also we used to do a lot of "UH HUH, YIH".

[popcorn]

Also not meaning to divert the thread at all but that "Godzilla" soundtrack was great. It did have some really good songs on it but then also it has GREEN DAY FT. GODZILLA - BRAIN STEW (GODZILLA REMIX), which is fucking horrific even if you don't like the original (I love it, fuck off). It's just the original song with loads of bizarre instrumentation slapped on top, like additional percussion and digital sound effects and a whole orchestra layered throughout. Oh, and Godzilla himself of course, giving his trademark "RREEEAAAAAOOAOOAOAOGGHGHHWHHHH" on backing vocals numerous times. Unbelievable.

This is a fascinating piece of shit. Punk rock!

[chveik]

Neil Hamburger - Jug Town

I was dismayed to learn it was a cover at all.

good shot.


Jun Togawa - Because the Night

[popcorn]

Why would we prefer covers that are knowingly worse than the original?

Yes I understand but you are openly admitting by posting in this thread that the original is the better song. It's a paradox.

Some will dismiss this point as pedantic but I do think there's something in it. It irks me when people say stuff like "it's not a good film but it's my favourite film" - it's a sort of copout, a bit of intellectual dishonesty. If it's your favourite film then clearly you think it's a good film, so tell us why! Tell us why all the lamestream normies who think it's a bad film are thick. Embrace your love for it, be loud and proud!

but in the interests of playing along I am taking the thread title to mean "covers you know aren't considered as good as the originals on technical, artistic or authenticity grounds but you are willing to risk your credibility to cautiously express a detached fondness for".

[MinnieTimperley]

Perfectly put.

[non capisco]

Knowing there's a song in existence credited to 'Green Day featuring Godzilla' and he goes "RARGGGHHH" on it has honestly made my day.

[jobotic]

Bloody hell I was pissed and listened to The Inmates. Let the thread die.

[Gregory Torso]

Bryan Ferry's "Jealous Guy" (never knew this was a cover for years and years. The glacial synth solo and the husky, pro-foxhunting, white linen suit with a cum stain on the lapel, 'grahnd piarno' by the pool whistling at the end still brings a tear to the eye)

Lush "Outdoor Miner" (I was young, I had this e.p. It's one of the best songs ever written, and yet, funnily, I prefer this cover and also Flying Saucer Attack's cover to the original)

[Smeraldina Rima]

Elliott Smith - Harvest Moon

Think I heard this before the Neil Young version when I was a teenager. It's a bootleg and has people being noisy through it and is not good quality but his singing is pretty/beautiful, I like the guitar fuzz solo, and it was my introduction to Neil Young (Nash, Stills and Crosby).

[Sin Agog]

Genuinely prefer "The Better Beatles"' nonchalant outsider casio dirge take on Penny Lane. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g-Dr1Xhk8A

Apparently they got pelted with an assemblage of hard objects every single time they performed.

[phantom_power]

Some will dismiss this point as pedantic but I do think there's something in it. It irks me when people say stuff like "it's not a good film but it's my favourite film" - it's a sort of copout, a bit of intellectual dishonesty. If it's your favourite film then clearly you think it's a good film, so tell us why! Tell us why all the lamestream normies who think it's a bad film are thick. Embrace your love for it, be loud and proud!

but in the interests of playing along I am taking the thread title to mean "covers you know aren't considered as good as the originals on technical, artistic or authenticity grounds but you are willing to risk your credibility to cautiously express a detached fondness for".

It is the difference between favourite and what you consider the best. I think 2001 is an immaculate film but I wouldn't call it a favourite. Conversely Johnny Dangerously is no-one's idea of a good film but I could watch it over and over again for reasons not entirely linked to the quality of the film.  It isn't necessarily a cop out. Sometimes it is just acknowledging that "quality" isn't the sole decider or why people enjoy art