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=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: ggw on January 31, 2003, 12:31:00 pm

Title: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: ggw on January 31, 2003, 12:31:00 pm: 1. "All Along the Watchtower" (Bob Dylan) by Jimi Hendrix Rock's greatest guitarist interprets rock's greatest songwriter and is paid the ultimate cover song compliment when, years later, Dylan starts performing the song Hendrix's way. Jimi's only Top 40 hit, "Watchtower" was a 1968 mindblower that led to the early '70s FM radio heyday. 2. "Mystery Train" (Junior Parker) by Elvis Presley The term "cover" was first used in the early '50s to describe white versions of R&B hits, such as "Sh-Boom" by Canada's Crew-Cuts, which was originally recorded by the Chords. But this cover was anything but vanilla, as Presley and producer Sam Phillips put a driving beat to a blues song and made you want to come along on that "Train I ride, fifteen coaches long." 3. "Proud Mary" (Creedence Clearwater Revival) by Ike and Tina Turner The original was pretty near perfect, but with a conspiracy of frenzied horns, that deep-voiced setup of an intro and Tina's soulful screech, the Turners transformed this into a whole 'nother animal. What does "Pumped a lot of tain down in New Orleans" mean? Who cares? 4. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" (Gladys Knight & the Pips) by Marvin Gaye Even though G.K.'s version is untoppable, this one, built on a throwaway bass line on the original, is pretty terrific. 5. "Gloria" (Them) by Patti Smith "Jesus died for somebody's sins, but not mine." It starts like a dirge, but then picks up, just like "Gloria" should. If you didn't instantly play this track again after hearing it the first time, you're probably an orthodontist or a Realtor or in insurance right now. 6. "Twist & Shout" (Isley Bros) by the Beatles Perhaps John Lennon's greatest vocal shredding, this cover gave the Beatles major cred points. 7. "Gin & Juice" (Snoop Dogg) by the Gourds The cover that swallowed the oeuvre, it's impossible to play this gangsta-grass rendition too much. 8. "Take Me To the River" (Al Green) by Talking Heads A brilliant reconstruction -- a whole new song. 9. "Nothing But Fine" (Rockin' Dopsie) by Rockpile Pure, clean rock 'n' roll that obliterates the zydeco roots. 10. "Spanish Harlem" (Ben E. King) by Aretha Franklin In a close call over "I Say a Little Prayer" and "Respect," this one gets bonus points for Bernard Purdie's drumming, which is a revelation all in itself. (Amazingly, this track, which also features Donny Hathaway on organ and Cornell Dupree on guitar, was recorded the same day as "Rock Steady.") 11. "Nutbush City Limits" (Tina Turner) by Bob Seger Even with the lame introduction and Detroit pandering, this live track just scorches. Better watch out for the po-lice, when you're pounding the dashboard, oblivious of the speed limit. 12. "Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" (Judy Garland/ Louis Armstrong) by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole Never has lyrical butchering sounded so gorgeous, uplifting, irresistible. 13. "Twistin' the Night Away" (Sam Cooke) by Rod Stewart Just doing justice to a Sam Cooke song is impressive: snatching it from his cold, dead fingers and making it your own is almost miraculous. 14. "Satisfaction" (Rolling Stones) by Devo This is where the Heads got the idea for "Take Me To the River." 15. "Tears of a Clown" (Smokey Robinson) by English Beat The high-point of ska, before all the good groups started trying to get all arty like Lee Perry. 16. "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" (Elvis Presley) by Travis Tritt Travis kicks Elvis' version all down the block. 17. "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" (John Prine) by Alabama 3 A kinda hippie techno thing with a marvelous harmonica break from the folks who brought us the "Sopranos" theme song. 18. "Absolutely Sweet Marie" (Bob Dylan) by Jason and the Scorchers The only reason to own a Jason and the Scorchers album. 19. "Get Rhythm" (Johnny Cash) by NRBQ For Al Anderson's guitar solo and a drum beat that pours the foundation. 20. "Sweet Jane" (Velvet Underground) by Cowboy Junkies The Who stole the Velvets' riff for "Baba O'Riley," but Margo Timmins steals the song's inherent elegance and sprays that gutter clean. 21. "A Little Help From My Friends" (Beatles) by Joe Cocker As long as you don't have to look at him. 22. "Any Way You Want It" (Dave Clark Five) by the Ramones It's heads. Tails and it was "Do You Wanna Dance?" 23. "Move It On Over" (Hank Williams) by George Thorogood It's the late '70s, this comes on the radio and a whole generation of rock heads discovers there's more to Hank Williams than "Your Cheatin' Heart." 24. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" (Bob Dylan) by Harry Nilsson and John Lennon The two drunkest men on the planet rip apart Dylan's wordy rewriting of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" and tape it back together as a tribal romp. 25. "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You" (Elvis Presley) by Bono of U2 "Honeymoon In Vegas" may have been a dog at the theaters, but the soundtrack is probably the best tribute album ever. Bono gets the nod over Bryan Ferry's "Are You Lonesome Tonight" and Dwight Yoakam's "Suspicious Minds" with the clever use of Elvis talking in the background and a cool vocal trick, where Bono starts the song with his lowest range and ends it in falsetto. 26. "Runaway" (Del Shannon) by Bonnie Raitt 27. "My Way" (Frank Sinatra) by Sid Vicious 28. "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" (Leadbelly) by Nirvana 29. "Let's Stick Together" (Wilbur Harrison) by Bryan Ferry 30. "Just Like Heaven" (the Cure) by Dinosaur Jr. 31. "Powderfinger" (Neil Young) by the Beat Farmers 32. "Light My Fire" (The Doors) by Jose Feliciano 33. "I Could Never Take the Place Of Your Man" (Prince) by Goo Goo Dolls 34. "Another Girl, Another Planet" (the Only Ones) by the Replacements 35. "Rock Island Line" (Leadbelly) by Little Richard and Fishbone 36. "Red Hot" (Billy Emerson) by Robert Gordon 37. "Cash On the Barrelhead" (Louvin Brothers) by Gram Parsons 38. "It's All In the Game" (Nat King Cole) by Freddy Fender 39. "I Am the Walrus" (Beatles) by Oasis 40. "You Really Got Me" (the Kinks) by Van Halen 41. "When You Were Mine" (Prince) by Mitch Ryder 42. "Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain" (Roy Acuff) by Willie Nelson 43. "Why Do Fools Fall In Love" (Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers) by the Heaters 44. "Take Me Home Country Roads" (John Denver) by Toots & the Maytals 45. "Steppin' Stone" (Monkees) by Minor Threat 46. "There Stands the Glass" (Webb Pierce) by Ted Hawkins 47. "Solitaire" (Neil Sedaka) by Jane Olivor 48. "To Daddy" (Dolly Parton) by Emmylou Harris 49. "Carmelita" (Warren Zevon) by Flaco Jimenez and Dwight Yoakam 50. "Working Class Hero" (John Lennon) by Marianne Faithful <A HREF="http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/thursday/xlent_1.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/thursday/xlent_1.html[/url] [This message has been edited by ggw (edited 01-31-2003).]
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Relaxer on January 31, 2003, 12:37:00 pm: Aretha's "Respect" should have been in the top three, not a side-comment on another entry further down the list. She made a great song an absolute classic, and everyone thinks that the 'sock it to me' part is a part of the original. I actually saw GGW's topic title and tried to guess the top 3, and had Respect at #1. Figured Grapevine would be on there too, and for some reason had Little Help From My Friends in mind too.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: keithstg on January 31, 2003, 12:54:00 pm: Looking at that list, I am amazed (and happy) to see that There Stands The Glass made it on there. Great song - great artist.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: kosmo vinyl on January 31, 2003, 12:57:00 pm: what no "louie louie" possibly one of the most covered songs ever!
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Joymonster on January 31, 2003, 12:59:00 pm: I'm shocked that Billy Idol's perfect interpretation of "Heroin" (Velvet Underground) didn't make the list.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: markie on January 31, 2003, 01:33:00 pm: funny, I was disappointed that hermans hermits version of Billy idols white wedding was not there.....
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Ikarus on January 31, 2003, 01:43:00 pm: cowboy junkies and sweet jane? even tho it was a straight cover of a vu live recording? ewww. the nirvana entry is a good track, much better than the unplugged bowie cover they did that got more attention. sisters of mercy doing "comfortably numb" is a good one, and nine inch nail's "supernaut" is unbelievable.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Sir HC on January 31, 2003, 02:01:00 pm: None of the great Camper Van Beethoven covers? Their Black Flag/Circle Jerks cover of "Wasted" is brilliant. Have to agree with "Louie Louie", I mean the Kingsmen's version was a cover. Have to hear the Luther Wright and the Wrongs bluegrass version of The Wall, supposedly it is brilliant. And who can forget Type O Negative doing "Summer Breeze"?
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer on January 31, 2003, 02:11:00 pm: I can think of many reasons to own a Jason and the Scorchers album other than their good cover of that Dylan tune.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: ggw on January 31, 2003, 02:21:00 pm: I don't know how the list omitted the White Stripes bitchin' cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Samantha on January 31, 2003, 02:23:00 pm: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by ggw: I don't know how the list omitted the White Stripes bitchin' cover of Dolly Parton's Jolene<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I do.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer on January 31, 2003, 02:24:00 pm: Or BR549's smoking cover of Billy Joe Shaver's "Georgia on a Fast Train".
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Relaxer on January 31, 2003, 02:39:00 pm: Or Mighty Sphincter's cover of Helter Skelter
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: eddie on January 31, 2003, 03:26:00 pm: My favorite covers include "Nobody 'Cept You" a Dylan tune covered by 16 Horsepower, "Across the Universe" covered by Laibach and "Rebuild the Wall" Luther Wright and the Wrongs.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Mobius on January 31, 2003, 04:16:00 pm: A few more: Clash- I Fought the Law Sonic Youth- Superstar Jesus and Mary Chain- Surf City White Stripes- One More Cup of Coffee The entire Return of the Grievous Angel tribute to Gram Parsons CDInterpol- Say Hello to the Angels- just kidding. I'm not knocking them at all, I love every song on the album, but I guess the Smiths' patent on these chords finally expired.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: poorlulu on January 31, 2003, 04:24:00 pm: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Samantha: I do.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>samantha you should meet chad boy.........i think you'd have a lot in common.......morcheeba's version of jolene was great as well
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: kosmo vinyl on January 31, 2003, 04:33:00 pm: the replacements - black diamond Pianosaurus (a band which only used toy instruments)- memphis
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Sir HC on January 31, 2003, 04:35:00 pm: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Mobius: A few more: Jesus and Mary Chain- Surf City <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>They do this too? I know they do "Kill Surf City" which is theirs, and "Surfin' USA" which is the beach boys. Oh, and seeing Gwar do Bryan Adams "Summer of 69" was a treat, as was seeing Soundgarden do "Big Bottoms". The glory of the soundcheck.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Barcelona on January 31, 2003, 04:39:00 pm: 'I can't forget' (Leonard Cohen) by The Pixies. Great song. Also, 'First we take Manhattan' (same Leonard Cohen album) by REM.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Mobius on January 31, 2003, 04:49:00 pm: That's right. Kill Surf City is not a cover, just sounds like the original. Speaking of JAMC, can't forget Pixies' "Head On."
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Venerable Bede on January 31, 2003, 04:58:00 pm: i've always been partial to black velvet flag's "institutionalized"
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: grotty on January 31, 2003, 06:22:00 pm: "nine inch nail's "supernaut" is unbelievable."Good tip...I just found it on kazaa.Great version of one of my fav songs.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Lazer Guided Melodies on January 31, 2003, 09:38:00 pm: how about Spacemen 3's cover of Transparent Radiation by The Red Krayola or their cover of Rollercoaster.Also, Johnny Cash's cover of I See A Darkness
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: walkman on January 31, 2003, 10:05:00 pm: Have to agree with The Clash's 'I Fought the Law'...top 10 material. I'm not surprised the Stripes' cover of Jolene didn't make it, but for those of you lucky enough to see it live at 930 last year...totally unforgettable. I think Jack started crying. Oh yeah, and Yo La Tengo's Fakebook, an almost all covers album. It's brilliant, especially Tore Me Down.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Ikarus on January 31, 2003, 11:26:00 pm: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by grotty: Good tip...I just found it on kazaa. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>i think it was released on an import called "demos and remixes" around '93-94. if you can track it down, the disc also has an excellent version of "suck," that was recorded live in spain.[This message has been edited by Ikarus (edited 01-31-2003).]
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Sir HC on February 01, 2003, 03:23:00 pm: <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:<HR>Originally posted by Lazer Guided Melodies: how about Spacemen 3's cover of Transparent Radiation by The Red Krayola or their cover of Rollercoaster.Also, Johnny Cash's cover of I See A Darkness<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>I thought their cover of "When Tomorrow Hits" is the best of them.
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: Herr Professor Doktor Doom on February 02, 2003, 01:19:00 pm: "Heroes," originally by Bowie, covered by Blondie"Pictures of Matschtick Men," originally by the Status Quo, covered by Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker, and our own Slickee Boys
Title: Re: The 50 Greatest Cover Songs of All-Time
Post by: VIOLENTMOODSWINGS on February 02, 2003, 10:37:00 pm: stabbing westward covering bizzar love triangle( new order) and a perfect circle covering diary of a madman/ lovesong( ozzy/cure)and possably rammstiens basterdization of stripped( depeshe mode)