cover songs that were better than the original

Carlos Santana's version of She's Not There - totally different league to the Zombies original.

And, Eric Clapton's "unplugged" version of Layla is way, way, better than the original by Derek & the Dominos (which, for the young and/or uninitiated, was also Eric Clapton).
 
Even though I preferred the zutons original Valarie .. i think Amy winehouses version has been more successful
 
I generally prefer originals to covers especially if the original was written by the performer.

Santana's She not There is a decent cover all the Santana-ry bit are really unnecessary
 
I think the most famous example is probably Hendrix's version of All Along The Watchtower. Another one is Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares To You, which is a cover of a Prince song of course.

I'm sure some won't agree but I thought Muse's Feeling Good cover was a class one, better than the original for me, but then you can't beat a bit of distortion, ha. I'm also going to nominate Pearl Jam - Last Kiss, but then I've never even heard the original to be honest. But there's no way it can be better than Eddie's vocal. No way. :LOL:

Oh and Rage Against The Machine - Maggie's Farm. Absolutely incredible cover, that. The White Stripes - Jolene as well. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.
 
I'm a fan of both performers, but Rod Stewart's version of 'Have I Told You Lately' is a step up from Van Morrison's original version - which was damn good in the first place. Come to think of it, same applies to many of Stewart's 'versions'! Likewise, Joe Cocker 'versions' - with the most outstanding already having id-ed.

ANY song written/performed by Paul Williams! (?) Too many to list that have been hits, but certainly 'Old Fashioned Love Song' and 'Evergreen'! May exclude those by The Carpenters(?!) though they actually did a pretty good (better imo) version of Jambalaya (originally by Hank Williams).
 
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Orikoru said:
I think the most famous example is probably Hendrix's version of All Along The Watchtower. Another one is Sinead O'Connor Nothing Compares To You, which is a cover of a Prince song of course.

I'm sure some won't agree but I thought Muse's Feeling Good cover was a class one, better than the original for me, but then you can't beat a bit of distortion, ha. I'm also going to nominate Pearl Jam - Last Kiss, but then I've never even heard the original to be honest. But there's no way it can be better than Eddie's vocal. No way. :LOL:

Oh and Rage Against The Machine - Maggie's Farm. Absolutely incredible cover, that. The White Stripes - Jolene as well. Can't think of any others off the top of my head.
Click to expand...


The White Stripes version of Jolene is stunning especially the one they did at Glastonbury. Gave the song genuine emotion which is lacking from the Dolly Parton original.
 
backwoodsman said:
Carlos Santana's version of She's Not There - totally different league to the Zombies original.

And, Eric Clapton's "unplugged" version of Layla is way, way, better than the original by Derek & the Dominos (which, for the young and/or uninitiated, was also Eric Clapton).
Click to expand...

Can you cover a song that you wrote & originally performed on? It's two different versions for me, not a cover, but I love both, particularly this version with Mark Knopfler.

 
My musical leanings mean I don't really understand covers, so I asked my better half ...

What About Us - Davina Michelle
Mad World - Gary Jules
 
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