Tuesday, October 26, 2010

100 of the Best Cover Songs of All Time - Part 2 of 5

Welcome to Part 2 of our selections for some of the Best Cover Songs of All Time. Turn on the radio, or walk into any bar / club / coffee shop in any town and you are sure to hear a musician covering a song by another artist. This list collects some of the best ones out there. As an added bonus, there's a playlist at the bottom of the page that compiles the cover version and original - back to back - so that you can compare / contrast the uniqueness between the two. There's a link for the subsequent parts at the bottom - if you missed the first one, click here. If you'd like to share some of your favorites, please do so in the comments section.



A Perfect Circle - What's Going On
Album: Emotive (2004)
The original: Marvin Gaye - What's Going On (1971)



Love and Rockets - Ball of Confusion
Album: Released as single (1985); collected on Sorted: The Best of (2003)
The original: The Temptations (1970)



Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me
Album: Burning Bridges (1983)
The original: Written by Burt Bacharach; original demo by Dionne Warwick (1963)



Lou Reed - This Magic Moment
Album: Lost Highway Soundtrack (1997)
The original: Written by Doc Pomus; first recorded & released as single by Ben E. King with The Drifters (1960)



William Shatner - Common People
Album: Has Been (2004)
The original: Pulp - Different Class (1995)



The Raincoats - Lola
Album: The Raincoats (1979)
The original: The Kinks - Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround Part One (1970)



The Animals - House of the Rising Sun
Album: The Animals (1964)
The original: Author unknown; earliest recording - titled 'Rising Sun Blues' - by Clarence Ashley & Gwen Foster (1933)



Run DMC - Walk This Way
Album: Raising Hell (1986)
The original: Aerosmith - Toys in the Attic (1975)



Sinead O'Connor - All Apologies
Album: Universal Mother (1994)
The original: Nirvana - In Utero (1993)



The Byrds - Turn! Turn! Turn!
Album: Turn! Turn! Turn! (1965)
The original: Words from the Bible; set to music by Pete Seeger under the title 'Turn! Turn Turn! (To Everything There is a Season)' (1958); it was first released by The Limeliters - Folk Matinee (1962), then shortly after by Seeger on the album The Bitter and the Sweet (1962)


Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar
Album: Released as single (1972); bonus track on Vagabonds of the Western World (1973)
The original: Traditional Irish song - origins unknown; made popular by The Dubliners as single and on the album More of the Hard Stuff (1967)



The Lemonheads - Mrs. Robinson
Album: Released as single (1992); bonus track on It's a Shame About Ray (1992)
The original: Simon & Garfunkel - Bookends (1968)



Nico - These Days
Album: Chelsea Girl (1967)
The original: Written by Jackson Browne in 1964/65; Nico released the first version; Browne eventually released his own take on For Everyman (1973)



The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wild Horses
Album: Burrito Deluxe (1970)
The original:  Keith Richards allowed Gram Parsons & The Flying Burrito Brothers to record the first version; the Stones would later release it on Sticky Fingers (1971)



The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Hey Joe
Album: Released as single (1967); appeared on North American edition of Are You Experienced? (1967)
The original: Credited to songwriter Billy Roberts; earliest known recording is by The Leaves as 'Hey Joe, Where You Gonna Go?' single (1965); then as 'Hey Joe!' on the album Hey Joe (1966)



Smashing Pumpkins - Landslide
Album: Released as b-side to Disarm single (1994); also appeared on Pisces Iscariot (1994) & Greatest Hits (2001)
The original: Written by Stevie Nicks; appeared on the album Fleetwood Mac (1975)



Morrissey - Moon River
Album: World of Morrissey (1995)
The original: Written by Henry Mancini & Johnny Mercer for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)



Robyn - Cobrastyle
Album: Robyn (2006)
The original: Teddybears - Fresh (2004) & Soft Machine (2007)



Emmylou Harris - Goodbye
Album: Wrecking Ball (1995)
The original: Steve Earle - Train a Comin' (1995)



Led Zeppelin - Babe I'm Gonna Leave You
Album: Led Zeppelin I (1969)
The original: Written by Anne Bredon (1950s); recorded by Joan Baez - Joan Baez in Concert, Part 1 (1962)

Part 3



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5 comments:

  1. 21. Stormy Weather – The Pixies
    22. The Hanging Garden – AFI
    23. Love Song – Snake River Conspiracy
    24. Take Me To The River – Talking Heads
    25. Tainted Love – Soft Cell
    26. The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum – Collide
    27. Across A Thousand Blades – Lycia
    28. Destination Unknown – The Replicants
    29. Love My Way – Assemblage 23
    30. Dead Souls – Nine Inch Nails
    31. Electricity – OMD
    32. Lover Lover Lover - Ian McCulloch
    33. People Are Strange - Echo & The Bunnymen
    34. Satisfaction - Devo
    35. Is She Really Going Out With Him - Magnified
    36. Telegram Sam - Bauhaus
    37. Ceremony - Ikon
    38. Shadowplay - The Killers
    39. Creep – Abney Park
    40. Severance - Bauhaus

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey, Eric Burden and Bret Helm are doppelgangers!

    ReplyDelete