Digg it!I stand by what I said before, covers will never be better than the original. The appreciation for the cover version partly comes from the fact that the original version came to our lives already that allowed us an experience whose negatives and positives we already felt.
The cover versions I am featuring now are all good. Good enough to be called a real homage to the original version. Take note that I am not considering the market performance of the cover versions, just the the aesthetic side of it.
10. Time After Time
Original by: Cindy Lauper
Covered by: Eva Cassidy
Eva Cassidy was able to inject a feeling of pain that is not present in other versions. The guitar rift is complicated but she was able to not make it sound so which allows you to relax and concentrate on the emotion as you listen to the song.
9. I Will Always Love You
Original by: Dolly Parton
Covered by: Whitney Houston
It’s a vocal gymnast that was intentionally made that way to showcase the flexibility of Whitney’s voice. The song successfully showed how you can hit the high notes without screaming. Now, that’s singing.
8. If I Fell
Original by: The Beatles
Covered by: Maroon 5
This guy got some balls to attempt a Beatles song but I have to say he is the only one who had some sense to try a version that in no way tries to outdo the original (what’s the sense, right?). He did a toned down version. It’s simple, nothing fussy because he knew that song in itself is enough.
7. I Walk The Line
Original by: Johnny Cash
Covered by: Live
Chris Daughtry did a good version but he admitted (American Idol took it out in the editing) that he patterned it after the version of live. The Johnny Cash version is the simple one so Live took it the other way by adding more layers to the song. It worked well.
6. Strawberry Fields
Original by: The Beatles
Covered by: Noel Gallagher
This is one of those songs that you can play fifty years from now and it will still sound contemporary. Noel’s version is nothing special but being a Beatles fanatic, he was able to successfully come close to the emotions that Lennon had when he was writing and singing the song.
If you liked this list you should also check out:
- Top 10 Best Song Covers Part 1
- Top 10 Best Classic Christmas Song Covers by Contemporary Artists
- Top 10 Best Pop Song Covers By Rock Bands
- Top 10 Funniest Pop Song Covers By Rock Groups
- Top 10 Cover Songs Bigger than the Original
Way to scour the musical fields and find covers. Why don’t you search all fields of music? These are some phenomenal covers:
Mushroomhead covering Seal’s Crazy.
The Unseen covering Poison’s Thorn and The Rolling Stone’s Paint it Black.
Black Flag covering the song Louie, Louie.
Evergreen Terrace covering the Song Maniac.
Ashers covering Tom Petty’s I need to Know.
Blood For Blood covering the song Runaway.
Flobots covering the song So Happy Together.
Goldfinger covering the song 99 Red Balloons.
Jimi Hendrix covering Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower.
Rage Against the Machine covering MC5′s Kick Out the Jams.
The Smashing Pumpkins covering the song Landslide.
The Used/My Chemical Romance covering Queen’s & David Bowie’s Under Pressure.
Those are just a few. To find great covers in music you need to look in every genre of music, not just popular music. Covers are supposed to be about taking a song that you normally wouldn’t play and making it your own song. These two lists were very disappointing.
Definitely, M People version of ‘What A Fool BELIEVES’……..awesome
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbiXjaPFzEY
Worst list ever!!..
c’mon live covering johnny cash???!!!
He raped that song!!!
Johnny Cash covering NIN’s Hurt? Amazing cover!
Now that was a good cover!!! i’m talking about the band “live”
PINEDA THE BEST COVER ARTIST “AMAZING”AEROSMITH…ETC..