Are there song covers you prefer to the originals?

[Geo Da Sponge]

Quite a lot of the covers by Max Raabe, but I'm sure not how much they count given that they're pretty much parodies:

Spoiler: Other videos spoilered for size

 

[MrBaskerville]

I prefer Cathedral and Ulvers cover of Solitude (Black Sabbath) over the original. They both manage to add somethng to the song that makes it better than the original.

 

[Rooster893]

Van Canto - The Bard's Song (Blind Guardian)
Metallica - Breadfan (Budgie)
Metallica - Whiskey in the Jar (Thin Lizzy)
The Ataris - Boys of Summer (Don Henley)
Death - Painkiller (Judas Priest)
Johnny Cage - Rusty Cage (Soundgarden)

There's more I'm sure, but those are the ones off of the top of my head.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Not really covers, but I like Isosine's mashups

For example Korn and Taylor Swift

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P7gar7efHI&list=PLA2BEDBA64DBCC0C7

There's a whole bunch including Justin Beiber/Slipknot, Kesha(not putting the fucking dollar sign in)/Lamb of God etc

haha that was actually pretty awesome, it was funny seeing them jamming hard with a taylor swift beat in the background XD

OT: Err don't have many...even though I do love covers/mash up stuff, most original stuff is either too slow or the singer sucked, so I appreciate every mashup/cover out there.


this one though sticks out hard recently, due to the originals popularity fucking everywhere on the radio stations, I can just think of this instead everytime I turn the radio on:


so so so so so much better than the original, good god I couldn't stand her voice in the original.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

"Nativity in Black" - White Zombie covering Black Sabbath
"Planet Caravan" - Pantera, also covering Sabbath
"Snowblind" - System of a Down, you guessed it Sabbath!
to break from the Sabbath cover-love...
"Lookin' Out My Back Door" - Children of Bodom covering Creedence Clearwater Revival
"OOps I did it again!" - Children of Bodom (again) covering Britney Spears
"Dead Souls" - Nine Inch Nails covering Joy Division
"Immigrant Song" - Karen O, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross covering Led Zeppelin
"Bad Company" - Five Finger Death Punch covering well... Bad Company

EDIT:
Also honorable mentions
"Fuck tha Police" - Dope covering NWA
"King of Pain" - MuDvAyNe covering the Police
"Low Rider" - KoRn covering War
"Wicked" - KoRn covering Ice Cube
"One" - KoRn covering Metallica
"Another Brick in the Wall pt. 1 2 & 3" - KoRn covering Pink Floyd and nailing it
"In A Gadda Da Vida" - Slayer covering Iron Buterfly (second honorable mentions to the Simpsons for their cover by way of Bart's prank... I. Ron Butterfly...)
So I leave you with....

 

[Remus]

I believe there was a thread similar to this a year or so ago, and it occurred to me as I was listening to this cover of Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song by Demons and Wizards.

Hansi's vocals really lend it a fresh edge, not to mention the guitar-work.

Not bad, but I prefer the one by Consortium Project!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlvGOPYgqwo

As mentioned above, I just can't stop listening to Karen O and Trent Reznor's take on the song, as presented in the Dragon Tattoo title sequence.

 

[windlenot]

Nobody's mentioned Alien Ant Farm's cover of Michael Jackson's song Smooth Criminal yet? I love Michael Jackson, but what can I say, it was a good cover and I find it more pleasing to my ears.

Glad you mentioned it, someone had to.

But I will say, I'm a bit upset nobody mentioned Reel Big Fish! I adore both their covers of Take On Me (originally a-ha)


as well as the much lesser known cover of New York, New York (originally by Frank Sinatra)


Also, I enjoy Yellowcard's cover of Fix You (originally by Coldplay) but it's similar enough to where it's really just me liking both the song and Yellowcard.

 

[Dark Knifer]

Spoiler: I'm a big fan of marilyn manson in this department

Spoiler: System of a Down also have a few good ones

Spoiler: And one lesser known one by Dope for good measure

 

[kbrowne24]

Tyr's cover of Iron Maiden's Where Eagles Dare. Love the original, just prefer this for some reason

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf6ilSowtgk

 

[stormeris]

Enter Sandman by Motorhead
I just really love Lemmy's voice xD
It's truly one of the few covers i like more than originals.
Others being:
Rammstein - Stripped
Disturbed - Land of Confusion

 

[Araxathan]

Enter Sandman by Motorhead
I just really love Lemmy's voice xD

I fully agree, I was just about to post it myself, Lemmy's voice is just much more suited for the song.
Along with Motorhead's cover of Ozzy's Hellraiser, I love them both but again, Lemmy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibaZsVlkuQg

Turisas' cover of Rasputin is just awesome, I don't really know the original, I've heard it a few times but either way, it can't beat Turisas' http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdkBs0VCSX0

Also to balance the earlier statement, Metallica's cover of Whiskey In The Jar is rather suited for them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boanuwUMNNQ James Hetfield's voice compliments it well.

There's so many that I can think of which I prefer, including Cradle of Filth's cover of Hallowed Be Thy Name, I am not a huge Maiden fan and I do quite like the original but again, I think it's just more to the case of vocalists suiting songs more than the original. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOvGECpXNUc

 

[themind]

Whiskey in the Jar by Metallica is better than Thin Lizzy, and it's an old Irish diddy, so it's been covered quite a bit.

Moon Baby - I prefer the Godsmack version to the Satriani version, but I could see how some people would consider that sacrilege.

Beautiful People by Marilyn Manson is better imo than the original

All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix is undoubtably the best version

Off the beaten track quite a bit, there is a version of Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwoʻole that is untouchable. You'd think a song that covered and popular couldn't be done definitely, but this is as close to perfection as you could get for a tried & true classic.

As for parody covers, shout out to Richard Cheese version of Chop Suey by System of a Down. It's not better than the original, but it is an excellent lounge parody of a song you'd never think could be done as a swing-jazz title.

Frank Sinatra's "My Way" is a cover, but I think just about everyone would consider his version the definitive version of that song.

Another one that is paramount to sacrilege is the Easy Stars All-Stars version of Paranoid Android by Radiohead. I love the original, but I love the Easy Stars version just a little bit more.

 

[ForumSafari]

Most of mine have already been covered so I've had to go a bit left field here:

Spoiler

Finntroll's cover of Metallica's The God That Failed.

The original is utterly forgettable and while this version may not be perfect it's at least memorable.

Just for fun we'll also go for the Trollfest cover of Toxic:

Spoiler

I definitely love both versions, but Powerman 5000s' cover of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" by The Clash is an absolutely amazing take on the song in my opinion

That's excellent, I've only got one of their albums but I might have to look into them again.

 

[Knocker]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qToq_VQ8cN0

Twilight Guardians covering the Madonna song La Isla Bonita.

 

[spartan231490]

I know several, but the two that really come to mind as being worlds better than the original are "Hurt" by Johnny Cash, and "Granddaddy's Gun" by Aaron Lewis.

 

[Lockling]

E
Disturbed - Land of Confusion

Never really liked that version, sounds too much like the original.
I prefer the In Flames version

 

[BiscuitWheels]

Janis Joplin's cover of "Me and Bobby McGee"
Elvis Costello's cover of "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding"
Pretty much anything by The Baseballs, especially their cover of 50 Cents' "Candy Shop"

If you're a fan of cover songs, I heartily suggest the Coverville podcast over at http://coverville.com It's been going for over 1000 episodes and it's a great place to hear covers of all sorts of interesting songs.

 

[WaysideMaze]

Original: Over the Hills and Far Away by Gary Moore
Cover: Over the Hills and Far Away by Nightwish

Original: Twilight of the Thunder God by Amon Amarth
Cover: Twilight of the Thunder God by Sabaton

The reason why I like these covers better than the original are pretty much the same.
The original is either too slow or fast (deathmetal-ish, Amon Amarth) while I am more for Metal, so upping or slowing the tempo and changing the singer of these songs appeals better to me

I definitely agree with the Nightwish cover, the song is incredible.

But that Sabaton cover does not come close to capturing the energy and aggression of Amon Amarths original. I'm a huge Sabaton fan, and the energy they bring to their live shows is just incredible, Joaquim is one of the best frontmen around, but for me Twilight is a death metal song, and a heavy/power metal cover just doesn't feel right.
(I should probably add though that I am basically an Amon Amarth fanboy. Hell, I tattooed Mjolnir down my spine, so maybe it's just bias )


I actually feel like I've been ninja'd on everything I'd pick. Maybe something will come to me later.

Does anybody ever listen to what other people post in threads like this? They always seem to be "Me! Me!" threads.

I do, I'm always surprised by what new music I can find in these threads.

 

[Alarien]

Disturbed - Land of Confusion (Genesis or just Collins?)
Jimi Hendrix - All Along the Watchtower (Dylan)
Marilyn Manson - Tainted Love (Soft Cell)
Metallica - Die Die My Darling (Misfits)

 

[optimusjamie]

Iron Savior's version of Crazy, originally by Seal
In terms of good cover songs, this is a successful genre swap: R&B ==> Power metal.