Brad DeLong's Semi-Daily Journal (2004)

while it's often been said that Dylan covers are always better than the originals, sound unheard I cannot believe Mr. Mellencamp has bettered the master. to each his own, I suppose, but Mr. Pink Houses has never impressed me with his artistry.

the Byrds have reeled of some nice Dylan covers, but then I appreciate their original works tons as well.

"John Mellencamp singing 'Like a Rolling Stone.'"

I was previously unaware of this, and also unaware that people listened to Mr. Mellencamp. So I'm skeptical going in.

Disclosure: I like Mr. Dylan's singing and writing.

What about Johnny Winter's fantastic cover of "Highway 61 Revisited"?? (actually, the cover on Winter's "Second Winter" album is better than the Dylan 30th version -- apparently the monitors were lousy and Winter couldn't hear himself for half the song)

Just the brief seconds of Winter noodling with his slide, just before he begins playing, is well worth listening to.

As to the Byrds, I recall hearing an interview with Leon Russell or someone similar. He described his session work in LA in the early 60s, including the early Byrds recordings, which he referred to as "a real Milli Vanilli deal"

re David: What about Johnny Winter's fantastic cover of "Highway 61 Revisited"??

That has my vote.

Here's the one I like. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000JAX3/qid=1059345239/sr=1-47/ref=sr_1_47/102-4602618-7420131?v=glance&s=music#product-details

Hollies Sing Dylan. That's the import; the American version was titled "Words and Music by Bob Dylan." It's extraordinary. Graham Nash and the Clarks do versions of "I Shall Be Released" and "This Wheel's On Fire" that have to be heard to be believed.

...and even Dylan enjoyed Jimi's version of Watchtower more than his own.

naw, JIMI HENDRIX did an insane version where he changed the lyrics all around. that's the keeper.

Don't forget Tom Rush's version of Joni Mitchell's "Urge for Goin' "

tracy chapman's "times they are a changin" cover on the same album is recommended as well

btw - one of the most appealing parts of last year's much (unfairly) maligned Masked and Anonymous was the sound track that all sorts of obscure Dylan covers from around the world. Worth cehcking out.

There are some credible Dylan covers that approach Bob's own versions.....The Byrds of course, George Harrison doing "If Not for You" or Richard Manuel of the Band doing a haunting falsetto of "I Shall Be Released" on the Before the Flood album come to mind. But is there really any chance that anyone can offer more sincerity to a Dylan tune than Dylan himself? I have grown to appreciate John Mellencamp (amazing family background and activism) more in the last few years but there is still too much John Cougar in him for me....he'll have to dedicate the rest of his career to Dylan tributes to help us forget "I Need a Lover", etc.

Three classic 80's covers of sixties tunes
1) Husker Du covering the Byrd's "Eight Miles High" -- best cover song ever recorded, IMHO
2) Squirrel Bait covering Phil Ochs' "Road Tape from California"
3) Obvious, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers covering "Subterranean Homesick Blues"
4) Afrika Bambaata's cover of MC5's "Kick out the Jams" -- hard to surpass the original, but it kicks serious a$$

Something more modern -- I'm totally loving Calexico's cover of Love's "Alone Again"

If we are to discuss remakes that are better than originals, we cannot go past Leonard Cohen.

While Cohen's monotone delivery is somewhat hypnotic the man's lack of affect is almost psychotic.

Bono singing 'Hallelujah', or the Pixies doing 'Tower of Song', or any decent female voice singing 'Famous Blue Raincoat' - these show how good those Cohen songs really are.

meno

Byrds--with Gram Parsons doing the vocal--You Aint Going Nowhere on Sweet Heart of the Rodeo. Great steel guitar, too. Can't say it is exactly better than Dylan but it is certainly great.

My abiding love for the Pet Shop Boys disco remix of U2's "Where the Streets have no Name" is probably a minority taste.

Classic instance of cover version being better than original--Santana covers the Fleetwood Mac song, "Black Magic Woman" (and yes, Fleetwood Mac really existed in the mid-60's).

The BBC World Service did a series of stories on
covers recently. People sent in their votes for
best and worst. The worst were, almost by
definition, truly awful; I only remember Jerry Lee
Lewis' miserable rendition of "Over the Rainbow."
The #1 cover was deemed to be Hendrix's
revelatory "All along the watchtower" ( which
is where Neil Young drew the inspiration for his
own cover during that concert...)

My favorite cover is Richard Thompson's cover
of the song Brittany Spears(sp?) made famous,
"Oops, I did it again." He turns trash into art.

Links to Richard Thompson doing "Oops..." and a couple of other niceties ("Blackleg Miner," "Shenandoah") can be found at

http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1506843.html

While we're sharing unsolicited opinions ...

Emmylou Harris, "Here There & Everywhere." Beautiful, and without that twanging sitar.

Etta James's cover of Randy Newman's God Song and Sail Away are excellent

One of the best Dylan covers ever done is Martin Simpson's version of "Spanish Boots." It's on the "Nod to Bob" cover album. It's amazing, amazing, beautiful, amazing.

...the rest of the album is pretty good (click on Tecla for Amazon page link), but that one song is just fantastic. DL it if you can.

Bryan Ferry has done a lot of improbable covers, i.e. when you hear about it you think "that couldn't possibly work, it must be awful", but when you actually listen to it, somehow it does work. The end result isn't necessarily better than the original, but he definitely takes the songs and makes them his own. Too many artists just make a cover into a lame imitation of the original.

Some prime examples: "I Put a Spell on You", original by Screaming Jay Hawkins; "Sympathy for the Devil", original by the Rolling Stones; "Eight Miles High" (with Roxy Music), original by The Byrds.

Having recently written a post noting that I've never heard a cover of Dylan that was better than the original, I'm skeptical of all these claims, but thanks all for the tips!

Mellenkamp has done two other covers that are superior to the original, as well--Farewell Angelina (Dylan again) and Wild Nights (Van Morrison), both on his Rough Cuts album.

Dylan? Oh, you mean the Victoria Secrets pitchman. Are you saying he did something before that?

Yours truly,

The next generation

The Gourds (a country band) doing a cover of Snoop Dogg's "Gin and Juice". Best cover ever.

Even better than Richard Thompson's version of "Oops! I Did it Again" is the version by Max Raabe and the Palast Ochestra in a 1920s German cabaret arrangement. It works completely without irony.

A lot of Dylan covers improve on Dylan's own versions, but that version of Mellencamp doing "Like a Rolling Stone"? It's practically karaoke, substituting Mellencamp's vocal tropes for some of Dylan's. It's fine and I like Mellencamp and all, but.. better? Chacun a son gout.

You're crazy. I'll grant you "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" (those Basement Tapes songs that were rerecorded for Greatest Hits II weren't so hot in those versions, in my opinion, although I really did like the stripped-down take of "I Shall Be Released"), but there's no way Johnny Cougar's LARS was better.

There are a few others that MAYBE are better than the original on there:

Eddie Vedder doing 'Masters of War'

Clancy Brothers doing 'When the Ship Comes In'

Lou Reed doing 'Foot of Pride'

Neil Young's version of 'All Along the Watchtower' is pretty kickass, though maybe not better than the JWH album version, and certainly not better than Hendrix's.

Chrissie Hynde's 'I Shall Be Released' is really good too, and speaking of her and cover songs, the Pretenders' cover of the Ramones' 'Something to Believe In' was one of the few highlights of that tribute album.

There aren't many covers of Dylan songs that are better than the original, and I regard anyone who says that his songs are best done by others to be an idiot.

Since we're talking about Jimi Hendrix, what about his cover version of The Leaves' "Hey Joe?"

I went to a concert that feature Carpenter, Colvin, and Dar Williams. They performed a cover version of the Backstreet Boys' "Tell Me Why" that was FAR superior to the original (admittedly a low bar).

And maybe it's a generational thing, but I prefer the Bangles' version of "Hazy Shade of Winter" to the original Simon & Garfunkel.

Best cover: The Bangles' cover of "Hazy Shade of Winter" (runs circles around Simon and Garfunkel's original)

Oddest cover: Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme's cover of Soundgarden's "Black Hole Sun" on the Lounge-a-palooza CD (gotta hear it to believe it)

Dang it - I type too slowly!

Ramblin Jack Eliot's version of Jimmy Roger's "He's in the Jail House Now" is at least as good as the original.

John Wesley Harding's cover of "Like a Prayer" also turns pop into art.

Eddie Brickell "A Hard Rain..." off the Born on the 4th of July soundtrack is excellent.

Agreed with Meno on Leonard Cohen. I'd say just about anybody's cover of "Suzanne", but certainly Judy Collins's and Francoise Hardy's. (Separate recordings.)

Elvis Presley's cover of Big Mama Thornton's version of Houndog.

Maynard Ferguson's cover of MacArthur Park made a truly awful song fun.

Joe Cocker's cover of Randy Newman's "You Can Leave Your Hat On". Joe found the passion that Randy's deadpan style couldn't capture. Yes, yes, yes...

Dylan fans will want to think at least twice about the cover of "Don't Think Twice" by, I kid you not, Frankie Valee and the Four Seasons.

"It ain't no use to sit and wonder why now

(uh why now, why now...)

How about
Ramones -- "Indian Giver" (1910 Fruitgum Company)
Wilson Pickett --"Sugar, Sugar" (Archies)
Sid Vicious -- "My Way" (Frank Sinatra)
Dropkick Murphys -- "Fortunate Son" (Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Toots & the Maytals -- "Take Me Home, Country Roads" (John Denver)
NOFX -- "Vincent" (Don MacLean)
... or are we deducting points for irony?

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" by nine inch nails. Makes Trent's version sound like a whining ploy for attention.

Social Distortion: Ring of Fire (Cash) and Under My Thumb (Stones)

The Sundays: Wild Horses (Stones)

Texas: Tired of Being Alone (Al Green original)

Emmylou Harris: May This Be Love (Jimi Hendrix original)

Jon Rauhouse & Kelly Hogan: Accentuate the Positive (?)

Los Lobos: Bertha (Grateful Dead original)

Neko Case: Rated X (Loretta Lynn), Alone & Forsaken (Hank Williams)

Courtney Love has a cover of "Voices Carry" (Til' Tuesday, or Aimee Mann, whatever) that I think is better than the original. Which means: that particular song still has a damned long way to.

BTW, all the songs I listed are on iTunes music store, except for Neko's Alone & Forsaken.

Gary Jules and Michael Andrews cover of Tears for Fears "Mad World." It was the final track (and by far most powerful) in the movie Donnie Darko. Even though the movie came out in 2001, this song didn't hit big until it won the big Christmas competition to top the Pop music charts in the UK at the end of 2003.

Jon Langford (Mekons/Waco Brothers/etc) did an excellent cover of a song from Mary Poppins, The Perfect Nanny, for "This American Life".

An MP3 is available free at the show's website (thislife.org)

ftp://ftp.thislife.org/mp3/langford.mp3

Tom Waits is another guy whose songs are often more popular when covered. Though I prefer his versions, the Eagle's cover of "Ol' 55" is wonderful. Springsteen's cover of "Jersey Girl" is also great. Whatever you think of Rod Stewart, "Downtown Train" is a great song. All of Waits' stuff is on iTunes, too.

The Clash's version of "I Fought the Law" is the probably the best of the many recordings of this 1959 song by the Crickets.

I am embarassed to admit that I like the Fine Young Cannibals rendition of "Suspicious Minds" better than Elvis' original.

Finally, Rod Stuart's voice is somehow perfect for Robbie Robertson's song "Broken Arrow." (BTW, Rod is also in the running for worst cover album with his embarrasing collection of jazz standards.)

Iris deMent's cover of Haggard's "Big City" (on the Haggard tribute "Tulare Dust") is hard to beat. Also Billy Joe Shaver's cover of "Ramblin' Fever", Lucinda Williams doing "YOu don't have very far to go" and Dave Alvin doing "Kern RIver". Shoot, the whole thing is pretty good.

At the risk of upsetting the hardcore Elvis fans, I'd add two selections from the "Honeymoon in Vegas" soundtrack: "Suspicious Minds" by Dwight Yoakum and "Can't Help Falling In Love" by Bono (thanks, Coleman, for deflecting some of the Elvis heat).

And although every artist has done it at least once, I saw a live version of "I Wanna Be Sedated" done by the Go-Gos that I thought was particularly kick-ass.

The Dixie Chicks doing "Stand By Your Man" on the Tribute To Tradition country compilation CD. Too many of the other cuts were little more than kareoke. There's no point in doing "Mama Tried" unless you can outdo the Dead's cover of it.

Joss Stone's recording of "Some Kind Of Wonderful" is solidly in the "took the song and made it her own" class.

Etta James, mentioned above, could be counted on to take a song and make it her own. To hear her sing "Almost Persuaded" is to lose all notion of it having been a country hit.

If anyone's still reading this...
I can't believe no one has mentioned Jeff Buckley's version of "Halelujah." I mean come on people, seriously, Bono? Whatever.

Joe Cocker doing "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"

Joe Cocker doing "She Came In Through The Bathroom Window"

Are you insane? Dylan owns "Like A Rolling Stone". It is not possible for a cover version to be better.

The only cover version of a Dylan song that exceeds the original is Hendrix doing "All Along The Watch Tower"

Jerry Garcia does an incredible "Its All Over Now Baby Blue" but I would hesitate to say it is better than the orignal.

Actually, I would also say that Jerry Garcia's "Senor" is better than Dylan's.

these are not superior, but reach as high as can possibly be reached to the originals:

1) Amen to "Suspicious Minds" by Dwight Yoakam
2) "Hey Jude," Wilson Pickett
3) "Red Rain/So. Central Rain," R.E.M.
4) "Desolation Row," Dylan (covering himself on "Unplugged")

X did an awesome cover of the Doors' Soul Kitchen. It's on their first album, Los Angeles. That's the song that made me buy my first drum kit.

Aretha Franklin's Respect is my vote for best cover of all time. You didn't even know it was a cover.

Big fan of the Jeff Buckley & Donnie Darko mentioned above.

Some other oddballs worth checking out:

Aztec Camera doing Jump
Toshi Reagon doing a *very* slow version of Just What I Needed
Flying Lizards doing Sex Machine
Divo doing Satisfaction

I'm not sure any of them is obviously better, but they're all both good and very different.

Franco

Man oh man, 58 posts and nobody's mentioned the greatest ENTIRE ALBUM of cover tunes ever made?

Try the 12 tracks on "Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music" (1962) by Ray Charles. And yeah, the follow-up "NDIC&WM, Vol. 2" (1963) ain't bad either.

And these discs don't even include two of his greatest C&W covers, "Crying Time" (Buck Owens) and "Busted" (Harlan Howard, added lyrics by Johnny Cash).

A plug for two fantastic albums composed entirely of covers:

Wille Nelson "Stardust" - the outlaw country music legend covers american pop standards from the 30's and 40's like "Blue Skies" "Stardust" "All of Me" "Georgia on my Mind" "Moonlight in Vermont"

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds "Kicking Against the Pricks" Goth-punk godfather covers country music classics including "Hey Joe" "Muddy Water" "Long Black Veil" "Black Bettty" "The Folksinger" "By the Time I Get to Phoenix"

Two essential additions to anyones record collection.

I think Rufus Wainwright's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" is beautiful.

I'm partial to Annie Lennox's versions of Bob Marley's "Waiting In Vain" and Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down."

David Byrne's "Waters of March" is pretty great.

"Joss Stone's recording of 'Some Kind Of Wonderful' is solidly in the 'took the song and made it her own' class."

As is her "Fell In Love With A Boy". If you aren't listening too closely to the lyrics, you won't even recognize it as the White Stripes song.

I'll see your Toots and the Maytals cover of John Denver, and raise you a Curtis Mayfield cover of "We've Only Just Begun."

I have to agree with Dan on "Hazy Shade of Winter", first thing that came to mind.

And as for Joe Cocker, how about his cover of "A Little Help From My Friends". Majorly awesome.

Nick Cave does Country!!!!! I have to get that, I love Nick Cave.

Ok, I know these are not exactly covers but...anything done by Richard Cheese, to hear NIN - Closer and Rape Me done in lounge lizard style is rib splitting good.
"Here's one for the ladies! Rape Me, rape me again..."

You have to hear it to understand the genius, and then of course Wierd Al, but even better the grandfather of musical spoof, Spike Jones and the City Slickers.

Counting Crows cover of the Joni Mitchell classic "Big Yellow Taxi" is outstanding.

Also, Annie Lennoxs' cover of the Bob Marley song "Waiting in Vain" (at the end of the movie "Changing Lanes" is quite good. Bonnie Raitts' cover of Dylans "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" was lovely.

I'm a big Bowie fan, but I have to say that the production and Jacob Dylan's vocals on the Wallflowers' version of "Heroes" trumps the original. It sonically simulates the grandeur that the lyrics promise.

Tori Amos "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

Indigo Girls hat trick: "American Tune" (Simon & Garfunkel), "Uncle John's Band" (Grateful Dead) and "Tangled Up in Blue"

Jane's Addiction "Ripple" (Grateful Dead)

Stevie Ray Vaughan "Superstition" (Stevie Wonder)

And among the ones mentioned above, amen to Devo's "Satisfaction" and Johnny Cash's "Hurt."

Does Weird Al count? Many people think one of the worst songs of all time is MacArthur Park, though I always liked the instrumental part. Al's version is by far the best musically of all of them. Even if he hadn't changed the lyrics to make it Jurassic Park, I think I would have liked it.

I'm glad that someone has already mentioned Devo's cover of Satisfaction. Jagger said that that was the best version of the song he had ever heard, including his own.

John Wesley Harding's Like a Prayer is fantastic as well. He likes to do covers in his concerts for fun. He's particularly fond of Prince's Raspberry Beret. Solo. Acoustic. Guitar.

I do have to offer one more from my youth, however. The Dead Kennedy's cover of Viva Las Vegas goes about 90 miles an hour and never lets up.

I'm glad that someone has already mentioned Devo's cover of Satisfaction. Jagger said that that was the best version of the song he had ever heard, including his own.

John Wesley Harding's Like a Prayer is fantastic as well. He likes to do covers in his concerts for fun. He's particularly fond of Prince's Raspberry Beret. Solo. Acoustic. Guitar.

I do have to offer one more from my youth, however. The Dead Kennedys' cover of Viva Las Vegas goes about 90 miles an hour and never lets up.

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Aurora Musis amica - Dawn is friend of the muses. (Early bird catches the worm.)

Aurora Musis amica - Dawn is friend of the muses. (Early bird catches the worm.)

Non omne quod nitet aurum est - Not all that glitters is gold

O praeclarum custodem ovium lupum! - An excellent protector of sheep, the wolf! (Cicero)

Latet anguis in herba - A snake lies in the grass. (Vergil)

Licentia poetica - Poetic licence. (Seneca)

Volo, non valeo - I am willing but unable

Absit omen may the omen be absent - May this not be an omen