Cover Songs That Stand on Their Own

[DriftingSand]

One of my favorite Pink Floyd tunes is called "Goodbye Blue Sky." It has a captivating quality to it. Anyway, I don't think anyone can do it better than Pink Floyd but Joni Mitchell gave it her best shot. Can it stand alone? Not in my opinion but a hardcore Joni Mitchell fan may disagree.

Goodbye Blue Sky by Pink Floyd:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJUuDoRZpyU]Pink Floyd- Goodbye Blue Sky [Video] - YouTube[/ame]

Goodbye Blue Sky by Joni Mitchell:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD7Jut_kXt0]Goodbye Blue Sky by Joni Mitchell , The Wall -- Live in Berlin - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Impenitent]

I've been hearing "Baby, It's You" by Smith, all week long on HBO.

Outcharted the Beatles version.

Really belted it out!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O6atUODsWGs&feature=kp

 

[Sarah G]

I was just looking for a clip from the movie Tootsie and found the theme for that movie. It was pretty good back in the 80s.

​

 

[Mojo2]

I was just looking for a clip from the movie Tootsie and found the theme for that movie. It was pretty good back in the 80s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wDDjVPJ73A​

If this is the cover song, who did the original?

That is the theme of this thread.

Cover songs that stand on their own.

And it helps a lot to give us the info on the original without our having to ask.

 

[Pogo]

'The Gallis Pole' LEADBELLY, Blues Guitar Legend - YouTube

This old black guy does a good version of Led Zep's Gallow's Pole. That's the greatness of Led Zeppelin, it touches so many people over so many generations

/sarcasm off

I was thinking the same thing -- you could put about 80% of the entire LedZep catalogue in here since most of it was plagiarized from other sources...

Jake Holmes with the Yardbirds doing his own song "Dazed and Confused" (1968)

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDhx_DgDxE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDhx_DgDxE[/ame]​

 

[Pogo]

Mama Cass - Dream A Little Dream Of Me (with lyrics) - YouTube

Who did the original?

Sharing that would be part of the fun of sharing the cover song, imho.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5oek8TK1k"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fH5oek8TK1k[/ame]

 

[Pogo]

It's a cool idea for a thread; I agree with the OP about Light My Fire (good example). And I always thought CSNY did "Woodstock" too fast, while the writer (Joni) dragged it out too slow, and Matthew's Southern Comfort got it just right.

I have a problem with the term "cover" though. "Cover" hearkens back to racism. A cover record was what Pat Boone did recording "Tutti Frutti" so that white America wouldn't have to suffer the horror of having to buy/own a record by a (shudder) black artist. It literally "covered up" the original while exploiting its assets.

I think something like "remake" might be more appropriate here, since that racist mindset certainly is not always the reasoning behind doing a remake. But when we call it a 'cover' we imply that it is.

I don't think that was the case here:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfwN0X8YnWo"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfwN0X8YnWo[/ame]

(1965 - Lead vocal by The Eggman)


Original: Nina Simone 1964:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ckv6-yhnIY"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ckv6-yhnIY[/ame]

 

[Pogo]

Original, Nirvana 1991:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWKbfoikeg[/ame]

Haunting morph by Tori Amos, 1992:

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaAI3jI7uCc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaAI3jI7uCc[/ame]

 

[Pogo]

And talking of Tori Amos, here's her muse Kate Bush ... very old clip. Original needs no introduction.

I love the Brooklynese way she pronounces the word "more" at 0:25

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0utNfsC6PQM"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0utNfsC6PQM[/ame]

 

[Pogo]

Originally by Martha and the Vandelles, this song was remade twice both of which are stand alone versions. David Bowie & Mick Jagger remade the hit then Van Halen followed up with what I believe is the best version.

Dancing in the Streets by Martha and the Vandelles:
Martha & The Vandellas "Dancing in the Streets" - YouTube

Dancing in the Street by David Bowie & Mick Jagger:
Mick Jagger & David Bowie - Dancing In The Street - YouTube

Dancing in the Street by Van Halen:
Van Halen - Dancing in the Street + lyrics - YouTube

Drift, this is our fork in the road...

I don't see or hear any reason for either of the two covers.

IMHO they are both, "so what?" kind of renditions.

They didn't have anything to say. They didn't HAVE to be made.

It was a bit of a conceit, imho.

They liked the classic and wanted to sing it. So they did.

*Yawn*

This is gittin' scary Mojo -- I agree with you again

Far as I'm concerned Martha's version is an untouchable artifact for its profound symbolism. No two lines of lyric can ever better sum up what Motown was all about in its contribution to American race relations and culture than when that record announced on all our radios:

"This is an invitation
Across the nation
A chance for folks to meet."​

You just can't recreate that moment.

 

[Borillar]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_DOJa99oo]Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Ropey]

The Beatles - Dear Prudence

[ame=http://youtu.be/M-2lMstw6qs]The Beatles- Dear Prudence - YouTube[/ame]

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Dear Prudence

[ame=http://youtu.be/R77sby-ntgw]Siouxsie And The Banshees - Dear Prudence feat Robert Smith (The Cure) - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mojo2]

Heart - Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin - Kennedy Center Honors - YouTube

Thanks for posting this video.

It is one of THE GREAT performances I've ever seen.

The music. The performers. The performances. The loving care taken to be faithful to the original and yet expand upon it really nicely.

And you could see the legends themselves getting into this cover of their classic.

Damn. I can enjoy just listening to it while I compose this note.

Here are the 'liner notes.'

Published on Dec 28, 2012
On Dec. 26 the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors was aired on national television for the first time on CBS. During the event, which took place at the Kennedy Center Opera House, Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart performed Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" with Jason Bonham on drums.

The honor is given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture and in 2012 the surviving members of Led Zeppelin (John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant) were among those honored. During their segment, the Foo Fighters performed "Rock and Roll," Lenny Kravitz performed "Whole Lotta Love," and Kid Rock performed both "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You" and "Ramble On".

The performance of "Stairway to Heaven" began with Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart performing the song with a backing band, which included Jason Bonham on drums. He is the son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham, who passed away in 1980. As the song progressed, back-up singers, a string section, and the Joyce Garrett Youth Choir came on stage to help perform "Stairway to Heaven".

The choir members and Jason Bonham were wearing bowler hats, which was a tribute to the band's late drummer John Bonham. Throughout the performance lead vocalist Robert Plant was noticeably moved, and towards the end of the song he had tears in his eyes.

Jason Bonham loved the fact that Led Zeppelin didn't know he'd be drumming on Stairway To Heaven at their Kennedy Center tribute night, hosted by US President Barack Obama. Bonham performed with Heart and an all-star band -- and the first Plant, Page and Jones knew of it was when they saw him walk on stage.
He said: "It was so incredible to see their faces, sat there next to the president. The guys knew who was playing -- but they didn't know I would be on drums. Their faces lit up, and the smiles and tears... It was fantastic. What a way to close the show!"

 

[PixieStix]

johnny cash version of

Gordon lightfoots

if you could read my mind

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEx147n9G1A

Johnny Cash did this song so well, that most people do not know the original



The original, by Nine Inch Nails

 

[PixieStix]

The original by The Who



The cover by Pearl Jam

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=663L-GWQdws]Love, Reign O'er Me- Pearl Jam - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Mojo2]

The original by The Who

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDbAtWpoA6k

The cover by Pearl Jam

Love, Reign O'er Me- Pearl Jam - YouTube

It's a great cover!

Love the song and their rendition is an almost spot on exact copy of the Who's rendition.

If it wasn't, Pearl Jam would have gotten much grief from Who fans.!

 

[DriftingSand]

The original by The Who

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDbAtWpoA6k

The cover by Pearl Jam

Love, Reign O'er Me- Pearl Jam - YouTube

I actually like the PJ version better than the Who version. Good find.

 

[Borillar]

Heart has covered a lot of songs from various bands. Really like this cover of Nazareth's Love Hurts.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY6tV1QIeKg]HEART - LOVE HURTS UNPLUGGED.avi - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Zander]

The Cure's very unique cover of Purple Haze. From the 1993 "Stone Free- A Tribute" album.....

 

[hjmick]

Damn good cover by Blink 182, just discovered it today...