Listening to the radio yesterday, I was unfortunately exposed to A Perfect Circle's cover version of John Lennon's "Imagine." If you haven't had the misfortune of hearing this tuneless, droning abomination, consider yourself lucky. After stuffing my ears with cotton to drown out the noise, I complied a list of 10 other cover songs that are complete and utter crap:…
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— go to most recent comments26 - BRICKLAYER
That was nothing. My mother would break out the wooden spoon whenever I played the first Motley Crue record too loud. Or the second Ozzy solo album. Strangely, she left me alone whenever I played Run DMC's "Rockbox". I listened to alot of rap after that.
27 - Eric Olsen
wooden spoon - heh - MY mother broke out the barbed wire spoon when she heard anything other than Doris Day and Patti Page
28 - JR
Clapton deserves a place on this list for his cover of "Layla"
29 - Eric Olsen
and, inconceivably, it was a huge hit
30 - Brian Streeper
I don't think the words "Lenny Kravitz" and "Funk" should ever be used in the same sentence.
As for Fishbone, I think they are one of the classic "should've been bigger" bands. They were an extremely high energy live act, but like early-Chili Peppers, they couldn't translate that live energy and emotion to vinyl.
31 - Mark Saleski
they couldn't translate that live energy and emotion to vinyl.
true.
you can catch snippets of it during the bits of "If I Were A...I'd" on Reality of My Surroundings
32 - Eric Olsen
it's all there on the first EP: "UGLY" "Party At Ground Zero" "Lyin Ass Bitch" are all classics that leap out of the grooves with energy
Though more inclined toward rock and soul, Lenny can be very funky. Again, other than the image issues, what's the problem with him?
33 - The Theory
"There She Goes" is definately the worst cover Sixpence did. Most of them ended up pretty good, since Sixpence usually does what good cover songs are supposed to do. They respect the song while making it their own. "There She Goes" fails on making it their own.
That said, it's not amoung the ten worst cover songs ever.
34 - Mark Saleski
my head is still spinning at the thought of Mariah Carey doing "Open Arms".
anybody know where i can stream a copy of it or something (i'm not a downloading-type person)?
35 - jadester
I disagree with the Lenny Kravitz version of American Woman being in there, in fact I like alot of his stuff.
Also, have you heard about Avril Lavigne's live cover of Chop Suey? apparently, if you can manage to hear it the whole way through, you'll then "do a Picasso, in stereo" and chop both your ears off...
36 - The Theory
!! that's classic.
"a picasso, in stereo"
i'm totally wanking that into my vocabulary.
37 - Eric Olsen
it was Van Gogh who cut his ear off, and it was only one
38 - Eric Olsen
or is it some kind of cubist reference?
39 - Jim Carruthers
As Gerald Cosloy from Matador Records used to sign off: "peace, love and kill Lenny Kravitz". I had to speed-scroll (thank-u logitech) through this list for fear of being not only being rendered deaf, dumb and blind, but also not being able to play pin-ball.
Which is why I don't want to think of material to add to the list (though there was an A&M tribute album to Leonard Cohen, which forced him to a Zen monastery for five years).
40 - Jim Carruthers
Okay, Blondie's live version of "Heroes" on their singles box set. Makes you realize what a stupid load of ass the song lyrics are.
Dolphins and the Berlin Wall. WTF?
41 - The Theory
Eric, you're right on both accounts. However, the "in stereo" part was the modifier from one ear to two.
42 - Tim Hall
Any cover of Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air". Not a song I particularly like in the first place, but the versions by both Gamma and Fish are truly nauseating, spoiling the otherwise good albums they appear on.
Another horror: Blackmore's Night's version of "The Times they are A'changing".
43 - The Proprietor
I have to nominate The Carpenters' cover of "Ticket To Ride" for the worst I've heard (short of the "dentist office" arrangements played on "beautiful music" stations, but let's leave those out of the discussion), but there are other bad Beatles covers out there that boggle the mind:
"She Loves You" - Neil Sedaka, Bobby Vee
"Run For Your Life" - Gary Lewis
"Paperback Writer" - Cowsills
"Please Please Me" - David Cassidy
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" - Freddy Cannon, Pat Boone
"From Me To You" - Debbie Boone
"A Hard Days Night" - Kelly Family
Yikes!
44 - Douglas Mays
Well, on the positive side there are some pretty outstanding cover interpretations out there also. Off the top of my head I think Kentucky Woman (Niel Diamond)by Deep Purple; All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan) by Jimi Hendrix; Young Man Blues (Mose Allison) as performed by the WHO.
Anyway, covers aren't always a lost cause.....
peaceloveguidance
45 - jadester
ah yeah, sorry 'bout the mixup of artist names.
Being worse than average at remembering names, plus not really being into art, equals more dumbassery from me...heh
I could reel off a list of covers i think everyone should at least hear once (as in, i think they're good and you should hear them before judging them)
But i already did that a little in some other post awhile ago. OK, maybe tomorrow i'll put together a list of my own and post it and see how many people disagree...
46 - Kevin McCallum
Bad Beatles covers? They don't get any worse than Tiffany butchering "I Saw Her/Him Standing There." Bananarama doing "Help!" also sent my eardrums scurrying for cover. As for Sixpence None the Richer, I don't mind "There She Goes." But I still much prefer The La's original.
47 - Jon Sobel
The Wilson Phillips version of Fleetwood Mac's "Go Your Own Way" is my new choice for worst cover *ever.*
I concur with the majority here - I always liked the UB40 "Red Red Wine." And I like Sheryl Crow, but dislike most of her covers - I thought her version of "First Cut is the Deepest" is pretty lame, although a lot people seem to like it.
48 - Taloran
"Clapton deserves a place on this list for his cover of "Layla""
Clapton's "Layla" is not precisely a cover, since he wrote the original with Jim Gordon. I still hate it, however, and I'm a Clapton fan.
"Bad Beatles covers?"
How 'bout William Shatner's spoken word regurgitation of "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds?" IMO, the only person who should be allowed to cover the Fab Four is Joe Cocker, whose "She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" is excellent. (again, IMO)
Faith Hill's cover of Janis' "Piece of My Heart" is an all-time low in the annals of popular music. There should be a constitutional amendment preventing any woman with a squeaky voice from covering Joplin.
Can't remember who did it, but someone covered Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" a few years ago. While I'm not a huge fan of Buckingham - Nicks era Mac, this vomitous mess is about as bad as I've heard.
Someone recently covered Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," a rendition nearly as bad as the cover of Landslide mentioned above.
Michael Bolton's cover of Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay" is pretty dang wretched, although Neil Schon does some nice guitar work on it. People with no soul should not cover soul music.
The Eagles' cover of Tom Waits "Old 55" is fine, but completely changes the dark and brooding atmosphere of the original. Tom's gravelly voice with three-note range replaced by the Eagles' soaring harmonies always struck me as odd.
And finally, the most god-awful cover of all time butchered not one, but two songs at once. Back around 1988 some fluff band called "Will to Power" butchered both Frampton's "Baby I Love Your Way" and Skynyrd's "Freebird" in one medley, put to a trite dance beat. I gag just thinking about it.
49 - Taloran
"pretty outstanding cover interpretations... All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan) by Jimi Hendrix"
Dave Mason also did a superb rendition of Watchtower.
50 - Al Barger
Oh, I forgot one of the great classic bad covers. In the the middle of a mostly surprisingly good Lennon tribute concert video, there's Kylie Minogue on stage singing "Help." She's made it into a disco song, complete with a gay dance troop and a rapper. You really have to SEE that to believe it.
It came out particularly nice in that the video puts it between short versions of the same song by U2 and Roy Orbison.
51 - Taloran
Speaking of good covers, I know that Springsteen is very popular, but I've always hated his music, his singing, and his guitar playing. I can't explain it except to say there's no accounting for taste.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band made two songs by Springsteen listenable - Blinded By the Light and Spirit in the Night, both on the album The Roaring Silence. "Blinded" was probably their biggest hit ever, with the possible exception of The Mighty Quinn, which I believe was also a cover (Dylan, maybe?).
52 - Mark Saleski
and just to show ya what a big 'ole world it is out there....i can't stand the Manfred Mann version of Blinded By The Light.
of course, i love Springsteen's music, singing and guitar playing.
53 - Douglas Mays
Is this a butchering or a classic? Both. How about the Dickies cover version of the Moody Blues "Nights in White Satin".
It is great, it is awful. Excellent.
peaceloveguidance
54 - Eric Olsen
the Dickies did many a spunky cover: "Gigantor" "Paranoid" "Eve of Destruction" "Communication Breakdown" "Banana Splits"
55 - BRICKLAYER
5 BEST VERSIONS OF "HELTER SKELTER"
1. Husker Du
2. Motley Crue
3. Beatles
4. U2
5. Pat Benatar
Oh, and thanks, I gotta go download that Will to Power Skinnard medley!
56 - Mark Saleski
worst version of Helter Skelter:
Siouxsie & the Banshees
57 - Eric Olsen
but their "Dear Prudence" is haunting
58 - BRICKLAYER
Pittsburgh's own The Clarks do a splendiferous live version of "Dear Prudence". And also "You Spin Me"!
59 - Eric Olsen
that's hilarious Bricky: the greatest song by the gayest band that ever was
60 - Eric Olsen
(Dead or Alive, that is, not the Clarks or the Beatles)
61 - BRICKLAYER
You mean they had other songs?!?
62 - Eric Olsen
yeah, but they all sounded the same - surprisingly good guitar work for an electro-pop band, however
63 - Joe
I can't believe you've made it 60 comments with no mention of the soundtrack from the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. P.U.
64 - BRICKLAYER
In order of fairnes, I should mention that the Clarks version of "The River" on the recent boss tribute is just plain freaking terrible. Sucks the the life, emotion, and soul out of the wonderful song, and leaves nothing but a mid tempo galloping bit of poop behind.
65 - Eric Olsen
Joe, perhaps because it has left a crater of despair in its wake that all fear and avoid assiduously
Bricks, "leaves nothing but a mid tempo galloping bit of poop behind" - classic line, haven't heard it, it would appear fortunately. That is one of Bruce's deepest, most moving moments.
66 - Joe
True, I pretend that whole year never happened.
Is there a thread for best covers? I'd nominate Aztec Camera's "Jump" and Violent Femmes' "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?"
And spot on regarding Dead or Alive's absolute gaiety. There are like three empty tiers between them and the next closest band.
67 - BRICKLAYER
I dunno about that. What about Right Said Fred. Or Judas Priest?
68 - BRICKLAYER
Or Manowar!
69 - Joe
Oh, you meant that kind of gay.
70 - Eric Olsen
like Bronski Beat kind of gay only much more flamboyant
71 - Joe
Ok, I'm constructing a continuum with David Gest, Erasure, and Culture Club and am having a bit of trouble determining which order that would be.
72 - Joe
And, I'm pretty sure at certain points of his career, Rod Stewart was at least popularly perceived to fall into that category.
73 - Victor Plenty
I'm reeling at "sucked the life out of Neil Diamond's 'Red Red Wine.'" How could anyone suck any life out of that?
Only a vampire who subsists entirely on turnips could achieve such a thing.
On a different note, Willam Shatner's cover version of "Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds" cannot be fully appreciated unless it is performed in the original Klingon.
74 - music gifts
I got no problem with Joss Stone's cover of fell in love with a boy....shit, she's all of 20 and she can flat out sing and someone has the balls to say her cover sucks....????? stoned, and high, and doesn't know nuthin...
75 - Andrew Ian Dodge
American Pie by Madonna & Everybody Hurts by the Corrs.