Cover songs are what make the world go ‘round. Think prom, weddings, piano bars…American Idol. The bottom line is people love familiarity. There have been some exceptional covers that have made it onto albums over the years and we feel so strongly about some that we’d rather listen to them than the originals. The list was long, so in the hopes of Rolling Rock someday sponsoring this list (or because we ran out), we narrowed it down to 33. Without further ado, the Top 33 Cover Songs that are Better than the Original, listed in chronological order:
1. All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix, 1968 (Bob Dylan)
2. After Midnight – Eric Clapton, 1970 (JJ Cale)
3. Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down – Johnny Cash, 1970 (Kris Kristofferson)
4. Me and Bobby McGee – Janis Joplin, 1971 (Kris Kristofferson)
5. Me & My Uncle – Grateful Dead, 1971 (Judy Collins)
6. Blinded by the Light – Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, 1976 (Bruce Springsteen)
7. Just My Imagination – The Rolling Stones, 1978 (The Temptations)
8. And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda – The Pogues, 1984 (The Dubliners)
9. Black Diamond – The Replacements, 1984 (Kiss)
10. Voodoo Child – Stevie Ray Vaughan, 1984 (Jimi Hendrix)
11. Pancho and Lefty – Willie Nelson, 1985 (Townes Van Zandt)
12. Helter Skelter – U2, 1988 (The Beatles)
13. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies, 1988 (Lou Reed)
14. No Depression – Uncle Tupelo, 1990 (The Carter Family)
15. Madman Across the Water – Bruce Hornsby, 1991 (Elton John)
16. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley, 1994 (Leonard Cohen)
17. Landslide – Smashing Pumpkins, 1994 (Fleetwood Mac)
18. Baker Street – Foo Fighters, 1997 (Gerry Rafferty)
19. Gettin’ Jiggy With It – Phish, 1999 (Will Smith)
20. Bad Sneakers – The Push Stars, 2000 (Steely Dan)
21. I Found a Reason – Cat Power, 2000 (The Velvet Underground)
22. Remember the Mountain Bed – Wilco, 2000 (Woody Guthrie – never recorded)
23. Say Hello Wave Goodbye – David Gray, 2000 (Soft Cell)
24. The Kids are Alright – Pearl Jam, 2001 (Pete Townshend)
25. Hurt – Johnny Cash, 2002 (Nine Inch Nails)
26. I Just Don’t Know What to Do With Myself – White Stripes, 2003 (Tommy Hunt)
27. We Will Become Silhouettes – The Shins, 2003 (Postal Service)
28. Wonderwall – Ryan Adams, 2003 (Oasis)
29. Act Nice and Gentle – Black Keys, 2004 (The Kinks)
30. True Love Will Find You in the End – Beck, 2004 (Daniel Johnston)
31. This Will Be Our Year – Pablo, 2006 (The Zombies)
32. To Go Home – M. Ward, 2006 (Daniel Johnston)
33. It Makes No Difference – My Morning Jacket, 2007 (The Band)
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Little Wing – SRV is still hands down the best cover ever! Voodoo child is cool and all, but what stevie transformed Little Wing into is sheer poetry.
Mark Kozelek’s covers of AC/ DC are awesome. Check out the verion of ‘Bad Boy Boogie’ from the Rock N Roll singer EP.
This is a fantastic list, and took some real guts. U2 better than the Beatles? Wow! I agree with so much of this list but don’t know that I would have said it aloud. I was just telling Shawn (sort of active here too) that “act Nice And Gentle” by the Black Keys is one of the most under-celebrated songs I know.
Awesome!
I also love the Warren Haynes covers on his live at Bonnaroo album. There is a great cover of Radiohead’s “Lucky” and Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water”.
This list also could have gone on and on with blues covers by the Rolling Stones, SRV and others.
I woulda included the Gourds doing Gin and Juice, Lou Barlow doing Ratt’s Round and Round, Jesus and Mary Chain’s Head On, Nirvnana Where Did You Sleep Last Night and maybe Dino Jr doing Just Like Heaven and the Counting Crows with that Yellow Taxi song. Nice list…just my additions.
Great suggestions. I considered throwing Nirvana Lake of Fire in the mix, but the Meat Puppets did a great original.
Mark Lanegan also did a decent cover of Where did you sleep last night. He’s also got an album of mostly unknown folk covers called I’ll Take Care of You that has some great stuff on it.
The Clash _ i fought the Law
I’m partial to the Johnny Cash (w. Joe Strummer) version of “Redemption Song” (B. Marley)
cheers,
b.s.
how is hallelujah not #1? travesty!
Listed in chronological order.
The White Stripes version of “I Just Don’t Know What To Do With Myself” should definitely be on this list. No cover of a Hendrix song is better than the original. Not now, not ever. This also applies to The Beatles, though if you want to hear a good cover of one of their songs, The Black Keys did “She Said She Said”.
oops! accidentally looked over and saw the White Stripes were on there, my bad
I stumbled ‘crost this list via using teh Google, lookin’ for who did the Gin and Juice remake.
Great stuff! Though I think Springsteen’s original is marginally better, just ’cause they’re almost totally different songs thanks to MMEB’s treatment, and the original has a more summer-time, party feel to it. Guess, for me anyhow, it really depends on the mood I’m in which prefer.
One to ponder: Devin Townsend’s ver of “Sinner”. IMO, dude took ‘n’ polished J. Priest’s major metal accomplishment with sublime appreciation for the original. Outstanding!
Joe Cocker…With a little help from my friends ..awesome
Manferd Mann…..Blinded By The Light
Nazerath ….Love Hurts
Stevie Ray Vaughan …Voodoo Child ….awesome
Aerosmith…Train Kept A Rollin’
Jackson Browne…..Stay
Big Brother & Holding Company (Janis)…Piece Of My Heart
Jimi Hendrix….Hey Joe
Santana…..Black Magic Woman
Led Zeppelin…..Babe I’m Gonna Leave You
I agree with about 50% of your choices.
I do see a bias based on certain styles of music over other styles. This causes you to assess that a cover is ‘better’ based upon the style in which it’s played.
Example: Soft Cell’s ‘Say Hello Wave Goodbye’. One of their own many, many covers (of that song) is the version which contains Dave Tofani’s marvelous three minute clarinet intro. The song is one of pop’s greatest moments! It is one of the highlights of the entire rock era.
More recently David Gray did a great cover version. Some might argue the song is so good, it’s simply impossible to do a bad cover of it. His version is slower and performed in his classic acoustic folk-rock style. It’s simply superb! For those who enjoy his style of music, it’s a treat to the ears.
But, David breaks no new ground with his version. It’s what we’ve heard for decades with good folk gutsy-acoustic guitar anguish. Soft Cell’s original treated the audience to something new in our listening experience. They broadened our horizons. And when the producer included Tofani’s hauntingly beautiful clarinet, rock’s boundaries once again expanded.
You’re right…. Gray’s cover is superb. But it is in no way ‘better than the original’. It’s just for a different audience.
Thanks for the comment, Philip. I appreciate the thought behind your comment – most people usually just say things like, “This list sucks!” The list definitely has a bent toward music that suits my personal taste. Your opinions are well-founded – thanks for reading and caring enough to post a thoughtful comment.
I was watching The Colbert Report and Kris Kristofferson was on. I was curious to see what he looked like when he was younger, so I googled him and stumbled across this page. The title intrigued me, so i read on. And when I saw you put U2’s Helter Skelter was better than the Beatles, I was absolutely shocked. I had never heard U2’s version, so before I commented, I downloaded the song just to se what this was all about. I couldn’t even make it through the song. Not only is it not better, I don’t even think it is good. But, I am a huge Beatles fan and I don’t like U2, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Like Greg said before, that took a lot of guts to say, considering the Beatles are one of the biggest (if not the biggest) musical icons of all time. I’m not a huge music buff where I would know all of the songs that you talked about, but I’m definitely going to be looking up the songs I don’t know. And I agree with Doc that the Gourds’ Gin and Juice should be on there.
Hey Meg, we actually saved the Gourds track for our list of top covers of rap songs:http://www.hearya.com/2007/05/25/top-10-indie-covers-of-rap-songs/.
Thanks for commenting
Megg – I saw the same Colbert Report. Kristofferson has had quite a life, hasn’t he? Including seeing Barbara Streisand naked.
The Beatles are tough to argue with. Hope you found some gems in the rest of the list.
The Three O’ Clock’s version of The Easybeats’ “Sorry,” off the ‘Baroque Hoedown’ EP, for those so inclined. It’s always singled out as among this underrated band’s finest moments…
what about Guns’n'Roses, Knocking on heavens door?
I think Antony’s cover of “If It Be Your Will” from the “I’m Your Man” soundtrack deserves a spot on here.
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