Photo: Paul Natkin (Getty).
It’s hard to say that any original work of art can be surpassed by something attempting to pay homage to it. But each cover song below became something wholly new, an entity unto itself, free to impregnate some other would-be rocker down the road. And isn’t that the point? The more powerful a tune, the more inspired the listener, and the better chance we all have of getting another rocking tune to shred the ether. Hence, these 10 cover songs sound totally different, and possibly better, than the original.
10 Cover Songs That Sound Totally Different (And Possibly Better Than The Original):
Honorable Mention:
“Such Great Heights,” Iron & Wine (originally by The Postal Service)
“Killing Me Softly,” The Fugees (originally by Roberta Flack)
“I Fought the Law,” The Clash (originally by The Crickets, The Bobby Fuller Four)
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” Devo (originally by The Rolling Stones)
“1989,” Ryan Adams (originally by Taylor Swift)
“All Along the Watchtower,” Dave Matthews Band (originally by Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix)
“Everybody Wants to Rule the World,” Lorde (originally by Tears for Fears)
“Time After Time,” Willie Nelson (originally by Cyndi Lauper)
“The Man Who Sold the World,” Nirvana (originally by David Bowie)
“Turn the Page,” Metallica (originally by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band)
“Voodoo Child (slight return),” Angelique Kidjo (originally by Jimi Hendrix)
Also: 10 Songs That Make You Rethink Everything
Cover Songs That Sound Totally Different
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Hurt by Johnny Cash
Johnny’s late career work with Rick Rubin gave us a ton of great covers, most of which sounded more like a Johnny Cash swan song than the original. As good as his version of U2’s “One” is, it’s this Nine Inch Nails cover that’s most different, and closest to better. But let’s not focus too much on “better” for this list, because you can’t go wrong with either version for any of these songs. Still, “Hurt” took on a whole new level of well-travelled pain in Johnny’s old, tired-yet-vital voice. I credit Johnny for being my entree to the song, and to NIN and Trent Reznor, which is the best part of all good music, really -- that it leads you to more!
Photo: YouTube
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Ring of Fire by Social Distortion
Johnny Cash is virtually impossible to beat at his own endearing-and-honest country music game. But Social Distortion didn’t change their Fullerton punk sound to accommodate the song. They simply changed the song to make it theirs by revving it up with some ripping guitars and anger. Now if we can just get Reese Witherspoon to sing Social D’s version, perhaps whilst wearing leather?
Photo: Paul Natkin/WireImage (Getty)
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Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm
Good music leading to more good music doesn’t always work, mind you, as I can’t say I’ve ever heard another Alien Ant Farm song besides this thrash pop ode to Michael Jackson. But that can be another power of a good, totally unique cover: it gets you noticed. Of course, it may just get you pigeon-holed, to the point where that’s all your known for. Still, I’d rather have audiences clamor for someone else’s song than for no song at all.
Photo: YouTube
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In Bloom by Sturgill Simpson
On his last two albums, Sturgill has taken the rearranged cover to a new art form. That’s partly thanks to having enough sense to listen to his wife’s cover selections, which the Savior of Outlaw Country proudly admits to (though he certainly wouldn’t admit to that title). While his cover of When in Rome‘s ’80s hit “The Promise” could easily make this list for scrapping all traces of the original and creating something powerful and beautifully new, the fact that “In Bloom” is such a definitive Nirvana song gives Sturge’s country-punk-disguised-as-a-ballad take on it even more impact.
Photo: YouTube
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Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner
For the record, John Fogerty plucked this song’s “rolling on the river” line from a Will Rogers movie, so in a roundabout way, he was covering, too. Then Ike and Tina took Fogerty and CCR’s bayou rocker and turned it into a nice and easy soul number, at the start. Of course, Ike and Tina also like to do things “nice and rough,” a line that would become all too meaningful down the road. It’s amazing that two people who could sound this beautiful harmonizing together could be so bad for each other. While I don’t have much respect for Ike’s husbanding, I can’t say the man doesn’t have the perfect bass voice to support Tina’s rolling thunder. Such are the duplicitous times we live in. Fortunately, “Thunderdome” remains a deterrent to all those would-be Ikes out there.
Photo: Jorgen Angel/Redferns (Getty).
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The Sounds of Silence by Disturbed
Simon and Garfunkel tunes are ripe for the covering -- with special shout-outs to The Lemonheads’ “Mrs. Robinson” and The Bangles’ “Hazy Shade of Winter.” While I really wanted to choose the latter, due to its association with “Less Than Zero” -- and by extension Jami Gertz -- it just sounds too much like the original. Not Disturbed’s “TSOS” though, which takes S&G’s haunting folk song and turns up the orchestral drama, ditches the hopeful harmony, and throws in a touch of balding terror. Honestly, I’ve fully ignored Disturbed until now on account of their uninviting name, but thanks to a damn good cover of a song I love, I hear there’s something there.
Photo: YouTube
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Renegades of Funk by Rage Against the Machine
You can pretty much pick any song from Rage’s “Renegades” album, which covers everything from Bruce Springsteen to Iggy Pop to Eric B. & Rakim. But when they pulled out Africa Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force’s atomic-age electric hip-hop funk number “Renegades of Funk,” Rage realized they had their album name. The song doesn’t just offer a history lesson of all things down, it celebrates those things, those “renegades of funk” who changed “the course of history.” Which is exactly what Rage sought to do on the macro level, albeit with a bit less funk and a lot more distortion and ranting.
Photo: Ebet Roberts/Redferns (Getty).
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Sweet Jane by Cowboy Junkies
If you ever want to make love like you mean it, put on the Cowboy Junkies entire Trinity Sessions. I’m pretty sure the album was the reason my last relationship lasted as long as it stupidly did. It doesn’t get much slower and sexier, as exemplified by their take on the Velvet Underground’s classic. It’s a song that’s been covered plenty -- for good reason -- but the Junkies’ version was reportedly Lou Reed’s favorite, which has to be pretty fricking cool to hear about your cover song.
Photo: Wendy Perl/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank (Getty).
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Faith by Limp Bizkit
When looking at the coverer and the coveree, it’s hard to imagine two artists more different than George Michael and Fred Durst. And their versions of the same song certainly reflect that, as one implies the ass-shaking joys of having faith, and one’s just loud. Am I going to sit here in my ivory tower and try to convince you that Limp Bizkit’s version is better? No, because it’s not -- not for me at least -- but it is for many of you, so I’m including it here. If this election has taught me anything, it’s that I must reach across the aisle to those less intelligent than me, and I think we can all agree that Trump’s base is still likely listening to Limp Bizkit, and they could probably use some help weening.
Photo: YouTube
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Love Is Blindness by Jack White
Nobody loves a cover tune like Jack White, a guy who not only knows his music history, but also how to pay homage in his own unique, biggest-rock-star-working way. He’s covered so many songs, Rolling Stone could only whittle down their list of favorites to 15. I had the pleasure of being blown away by Jack and Meg’s cover of “One More Cup of Coffee,” one of my favorite Dylan tunes; but even that can’t top his rapturous take on U2’s “Love Is Blindness,” one of the many highlights on the amazing The Great Gatsby soundtrack. It’s a song so intoxicating, it kind of makes me miss the passion-fueled love I had with my ex before she tried to murder me.
Photo: Nicole Wilder/ABC (Getty).
