And by this I mean: songs that Prince has covered, not other artists covering Prince's songs.

I vote: One of Us - Just heard Joan Osborne's version in an episode of Homicide...it's so bland!

Hatman said:

I Can't Make You Love Me

Not a big fan of his covers btw
[Edited 4/26/10 22:12pm]

The Best of You
A Whole Lotta Love

idk any others

PurpleDiamond2009 said:

I really love P's version of Whole Lotta Love, but I don't know if it tops the original...it may equal it tho.

One of Us

and yes Crimson and Clover too

one of us

One of us,do urself a favor,best of u,i cant make u love me,betcha by golly wow,Creep (Live). The only one I dislike is "Everyday is a Winding Road"

None. Cover versions are pale imitations of the original songs, no matter who's singing them.

Probably none. I'm not down on ocover versions, but it does take a really great one to outshine.

Plenty of people have covered Prince, but most fans would say Prince's original is better.

I can't think of any. It's always fun to hear him do covers (if just to guess what he's going to do next) but for the most part the originals stand tall. In Prince's case, he sometimes taps into a very interesting interpretation of a song but fails to flesh it out. For example, I think the "Miss You" he did at Wembley sounded fantastic, almost as good as the original but in reality it was an extended jam whereas the original was a fully fleshed out song with a bridge and everything. Same with "Case of You". I really like his interpretation but he basically does one verse, two choruses and then fades out on a light jam.

To me, those two come closest to matching the originals in terms of sound but neither of them were fleshed out enough to be truly great cover songs. But as a couple of others have stated here, it takes a lot for a cover song to truly be a great re-interpretation of the original.

erik319 said:

Just my imagination is nearly on par

Crimson and Clover is wonderful...it really is. It's nice to see Prince actually playing some guitar these days!

I Can't Make You Love Me

MacDaddy said:

Have you ever listened to Manfred Mann's Earth Band?

erik319 said:

I see your point but some covers are SURELY better than the original:

All Along The Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
Respect - Aretha Franklin
Crossroads - Eric Clapton
Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley
Hurt - Johnny Cash
Twist & Shout - The Beatles

And dare I say Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead 'O' Connor?

O+>
[Edited 4/27/10 5:52am]

erik319 said:

So you feel that Hendrix should have left All Along the Watchtower to Dylan?

What if the "original artist" did not write the song, they were just the first to record it? "One of Us", for example, was written by Eric Bazilian. Is it only allowed to be sung by him or Joan Osbourne?

That's a strange and inflexible theory you're working with, Erik.
[Edited 4/27/10 6:18am]

erik319 said:

I think there are many cover versions which are better than the original. But none of them are by Prince.

Others that come to mind are:
Marvin Gaye - "I Heard It Through The Grapevine"
Barry White - "Just The Way You Are"
James Taylor - "You've Got A Friend"
Edwin Starr - "War"
Donny Hathaway - "A Song For You"

I don´t like his version of "Everyday is a winding road" but other than that I really think that Prince is very good at doing covers. I like almost all of his covers, especially the Ohio Players stuff.

.....but that doesn´t mean he should put cover versions on his own albums.
Moderation is key.

Also, I´d rather see him do more cover versions of his own songs.
Prince revisiting Prince is always a good idea, with 1999TNM being the exception to the rule.

destijl24 said:

I would totally agree if he hadn't taken that 'flange effect' that was considered quirky at the end of the original and blanketed it overvrhe whole song...it's really off putting through headphones

His cover of Billy Cobham's Stratus is excellent.

Some have mentioned their dislike for "Everyday is a Winding Road", but the NME (legendary UK music magazine) described it as "a case of dog-shit to diamond alchemy"!!

Q Magazine also said of Prince's cover of "One of Us" that he was "sending Joan Osborne back to school".

I think in the main, his cover versions are very successful - he mostly manages to re-interpret the original (unless he's really in awe of the original, like "La la la means I Love You" which is pretty faithful to the original). Same with Purple House (cover of Jimi's Red House) - some of the licks he plays are almost verbatim.

purpledoveuk said:

Whereas I love his use of flange and phase effects in that track - terrific! But, each to their own, I guess.....

One of Us has a bit more power IMO than the original.

He adds his style to I Can't Make U Love Me, which is good, but I was already tired of that song.

All in all I don't find his covers that exciting, though.

Rioub said:

and might I add
Black Crows - "Hard to Handle"

ARock said:

frankly, I think that is his worst, probably second only to Everyday Is A Winding Road. with ICMYLM, he completely butchered the sentiment of one of the most beautiful songs in recent memory.

but I understand, because I think Prince totally outdid the originals (and all other versions) of both Betcha By Golly Wow and Crimson & Clover, and there aren't a lot of people around here who agree. at least sane ones.

"Creep" IMO: the original didn't capture its own meaning at all

I also prefer Prince's renditions of "One Of Us", "I Can't Make U Love Me" and "Everyday Is A Whining Road" and "Crimson & Clover" but that's quite logical that i would since i'm not into folk/rock at all.
[Edited 4/27/10 16:57pm]

I don't care much for most of the covers that Prince has chosen to include on albums, but I'm a big fan of the covers he performs live. While I realize it's kind of ridiculous that Prince, with a catalog as deep as his, performs so many covers these days, he takes some of my favorite songs and makes them sound even better to me in a live setting. Whenever there's a Prince show going on, I always look forward to checking out the setlist and seeing what covers he's played in addition to his own songs. Some of my favorites include: Spanish Castle Magic, Soul Sacrifice, Oye Como Va, Miss You, Just My Imagination, All Shook Up, Whole Lotta Love, Long Train Runnin', Villanova Junction, The Long and Winding Road, Stratus, It's Ecstasy When You Lay Down Next To Me, Love Changes, What You Need...and the list goes on.

Do me baby.

A case of U - I think this is one of his best vocal performances and I love the fact that the track is pretty stripped-down and not over-produced.