creep-stevie wonder-luther vandross
do me baby-prince- me'lissa morgan
light my fire-jose feliciano

although i adore the doors original version of "light my fire", this version by jose feliciano is beautiful.
[Edited 12/17/04 18:41pm]

You stole the thread right out of my mouth audience

Aaaanyway one of the most obvious ones that I'm surprised no one's mentioned is Stevie's version of We can work it out along with that

Hendrix's Hey Joe
EWF's Got To Get You Into My life
Ray Charles' Bye Bye Love
Prince's One Of Us
TTD's Who's Loving You (MJs version is a cover too wasn't it?)

jacktheimprovident said:

Sorry about the theft.

Who's Lovin' You was done by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.
(can't remember if it they were just called The Miracles when it was released)

Yeah, We Can Work It Out is a good one.

Speaking of The Beatles, Otis Redding did Day Tripper and A Hard Day's Night.
He also did Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones.
They were definitely different, but i'm not sure if they actually expanded on the originals.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

hey Audience, i am in love with that song "what love has joined together", but i like the version made by smokey robinson and the miracles more than the mary wells version, who made this first?

heybaby said:

Right off the top of my head, I don't know.
My intuition tells me that Smokey wrote it for Mary Wells who recorded it 1st.

I'll have to check it out.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Ooh, I'm surprised no one's mentioned sly's version of Que Sera Sera yet

another one I kind of like is Weather Report's rendition of Rockin' Rhythm (or maybe it was Herbie hancock, not positive)

"Spanish Harlem" (Ben E. King) - Aretha's reinvention of this song gives it the majestic interpretation it deserves. The way the string section weaves in and out of the acoustic guitar licks, Donny Hathaway's organ, and Aretha's piano is sublime. It makes Mr. King's more basic original sound almost like a '50s demo.

Franklin's version lets you "see" the lyrics as they're being sung because they're kin to that bridge, and those background vocals that make the whole thing take flight.

Back during her prime Aretha just pulled the rug out from under most of the original versions when she covered them. It was HERS, and there's nothing anyone could do about it.

`
[Edited 12/17/04 22:51pm]

Supernova said:

Impressive.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Latoya Jackson-Private Joy. Classic.

The Animals : "House of the rising sun" (anon)

Faith no more : "Easy " ? / Lionel Ritchie...
Johny Cash covered a "Nick Cave & The bad seeds" song, "Mercy seat" or "Shivers" , can't remember which.

Every Robert Johnson track Has been covered just about. By the Rolling Stones / Clapton , etc.


Nirvana : "The man who sold the world" / Bowie.

FLUX said:

Mercy Seat. it's wonderful.

GrayKing said:

Good call ! Thought so...Thanks GrayKing

VoicesCarry said:

Another version of that song that goes in another direction is the 11 minute jam by CCR...

what about that version of "summertime"done by bobby womack. i think it's a collabo with questlove i'm not sure. but it's good.

Cher -- "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" ... sorry, i love it

GrayKing said:

sorry, haven't heard that version, but now you mention it:

The Chimes - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For beats the shit outta U2 any day

GrayKing said:

i was never into johnny cash till i heard his version of "hurt" and "one" by u2. but his version of "hurt" is gut wrenching. i heard he really died of a broken heart 'cause his wife died. i hate it when i sleep on music. plus i never heard the nin version.
[Edited 12/21/04 22:09pm]

heybaby said:

and may i add that the lyrics in "hurt" are really good.

I had no idea that "Back In NYC" was not by Jeff Buckley, but originally by Genesis. Jeff's version is very much different. The song is just drowned in backwards guitars and shit.

VoicesCarry said:

Wutchoo said? I love Gladys Knight and the Pips version even more than Gaye's. Though the groove in his is undeniable, I just find Knight's take on it to be suh-weet!

paligap said:

You got that right! I also love their takes on:

Lay Lady Lay
Spill the Wine

and especially...

Hello It's Me - love this one so much, in fact, that I think it's better than the original (which I also love). Probably my favorite two covers are both Motown artists:

Ain't No Mountain High Enough - Diana Ross
Something - Martha Reeves and the Vandellas

The arrangement on Ross' version of Ain't No..., for me anyway, is so much more rich and dramatic than the Tami and Marvin version. The orchestration is really out of sight, and the spoken vocal part is killer. Something is one of my fave Bealtes song (and my fave of those Harrison composed), and Martha Reeves cool take on it is a lot of fun.
[Edited 12/23/04 17:28pm]

Now that Johnny Cash is mentioned:the guy did a stunning "Personal Jesus" by Depeche Mode..As he did quite a few good covers on his last albums!!
I also dig Thunder on their covers:"Dance to the music","Gimme some loving"."Lazy Sunday afternoon","Gimme shelter"...Good band:Thunder!

ehuffnsd said:

isnt that *her* song? are you talking about Roy Orbison's version?

Dancelot said:

and while i must admit to never hearing the original i understand that Sinead OConner completly changed the meaning of Success Has Made A Failure of our Home without changing a word...except adding the "am i not your girl" repeats at the end....damn i love that song!!

paligap said:

Yep! She's done some great covers (and some that don't quite come off)... Her versions of Tupelo Honey (Van Morrison), Love Is Blindness (U2) and Harvest Moon (Neil Young) are also fantastic!

A couple of Nina Simone covers of Bob Dylan songs spring to mind too: I Shall Be Released (which she apparently did another version of with Miriam Makeba - although I don't have it) and also Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - they're both beautiful versions.

And Donny Hathaway's cover of He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (The Hollies) is pretty perfect too....

RipHer2Shreds said:

RipHer, gotta disagree on that one.
(Plus i'll admit in advance it's also an excuse to unload some pent up Ross Rage.)

One of distinctive points of the M&T version of the song is that it's a duet and you have the interplay between Marvin and Tammi.

The bridge, the bridge, the classic bridge.
Couple that with the modulation and what a masterful setup for the rest of the song...

No wind, no rain
Or winters cold
Can't stop me baby (no no baby)
Cause you are my goal
If your ever in trouble
I'll be there on the double
Just send for me oh baby


Contrast that with Diana's Tower of Babble...

I know, I know you must follow the sun wherever it leads
But remember, if you should fall short of your desires
Remember life holds for you one guarantee
You'll always have me
And if you should miss my love
One of these old days
If you should ever miss the arms
That used to hold you so close, or the lips
That used to touch you so tenderly
Just remember what I told you
The day I set you free
WTF?

This leaves me quoting Led Zeppelin:
Excuse me
Oh will you excuse me
I'm just trying to find the bridge... Has anybody seen the bridge?

(Have you seen the bridge?)
I ain't seen the bridge!

(Where's that confounded bridge?)

The Diana Ross vegasized version of this tune just doesn't make it for me.
Where the M&T version represents a tight and to-the-point arrangement, the Ross version is a bloated, overweight, insincere exercise in excess.

A reviewer galvanized my opinion of her:
"It really pains me to keep bashing Diana's records like this, but when they're as kitschy, contrived, passionless and self-congratulatory as this one, it pains me even more to have to listen to them."

He goes on to describe her live shows as being filled with "with rambling monologues".



Aah, I feel much better now.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Well, I'm glad you feel better. Not only were you railing on her version of this song but her whole career. My goodness.

The funny thing is the very reasons you (or the reviewer you quoted) listed as reasons to dislike her take on the song are the very reasons I like it. While I wouldn't call it passionless, I would call it kitschy. The whole point of her version is that it's dramatic. I like that about it.

I don't know that I agree that the song only works as a duet. Yeah, it was a great duet between the two of them, but it works fine as a somebody (Sra Ross) singing to a loved one as well. Then there's the issue of these lyrics:

No wind, no rain
Or winters cold
Can't stop me baby (no no baby)
Cause you are my goal
If your ever in trouble
I'll be there on the double
Just send for me oh baby

Are you saying those lyrics aren't in the Ross version? Becuase they surely are.

RipHer2Shreds said:

As I admitted, there was some Ross-rage I needed to unload.

The song can work as a solo declaration, I just happen to prefer the duet interaction.

Regarding the bridge, the way the M&T version uses the momentum of that bridge, plus the modulation, to flow directly into the 3rd verse was much more effective to me.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

I get what you're saying, and I cannot fault you for not liking it. Personally speaking, I think either version of the song is an acquired taste. I've heard them both non-stop for as long as I can recall, and it's only been in the past few years that I've liked either one.

RipHer2Shreds said:

Interesting. To me it's an R&B classic...the M&T version that is.

As part of my argument, I was going to use the type of artists that use the Ross arrangement, Vikki Carr, Claudine Longet (in french) . That's until I found one by The Reverend Al Green (which is even worse) and unfortunately had to back off.

I grew up on the M&T version so that one will always be my favorite.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm