Aaliyah, "At Your Best"
Janet, "One More Chance"
Janet, "Tonight's the Night"
Nirvana, "The Man Who Sold the World"
Scott Weiland, "But Not Tonight"

Okay, and before I say this one, let me just say that it's NOT better than Prince's, but I do love...

TLC, "If I Was Your Girlfriend"

Devo - Satisfaction

I'd say Femme fatal from Velvet Underground covered by Duran Duran!

3bogs said:

Michale jackson is a great singer, but he should not sing Rock songs.... he F*cked up Come together !!

Here are a few that come to mind for me:

Hound Dog - Elvis Presley
La Bamba - Ritchie Valens
Jackson 5 - Who's Lovin' You

WildStyle said:

How about terence Trent Darby's version of this one???

NWF said:

The spud boys rule

What? That's a Sheena Easton song??

WhenDovesCry2003 said:

She recorded it on her 1982 album, Madness Money & Music.
[This message was edited Sat May 8 21:57:21 2004 by VoicesCarry]

crazyhorse said:

Exactly.

For example, the original Wild Thing is the best. But, Jimi's version of All Along the Watchtower is definitely the best.

covers that beat the original:

What if god was one of us - prince
Hurt - Johnny cash
You were always on my mind - Willie nelson
Breathe - Melissa etheridge
(some people are gonna shoot me for this) : I am the walrus - Jim carrey
Lovin' all night - Patty Loveless

Lennon said:

Perfect Day is good too.

"Most cover songs sound like they are not even good enough to play in an elevator," Rhodes says. "It's terrifying to cover a song by artists you deeply respect and then ask them if they liked it," he says.
"But Lou Reed says it was the best cover of one of his songs anyone has ever done, and Bob Dylan says our version of 'Lay Lady Lay' was the best," Rhodes says.

VoicesCarry said:

Not 100% sure, but I think Lou Rawls did this song before Sheena. I'm gonna search to find out for sure.

VoicesCarry said:

Adisa said:

I'm sorry, I just have a soft spot for Tina's version.

I like EnVogue's 1992 version of "Giving Him Something That He Can Feel" better than the original 1976 version by Aretha Franklin

And many of Luther Vandross' cover versions are at least as good as the originals (example: The Carpenter's "Superstar").His version of the Temptation's "Since I Lost My Baby" KILLS the original,imo.
[This message was edited Mon May 10 2:06:59 2004 by DavidEye]

thesexofit said:

U've GOT to be on CRACK!!! MJs version has absolutely no character or soul. Sucked the life right out of the Beatles version. Even Aerosmith's version is better than MJs stinking turd version of Come Together.

...but I will say Stevie Wonder's version of We Can Work It Out was one hell of a funky version...definitely better than the original.

VoicesCarry said:

Sinead better than Rosie Gaines or Prince's vocals?! Hahahahahaha. The live instrumentation alone beats the music on Sinead's version.

Marvin Gaye's I heard it Through the Grapevine beats the crap out of Gladys Knight and Pip's version

DavidEye said:

Neither versions can touch the version in the movie Sparkle..from which it came..Curtis Mayfield penned song...they should have released those versions..Lonnette McKee and Irene Cara

Not even close for me. "I Can't Make You Love Me" by Prince

cinnamongirl24 said:

Sorry, but Sinead's vocals IMHO were much, much better than Prince and Rosie's. She really brought out the pathos and sorrow in the song. Most of the critics agree. From allmusic.com:

Backed by lush synths and a minimal, lightly swinging drum beat, she delivered the lyrics with such overwhelming sadness — and in such a gorgeous voice — that it was virtually impossible to listen to the song without feeling her hurt. Just as remarkable was the fact that, even though the song was something of a tearjerker, it never seemed calculated or insincere — O'Connor was simply too convincing. This was partly because of her expert control of dynamics; she could trail off into a breathy near-sob or let loose with a heartbroken wail, all in the same line, without overdoing either end of the spectrum — a tremendous credit to her sensitivity as an interpreter.....Prince included his own live version on one of his hits collections, but while it illustrated that the song didn't necessarily have to be interpreted with complete earnestness, it didn't capture the heartbreaking intimacy that made O'Connor's take the definitive one.

Adisa said:

As far as I know, this song was originally recorded by Sheena first...
And... sorry, I have heard many versions and there's no one I've found better than Sheena's.


I can't tell you why- Brownstone
Nothing compares 2 U- Sinead O'Connor
Turn the beat around- Gloria Estefan
Summertime- George Benson
I'm every woman-Whitney Houston (Love Chaka, but can't help comparing the production)
Waiting in vain- Annie Lennox
I drove al night- Cyndi Lauper (Celine Dion recorded it recently, but it just doesn't work 4 me)

I can't make you love me - George Michael (IMO Prince's vocals are just too many for such sad song, destroying the mood of it... For me P's version sounds more like "I can't make you make love to me")
[This message was edited Mon May 10 21:18:50 2004 by tritoncin]

VoicesCarry said:

I'd have to agree. Sometimes, less is more. I loved Sinead's approach, even her background vocals seemed ethereal. I loved it.

tritoncin said:

http://www.songwriteruniv.../wind.html I found it!
No need to be "sorry"...

Adisa said:

so Roger Whittaker was the first to record this song...
hmmm does anybody know another song by him???
I'd like to know what his voice and version sound like...

Thanx a lot ADISA!!!! I just love this tune

I definitely second whoever brought up Jeff Buckley' Hallelujah, Lilac Wine, Kick Out THe Jams.....I wish more artists did covers like he did.

Having said that, I LOOOOOVE Annie Lennox's cover of Neil Young's "DOnt' Let It Bring You Down." The arrangement is so haunting and her voice just kills me. The delivery is awesome and she really takes that song to the nth degree. I've been listening to it for years now and it still hits me the way it used to.

"Spanish Harlem" originally recorded by Ben E. King (written by Jerry Leiber and Phil Spector), covered by Aretha Franklin.

During Aretha's prime she was one of those artists who could LITERALLY take someone's song and reinvent it to the point that her version became the standard. Otis Redding was heard to proclaim, "That girl done stole my song!" about "Respect."

Ben E. King's original "Spanish Harlem," sounds almost skeletal in comparison to Aretha's version. Franklin's interpretation includes a fleshed out arrangement with a full band and string section: Aretha's ever underrated piano playing; Donny Hathaway's electric piano and organ; Cornell Dupree on guitar; Chuck Rainey on bass; Bernard Purdie on drums; Carolyn Franklin, Erma Franklin, and The Sweethearts of Soul on backing vocals...and somebody uncredited on flute.

It starts out with a drum/electric guitar intro, and The Sweethearts of Soul singing the chorus. Aretha's unmistakable voice takes the verses of course, the Spanish acoustic guitar picking comes up here and there throughout the song, but the bridge, good Lord, THE BRIDGE:

listen to how the piano creeps up slowly before Aretha finishes the second verse, then the piano solo intertwines with the string section, Purdie's ride cymbal groove, the subtle organ, the acoustic guitar, the very subtle down-in-the-mix electric guitar...then the string section crescendos to a climax before Aretha and the backing vocalists come back in with the chorus, before sliding back into the B section of the verse....

That's some ethereal stuff right there. That's how a bridge should work. It's 3 minutes and 12 seconds of BLISS. You'll forget Ben E. King's version altogether.

meltwithu said:

Yeah,I've always wondered why they didn't release a "Sparkle" soundtrack with the versions that are in the film,by Irene Cara and Lonnette McKee.I guess they felt that,since Aretha was a well-known artist,it would make more sense to have her do the soundtrack.From a commercial standpoint,this made sense.But I think that Irene and Lonnette are great singers,and those songs could have been huge hits for them as well.