Favorite covers.

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

Did they play "School's Out"? I was mildly annoyed when I played that at a party not long ago for a bunch of people my age (late twenties to middle-to-late thirties) and nobody remembered it beside me.

You know, the more I think about it, it wasn't Krokus, it was Kreator that I saw. Sorry about that.

 

[diaglo]

I'm a big fan of QR, though admittedly I buy very little music anymore. I still have their first EP on vinyl in my collection.

ditto.

diaglo "who saw them at Hammerjacks in Baltimore way too many times" Ooi

 

[Joël of the FoS]

One - Johnny Cash, originally by U2

I second that. This JC version is quite cool.

Other then that, err ... Eric Cartman's version of Styx "Come Sail Away"?

 

[EricNoah]

I got a kick out of a couple of rap songs that were redone by non-rapping artists:

Gin and Juice (The Gourds, originally Snoop Dogg)
and
Boyz in the Hood (don't know the group that re-made it, originally Eazy E)

And I'll probably be run up a flagpole for this but .... I like Sheryl Crow, and I don't like Guns n Roses, so I like her cover of "Sweet Child o' Mine."

 

[Krug]

Love Song - Tori Amos
Van Halen's Jump -Aztec Camera
Because The Night - 10,000 Maniacs
Everlasting Love - U2
Hit Me Baby One More Time - Fountains of Wayne

 

[Impeesa]

"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Avril Lavigne, originally by Bob Dylan
"Knockin' On Heaven's Door" by Guns and Roses, originally by Bob Dylan

You say you like both of these? Different tastes, I guess - it's quite possible I like the second better than the original, but I find Avril's version quite painful to hear. :/

"Come On Eileen" By Save Ferris, originally by Dexy's Midnight Runners

Original was a great song, useful as a 'trump song' for driving other annoying tunes out of your head. I have an a cappella group called Rockapella covering it. Good stuff. Little known fact: Dexy's Midnight Runners also had other songs. Crazy!

Some other good covers:

Nightwish doing Ozzie's "Crazy Train" live. I can't for the life of me find a decent quality rip, though.
Mike Oldfield doing Gershwin's "I Got Rhythm"
Queensryche doing Kansas's "Dust in the Wind". Sarah Brightman also does a decent cover of that one. She also does a decent cover of Queen's "Who Wants to Live Forever".

What I really like, though, is rock bands doing old folk songs. Observe -

Nightwish - Over The Hills And Far Away
Mudmen - Drink And Fight
Buck O' Nine - Irish Drinking Song
Metallica - Whiskey In The Jar

Also, while not really rock, Mike Oldfield's "Women of Ireland" and Sarah Brightman's "So Many Things" both take from the same original folk song.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra has some great takes on some old Christmas tunes, and (on a different album) some of Beethoven's works.

I suppose the two drinking songs aren't strictly covers, but whatever. Also, if all you metal fans want to hear the original of Whiskey In The Jar, look up The Pogues.

Oh, and pretty much everything on Rush's "Feedback" album is cool.

Finally, if you enjoy this kind of thing, I suggest spending some time alone with your P2P app of choice and the Covers Project.

--Impeesa--

 

[Torm]

but I find Avril's version quite painful to hear.

Not that I'm saying you're one, but I really don't understand the Avril-haters. She has her own style (fashion-wise), she writes her own songs (other than Knocking...) and they are good and clever, and she has a mature sound - heck, in her live performances I could easily mistake her for Alanis.

The only thing negative that I've heard about her is that she quit school to follow her musical career. But so what? If I were in school learning to be a chef, and I got offered the chance to be head chef at a five star if I left school to do it, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I think most people would. Opportunities like that don't knock everyday - more like once in a lifetime.

Back on topic, though, did you know that there are two tribute albums dedicated to her?

 

[the Jester]

A few that I really enjoy:

"Hey You" (Dream Theater cover of Pink Floyd)
"Last Caress" (Metallica cover of, hmm, Misfits?)
"Devil Went Down to Georgia" (Primus does Charlie Daniels Band)
"Sympathy" (Marillion does someone I'm not sure of)
"Benny & the Jets" (Beastie Boys do Elton John?)

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

Boyz in the Hood (don't know the group that re-made it, originally Eazy E)

Dynamite Hack.

 

[Stik]

"Funeral for a Friend" (Elton John) is covered by Dream Theater on the A Change of Seasons album, and they do a better version than the original. They also cover several other classic rock songs on that album, including Achilles Last Stand, The Song Remains the Same, Bohemian Rhapsody, and more.

Rush has an entire album of classic rock covers called Feedback which includes "Summertime Blues", "Heart Full Of Soul", and "Crossroads".

And as long as we're talking about covers, let's not forget two great cover bands: Dred Zeppelin and The Austin Lounge Lizards.

Dred Zeppelin is a reggae band with a lead singer who used to be an Elvis impersonator, which does Led Zeppelin covers. Yes, you heard me right. Imagine Elvis fronting a Bob Marley's band doing "Your Time is Gonna Come". Weird? Yes. But it is fun.

The Austin Lounge Lizards are a country-bluegrass band which covered Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album.