Cover songs better than original

[Insidious Von]

The song may not be better but different. Marvin Gaye recorded it as a straight up pop song in the early 60's. Paul Young recorded it as Marvin would have sounded in the late 70's...a little bit creepy.

Not sure if Marvin was still alive when the song was released.

 

[ogibowt]

I relistened based on your thoughtful review and I disagree.

The songs screams for Janis Joplin's uncontrolled gritty soul
not Reddings reserved controlled soul.

Courtney Hadwin rendition of Otis Reddings Hard to Handle
is pure grit and she is only 13. I would agree with you if she tried to do a quiet soulful rendition.

I do not base my opinion on Howie Mandells belief she is the next Joplin and the Golden Buzzer award as it is all fake AGT hype. He had that golden buzzer and the Joplin comparison rehearsed and the Judges knew he was gonna give the Golden Buzzer.

AGT edits the magic shows and everthing else based on who they want to win and they want the acts that will draw the most viewers , talent is coincidental and a 13 year old girl screaming out grit is what will bring the viewers back, hence the golden buzzer

i havent watched 1 episode of AGT in my life,,,,snippets on You Tube yes...........Zoot i dont make a habit of criticizing other people,s taste in music,,,,but understand that im a mid 70,s oldguy who discovered Otis as a teen in real time and have been a life long fan....imo one of the greatest singers in Pop Music history
PS,,,,,the song itself is a blatantly sexual song....covered by a 13 year old ....hhmmm?....and make no mistake im not a prude lol

oh and 1 more thing..i love Janis Joplins music.....but lets not kid ourselves,, she probably learned alot from listening to Etta James.....imo

 

[OnceAndFutureKing]

Cover songs are a unique way to perform someone else’s tune. Cover songs are often better than the original

Johnny Cash covered Trent Reznor’s Hurt.

The Cash version is far superior.

 

[Zoot Allures]

i havent watched 1 episode of AGT in my life,,,,snippets on You Tube yes...........Zoot i dont make a habit of criticizing other people,s taste in music,,,,but understand that im a mid 70,s oldguy who discovered Otis as a teen in real time and have been a life long fan....imo one of the greatest singers in Pop Music history
PS,,,,,the song itself is a blatantly sexual song....covered by a 13 year old ....hhmmm?....and make no mistake im not a prude lol

oh and 1 more thing..i love Janis Joplins music.....but lets not kid ourselves,, she probably learned alot from listening to Etta James.....imo

I never thought about her age as an issue but you do raise a point but if she was a 10 year old singing an opera lost love song it would not be an issue even though she would never have experienced it .

People say the same thing about Jolplin IE she is a screamer not a singer and I agree but I like a great screamer who has soul.

Redding was before my time so that very well may be why we disagree as I have only listened to Hard to Handle and had to google it as I was curious what the original sounded like

AGT is an entertainment show and their manipulation of the contestents makes it entertaining to watch but it is 100% commercial with some talent thrown in. The judges are personalities not judges

They only pay the winner so the talent, they make billions on ,is unpaid which is total BS and the winner does not get anywhere near one million as it is deferred over 10 years

Capitalism at its most exploitative

 

[eddie kerr]

i havent watched 1 episode of AGT in my life,,,,snippets on You Tube yes...........Zoot i dont make a habit of criticizing other people,s taste in music,,,,but understand that im a mid 70,s oldguy who discovered Otis as a teen in real time and have been a life long fan....imo one of the greatest singers in Pop Music history
PS,,,,,the song itself is a blatantly sexual song....covered by a 13 year old ....hhmmm?....and make no mistake im not a prude lol

oh and 1 more thing..i love Janis Joplins music.....but lets not kid ourselves,, she probably learned alot from listening to Etta James.....imo

The worst cover of any song that I heard was Janis Joplin's recording of Kris Kristoffersons Me And Bobby McGee. The best cover of that song IMHO was by Gordon Lightfoot.

 

[ogibowt]

The worst cover of any song that I heard was Janis Joplin's recording of Kris Kristoffersons Me And Bobby McGee. The best cover of that song IMHO was by Gordon Lightfoot.

i will play along eddie.....for me the worst cover is John Lennon,s version of the Ben E King classic Stand By Me.....a true abomination foisted on anyones ears....truly in the top 10 of horrible songs

 

[massman]

Cover of Black Sabbath’s “Changes” by Charles Bradley. Guts me every time.

 

[massman]

Also, Chris Cornell, Nothing compares 2 U. Devastating.

 

[massman]

Zac Brown and the Foos, War Pigs.

 

[ShootNScoot]

Chris Stapleton - Tennessee Whiskey

 

[opieshuffle]

For those who love heavy, Bob Dylan never sounded so good!

 

[Robert Mugabe]

I guess The Drifters did the original. A guy at school said he preferred a version by some latino group, but this is my favorite version

 

[curious2know]

Lead Belly blues song

I also recall this great version by Long John Baldry and Maggie Bell back in the 1970s.Great bluesy cover version.

 

[K Douglas]

The song may not be better but different. Marvin Gaye recorded it as a straight up pop song in the early 60's. Paul Young recorded it as Marvin would have sounded in the late 70's...a little bit creepy.

Not sure if Marvin was still alive when the song was released.

I believe Gaye died in 1984 so he was alive when this cover was released. I like both versions.

 

[K Douglas]

i will play along eddie.....for me the worst cover is John Lennon,s version of the Ben E King classic Stand By Me.....a true abomination foisted on anyones ears....truly in the top 10 of horrible songs

I haven't heard Lennon's cover of that and I don't think I even want to. There are certain songs that shouldn't be touched and Stand By Me is one of them, imo.

 

[K Douglas]

This one has me torn the most because I love love love the original but the cover is just so damn good as well. After 7 really made it their own.

Hall & Oates original version of Sara Smile

After 7 cover version

 

[Insidious Von]

John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath changed my life.

In the original Bruce Springsteen captured the desolation.

Rage Against the Machine's cover captured the wrath.

 

[K Douglas]

The original by Dionne Warwick

The cover by Luther Vandross

The live cover by Luther Vandross at the 1987 NAACP Image awards. Be prepared to be utterly blown away.

Special shout out to Hal David who wrote the lyrics to this. Simply divine.

 

[Valcazar]

 

[michaelpv92]

Don't know if it's really better, but it took over the original from the 60s.