Cover songs that are better than the original

[chomalungma]

Inspired by The Man who sold the world

I'll go with Somewhere over the Rainbow.
There are 2 versions that I like
Eva Cassidy and also Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

Someone's going to say an original singer who isn't...but no doubt someone will tell them

Rag and Bone man sang Your Still the one on Radio 2 on Friday was amazing

My Chemical Romance - All I Want for Christmas Is You

Remembered another. Imagine dragons did a cover (I think it was a live session sort of thing) of blank space by Taylor swift combined with Stand by me. Makes me really happy! I do love the original stand by me though.

Mike Flowers pops Wonderwall

I think Take Thats version of "How deep is your love" is better than the original by the Bee Gees
@nicknamehelp anything that Rag n Bone Man does is amazing!

Tainted Love by Soft Cell - just wonderful

There was a brilliant cover of Decode by Paramour sung by on German Voice which is way, way better than the original (imo)

Also a wonderful version of Fleetwood Mac's Landslide sung by , a busker in the States which is very good.

A cover of Lose Yourself by Eminen done by . I love the French Voice as it's so glam.

Gary Jules' cover of Tears for Fears, Mad World is way better than the original.

I Love Rock 'n' Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts originally by The Arrows.

Killing Me Softly by The Fugees originally by Roberta Flack

Respect by Aretha Franklin originally by Otis Redding

And finally, the brilliant Walk This Way by Run-D.M.C. originally by Aerosmith

Gene Pitney's cover of his own song alongside Marc Almond, 'Something's gotten hold of my heart' was much better than his original solo version.

George Michael's version of I can't make you love me

Siouxsie and the Banshees -
Helter Skelter
Wheels On Fire
Dear Prudence
The Passenger

I'm not expecting much agreement with this one, but this 1979 cover of 'Rock Around the Clock' by Telex is far and away my favourite version of the song.

Not released AFAIK but these guys on Youtube do my very favourite version of 'The Times They Are A'Changin'

Tainted Love by Soft Cell. Especially the mix with Where did our love go.

Stereophonics live room version of Foofighters is someone getting the best of you . Just wow !

That version rules LApprentiSorcier !

@skeemee

Slight side step to the original question....

I didn’t know the 1980s classic “The Only Way Is Up” by Yazz was a cover version until about 6 months ago...

You just blew my mind. I have at 17.12 on 21st Feb 2021, just found this out

Agree with Pet Shop Boys “Always On My Mind”.

I also love Fine Young Cannibals’ “Suspicious Minds”.

I prefer Dolly Parton’s version of “I Will Always Love You” to Whitney Houston’s but of Whitney’s discography I far prefer that song to “The Greatest Love of All” - it is far and away a better written song.

One of the best covers I ever saw was Rick Astley “covering” “Never Gonna Give You Up” with the Foo Fighters with a real 90s grunge sound. It was apparently at some festival in Tokyo. Brilliant.

Couple of classic cover versions:

Sinead O’Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
Aretha Franklin - Respect

I also much prefer The Flying Pickets’ version of Only You to the original.

@Tittyfilarious

George Michael's version of I can't make you love me

I'd have to go for the Prince version.

Here's one people might not know,

William Shatner's version of Common People.

He really emphasises the words.

Do you ever have a cover that you rate as much as the original? I like both of these equally and they're very different:

David McWilliams

Marc Almond

The Days of Pearly Spencer...

I like Cher's version of Walking in Memphis much better than the Marc Cohn original.

George Blagden's version of Hallelujah

Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees
Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) by Glen Campbell
Hounds of Love by The Futureheads. Sorry, I know it's heresy to dislike Kate Bush around these parts, but I think some of her stuff sounds really dated and that particular song really benefited from some extra guitars and energy.

DMA's version of 'Believe'

Walk on By - The Stranglers version is one of the best covers ever.
Bryan Ferry's version of Dylan's A Hard Rain is a Gonna Fall.