Originals vs Cover versions

[OooohLaLa]

I was woken up by my alarm playing Dolly's dulcet tones gently warbling
'I Will Always Love You'.
Love her singing her song though I do also like Whitney's 90s cover.

What songs do you think are better as covers, and vice versa?

I love The Stranglers cover of Dionne Warwick's Walk on by. Also Soft Cell's version of Tainted Love.

Bad Wolves cover of Zombie is great. Not quite as incredible as the original but I like it as much for the differences.

Dream Academy “please please let me get what I want “ easily better than The Smiths

Siouxie and the banshees “ Dear Prudence” I prefer to the Beatles

I didnt realise for years that Japan's Don't Rain on My Parade was a cover. Still prefer japan to Streisands version.

Marvin Gayes cover of I Heard it Through the Grapevine is the best

Soft Cell's Tainted love.
Pattie Smith's Gloria is better than Van Morrison's.

Same for me with Japan's All Tomorrow's Parties and I Second That Emotion.
I like how you sometimes hear lyrics more clearly in a cover

Another one for Wheatus' cover of 'A little respect'.

Also, maybe controversial, but Anberlin's version of 'Enjoy the silence'.

And Limp Bizkit's version of 'Behind blue eyes'.

It's my party by Dave Stewart and Barbara Gascogne

Prefer it Dusty Springfield version

Tori Amos’s versions of Smells Like Team Spirit and I Don’t Like Mondays, rather than Nirvana & the Boomtown Rats.

The best Hallelujah I ever heard was by a singer called Lorna Brooks, live.

Prefer Eva Cassidy's version of Time After Time to the original by Cyndi Lauper.

I prefer soft cell tainted love to the original by Gloria Jones.

Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm is my favourite cover. It's brilliant.

Hounds of Love by the Futureheads (whatever happened to them 🤔) I like more than the Kate bush original

I love Emilia Jones singing Both Sides Now. Better than Joni Mitchell. There, I said it

All Along the Watchtower. The Jimi Hendrix version is much, much better than Bob Dylan's. Most Dylan songs are performed better by other people, but what a songwriter he is.

Here's one to mull over - best version of
'Over The Rainbow'?

Willie Nelson's version of "Always on my mind" is the best by a long way.

Gotta be the original Judy 'somewhere over the rainbow', although Eva Cassidy is a strong second

Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way (I know it's already been mentioned!)

Thin Lizzy - Whiskey in the Jar

Jimmy Nail - Love don't live here anymore

George Michael singing Queen's Somebody to Love and the Beatles' Long and Winding Road. There was a documentary on George on last weekend and he was shown singing both songs live at charity concerts. What a voice and what a loss.

Bryan Ferry's version of 'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow' is achingly beautiful.

Agree with pp about Japan's 'I Second That Emotion' and 'All Tomorrow's Parties'. Brilliant brilliant covers.

Another obscure one. 'It's Going To Take Some Time' by The Carpenters. It's a cover of a Carole King song but is definitely superior to the original. Carole King herself admitted her own rendition of the song sounded like a demo compared to that of The Carpenters.

Blondie's Heart of Glass - much prefer the Miley Cyrus version.

The Damned Eloise but also White Rabbit - plus the video is hilarious.

Another vote for Soft Cell's Tainted love.