Who did it better?

[TSwizzle]

Post an original artist's song and a cover and say who did it better;





Pete Murphy does a good job vocally while aping Bowie and Iggy Pop but it's Bowie for the win.

 

[James Brown]

I give Mr. Dylan the nods for the lyrics, but SnC sang it better.

 

[bilby]

I give Mr. Dylan the nods for the lyrics, but SnC sang it better.

Dylan is one of the very few musicians who is almost always bettered by those who perform covers of his work.

The guy was a great poet, but he couldn't carry a tune in a bucket.

Two Australian examples (I am sure people can find Dylan's originals easily enough):

 

[TSwizzle]

I give Mr. Dylan the nods for the lyrics, but SnC sang it better.

I've not listened to a lot of Dylan, he doesn't have a singers voice imo. I've never heard that song before but I really liked Dylan's version over the cover.

 

[ZiprHead]

Cool thread.





Who did it better?

I gotta give the nod to Tool.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Maybe I'm not thinking straight but I sign over my bank account to have young Linda Ronstadt sing this for me.

 

[thebeave]

I hear ya on LR! Smokey is great too, so that choice was pretty tough, but Linda FTW. She's in bad health these days, poor thing.

Speaking of, she wins it over Roy Orbison for Blue Bayou as well, by a long shot.

 

[ZiprHead]

Another Led Zeppelin choice.





Definitely got to give it to the Page and Plant version.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I don't care for Tool's version of No Quarter, music or vocals. More often then not I'll frown on cover songs or even a now over the hill artist singing a song from their past they've no business singing any longer.
I'm not knowledgeable enough about instruments but it may be that Led Zeppelin's version hasn't the electronics of today. Might be the vacuum tubes. I don't know.

 

[TV and credit cards]

I never thought Neil Young had a particularly good voice and his guitar playing was nothing special either but he makes it work and I don't know of anyone who can cover him not even Joni Mitchell.

 

[TV and credit cards]

Close. She has the voice but it doesn't evoke the feeling Clare Torry does.


Ref:

 

[ZiprHead]

I don't care for Tool's version of No Quarter, music or vocals. More often then not I'll frown on cover songs or even a now over the hill artist singing a song from their past they've no business singing any longer.
I'm not knowledgeable enough about instruments but it may be that Led Zeppelin's version hasn't the electronics of today. Might be the vacuum tubes. I don't know.

Actually Tool makes me think of Led Zeppelin very much. A simple three instrument band that just cranks out huge sound and an absolutely fantastic drummer. Wings For Marie and 10,000 Days are fantastically written, especialy when you realize the songs were written for his very religious mother who recently passed before the album was created. She had a stroke and spent 27 years in a wheelchair, or about 10,000 days.

 

[Gospel]

Pete Murphy does a good job vocally while aping Bowie and Iggy Pop but it's Bowie for the win.

That's my favorite song from Bowie! The other dude sounded too nasally and whinny for my taste so there was absolutely no competition IMO.

 

[ZiprHead]

Gotta go with Bruce here, mostly because I've been a huge Bruce fan for thirty years.

 

[Gospel]

Without a doubt, my preference leans towards King Crimson. While I deeply appreciate Ozzy's unique interpretation—especially the incredible guitar work, which is characteristic of the innovative spins Ozzy drops—it's King Crimson's unparalleled authenticity that stands out. KC's pioneering use of irregular rhythmic patterns and the unexpected elements they introduced imbued the song with a poignantly tragic essence. They also benefited from emerging unexpectedly in a way that mirrors their unconventional time signature choices. as well as conveying a message that resonated with the events of their time.

Edit: Forgot to add an honorable mention that I'm not including in the verses because it's just not the same genre.

 

[TSwizzle]

Being a Skids and U2 fan this is a difficult one for me.





But I'm giving it to The Skids because it has that raw power to it.

 

[Politesse]

I've got a quadruple set: a song which is better known to the public from three of its popular covers than by its original writers and performers.





Not pictured because they aren't even in the running: Madonna and TG Sheppard's terrible versions.

Badfinger did it best, tho.

 

[ZiprHead]

I'll let you guys choose on this one cuz that's my brother singing in the Frijid Pink video.

Another thing about the song itself. No one knows who actually wrote it originally so it's free for anyone to use.

 

[Gospel]

Another mesmerizing tune. Whenever it plays, I'm whisked away to New Orleans, picturing a native pouring out tales of regret and addiction to another native who happens to be a musician. In my imagination, that musician then crafts and performs this song, winning the hearts of both locals and travelers thus spreading it across the east coast of America without any real ownership taken.

Edit: I meant to say spreading it up and down the river.
Edit 2: Your brother slaps!

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Snip