Incongruous cover versions

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Good Evening.... Infidel
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Have you heard/got any cover versions that are totally incongruous with the original, and yet work?

Two I have:

Newton Faulkner - Teardrop

Who would have thought the newage-y, singer-songwriter could pull off a cover version of Massive Attack? Remarkable! Totally different to the original, and yet brilliant.

Thea Gilmore - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

Yes, Britain's Bob Dylanesque writer recorded a cover version of this mid-80s pop hit. Errrr.... ok.
 
Lucy in the sky with diamonds....

no, seriously, it's great!... :)
 
Alex Chilton's "Like Flies on Sherbert' LP has a very odd, but very good, cover of 'Boogie Shoes'.
 
Isaac Sibson said:
Have you heard/got any cover versions that are totally incongruous with the original, and yet work?

Two I have:

Newton Faulkner - Teardrop

Who would have thought the newage-y, singer-songwriter could pull off a cover version of Massive Attack? Remarkable! Totally different to the original, and yet brilliant.

Thea Gilmore - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

Yes, Britain's Bob Dylanesque writer recorded a cover version of this mid-80s pop hit. Errrr.... ok.
Click to expand...

Interesting as I was thinking of Thea Gilmore's version of Bad moon Arising - It gave me a different perspective on the song - Perhaps Al Gore could use it!
 
Tricky's Versions of Black Steel and Something In The Way.
 
Almost anything by Richard Cheese, but a particular favourite being Gabage's Only Happy When It Rains.

Travis' live version of Britney's Baby, One More Time?

On the flipside, run screaming from Paul Young's cover of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart. Yes, really. Ranks very, very high in the top ten crimes against music chart.
 
Isaac Sibson said:
Have you heard/got any cover versions that are totally incongruous with the original, and yet work?

Thea Gilmore - You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

Yes, Britain's Bob Dylanesque writer recorded a cover version of this mid-80s pop hit. Errrr.... ok.
Click to expand...

And ti's certainly one of the best cover versions I've heard in a while. You can hear it here:
http://www.myspace.com/theagilmore

The Oysterband's version of Love Will Tear Us Apart on their Big Session Vol 1 CD is rather good too.
 
Nick Cave's 'What A Wonderful World'.

Turns the original (sentimental and introspective) into a bitter, cynical reflection of humanity. Shouldn't work - but does.
 
You can more or less pick anything from Radio 1's live lounge to fit this category!

But personally? --- Johnny Cash - Hurt --- More or less made it his own!


Not that different a style to Trent Reznor singing on Nine Inch Nails' original, but they're certainly not two artists you'd expect to go together!
 
Goldfrapp's cover of Olivia Newton Johns "Physical" - Grrrrrrow!

Better than the original by a country mile.


...just had a vision of Alison Goldfrapp in Lycra with leg warmers! ....Nurse!!!


••• Natasha Beddingfield's cover of Madonna's Ray of light "works" if you need to clear any pipes in a five mile radius...
 
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cooky1257 said:
Devo's version of Satisfaction still does it for me-better than the original imo.
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Are you sure it's safe for me to listen to?

Anything I've previously heard by Devo has made me want to gouge my eyes out with rusty forks.
 
Mark Telkman said:
But personally? --- Johnny Cash - Hurt --- More or less made it his own!
Click to expand...

Seconded. He also made an awesome job of U2's One - raises the hairs on my neck.

I heard Cash didn't hear the originals of many of these songs, just got the music and the lyrics and recorded them. It would explain why they sound like his songs.
 
Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez is quite different to the original by "The Knife"; I don't really like his version but it is so popular most people don't know it's a cover :-(

The Therapy? cover of Joy Division's "Isolation" on Troublegum is not a bad effort.

Whilst I'm a big fan of Squarepusher, I would rather not hear his version of "Love will tear us apart" again if at all possible.
 

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