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Covers of Beatles' songs U favour over the original

post #1 of 109
3/19/05 at 8:01pm
Thread Starter 
I just revealed in another thread that I adore Mike Harrsion & Spooky Tooth doing I AM THE WALRUS. I think it's rulz. Can you name a brilliant Beatles cover?

I have some others but I'll wait and see what comes around...
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post #2 of 109
3/19/05 at 8:11pm
Kenny Rankin did an excellent cover of Blackbird.
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post #3 of 109
3/19/05 at 8:22pm
"Happiness is a Warm Gun" by The Breeders, on their album Pod. It's hard to believe anyone could make Lennon/McCartney material sound palatable, but The Breeders were a great enough band to swing it.
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post #4 of 109
3/19/05 at 8:22pm
While I love the Beatles original, I think Joe Cocker's version of "With A Little Help From My Friends" beats it.
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post #5 of 109
3/19/05 at 10:36pm
There aren't any for me.

I love some of them (Cocker's WALHFMF for one) but none of them top the originals.

Richie Havens did a great album of Beatles/Dylan covers...I used to have it on tape but I don't have it anymore.
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post #6 of 109
3/20/05 at 1:09am
Beatles songs should never be covered. No one can do them justice, especially any songs during and after "Sgt. Pepper." To me, this is the same as someone trying to cover "Stairway to Heaven."
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post #7 of 109
3/20/05 at 1:41am
None.

There are a few that I like to listen to now and then as well, e.g. I was about to post Joe Cocker's version of With a Little Help.
But in the end, I always prefer the OAR (of course) - the Original Album Recording.
Mostly, it's George Martin making all the difference (except for Let It Be ).

Cees
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post #8 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:33am
I agree with Cees, with one exception, which is the version of 'Across the Universe' by Tina Apple [? - the one on Pleasantville]. And that is simply because of Pavlovian conditioning - I associate a pleasant event with that particular version of the song. I couldn't claim that the interpretation is necessarily better in its own right (though in fairness, it's a good interpretation).
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post #9 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:34am
I absolutely love Aerosmith's cover of Come Together. One of the few Beatles covers that I can manage to listen to without thinking it was musical heresy.
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post #10 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:42am
Across the Universe By Fionna Apple. Agreat cover that I was going to list but was beaten to by Andrew.

The vidoe for this is just as good, and directed by P.T. Anderson.
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post #11 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:45am
Thread Starter 
Dan, Crosby, Stills & Nash did a purr-dy fair cover of Blackbird at the Woodstock Festival. I have that Kenny Rankin album. I have most of his albums. I'd forgotten about that one when making my Covered Music Dishes project, hmnnn...I'm stille adding to it. That Rankin track will be on the next disc.
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post #12 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:56am
(Andrew: congratulations with that Grand Slam! )


Cees
[/thread hijacking]
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post #13 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:00am
Thread Starter 
For ya'all that say that there are no worthy covers, I'd suggest that you simply haven't heard enough of them to be stuck on this conclusion. I'm quite sure there must be atleast 500 Beatles' covers in my expansive music collection...? There be some nuggets amongst the ore.
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post #14 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:06am
Count me in with those who can't really think of a Beatles cover that I prefer over the original, though I'm definitely not of the camp that believes they should never be covered.

In fact, two of my favorite bands, The Dave Matthews Band and Toad the Wet Sprocket (now defunct), have both covered Hey Bulldog quite well! In live settings, I love their renditions (nothing like the raw energy of live sound to really give "umph" to that song), but it's a different creature from what The Beatles put on tape, and I can't say I find it superior.

Somewhat hypocritically though, I do find some covers done by The Beatles to be superior to the original (Twist and Shout comes immediately to mind).

Damn it, just replying to this thread reminds me how much we need either remastered CDs, or hi-res versions (or both!) of The Beatles catalog!

Talk about something that would drive a hi-res music format (since porn's not an option)
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post #15 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:10am
Thread Starter 
Cees, what if the original-album-recording of a Beatles song, well, Lennon-McCartney song is by somebody else? ...like, say, Peter & Gordon's A WORLD WITHOUT LOVE...? I know that's a cheap trick! Speaking of Cheap Trick, they do Day Tripper with gusto!
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post #16 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
OK, I'll reveal another monster cover of the Beatles. YESTERDAY by Marvin Gaye. He's simply a better singer. I bet I've heard 25 versions of Yesterday and most are dull and without luster. Marvin's is compelling!
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post #17 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:21am
Thread Starter 
Grand slam, Cees, do they have them in foot-sey ball too? I have to admit I like's dat Fiona Apple Universe too...alot! But, the only ball that cleared the fence, NOT!
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post #18 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:25am
These don't surpass the originals, but are fantastic covers nonetheless:

"I Am the Walrus" by Oasis + The Bootleg Beatles, from the "There and Then" concert DVD, NOT the drunken, tuneless, altogether shitty version from "The Masterplan" CD.

"Strawberry Fields Forever" by Ben Harper.
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post #19 of 109
3/20/05 at 10:05am
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds"-ELTON JOHN
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post #20 of 109
3/20/05 at 10:23am
This probably doesn't count, but in The Concert for George, I think there are some songs that I prefer to the original versions.
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post #21 of 109
3/20/05 at 10:34am
I never said that I don't think they should be covered, or even that I don't like any Beatles covers. I simply don't think any of them surpass the originals.

One of the worst Beatles covers IMHO: Paul McCartney's live version of "Something" on Back in the U.S. and Back in the World. Done on the ukelele as a tribute to George, it's a nice sentiment but it turns a fantastic song into almost a joke with no melody.
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post #22 of 109
3/20/05 at 11:02am
I agree with those that say the Beatles do the best versions of their own material. I know many people prefer Cocker's WALHFMF, but it doesn't have the charm of the original.
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post #23 of 109
3/20/05 at 11:03am
Crack The Sky's "I Am The Walrus".
Aerosmith's "Come Together".

Jason
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post #24 of 109
3/20/05 at 5:43pm
PM Dawn's cover of Norwegian Wood of course! LOL! NOT!

I'm not a fan of cover tunes, but I did enjoy Fiona Apple's version of ATU and I do like Sting's version of hey Jude.
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post #25 of 109
3/20/05 at 7:09pm
Forgot to mention Rankin did Penny Lane and While my Guitar Gently Weeps.

BTW, McCartney himself had high praise for Rankin's rendition of Blackbird.
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post #26 of 109
3/20/05 at 7:58pm
Thread Starter 
Dan, those are good Rankin covers. I've heard 'em. I think I have all his albums besides greatest hits...? It's atleast a dozen. I thinks Weeps is the better of the pair but I see that one fallin' short in centerfield in the Beat The Beatles Home Run Derby. I have about 5 Weeps covers and they're all OK, but I think The Insects are safe at home on this tune, so far.

Another cover that I think is at the fence or over is Cheap Trick on Day Tripper. I've heard alot of Day Tripper covers. James Taylor's and Otis Redding's come to mind but they're meek. Cheap Trick's has some teeth, and it's l-i-v-e!
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post #27 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:08pm
In almost all cases, I prefer the Beatles. Someone mentioned Joe Cocker above, I do enjoy that.. for a rarity I enjoy: Tori Amos - She's Leaving Home; original concert version, very toned down and it takes on a completely different meaning when sung in a first encore if she ended with "Me and A Gun" one of the first times a cover struck me completely differently when I heard it then how I originally perceived it.
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post #28 of 109
3/20/05 at 8:49pm
Thread Starter 
I like Joe Cocker's various Insect covers but don't consider any of them homers.
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post #29 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:06pm
"Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" - William Shatner

Come on, this is a true classic.
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post #30 of 109
3/20/05 at 9:08pm
Thread Starter 
Chris, if you wanted some really diffrent sounding covers, look at some of the country/bluegrass covers of The Beatles...The Dillards WE CAN WORK IT OUT is really outstanding. I'm OK with Dwight Yoakam's THINGS WE SAID TODAY. Alison Krauss is good on I WILL. I like Area Code 615's LADY MADONNA.

Reggae Beatle covers sound really different. I've heard a couple but cannot recall one at the moment.

Nobody has pulled up a single jazz cover yet. There's some good ones, well hundeds...more maybe?!
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