I thought this thread already existed here but must only be on the first forum (RIP). Anyways in my listening last night came upon two examples.
John Cale’s sleazy late night version of Heartbreak Hotel
Owen Maearcks- Little Black Egg
COVERS BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL
John Cale doing LCD soundsystem!
One of my favorite versions of The Train Kept A-Rollin’
See: Cheater Slicks.
Probably sacrilege adding an Otis song, but:
Controversial opinion - I might prefer the Delmonas “That Boy of Mine” to the original Kinks’ track most days.
On the Kinks front:
Chocolate Watchband's "I'm Not Like Everybody Else"
I love pretty much every version of this song, but this is probably my favorite (the original is It's Alright by the Zombies):
Also, this one:
Treading close hard to say if they excel the excellent originals but the bands are definitely able own the songs in their own styles...
The Fluid - Our Love Will Still Be There
Husker Du - Eight Miles High
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On the "Eight Miles High" front: Index. I sent this to a co-worker who is into all those 2000s emo bands with names like Ashes of My Broken Summer or fucking whatever, and I pitched it to her as "60s emo." She said that my description made sense and that she enjoyed the track
BloodstainsAcrossMantovani great pick. I’d say their take on “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” also trumps any other version.
The Turtles are great at covering others’ songs - It Ain’t Me Babe and Eve of Destruction to name two
Quite possibly the best cover ever :
Devil Dogs version of Palisades Park is better than any version, including Ramones...
Also
Red Menace Devil Dogs version of Palisades Park is better than any version, including Ramones...
They also have the best version of Be True To Your School.
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The World needs more covers. The Milkshakes LP "20 Rock and Roll Hits" is outta control good. They really make those 50s tunes hit the modern ear in the same way they must have hit when they came out.
Rocket From The Crypt's dedication to covers open a lot of doors for me early on. Their cover of The Real Kids tune "Who Needs You" is a true standout.
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I didn't know the original song when I first heard this one by Cat Funeral. But soon discovered that it's much better than Metronomy's version. Not released on physical format as far as I know.
Not better than Larry Wallis' original version of Police Car. Really good cover though and they manage to make the song their own.
Alvin's vocal performance is great on this