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Songs with no bad covers of them

mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
edited December 2010 in Strut Central
I'm sure there will always be exceptions but off the top of my head, I can't really think of a truly bad cover of any of these three songs:





Use this thread to either:

1) Post other songs with no bad covers or...
2) Post songs that defy the rule of songs previously thought to be impossible to cover poorly.
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  Comments

  • parallaxparallax no-style-having mf'er 1,266 Posts
    The one that immediately comes to mind for me is "Light My Fire" in the "no bad covers category"

    There very well may be a bad cover of it. But of the dozen or so that I've heard, all are good/decent.

    Kindly,
    parallax
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I can't see what you posted (iPhone related) but I've always considered these two songs as trumping the "singer not the song" rule:

    "ain't no sunshine"
    "have love, will travel"
  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    Let me add "caravan" to that list...Juan Tizol's melody in that song is uncorruptable
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    The_Hook_Up said:


    "ain't no sunshine""

    That's the one I was going to say.
    I'll also second Caravan, except there are a few too many surf/garage/stage band versions that are just sloppy.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Wade In The Water
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    The_Hook_Up said:
    I can't see what you posted (iPhone related) but I've always considered these two songs as trumping the "singer not the song" rule:

    "ain't no sunshine"
    "have love, will travel"

    "Ain't No Sunshine" would get the nod even though I can totally imagine a band fucking this up...but dude, Withers' songwriting is so good, I can't see how you could really decimate this.

    "Have Love Will Travel" is pretty solid too though I think there's probably a few lackluster covers of people trying to hard to out garage the Sonics. That said, nothing really *bad* comes to mind.
  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Come Together
  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts



  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    There's a record called The Happy Sax with an instrumental of Aint No Sunshine.

    The bass player keeps getting lost and coming in early. A great listen.
  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    I can't think of a bad version of "who is s/he and what is s/he to you."
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    John Mayer's version of Cissy Strut doesn't really do it for me, but it may be my disdain for John Mayer clouding my judgement on that.

  • discos_almadiscos_alma discos_alma 2,164 Posts
    "It's Your Thing"?? (Stay tuned for a bangin Latin Funk version that will be dropped for Record Day tomorrow)
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Youve Got A Friend
  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    One of my favorite songs with LOTS of nice cover versions...........











    Okay. I found some recent "Smooth Jazz" versions that are TERRIBLE!!!! Please ignore those and stick to the classics. So unfortunately there are some bad versions.
  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    Here is a terrible version............

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    Never Can Say Goodbye, but not the Disco versions.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    unchained melody?

    oops i found U2 version
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    Get Out Of My Life Woman. I have some versions that are better than others, but none so bad that I could not listen to past the braek.
  • holmesholmes 3,532 Posts
    stratasphere said:
    Get Out Of My Life Woman. I have some versions that are better than others, but none so bad that I could not listen to past the braek.
    always cracked me up that the Butterfield Blues Band's version doesn't have an intro break.
  • JahBooGieJahBooGie 92 Posts
    I heard it through the grapevine



  • motown67motown67 4,513 Posts
    I didn't think that Mayer version of Cissy Strut was bad.
  • JahBooGieJahBooGie 92 Posts
    inner city blues & the bottle should also be mentioned
  • strataspherestratasphere Blastin' the Nasty 1,035 Posts
    holmes said:
    stratasphere said:
    Get Out Of My Life Woman. I have some versions that are better than others, but none so bad that I could not listen to past the braek.
    always cracked me up that the Butterfield Blues Band's version doesn't have an intro break.




    Joe Williams' version also lacks a drum intro, but that does not make his version any less enjoyable. It does seem odd that a song that starts with a drum break at the opening gets omitted on some cover versions. Put Your Hand In The Hand is a prime example of that.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    motown67 said:
    I didn't think that Mayer version of Cissy Strut was bad.

    Mayer-Face ruined it for me.
  • dollar_bindollar_bin I heartily endorse this product and/or event 2,326 Posts
    Does it count if the only version of Spinning Wheel I don't like is by Blood Sweat and Tears?
  • WoimsahWoimsah 1,734 Posts
    Footprints on the Moon
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    "Have Love Will Travel" is pretty solid too though I think there's probably a few lackluster covers of people trying to hard to out garage the Sonics. That said, nothing really *bad* comes to mind.

    I don't know if they ever recorded it, but I saw the Black Lips do a horrendous version at Lollapalooza a few summers back...
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    holmes said:
    John Mayer's version of Cissy Strut doesn't really do it for me, but it may be my disdain for John Mayer clouding my judgement on that.

    There's a lame "Cissy Strut" by Al Capps on Columbia that fails for two reasons:
    (a) it sounds like a bunch of middle-aged session guys who have no feel for soul or funk
    (b) the drummer can't duplicate the New Orleans offbeats, so he (or she?) substitutes a basic 4/4 rhythm instead

    I have this on a single, and judging from the label design, I'd guess it came out either right on top of, or a few months after, the Meters' 1969 original.
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