Here are a few to get things started:
Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer as an 80s synth tune
Bossa nova version of Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over
Reggae-ish version of Aretha Franklin’s Respect
A capella men’s ensemble version of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance
Did anyone already mention Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt, original by Nine Inch Nails? A marvelous reimagined version, maybe, the best cover ever.
I’m surprised nobody’s put up The Wiggles cover of Tame Impala’s Elephant
Yes, those Wiggles. It’s good.
Disturbed’s cover of The Sound Of Silence is so much better than the original.
and the Conan performance is the best performance of it (that can be easily found), the studio version doesn’t have quite the same vibe.
Thank you for mentioning this! I just listened to it and it gave me goosebumps. It’s a brilliant cover.
Two very different examples:
Modest Mussorsky’s “Pictures at an exhibition” was originally written for piano (that was all the poor guy had available), and it took Maurice Ravel to turn it into an orchestral version and make it popular world wide. Both versions are great and have their own qualities, but I far prefer Ravel’s version (Although Khatia Buniatishvili’s rendition here is so really really good).
Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”. The original is… well… it’s a Bob Dylan song. There is a really good cover version by Ministry that, althought technically is the same song, takes it to a whole other level. Love it.
Dub Side of the Moon, a reggae cover of Dark Side of the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_Side_of_the_Moon
Joke answer: Disturbed’s “The Sound of Science” cover because it’s fucking horrid and ruins the point of the original’s meaning.
I once got to see The Easy Star All Stars playing Dub Side, and it was magnificent. Such a great band.
I love Thank You Scientist’s cover of Party All the Time, they’re such a cool band!
Cake - I will survive
They have other great covers tooFlorence + The Machine - Just A Girl, for the TV show, Yellowjackets. Makes it so much more haunting. Alternatively.
Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights feels like an entire different song when sung by Cécile McLorin Salvant
I’m also very fond of Oingo Boingo’s version of I’m the Walrus, I like how they do the laughs with the guitars.
I do adore a cover version that brings something new to the song;
Orkestra Obsolete play Blue Monday
Gotye - Somebody that I used to know - Dutch choir
Not quite a cover, but more of inspiration taken from Paper Planes - ‘Paper Plates’ by Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer
Umbrella - Manic Street Preachers
Toy Dolls - Nellie The Elephant
Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Passenger and Dear Prudence
Cornershop perform Norwegian Wood
I could go on for ages. Might add some more later. Hope somebody enjoys at least some of these?
shameless self-promotion : my band The Three Leonards also do covers that re-imagine the song. Our first album starts with a cover of One Headlight and we got some great response to it.
The Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Pure Imagination - Fiona Apple
Hotel California - The Cat Empire
Dolph Lundgren – A Little Less Conversation
Snuff - I think we’re alone now
China Drum - Wuthering Heights
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Smells Like Teen Spirit
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Sweet Dreams
Hayseed Dixie - Bohemian Rhapsody
Richard Cheese - Gin And Juice
The Rock Orchestra - Chop Suey
Prime Orchestra - The Prodigy Medley
I was waiting for someone to mention Richard Cheese in this thread!
His version of Rape Me hasn’t aged terribly well, but my word is it great.
I used to regularly play Cheese stuff when driving my elderly mother places
FNM’s cover of Easy is fantastic. It’s a pretty straight cover, but Patton sells it.
I’m sorry, why has nobody mentioned the Jeff Buckley cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah yet? Bunch of heathens 🙂
Jazz Sabbath. I had no idea this existed. It was just suggested to me because the algorithms are good at their job. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qcr708w1HY
the Gourd’s cover of Gin and Juice by Snoop Dogg
(Apparently many people thought it was Phish who performed this cover, it was shared and torrented a lot as a Phish cover)
Puts me in mind of Ben Folds’ version of Bitches Ain’t Shit.
Yes – America (original by Simon and Garfunkel)
Anthony Vincent – Chop Suey in the style of Ghost (original by System of a Down)
Dr Pez & Marc Papeghin – The soundtrack of Ocarina of Time, but its a prog rock concept album (not sure it technically counts as a cover)
Brass Against – The Pot (Original by Tool)
The Jimi Hendrix Experience – All Along the Watchtower (Original by Bob Dylan)
Also, not sure how widely known this is, but Arethra Franklin’s Respect is itself a cover (and certainly one of the best covers of all time, up there with All Along the Watchtower and Johnny Cash’s rendition of Hurt)
Aretha’s version of Respect is so good that it’s essentially the de facto original, to the point that Otis commented “that a girl took away from me, a friend of mine, this girl she just took this song”.
To be fair, it makes so much more sense from a woman’s perspective.
Postmodern Jukebox ft. Haley Reinhart - Creep (original by Radiohead), jazz/big band style
Novena - Bury a Friend, progressive metal Billie Eilish. Starts out like the original and gets progressively heavier.
So many of the Postmodern Jukebox covers are fantastic.