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Worst Cover Versions of All Time

deeezy

deeezy

Active Member
Another 8 hours spent listening to my coworker's radio, tuned to what used to be a decent oldies station (now plays mostly 70's-80's) has inspired me to rant about the worst butcherings of all time. Feel free to chime in!

5. Led Zeppelin - "Lemon Song" - I'm going to single this one out, but it applies to all of their lame blues covers (ahem, excuse me, I mean "Plant/Page compositions"). Remaking a Willie Dixon classic and then finishing it off with a Robert Johnson cover does not give you the right to claim songwriting credits. Similarly, "When The Levee Breaks" was not your composition just because you added echoey vocals and electric guitar (and ham-fisted drumming).

4. Billie Idol - "Mony Mony" - Maybe not the greatest song to begin with, but why cover it in the first place if it's just going to be a note for note rehash? The Gus Van Sant's Psycho of rock covers.

3. Michael Bolton - "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" - Many to choose from with this particular "artist" (for a true test of sonic endurance, try to sit through "When a Man Loves a Woman" without jumping out of a window), but I chose the Otis Redding classic because A) it was already an overplayed song to begin with and B) covering a song by one of the greatest singers who ever lived only serves to illustrate by contrast what a truly awful singer you yourself are. At least you don't hear this one on the radio nearly as much as the original. Which brings us to....

2. Jackson Brown (I think) - "Stay" - Why is it that I never hear this Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs classic, but have to endure this lousy cover every day? Not only does this one add nothing new to the original, it actually goes one further and subtracts the bridge, one of the best parts of the song. In fact, I effing hate this song so much that it would have easily made #1 if not for (drumroll, please)...

1. Nazareth - "Love Hurts" - Everything that makes a bad cover bad is here in spades: trying way too hard, being a lousy band to begin with, picking a song that was great and didn't need a crappy hesher band to cover it, etc. But there's no need to go on about this one, just listen to the Everly Bros. version, then the Nazareth version. Actually, spare your eardrums and just take my word for it.
 
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G'day mate, my nomination is Madonna's 'version' of 'American Pie'. In my opinion it is the worst 'cover' of all time. :yes: :puke: Regards, Felix aka catman.
 
Wow, I didn't even know she covered that one. Actually, now that I think about it, I wish I still didn't know. Oh, to go back to those innocent times of 3 minutes ago!
 
Actually Felice and Boudleaux Bryant wrote Love Hurts and Nazareth's version of it was by far the most popular one around the world being top 10 in U.S. and no. 1 in Norway and The Netherlands. The next was Roy Orbison's version being top 5 in country charts. Just Sayin



My vote goes to Marilyn Manson covering Sweet Dreams by the eurshitmics. Why you would even think about covering that or any other song by them is beyond me. But then again Fred Dorph durst covered Faith by george michael
 
I didn't mean the Everly Bros wrote it, I just like their version best.
Ditto on "Sweet Dreams" and "Faith". I forgot those two. I think I'll get wasted and try to forget them again.
 
deeezy said:
2. Jackson Brown (I think) - "Stay" - Why is it that I never hear this Maurice Williams and the Zodiacs classic, but have to endure this lousy cover every day? Not only does this one add nothing new to the original, it actually goes one further and subtracts the bridge, one of the best parts of the song. In fact, I effing hate this song so much that it would have easily made #1 if not for (drumroll, please)...
Click to expand...

One thing you should keep in mind is that this performance wasn't done for an album - it was a throwaway live cut from a concert in Maryland, at the end of the night, with contributions from Rosemary Butler and (amazingly) David Lindley. Hope that alleviates your pain somewhat...:D
 
Van Heusen - Where Have All The Good Times Gone?
The Who - Dancing In The Streets
Metallika - Turn The Page
Rush - Crossroads
The Small Faces - If I Were A Carpenter
Tony Bennet - Elenore Rigby
The Grateful Dead - The Race Is On

i do like some of these, but for all the wrong reasons
 
I think Metallica did Turn the Page justice. Agreed on Manson's Sweet Dreams *shudder*

I don't know what to think of The Used's version of Burning Down the House by The Talking Heads. I like it and hate it at the very same time. I like it because it introduces a different generation to music that really isn't "theirs," but don't like it because it takes a bit of the life out of the song, imo. Listen to both yourself and you might understand what I'm saying, because I'm not getting my opinion out very efficiently :D
 
Ok, that's it... You asked for it... Don't say I didn't warn you.

Pulling out the big guns now...

Rascal Flatts' massacre of fellow Canadian Tom Cochrane's "Life Is A Highway" (Talk about sucking all the life out of a song...):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM88kxxMlhQ

That was a mistake. I don't feel so good now. Think I'm gonna' be sick...
 
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Everytime I hear that Rascall Flats version it reminds me of the movie "Cars".

Those with kids of a certain age will know what I mean.

Bad covers? Uh, I got nothing.
 
Cars is a fairly tolerable movie, in fact one of the most tolerable for that demographic. Some of those films make me want to rip my hair out...the cover version of Life is a Highway....not so tolerable.
 
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