Musicians love to cover each others songs, but some turn out better than others. Nothing is worse than a bad remake and there are plenty of those out there (think Dolly Parton’s “Stairway to Heaven”).
Here are a few of the best rock song remakes of all time.
“Hurt”-Johnny Cash (2002). The legendary Johnny Cash doing a cover of a Nine Inch nails song? Doesn’t sound natural, but it turned out to be genius. When Nine Inch Nails front man Trent Reznor was approached about Johnny Cash doing a cover of his song, he wasn’t sure at first, but he ended up being blown away by the results. Cash’s version of this song is bare bones and raw and it drew critical acclaim when it was released in 2002. The accompanying video is chilling. Hurt” was one of Johnny Cash’s final recordings before his death in 2003.
“Dancing Barefoot”- The Celibate Rifles (1988). Patti Smith’s original version of this song from 1979 remains one of my favorite songs of all time, but Australian punk rock band the Celibate Rifles gave it an updated spin a decade later. Hip and still relevant today.
“Smells Like Teen Spirit”- Tori Amos (1992). Not all Nirvana fans loved Tori Amos’ take on Kurt Cobain’s hit song, but I did. I liked Amos’ slower, acoustic piano version because it was an entirely different spin on the song, which is what a good remake should be. Amos’ timely version of “Smells like Teen Spirit” was on her Crucify EP, which also included a remake of The Rolling stone’s “Angie” and Led Zeppelin’s “Thank You. Worth owning if you even remotely like Tori Amos.
“Behind Blue Eyes”- Limp Bizkit (2003). I liked the original version of this song by The Who and it didn’t really need to be remade as it’s one of the classic songs of all time. But most kids don’t want to listen to the same music that their parents-or grandparents-did, so any song worth its salt will eventually get remade. Although this version has been listed on other lists as one of the worst cover songs of all time, I think Fred Durst and Limp Bizkit did a great job on this remake. And they got Halle Berry to star in the video to boot, since the song was tied into her film Gothika.
“Lovesong”-311 (2004). This classic song by The Cure has been covered by many bands, but I like 311’s version the best. The song became popular after being featured in the Adam Sandler/ Drew Barrymore flick 50 First Dates. 311’s remake of Love Song is very different front The Cure’s version. The 311 version has a reggae feel to it and it’s much slower paced.
“Billie Jean”- Chris Cornell (2007). In 2008, American Idol fans thought contestant David Cook came up with this arrangement for Michael Jackson’s hit song on his own, but Soundgarden fans knew better. Chris Cornell recorded this version for his 2007 album “Carry On. Reviews were mixed, but if you’re looking for a very different version of MJ’s song, look no further. I love it.
“Mad World”- Adam Lambert (2009).American Idol season 8 was the catalyst for this awesome remake of this Tears for Fears song. When you listen to the old synthesized, fast-paced Tears for Fears original, it barely resembles Lambert’s version. And while Adam Lambert didn’t win American Idol, he had a big hit with his cover of this song.
Sources: Youtube
Wikipedia
