Worst cover version ever

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OK, so I'm sure this has been done before, but I'm setting a pretty high standard here (or low standard) by nominating David Gray's abysmal cover of Say Hello Wave Goodbye. If there's one song that doesn't need to be sung in an earnest-busker style, then this is it. To add insult to injury, it's longer than the original too. I suppose I should be grateful that the money for this track goes to the right person (Marc Almond - I hope he didn't have to listen to it) but come on, there is no worse cover version. Is there?

― Kim Tortoise, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:28 (twenty years ago) link

Kim, was David Gray responsible for that? When I heard it, I thought, "Wow, even a song this wonderful can be turned into sludge with enough determination". Marc Almond's gentle irony? Gone!

Joe Cocker - 'With a Little Help From My Friends'.

― colin s barrow (colin s barrow), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:34 (twenty years ago) link

Every few weeks The Box seems to spew forth a video for a cover version so dire, so vacuous, and frequently betraying such a bizarre choice of song, that the mind can only boggle and the viewer can only weep.

Some examples of covers first encountered this way: that version of Baby I Don't Care by that girl from Brookside (admittedly an execrable song to start with); that trance-lite version of Like a Prayer; and the trance-lite version of T-Rex's Ride a White Swan. This'd probably get my vote for worst cover. I can't remember the artiste in question, but it came out last year and was certainly the subject of a rightfully appalled ILM thread back then too!

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:51 (twenty years ago) link

Massive Attack 'Light My Fire'
Stereophonics 'Nothing Compares 2 U'
Moby 'Creep'

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:51 (twenty years ago) link

is there really a trance-lite cover of 'Ride A White Swan'?!

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:52 (twenty years ago) link

Also, almost too obvious, but Whitney Houston doing I Will Always Love You.

Good call with the Massive Attack one too, stevem - that is dire beyond all belief.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:53 (twenty years ago) link

Yeah, I'm not making the T-rex cover up. I think it was one of these songs that appears on The Box for awhile but never seems to exist outside of that oddball jukebox-type video channel.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:54 (twenty years ago) link

Ride a White Swan by Jamie Somethingorother: The tackiest thing in pop ever?

I don't know how to paste links here, but this is the thread about the trance-lite Ride a White Swan cover.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:57 (twenty years ago) link

Oh,somehow pasting the address magically brought up a fully-linked version of the thread title. Thank you ILM ghost in the machine.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 09:58 (twenty years ago) link

I think it was one of these songs that appears on The Box for awhile but never seems to exist outside of that oddball jukebox-type video channel.

i was really hoping this would be the case of Fast Food Rockers

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:01 (twenty years ago) link

Heh heh - If Fast Food Rockers was a cover version they would definitely OWN this list. Was there ever a song more wrong in its every aspect (apart from anything to do with the career of S-Club Juniors/ S-Club 8)?

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:03 (twenty years ago) link

I haven't heard it, but wasn't Duran Duran's covers album meant to be unspeakable? I do wonder just how bad their supposed blues cover of Public Enemy's 911's a Joke could possibly be...

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:05 (twenty years ago) link

paul young - love will tear us apart.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:05 (twenty years ago) link

Search: the recordng career of Robson and Jerome (and then destroy it)

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:08 (twenty years ago) link

Duran Duran covers album - never heard '911 Is A joke' but 'White Lines' was cute in a 'meh' sorta way, and it still had Melle Mel on it

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:12 (twenty years ago) link

Actually, my all-time worst cover is probably Snoop Dogg's surreal karaoke version of Metallica's Sad But True on that useless MTV icons programme. Avril Lavigne's performance of Fuel is also way up there.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:13 (twenty years ago) link

I totally second the Say Hello Wave Goodbye cover by Gray.

How can a great song like that, sung with such brilliance by Almond be massacred in such a drudge-like, flat, expressionless way?

Apparently Alond 'doesn't mind' Gray's version.... but then,with the cash it brought in, he wouldn't, would he?

― russ t, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:19 (twenty years ago) link

and Limp Bizkit's version of Sanitarium was no picnic either

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:24 (twenty years ago) link

i was all set up to agree with 'say hello wave goodbye' until this thread gave me the knowledge that the sterophonics had covered 'nothing compares 2U'. i only hope i never hear it, but i simply cannot imagine it would be possible for anyone create more vile

― adam b (adam b), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:24 (twenty years ago) link

Q: How can a great song like that, sung with such brilliance by Almond be massacred in such a drudge-like, flat, expressionless way?

A: By being performed by Davi Gray.

― M Carty (mj_c), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:25 (twenty years ago) link

why does david gray shake his head whilst singing? it's not as if he's stevie wonder

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 10:34 (twenty years ago) link

...white ladder / white stick.... all the same if you're Stevie Wonder I s'pose.

― russ t, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 11:56 (twenty years ago) link

Light My Fire by that Pop Idols guy.

― Siegbran (eofor), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:04 (twenty years ago) link

I just heard a cover of "alone again or" done by Calexico....ugh.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:17 (twenty years ago) link

Cake's version of "I Will Survive" was funny to me once. Once.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:25 (twenty years ago) link

Approx 11 or 12 years ago I was sitting in a bar in Oxford St, Manchester & a young man was performing with an acoustic guitar. The only thing I remember about his set was that he did "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" & we were quite impressed by how well it worked.

Could this possibly have been David Gray?

― bham, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:25 (twenty years ago) link

...if you were impressed at how well it worked, it definitely wasn't Gray....

― russ t, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:29 (twenty years ago) link

Either Motley Crue's ham-fisted cover of "Helter Skelter," or their inspiration-free cover of "White Punks on Dope" by the Tubes. The Crue should really avoid recording covers altogether. Actually, the Crue should really recording altogether, at this point. Actually, they're doing a good job of doing just that these days, aren't they?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:39 (twenty years ago) link

Fuckshit, that shoulda been the Crue should really AVOID RECORDING altogether at this point.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:40 (twenty years ago) link

RPS - The Unforgiven, an eurodance cover of Metallica.

― Siegbran (eofor), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 12:50 (twenty years ago) link

A couple of weeks ago I walked into a waterfront yuppie bar in the middle of the day to use the bathroom. some dude with an acoustic guitar was playing "Personal Jesus" and nobody was paying attention. He finished and said, "Thanks, that's one by Johnny Cash." I think this appalled me more than any cover I'd ever heard before.

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:23 (twenty years ago) link

johnny cash did a fine version of that. his version of nine inch nails ' hurt' is even better

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:34 (twenty years ago) link

A guy used to play at a restaurant I worked at, and he did a solo acoustic-with-drum-machine-accompaniment version of Blondie's "Heart of Glass". Way the fuck off key. We started singing it IN KEY from the kitchen. He gave us The Evil Eye. We spit on his steak.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:37 (twenty years ago) link

How about Sonic Youth and Epic Soundtracks' Peel Sessions consisting of covers of Fall songs? "Victoria" really scraped the barrel- a cover version of a cover version. Its a pity cos I like Sonic Youth, but it struck me as being a bit pointless, as can also be said about Pavement's version of "The Classical" (also on a Peel Session).

― tacit (tacit), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:38 (twenty years ago) link

We spit on his steak.

GREAT BAND NAME ALERT!!!!!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 13:42 (twenty years ago) link

Michael Bolton screeching through "When A Man Loves A Woman". It just about ruins any chance of listening to Percy Sledge again.
also, a trance mix cover of any song. The one I heard for "Imagine" is simply unimaginable...

― abeta, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:22 (twenty years ago) link

... unfortunately, it's not, and now I have what I imagine it's like going through my head.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:25 (twenty years ago) link

There's some folk-rocky type band out there who happen to have had their new (and possibly their debut) album produced by They Might Be Giants. As a tribute they decided to cover "Don't Let's Start", and it's this horrible over-earnest reading of it that manages to iron out all the humour and fun that was present in the original.

I also seem to remember that around about 1994 there was a eurodance cover of "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by some woman who was called Melanie (no surname, just Melanie). I remember my friends talking to me about it at the time, and apparently she got onto Top Of The Pops with this thing. I never heard it, and still haven't to this day. I would imagine that would be pretty bad, tho.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:35 (twenty years ago) link

Surely you don't mean the Melanie who did "Brand New Key", do you?

Hmmm... this page claims that a band called Melanie's Breast covered "Heart Shaped Box"...

― Nick Mirov (nick), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:44 (twenty years ago) link

Ew, I wish y'all hadn't reminded me of this, but I once saw Blues Traveler doing "Imagine" with fucking Hootie singing lead vocals on it. No matter how hard I tried, I just could not smoke enough pot for it to sound anywhere near anything one might call "good".

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:48 (twenty years ago) link

i think it was Abigail that did 'Smells Like teen Spirit', not Melanie

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:50 (twenty years ago) link

it wasn't great but it did retain a similar guitar sound to the original, only over a thudding dance beat. this seemed to become the basis for Tinman's '18 Strings' hit shortly after (tho that came with added helpings from Yello's 'Jungle Bill' so just that little bit cooler).

― stevem (blueski), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 14:51 (twenty years ago) link

Yes, Abigail! That was it. Why did I think it was "Melanie"?

For some reason I've always thought it would be entirely comprised of synths and drums and that it would have ditched the guitar.

― Chriddof (Chriddof), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:05 (twenty years ago) link

The Sonic Youth cover of "Personality Crisis" is really awful -- I just heard it on the radio last week. Shudder.

― Hurlothrumbo (hurlothrumbo), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:18 (twenty years ago) link

I generally like Tori Amos a lot but she covers "Somewhere over the rainbow" and you can imagine what that sounds like. argh.

― daria g (daria g), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:22 (twenty years ago) link

Come to mention it, EVERY cover I've heard by Tori Amos (not just the ones off the cover album either) has been awful. I don't think there's a song out there that could survive a Toriization.

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:30 (twenty years ago) link

Damn homie! I know Johnny Cash did a version of that song! And it was pretty good! But that doesn't excuse bar dude's ignorance; he didn't say, "Thanks, that's one that Johnny Cash did a pretty good cover of."

― Tom Breihan (Tom Breihan), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:36 (twenty years ago) link

I agree with the Tori Amos comments..... I find her toe-curling at the best of times, but her cover versions, whilst not including any of the 6th form exercise book poetry of her own lyrics, are utterly shocking.

― russ t, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:38 (twenty years ago) link

The entire Pop Idols "Big Band" album!!!! And any "ironic" punk or indie cover of a popular song. (Espcially if it goes into a thrashy bit juast to show that they're not really serious...)

― Old Fart!!! (oldfart_sd), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 15:47 (twenty years ago) link

Will To Power's "Baby I Love Your Way" cover which turns it into a duet and incorporates the lyrics of "Freebird" as the male verse.

The whole white trash slant (think Nicks/Henley) makes it even more excruciating.

It's easy to badly remake a good song ... but to desecrate originals that were bad in the first place is a true sign of a horrible cover.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:17 (twenty years ago) link

Easily.. EASILY

"God Only Knows" by Captain & Tenille

(Wasn't there several "worst covers ever" threads here?)

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:32 (twenty years ago) link

Will To Power's "Baby I Love Your Way" cover which turns it into a duet and incorporates the lyrics of "Freebird" as the male verse.

This song is a CLASSIC and it is an injustice that it should be listed in this thread.

― Nicole (Nicole), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:36 (twenty years ago) link

Will To Power's "Baby I Love Your Way" cover which turns it into a duet and incorporates the lyrics of "Freebird" as the male verse.

Chuck Eddy to thread! I would not however call it a classic...more an experience.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:36 (twenty years ago) link

An experience in genius!

― Nicole (Nicole), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:39 (twenty years ago) link

How about "God Only Knows" by David Bowie? Or Elvis Costello?

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 16:48 (twenty years ago) link

All Saints: 'Under The Bridge'
Wet Wet Wet: 'With A Little Help From My Friends'
Puff Daddy: 'Public Enemy No. 1'
Nikolaj Steen: 'The Message'

― Jay K (Jay K), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 17:02 (twenty years ago) link

Wet Wet Wet: Love is All Around.

― Andrew Farrell (afarrell), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 17:07 (twenty years ago) link

I like David Byrne, and I love bossanova, but Byrne's version of "Waters of March" is atrocious.

― jaymc (jaymc), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 17:32 (twenty years ago) link

Mick Jagger & David Bowie "Dancing in the Street"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 17:51 (twenty years ago) link

U2's techno version of 'Happiness is a Warm Gun'

― jl, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:12 (twenty years ago) link

yes, curtis, yes. thread over.

― praying mantis (praying mantis), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:13 (twenty years ago) link

Kickaxe did a quite reverential reading of Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help"

― dave q, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:18 (twenty years ago) link

This morning I had the misfortune to hear Mick Hucknall murdering Positively 4th Street :(

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:37 (twenty years ago) link

jeezus, people, have you all forGOTTEN the Wallflowers' version of "Heroes"?

and they fucking licensed that arrangement for a Visa commercial, to be covered by an ever MORE pantywaste/pussy-ass band!

― Kingfish (Kingfish), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:47 (twenty years ago) link

Candyflip.
the whole of 'Pin-ups'.
bananarama doing 'help'.
wet wet wet being no1 forever with that troggs song.
tom jones sweating all over 'burning down the house' etc.

just remembering these has put me in a bad mood.
grr.

― joni, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:51 (twenty years ago) link

Love and Rockets' "Ball of Confusion"

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 18:54 (twenty years ago) link

Will To Power is the kind of crap that you hear in the supermarket that has everyone running for the doors.

― blutroniq (blutroniq), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 19:01 (twenty years ago) link

some band calling themselves Bestial Vine has a god-awful cover of Big Black's "The Big Payback."

http://www.geocities.com/bestialvine

― King Kobra (King Kobra), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 20:41 (twenty years ago) link

The entire Pop Idols "Big Band" album!!!! And any "ironic" punk or indie cover of a popular song. (Espcially if it goes into a thrashy bit juast to show that they're not really serious...)
-- Old Fart!!! (oldfart_s...), July 2nd, 2003.

this guy is genius and cracks me up consistently..

― doom-e, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 20:52 (twenty years ago) link

he just seems to be so shocked at how rubbish some music is!!

― doom-e, Wednesday, 2 July 2003 20:59 (twenty years ago) link

Linda Ronstadt owns this thread!

― Christine 'Green Leafy Dragon' Indigo (cindigo), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 21:07 (twenty years ago) link

You have clearly never encountered the horror that is James Last.

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 21:36 (twenty years ago) link

I'm sorry, Charlie's a smashing bloke but it does need to be said:

http://www.panx.net/ep/0394.jpg

― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 21:42 (twenty years ago) link

some band calling themselves Bestial Vine has a god-awful cover of Big Black's "The Big Payback."

Er...you do know that THAT'S a cover in turn, yes?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 21:47 (twenty years ago) link

Oh. I wasn't aware of that. Who did the original?

― King Kobra (King Kobra), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 22:16 (twenty years ago) link

Love and Rockets' "Ball of Confusion"

I am officially NEVER talking to JBR again. Not only is this a fucking BRILLIANT cover, it's also among my favorite songs OF ALL DAMN TIME!

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 2 July 2003 23:10 (twenty years ago) link

Who's the Fuxor that took The cover of Song to The Siren and made it a trance trax. Light him or her on fire now.

― brg30 (brg30), Thursday, 3 July 2003 00:38 (twenty years ago) link

it's gone this far w/o a mention of Madonna's "American Pie"? wow.

― M Matos (M Matos), Thursday, 3 July 2003 00:44 (twenty years ago) link

r.e.m. - "academy fight song"

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 3 July 2003 00:45 (twenty years ago) link

I loved Bananarama's version of Help (with, of course, the lovely Kathy Burke and French and Saunders)...

― russ t, Thursday, 3 July 2003 08:30 (twenty years ago) link

Blount, what was wrong with R.E.M.'s "Academy Fight Song"? I liked it well enough.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 3 July 2003 08:38 (twenty years ago) link

r.e.m. - "crazy"

― James Blount (James Blount), Thursday, 3 July 2003 09:06 (twenty years ago) link

Re:Covered to thread!

Some of Re:Covered's "finest" moments:

Mis-Teeq do a note for note cover of Alanis' "Ironic"
Liberty X tackle "High and Dry" by Radiohead
Athlete, yes, that's Athlete, offer their own interpretation of Prince's Kiss. It contains no discernable tune.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Thursday, 3 July 2003 09:16 (twenty years ago) link

three months pass...

Elton John sings Nick Drake's "Way To Blue"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:50 (twenty years ago) link

(though this was actually recorded BEFORE Nick's version)

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Sunday, 2 November 2003 20:54 (twenty years ago) link

In the past, I have heard dreadful club-mix covers of the Smith's "how soon is now" and U2's "pride in the name of love" but I haven't a clue who did those.

I like Tori Amos's Steely Dan cover... Or I used to. Haven't listened to her for a while.

― Blood and sparkles (bloodandsparkles), Sunday, 2 November 2003 21:21 (twenty years ago) link

John Eddie's version of The Cure's "In Between Days" from Rubaiyat. No contest.

― Chris Ott (Chris Ott), Sunday, 2 November 2003 21:32 (twenty years ago) link

I'd love to hear the first two, actually. If I ever heard the third, I would probably succumb to the temptation to do violence to someone. Athlete, for preference. Though it cannot be as bad as the horrible, horrible Stereophonics murdering 'Nothing Compares 2 U'.

Tori Amos's covers are generally all excellent.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 2 November 2003 21:47 (twenty years ago) link

Phish does Snoop Dogg's Gin and Juice.

Shit times shit equals shit-squared. Fucking hippies DIE!!!!

― sucka (sucka), Sunday, 2 November 2003 22:10 (twenty years ago) link

Billy Idol's "Heroin" from Cyberpunk

EC has done some terrible covers live; "Many Rivers To Cross" (I think, mighta been "Sitting In Limbo), "Pop Life", etc...

― Colin Beckett (Colin Beckett), Sunday, 2 November 2003 22:32 (twenty years ago) link

motley crue mentioned upthread but not what i had imagined: "anarchy in the uk"

― gygax! (gygax!), Sunday, 2 November 2003 22:52 (twenty years ago) link

Sheryl Crow's massacring of "The First Cut is the Deepest" makes me want to throw my radio out of a window.

― ailsa (ailsa), Sunday, 2 November 2003 23:11 (twenty years ago) link

Braids killed "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the most sadistic way imaginable.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Sunday, 2 November 2003 23:48 (twenty years ago) link

That was the Gourds, not Phish. I really love it.

My vote: Britney Spears - "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"

Most disappointing cover ever: Squarepusher - 'Love Will Tear Us Apart." I thought a drill-n-bass version of LWTUA would be SO FUCKING COOL, but the Pusher played it totally straight. WHY!?!?

― Mister Snrub (MisterSnrub), Monday, 3 November 2003 00:23 (twenty years ago) link

not only that, his attempts at the lyrics were shamefully bad. it's not like they're difficult to track down or particularly obscure.

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 3 November 2003 01:15 (twenty years ago) link

Moby fucks up the lyrics in his covers of "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and "New Dawn Fades"

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 3 November 2003 01:20 (twenty years ago) link

Moby fucks up the lyrics in his covers of "That's When I Reach For My Revolver" and "New Dawn Fades"

If you mean changing the former to that's when I realize it's over, blame his record company and MTV, not him.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 3 November 2003 01:28 (twenty years ago) link

the 7" version of Revolver has the correct lyrics

― the surface noise (electricsound), Monday, 3 November 2003 01:29 (twenty years ago) link

No, I realize that.

― Curt1s St3ph3ns, Monday, 3 November 2003 01:29 (twenty years ago) link

i got y'all beat ...

gary numan's cover of "u got the look"!

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 3 November 2003 02:22 (twenty years ago) link

Oh Jesus now I remember.

One of Faith Hill's biggest pre-crossover hits was a Nashville-ized cover of Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart."

― My name is Kenny (My name is Kenny), Monday, 3 November 2003 02:28 (twenty years ago) link

dillinger escape plan covered billy idol's "rebel yell" and it really lacked umphf. they could've deconstructed the song to all hell, but instead kept it very plain and ordinary almost.

very disappointing.
m.

― msp, Monday, 3 November 2003 02:33 (twenty years ago) link

four months pass...

Yesterday on the radio I heard Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine" covered by The Corrs. Featuring Bono. Words cannot describe the horror.

(it still sounded a bit like Dog on Wheels by Belle and Sebastian though)

― ailsa (ailsa), Saturday, 6 March 2004 11:58 (twenty years ago) link

seven months pass...

Anyone see the Observer music magazine supplement yesterday with the ten worst cover versions ever? "I reluctantly decided to ditch the kitsch stuff... William Shatner, Mike Flowers, Gareth Gates - it all went... instead, I wanted artists who genuinely thought they were doing nothing wrong, who may even have believed they were making significant improvements to the originals..." He has Duran Duran's 911 Is A Joke at no.1 ("shockingly misconceived in both theory and execution") and Ronan Keating doing Fairytale of New York at no.2 (with re-written lyrics so as not to offend anyone).

For me the worst of all time has to be the travesty that was the BBC's all star version of Perfect Day back in 1997, murdered by everyone from Pavarotti to, er, Lou Reed.

― The Horse of Babylon (the pirate king), Monday, 18 October 2004 05:52 (nineteen years ago) link

I'm truly amazed that no-one has mentioned Simple Minds' cover of "Sign of the times". The same as the original but the original was not sad or poignant enough, so lets add some sobbing to the intro...

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 18 October 2004 06:46 (nineteen years ago) link

it's still david gray.

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Monday, 18 October 2004 06:49 (nineteen years ago) link

surely no cover us worse than Dynamite Hack shitting on Boyz N The Hood

― mucho, Monday, 18 October 2004 08:26 (nineteen years ago) link

stereophonics anything

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Monday, 18 October 2004 08:51 (nineteen years ago) link

Disagree with David Gray. I like that version. Nice to hear an interesting that brings the song itself more to the forefront (I like the Soft Cell version too, but that is more because of the synths/sound)

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 09:05 (nineteen years ago) link

I can't believe no one's mentioned the following atrocities:

"Big Yellow Taxi" done by Counting Crows, in which I'm convinced that he's actually HAPPY that they "paved paradise and put in a parking lot"

"Imagine" by A Perfect Circle

"Don't Let it Bring You Down" by whatever female singer did it sometime in the last year or two.

― Hurting (Hurting), Monday, 18 October 2004 10:13 (nineteen years ago) link

Funny enough, I find Britney's version of "Satisfaction" quite nice.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 10:15 (nineteen years ago) link

It's easy to badly remake a good song ... but to desecrate originals that were bad in the first place is a true sign of a horrible cover.

any cover of "i got you babe" or "the beat goes on"

― Cynthia Nixon Now More Than Ever (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 18 October 2004 10:20 (nineteen years ago) link

Hasn't "the worlds sexiest grandma", T.Turner, haplesssly strangled songs by Beatles and Massive Attack? (Rhetorical question, yes) ...Oi the madness :(

― t\'\'t (t\'\'t), Monday, 18 October 2004 10:59 (nineteen years ago) link

good call on COunting Crows, i hate that song anyway tho

― Freelance Hiveminder (blueski), Monday, 18 October 2004 11:00 (nineteen years ago) link

Anyway, my vote for The Braids remains.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 18 October 2004 11:03 (nineteen years ago) link

95% of Wire covers are terrible

My Life Story, anyone? Lightning Seeds? Oh dear.

In fact, other than MBV doing Map Ref and Scanner's Eardrum Buzz, it's pretty grim all the way. Flying Saucer Attack's cover of Outdoor Miner, maybe. And some of the versions of Drill are okay, but I'm never sure whether to class them as covers.

― coco, Monday, 18 October 2004 11:28 (nineteen years ago) link

Frank Zappa - Stairway to heaven.

Frank Zappa used to kill every song he covered. Thank God I never listened to his version of Shaggs' "Foot Foot".

― Elvis is Dead, Monday, 18 October 2004 11:34 (nineteen years ago) link

Why do people get so upset by people covering their favourite artist's songs? The original still exists, it hasn't been altered in any way? And they like to use words like 'desecrate'. It's a song; in most cases it's not sacred.

But the worst cover would have to be some nu-metal or industrial cover of a pop song, in some odd attempt to defile the 'niceness' of the original.

― Kevin Gilchrist (Mr Fusion), Monday, 18 October 2004 11:39 (nineteen years ago) link

95% of Wire covers are terrible

Check out their cover of "After Midnight" by J.J. Cale!

― mark grout (mark grout), Monday, 18 October 2004 11:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Lush also did a nice cover of "Outdoor Miner".

The correct answer is Stars on 54 covering Lightfoot's "If You Could Read My Mind".
Broken hearts and solemn introspection never sounded so joyous! What an awful, horrific cover.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Monday, 18 October 2004 13:26 (nineteen years ago) link

Oasis did a truly dire pub rock version of Heroes that was completely and utterly wrong.
Fortunately, I've never heard Duran Duran's version of 911 Is A Joke but it doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to know it's gotta be the worst.cover.ever.

― Stew S (stew s), Monday, 18 October 2004 13:34 (nineteen years ago) link

>>> "Big Yellow Taxi" done by Counting Crows

I'll second (third?) this one, I don't even like the original but this is SO bad it makes me weep.

― Colonel Poo (Colonel Poo), Monday, 18 October 2004 15:57 (nineteen years ago) link

Well said Col Poo. It is truly ghastly, and I like the original (although it's far from Joni's best)

― Stew s (stew s), Monday, 18 October 2004 15:59 (nineteen years ago) link

eight months pass...

Thread revived, because Snow Patrol's cover of "Crazy In Love" is worst than anything named here.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 14:31 (eighteen years ago) link

Lush also did a nice cover of "Outdoor Miner".

I misread that as Lulu.

"Noe blihnd spaht.. in tha leppards eyesss"

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 14:36 (eighteen years ago) link

Ack. Worst = worse.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 15:28 (eighteen years ago) link

Moby slogs his way through New Order's Temptation, at maybe 12 BPM.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 15:34 (eighteen years ago) link

Thurston Moore - "Here Today"

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 15:37 (eighteen years ago) link

Who's the Fuxor that took The cover of Song to The Siren and made it a trance trax. Light him or her on fire now.
That would be Messiah. My father owned the record.

I've heard D2's "911 is a Joke" -- it's actually rather non-descript and tame, if silly. It's not violently atrocious by any means, nor is anything else on Thank You. Hell, Lou Reed actually thought their cover of "Perfect Day" outdid his original!

― Ian Riese-Moraine has been xeroxed into a conduit! (Eastern Mantra), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 18:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Pretty much anything from this (except maybe the Shonen Knife track):

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov200/drf700/f759/f75977qv18p.jpg

i mean seriously, half of these people should be slaughtered as painfully as possible for the atrocities committed on this disc

Sonic Youth's "Superstar" in particular (funny how they keep popping up in this thread, huh?)

― rentboy (rentboy), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 18:54 (eighteen years ago) link

this is the most cringeworthy thread ever. i nominate tori amos's smells like teen spirit.

― AaronK (AaronK), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 19:27 (eighteen years ago) link

Jessica Simpson's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" deserves a mention.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 19:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Do people really hate Sonic Youth's Superstar? I really like it.

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 19:57 (eighteen years ago) link

^^least constructive sentence ever^^

― ailsa (ailsa), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 19:58 (eighteen years ago) link

I like that Carpenters comp, probably because I had never heard any Carpenters before.

Re:Snow Patrol, hearing is believing.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 20:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Bowie doing "God Only Knows." Blech!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Wednesday, 29 June 2005 20:19 (eighteen years ago) link

Power Plant's ham-fisted massacre of T. Rex's "Bang a Gong." Utterly repulsive.

― whim cycle, Wednesday, 29 June 2005 20:37 (eighteen years ago) link

Dennis De Young - "Fire" by Jimi Hendrix

― Joe (Joe), Thursday, 30 June 2005 01:20 (eighteen years ago) link

311 - Love Song. I hated them enough BEFORE they went & recorded this stain.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 30 June 2005 02:00 (eighteen years ago) link

"Let's Go All The Way" (Sly Fox) - covered by the Insane Clown Posse.

I'm not making this up, folks.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Thursday, 30 June 2005 02:21 (eighteen years ago) link

I haven't read the whole thread, but I searched it and didn't find Lou Reed and Sam Moore's version of "Soul Man" so I win.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Thursday, 30 June 2005 02:28 (eighteen years ago) link

Oh christ, never mind my suggestion. I just listened to the Snow Patrol cover and it is indescribably awful. Especially the "rap", and the ensuing "breakdown". I declare a winner!

― John Justen (johnjusten), Thursday, 30 June 2005 02:29 (eighteen years ago) link

I listened to it too, and it's pretty goddamn bad. But man - Lou Reed 'singing' Soul Man...

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Thursday, 30 June 2005 03:16 (eighteen years ago) link

I was about to post Counting Crows version of Big Yellow Taxi, but then I realized I posted it above, back in October. I guess I just really hate that cover.

― Hurting (Hurting), Thursday, 30 June 2005 03:22 (eighteen years ago) link

I once saw William Shatner, Joe Jackson and Ben Folds butchering Pulp's "Common People" on the Tonight Show. I still gag at the thought of it.

Special mention: Joss Stone "Fell In Love With A Boy"

― Carlos C., Thursday, 30 June 2005 03:55 (eighteen years ago) link

Kelly Osbourne doing Human League's "Sound of the Crowd". Completely butchered one of my favorite songs.

― kevin says relax (daddy warbuxx), Thursday, 30 June 2005 04:08 (eighteen years ago) link

lemonheads doing "mrs. robinson"

not butchered but just like what was the point?

― Declan Zimmerman, Thursday, 30 June 2005 06:19 (eighteen years ago) link

what! No UB40? "Red, Red Wine"?

― cicatrix, Thursday, 30 June 2005 06:43 (eighteen years ago) link

Soul Asylum - "Sexual Healing"

― flinck, Thursday, 30 June 2005 08:27 (eighteen years ago) link

no way, sexual healing is just funny in that context. it has some redeamable laughing value.

― AaronK (AaronK), Thursday, 30 June 2005 12:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Redemption Song by NOFX.
Bad. Really bad. But as funny as it's bad.

― C11 (C11), Thursday, 30 June 2005 13:18 (eighteen years ago) link

I CANNOT believe "Behind Blue Eyes" by Limp Biskit has not been mentioned.

― JAS, Thursday, 30 June 2005 16:36 (eighteen years ago) link

OK, the Snow Patrol cover isn't that horrible. The rap is hilariously bad, and the singing is no cop, but the music is decent (albeit overly clinical and stripped of 97% of the funk that was in the original).

"Let's Go All The Way" (Sly Fox) - covered by the Insane Clown Posse.

John -- YSI?

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 00:41 (eighteen years ago) link

OK, but I apologize in advance and bear no responsiblitity for it's effects.

YSI is slow. I will report back later w/the link.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 01:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Done. Embrace the horror...

http://s46.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2CRQSVJMGJYZC2QB50WXIWPMMZ

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 01:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Frente's cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle" totally misses the point. I despise it. Tailor-made cutesy shite for 14 yr old girls to write diary entries to.

I just don't get it.

― nicholas de jong (nicholas de jong), Friday, 1 July 2005 01:34 (eighteen years ago) link

See, you post a YSI of an Insane Clown Posse cover, and the thread dies.

Pretty fucking horrible, eh?

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:15 (eighteen years ago) link

Now THIS is an awful cover version.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:29 (eighteen years ago) link

Huh?

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:37 (eighteen years ago) link

The ICP cover. It is truly awful.
In comparison, the Snow Patrol cover had some "redeemable laughing value". The ICP cover just had me shaking my head throughout its entire running time.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 03:58 (eighteen years ago) link

Oh yeah, thanks for the YSI link, John, although now I have to ask myself what I'm going to do with this mp3. It's too much of a trainwreck to merely delete, but I have no desire to hear it unless I'm trying to make a point about bad cover versions (i.e. the purpose it just served for you).

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 04:00 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, boggles the mind, huh? When I was trying to YSI it, I realized that it had somehow registered in my audioscrobbler and imagined people across the internet thinking "John Justen...never speak to him again..."

So I'm starting to reevaluate my position, having listened to both, and I'm going back to the ICP as my top choice. Perhaps the Snow Patrol was so new and awful that my judgement was clouded...then I listened to "Let's Go All The Way" again, and was galvanized in my hatred.

Who can topple the ICP? I call you out. Links/YSI are requested...

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 04:11 (eighteen years ago) link

I haven't heard everything named on this thread, but *the worst* for me is still the Stars on 45 version of "If You Could Read My Mind" that I cited upthread.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 04:13 (eighteen years ago) link

I shudder to ask, but any possibility of a YSI/gmail of that?

MUST KNOW MORE EVIL!

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 04:16 (eighteen years ago) link

I just d/l'ed and listened to the Stars on 54 cover for the first time in about two years ... woof.

However, "If You Could Read My Mind" is a giant among songs. Lots of artists could try to cover it and not be up to the task (I'm sure many have tried). On the other hand, how hard can it possibly be to pull off a half-decent cover of "Let's Go All the Way"? How could ICP screw it up so badly (besides the fact that they're, you know, ICP). They definitely score points for that "achievement".

Uploading to YSI is slow here for some reason but I'll post something as soon as I can.

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:02 (eighteen years ago) link

Stars on 54 - "If You Could Read My Mind"

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:12 (eighteen years ago) link

hang on,

Stars on 54 - If You Could Read My Mind

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:14 (eighteen years ago) link

huh?

http://s38.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=05TMK0IU4V0QA3G9W62W45N1UP

― MindInRewind (Barry Bruner), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:14 (eighteen years ago) link

not butchered but just like what was the point?

the point was that they were commissioned to do the cover for TV ads for the video release of The Graduate.

Frente's cover of "Bizarre Love Triangle" totally misses the point. I despise it. Tailor-made cutesy shite for 14 yr old girls to write diary entries to. I just don't get it.

the Frente one is pretty much a cover of the Even As We Speak version, incidentally

― kit brash (kit brash), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:44 (eighteen years ago) link

Ooohhh. That Stars on 54 cover is pure and beautiful evil.

Yuck.

I'm so torn...I'll cast my vote later.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Friday, 1 July 2005 05:49 (eighteen years ago) link

How did we get this far without a mention of Atomic Kitten's cover of Tide Is High?

― Anna (Anna), Friday, 1 July 2005 09:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Sheer lack of effort award to The Vines lumbering through "Miss Jackson" - they just repeat the chorus over and over again for three minutes. Okay, so I didn't expect them to rap, but missing out the verses makes the whole thing kind of pointless.

― Philip Alderman (Phil A), Friday, 1 July 2005 10:16 (eighteen years ago) link

"Seven Nation Army" by The Flaming Lips?

― C11 (C11), Friday, 1 July 2005 11:32 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm sticking with the ICP cover...horrendous and humorless, two great tastes that go great together.

― John Justen (johnjusten), Saturday, 2 July 2005 02:39 (eighteen years ago) link

This is *exactly* how I feel about the Snow Patrol cover. Though when I can, I'll have to download the ICP track just for comparison.

― alex in montreal (alex in montreal), Saturday, 2 July 2005 02:43 (eighteen years ago) link

Only if you promise not to blame me for the pain...

― John Justen (johnjusten), Saturday, 2 July 2005 02:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Nino Tempo and April Stevens's "Land of 1000 Dances" is fucking dire, I saw a Scopitone of them doing it. Chris Kenner is having *extra* drinks with his oyster loaf in r&b heaven after hearing it. And in the clip, they look like two robots who have just been told what the word "incest" means.

― edd s hurt (ddduncan), Sunday, 3 July 2005 00:40 (eighteen years ago) link

Nowt wrong with the Flips' version of Seven Nation Army. Some good sirens and megaphone action on there.

Coldplay doing Kylie is the latest in the long line of indie covers of pop hits, I hate the sense of smug satisfaction they give off, as if they're elevating the original to their deep and meaningful level of rock. Likewise Travis doing Hit Me Baby a few years back and Jo WHiley gushing over it.

The Vines' Miss Jackson - absolutely criminal.

Still not heard this Snow Patrol thing. Thank goodness.

Christ, I've never heard the Stereophonics Nothing Compares 2U. Sounds ghastly.

I once heard some bar band do Waiting For The Man as a good time blues rock number. Oh dear oh dear...

― Stew (stew s), Sunday, 3 July 2005 12:57 (eighteen years ago) link

The Vines- Ms Jackson is a great call, yeah. For those who haven't heard it, it just consists of Autism Boy howling the chorus for about four minutes whilst the rest of the band soundcheck. He doesn't even go "Forever ever?", for crying out loud.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Sunday, 3 July 2005 13:46 (eighteen years ago) link

I would like to nominate Sonic Youth's (yes, them again) cover of "Touch Me I'm Sick" which brings nothing to the original and only proves even more Kim's inability to sing.

The execrable Kerbdog, however, managed to release a single with two utterly pointless and ham-fisted covers on the B-side ("Kennedy" and "Debaser").

While on the subject of the Weddoes, much as I love them they've murdered their fair share as well (notably "I Found that Essence Rare").

― Si.C@rter (SiC@rter), Sunday, 3 July 2005 16:32 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Japan's version of I second that emotion is dreadful. David Sylvian look so sad in the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rhsA3uIG3Q

― ConnieXX, Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:23 (sixteen years ago) link

Sheryl Crow's version of "Sweet Child O' Mine" sucks more balls than I heretofore imagined possilble. Search Luna instead.

― Pillbox, Sunday, 20 April 2008 10:54 (sixteen years ago) link

Don't know if it's worst ever but i was never so CRUSHED by one when when I heard Lior (folksy dude with a voice smoother than butter) singing Neil Young's "Needle and the Damage Done". Niel's shaky delivery is what made that sone so agonisingly beautiful and hand made. Lior turned it into something that sits on a supermarket shelf.

― fantasimundo, Sunday, 20 April 2008 13:04 (sixteen years ago) link

The Vines - Ms Jackson

― Dom Passantino, Sunday, 20 April 2008 13:18 (sixteen years ago) link

i wonder what polkadots00 really means it when she\he says that song "gets under my skin and seeps into my viens lol" . it made me feel kind of sick while listening.

― fantasimundo, Sunday, 20 April 2008 13:34 (sixteen years ago) link

You wouldn't necessarily expect it, but Nine Inch Nails' cover of Soft Cell's "Memorabilia" is a joke

I'm sure that some of the covers mentioned here are in fact worse, but if you're only considering those cover versions undertaken by bands that are actually better than the artist they're covering, I'd bet NIN's "Memorabilia" takes the cake.

It also occurs to me now that the Stones' "Dancing In The Streets" would be up there in this category as well.

― SecondBassman, Sunday, 20 April 2008 14:28 (sixteen years ago) link

http://liveaid.free.fr/rewind/bbc/images/047dancing/03.jpg

L-R: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards

― Noodle Vague, Sunday, 20 April 2008 14:39 (sixteen years ago) link

six months pass...

― and what, Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:30 (fifteen years ago) link

Is that dude Australian? If not why does he dress like that?

― Peter "One Dart" Manley (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:33 (fifteen years ago) link

Here's Hard-Fi doing "Love Is Gone" by David Guetta:

― Peter "One Dart" Manley (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:35 (fifteen years ago) link

Here's Hard-Fi doing "Toxic" by Britney Spears

― Peter "One Dart" Manley (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:36 (fifteen years ago) link

Here's Hard Fi doing "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes

― Peter "One Dart" Manley (The stickman from the hilarious 'xkcd' comics), Thursday, 13 November 2008 00:38 (fifteen years ago) link

twelve years pass...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KntktTJkk

― Maresn3st, Wednesday, 5 May 2021 21:09 (three years ago) link

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