Worst cover version ever

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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

Skipping 93 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

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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