The other day, Evan told me that The Dish has been posting a blog series which asks: Best Cover Songs of All Time?
I immediately answered with this pick: Jimi Hendrix’s cover of Bob Dylan’s All Along the Watchtower – which, as it turns out, is one of the front-runners.
Another person put in with Jeff Buckley’s Hallelujah – one of the all-time greats and a big favourite in my teens.
So, the above aside, I decided to share my Top 3 cover songs.
3. Alkaline Trio & System of a Down cover Berlin’s Metro
Yes, the first one is a two-way tie.
I love these covers because both bands totally put their stamp on the song. If you didn’t know the original, you probably wouldn’t notice it was a cover in either case.
The best thing about this song is you can listen to it three times over and get 3 totally different experiences: nu wave, metal, and pop-punk.
The Original, Berlin’s Metro:
System of a Down’s The Metro
Alkaline Trio’s The Metro:
2. Sublime mash-up cover of Bob Marley’s One Cup of Coffee & Judge Not
Covers of Bob Marley songs are never quite as good as the original.
I first heard this Sublime track, which mashes up Bob Marley’s earliest recordings, several years ago. It wasn’t until I watched Kevin Macdonald’s documentary Marley that I looked into the originals.
Both versions are great.
Bob Marley’s One Cup of Coffee:
Bob Marley’s Judge Not:
Sublime’s cover, One Cup of Coffee / Judge Not:
1. Van Morrison’s cover of Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman
While The Beatles were oft-covered but seldom surpassed, Bob Dylan’s songwriting ability certainly outweighs his singing about 100-1.
I found this version of Just Like a Woman in my mid-teens, and it remains one of my very favourite songs to this day.
Bob Dylan’s Just Like a Woman:
Van Morrison cover of Just Like a Woman:
What are your top contenders for Best Cover Song Ever?