Worst cover songs ever
Stereogum has a post today pointing the way to the Cracked.com list of worst covers ever
20. "You Shook Me All Night Long" — Celine Dion and Anastasia
19. "Downtown Train" — Rod Stewart
18. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" — Guns N Roses
17. "Demolition Man" — Manfred Mann
16. "American Pie" — Madonna
15. "My Generation" — Hilary Duff
14. "It's My Life" — No Doubt
13. "Video Killed The Radio Star" — The Presidents of the United States of America
12. "Walk this Way" — Macy Gray
11. "Another Brick in the Wall" — Korn
10. "I'm A Believer" — Smash Mouth
09. "Satisfaction" — Britney Spears
08. "Sweet Child O Mine" — Sheryl Crow
07. "Big Yellow Taxi" — Counting Crows
06. "911 Is a Joke" — Duran Duran
05. "Anarchy in the UK" — Motley Crue
04. "Behind Blue Eyes" — Limp Bizkit
03. "Feel Like Making Love" — Kid Rock
02. "Dock of the Bay" — Michael Bolton
01. "And It Stoned Me" — Bob Dylan
I would like to respectfully submit the following addendum, which is really, really, insultingly bad. You may think it's awful when it starts. Just wait. It gets worse as it goes along, peaking with the gospelly backup vocals on the chorus and the peppy brass instruments.Cigarettes and Alcohol (Oasis cover) - Rod Stewart
It dovetails nicely with the crystal-vivid dream I had last night that I was at the 1995 Oasis show at The Fillmore in SF (it showed up in this picture I took; maybe it came from there to color my dreams). I was hanging out backstage with (no lie) Screech and A.C. Slater. Seriously, I'm not making this stuff up, kids. It's too good.
So what other musical desecrations are out there that I'm forgetting to mention?
Labels: covers
posted by heather @ 2:01 PM
29 comments
29 Comments:
"If I Can't Change Your Mind" - Train
"When The Stars Go Blue" - Tim McGraw
"Working Class Hero" - Ozzy Osbourne
"Bastards Of Young" - Jesse Malin
Four of my favorite songs interpreted in horrible ways.
I kind of like the Oasis cover. If you want to hear something really bad check out Rod's version of All Right Now or anything off his new album. Yeah how 'bout a list of the best and worst cover albums ever.
Manfred Mann's Earth Band doing Springsteen's "Blinded By The Light." Ugh. "Wrapped up like a douche"?
Makes Mariah Carey's "Bringing On The Heartbreak" sound like a masterpiece.
I agree with them on Rod Stewart's rape and perversion of Tom Waits' "Downtown Train". Very few people can do a good cover of his music, and Rod isn't one of them (but neither is Scarlett Johansen".
-B
Atomic Kitten - The Tide Is High
panic! at the disco eleanor rigby
fall out boy roxanne
Love the post and the blog btw.
I guess in addition to those on the list i would add the following :
1)All Saints- Under the Bridge
2)Orgy-Blue Monday
3)Alanis Morissette-Crazy
4)G'n'R- Sympathy for the Devil
5)Fun Boy Three-Our Lips are Sealed (trainspotting sntrk 2)
And just for fun- Tori Amos- A total eclipse of the heart (she just lacks the passion)
Although I enjoy Talk Talk, I thought No Doubt did a good job with "It's My Life".
Not that this one is necessarily bad, but definitely one of the most head scratching, but have you heard the new bluegrass cover of Rick James' "Superfreak" by Bruce Hornsby and Ricky Skaggs? I'm a big Bruce Hornsby fan, but this sounds like something out of a very strange dream...I could see doing it live and improvising but I believe it's on the new cd...any thoughts?
But for plain horrible, I'd have to add Duran Duran's "White Lines" to the list...
Bob Dylan should punch Sammy Hagar in the face for butchering Rainy Day Women. It's on Hagar's new album, which is a complete disaster as a whole. Jimmy Buffett is bad, but someone trying to rip Mr. Parrothead off is even worse!
Oh, and Mony Mony from Billy Idol sucks too.
I seem to recall Rod Stewart's butchering of his music bringing some world class comments from Tom Waits though. I'm not certain but I think he described Downtown Train thus:
'So bad as to be almost unrecognisable.' and said of his shit karaoke attempt at Tom Traubert's Blues:
If I'd know he was going to sing it I never would have written it.
So it was worth suffering the butchering, just for those put-downs. The man's a legend!
my least favorite cover. ever.
Hank Williams III's cover of Springsteen's Atlantic City is definitely one of the most offensive things i've ever heard.
I always thought William Shatner singing "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" was pretty bad. Then again "If I Had A Hammer" by Leonard Nimoy was no gem. I guess any Trekkie who sings could make the list. Or any singer on the 'Golden Throat' compilation.
Speaking of William Shatner... (did I bring him up?)... he has a new CD out since January 4th... and according to Amazon, over 200 folks think it's almost five star worthy..
Heather why haven't you been blogging Shatner? Is it age discrimination?
Beam me up.
Awww... I really liked Gwen Stephanie's version of "It's My Life" as well as the original Talk Talk version :(
However, and I know a lotta people might hunt me down for saying so, but I really disliked Johnny Cash's cover of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt". He may be the Man in Black, but his dark side is good fun, not Nihilistic!
I'd say Jesse Malin's butchering of Bastards Of Young on his new disc more than qualifies
Heather, great post! A few years ago, I really got into Frank Sinatra and Nat Cole adn the jazz classics which are often dubbed "The American Songbook." I'd like to add all of Rod Stewart's cover versions. Not only did he bludgeon these great songs but he did it over and over and over again on 3 or is it 4 volumes now. Please STOP, someone STOP him. His voice is horrible on these tracks.
Matthias, I agree completely. The other thing about Rod Stewart that MUST MUST be stopped is the gratuitous crotch-shot album covers. Dear good lord. Put that thing away.
I have to say that this is a category that is at no loss for contenders. I think Dolly Parton's cover of 'Stairway to Heaven' although funny on many levels, is not on even more. the Ramones cover of 'Have You Ever Seen the Rain' also too much juxtaposition to work. And almost every cover by actors that really shouldn't be singing.
I wasn't aware that Clay Aiken was pretending he could pull off Where the Streets Have No Name. Thanks for that, though it'll haunt me now. It's not that his singing is bad, he just doesn't have the passion.
As for me, i'd add Bono's version of Hallelujah because it just kills the song for me.
jojoware, I actually like that Hallelujah by Bono because it's so different and sexy.
I can't really criticize Madonna's cover of "American Pie," simply because the original is truly one of the most awful songs ever written. At least Madonna's version is shorter!
I love the Carpenter's tribute album, 'If I Were A Carpenter' but (and I can't even remember who does the song off the top of my head) but the version 'Rainy Days of Mondays' just sounds like his batteries are going flat.
Fun Boy Three-Our Lips are Sealed (trainspotting
i believe that's the original.....
the go-go's did the cover...me thinks....
it's got to be Back in the USSR by Lemmy from the butchering the beatles cd.
heather, that rod/oasis cover makes me bleed from my eyes. talk about sucking the life and joy out of something good...jeez.
Rod Stewart's cover of Primal Scream's "Rocks" was pretty atrocious too. That man asbolutely cannot cover songs.
OCBoddity says:
Ever heard and survived Barbra Streisand's attempt at Bowie "Life On Mars?". That really makes you sick....
Bob Dylan's version of Creep. That was lightyears worse than awful.
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