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Worst cover


Brels

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Best cover was a great thread. How about worst cover...you know, when a band that has no business doing so, butchers a song so bad you can't shake the feeling you've been violated.

Here's a few I can think of...

1. American Pie (Don Mclean) - Madonna - nothing needs to be added

2. Have I Told You Lately (Van Morrison) - Rod Stewart - my wedding song ruined forever

3. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (Beatles) - Eddie Vedder - Eddie sounds like an animal that has just been run over by an 18 wheeler and is on the vurge of death on the side of the road

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I went Dead with the last topic related to this one so:

I Fought The Law (and I would fight my way to the exits!)

Touch Of Grey - Highgate, Vermont - 06-06-1995 (ok, maybe not a cover, but if the REAL Dead were on the stage, this wouldnt have sounded like a highschool garage band. The WORST version of anything I witnessed by the boys. I had thought something was wrong in the summer of '94 until Spring Tour in Charlotte eased my mind. That honeymoon didnt last too long.)

Rollin' & Tumblin' - same show as above (aka, Stumblin' and Mumblin'. Jerry had some serious issues at this show.)

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I have heard the Dave Matthews Band cover Me and Julio. Yikes. That was bad.

EVERYTHING on the radio sucks IMO, but when I'm not in my office with the door closed and my music on, I am subjected to my collegues radio choice. There is a song they play about 6 times a day, a chick singing Brian Adams' "We're in Heaven". Why would you remake that song? If you're going to, why make it sound so f-ing awful? Wouldn't have been too hard to make it better.

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Ms. Hux, are you talking about the speedy thump thump version dj sammy did or the very slowed down one that has recently been playin? At the factory I work at, the odd night I would have to work with this one young clubby girl; seriously, within the first hour I would have listened to 'Heaven' at least 4 times! No joke. the dancy version. Kind of grew on me and I would keep telling her to play it again. Just to see how much of she could actually take. Luckily she doesn't like the new slow version. That one really makes me want to puke.

ANyways, I would have to say the worst cover song I've heard is GD 9.24.88 'Everytime you Go Away'.

Bradm, are you telling me Capt. Kirk's 'Mr. Tambourine Man' doesn't give you the chills?

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I would have to say that one of my most upsetting CD purchases ever was "Richie Havens Sings the Beatles and Dylan". I had such high expectations when I bought this album... it had track listings including "Lay Lady Lay", "My Sweet Lord", "All Along The Watchtower"... the list goes on. After putting the song into my CD player, eager with anticipation, I was devestated to hear the sounds eminating from my stereo speakers. I actually phoned up HMV, irate that I had spent money on this, and inquired as to their policies surrounding returning opened CDs. (This was back in the days before previewing albums at record stores was possible).

Don't get me wrong, I adore Richie Havens... very excited to hear of his upcoming show in T.O. .... the last one at the Comfort Zone a few years ago was unreal.....

Anyways, to my recollection, with the exception of one or two songs on the album that are strictly acoustic, the rest of the album (recorded in 1986) is an all around massacre of Beatles songs, Dylan songs and Haven's abilities as a musician. Drum machines and synthesizers prevail over acoustic guitar on this album and his label's website has the audacity to write that the verison of "Here Comes the Sun" on this album is "an arguably stronger interpretation" than the phenomenal, live acoustic version found on another of his albums: "Resume".

So tragic that this song - definitely on my best cover list - should also fall on my worst cover list.

I first sought out listening to Richie Havens after hearing him at the Dylan tribute show play a beautiful acoustic rendition of "Just like a Woman"... and, of course, there's the countless times I've watched his performance at Woodstock in the documentary of the same name. (Interesting side note: the song he is most widely remebered for "Freedom" was an amalgamation of an old gospel song "Motherless child" with his chanting of the word "Freedom" which summed up the mood and atmosphere of the crowd perfectly. Havens was on stage playing for three hours as the next scheduled artists were stuck in the traffic jam getting into Woodstock. He ad-libbed this song for ages as he had run out of songs in his repertoire to play).

So, after hearing his version of the Dylan tune "Just Like a Woman", I went out and bought his album Resume, a fantastic musical snapshot of his career and its highlights. If you have not yet heard the version of "Here Comes the Sun" on Resume, you must... especially at sunrise after a long night of partying....

I didn't end up returning "Sings Dylan and the Beatles" to HMV that day... I keep the album now as a bit of a party favor... worst album (aside from the early-youth obvious ones) in my collection.

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Ms. Hux, are you talking about the speedy thump thump version dj sammy did or the very slowed down one that has recently been playin? At the factory I work at, the odd night I would have to work with this one young clubby girl; seriously, within the first hour I would have listened to 'Heaven' at least 4 times! No joke. the dancy version. Kind of grew on me and I would keep telling her to play it again. Just to see how much of she could actually take. Luckily she doesn't like the new slow version. That one really makes me want to puke.

ANyways, I would have to say the worst cover song I've heard is GD 9.24.88 'Everytime you Go Away'.

Bradm, are you telling me Capt. Kirk's 'Mr. Tambourine Man' doesn't give you the chills?

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First off...please note that I am a giant Phish fan.

Now, Bouche sat me down to watch a tape of Phish doing the White Album. I'll add it to this thread. Sorry. I am curious to know what you all thought of it. Not as a fun novelty act but the music itself. Anyone going to tell me how great it was?

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Amy Grant's version of " Big Yellow Taxi ". God awful.

Pat Boone's " Tutti Fruiti "... or any other whitened rip-off by Pat Boone.

" When A Man Loves A Woman " by Michael Bolton.

" Time After Time " by Phil Collins. I don't like Cyndi Lauper, but her original version is better... and that scares me.

" Little Wing " by Sting. It could have been good, if it was recorded by The Police. It wasn't.

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I saw both of those shows, and yes, the first night was wicked. The Stella Blue from the next night almost brought tears to my eyes, farkin' beautiful.

I guess you didnt make it to Giants stadium though.

YIKES!

Not the same band that was in Detroit although, the Bird Song on the first night went into Coltrane spaces, so that was cool.

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