A new poll of the Top 50 best cover versions of all time has just been published with Jimi Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's ‘All Along the Watchtower’ topping the list, while the Top 10 includes The Beatles, Sid Vicious and Scissor Sisters.
The list of the Top 50 cover versions was chosen by Daily Telegraph music critics and includes well known favourites such as Johnny Cash’s version of U2’s ‘One’, Ryan Adams’ reworking of Oasis’ ‘Wonderwall’ and The Vines’ take on Outkast’s ‘Ms Jackson’.
Topping the list though was ‘All Along the Watchtower’ by The Jimi Hendrix Experience as recorded by the guitar legend in 1968, only one year after Bob Dylan wrote and recorded the original on his album ‘John Wesley Harding’.
Also in the Top 10 were Soft Cell’s legendary ‘Tainted Love’
from 1981, which has totally eclipsed the success of the 1964 Gloria Jones original, The Byrds version of another Dylan song, ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ and from this year ‘Comfortably Numb’ by the Scissor Sisters, which turned Pink Floyd’s 1979 ode to isolation and fear into a rather peppy glam disco track.
Many other entries in the Top 50 are far less well-know, though no less interesting sounding, including bearded folky Richard Thompson’s ‘Oops I Did it Again’, Brazilian samba combo Señor Coconut & His Orchestra take on Krafwerk’s ‘The Robots’ and ‘Rock el Casbah’ - Rachid Taha’s version of The Clash classic.
Best Cover Versions Ever Named
1. ‘All Along the Watchtower’ Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968
2. ‘You Were Always on My Mind’ Pet Shop Boys, 1987
3. ‘My Way’ Sid Vicious, 1979
4. ‘Hallelujah’ Jeff Buckley, 1993
5. ‘Respect’ - Aretha Franklin, 1967
6. ‘Tainted Love’ Soft Cell, 1981
7. ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ The Byrds, 1965
8. ‘Twist and Shout’ The Beatles, 1963
9. ‘Comfortably Numb’ Scissor Sisters, 2004
10. ‘Mr Bojangles’ Nina Simone, 1971
11. ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow’ Roberta Flack, 1971
12. ‘One’ Johnny Cash, 2002
13. ‘My Favourite Things’ John Coltrane, 1960
14. ‘Rocket Man’ Kate Bush, 1991
15. ‘Wild Horses’ The Flying Burrito Bros, 1971
16. ‘Billie Jean’Shinehead, 1984
17. ‘Mad World’Gary Jules, 2003
18. ‘Just Can't Get Enough’ Nouvelle Vague, 2004
19. ‘Sweet Jane’ Cowboy Junkies, 1988
20. ‘Police and Thieves’ The Clash, 1977
21. ‘Only Love Can Break Your Heart’ St Etienne, 1990
22. ‘(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction’ Devo, 1978
23. ‘Caravan of Love’ Housemartins, 1986
24. ‘Why Can't We Live Together’ Sade, 1985
25. ‘Wonderwall’ Ryan Adams, 2004
26. ‘I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself’ The White Stripes, 2003
27. ‘Summertime Blues’ The Who, 1968
28. ‘Jealous Guy’ Roxy Music, 1981
29. ‘Black Steel’ Tricky, 1995
30. ‘I'm A Believer’Robert Wyatt, 1974
31. ‘Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word’ Mary J Blige, 2004
32. ‘Chimes of Freedom’ Youssou N'dour, 1994
33. ‘Money (That's What I Want)’ The Flying Lizards, 1980
34. ‘Fell In Love With A Boy’ Joss Stone, 2003
35. ‘Gloria’ Patti Smith, 1975
36. ‘Dear Prudence’ Siouxsie & the Banshees, 1983
37. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ John Cale, 1975
38. ‘Wichita Lineman’ Dennis Brown, 1970
39. ‘Ms Jackson’ The Vines, 2002
40. ‘I Fought The Law’ The Clash, 1979
41. ‘Hazy Shade Of Winter’ The Bangles, 1987
42. ‘It's Hard To Be A Saint In The City’ David Bowie, 1975
43. ‘Jolene One Dove’ 1993
44. ‘Oops I Did it Again’ Richard Thompson, 2003
45. ‘Rock el Casbah’ Rachid Taha, 2004
46. The Robots’ Señor Coconut & His Orchestra, 2000
47. ‘Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)’ The Wedding Present, 1990
48. ‘Step On’ Happy Mondays, 1991
49. ‘Going Back to My Roots’ Richie Havens, 1980
50. ‘Don't Leave Me This Way’ The Communards, 1986
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2004 3:54 pm Posts: 19 Location: In the here and now
Man these lists...
Where's Van Halen's "You Really Got Me"?
or GnR's "Live and Let Die"?
and what about Manfred Mann's version of the Boss' "For You" or "Blinded By the Light"? (Forget his version of "Spirit in the Night, that blew)
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 1:31 pm Posts: 10340 Location: Norway Gender: Male
Poncier wrote:
Where's Van Halen's "You Really Got Me"? or GnR's "Live and Let Die"? and what about Manfred Mann's version of the Boss' "For You" or "Blinded By the Light"? (Forget his version of "Spirit in the Night, that blew)
They have all gone down history's great drain.
It's a poll, so too few voted for them or they weren't nominated in the first place.
_________________ A simple prop to occupy my time.
as uncool as it is to suggest this, metallica deserves to be on that list somewhere
_________________ i was dreaming through the howzlife yawning car black when she told me "mad and meaningless as ever" and a song came on my radio like a cemetery rhyme for a million crying corpses in their tragedy of respectable existence
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2004 5:24 am Posts: 37009 Location: In Missouri, they would (will) not let me be Gender: Female
There are some that shouldn't be on there, or they should be moved down the list, others aren't mentioned, etc. But I guess that's the way it goes.
Johnny Cash's Hurt is definitely top of the tops. Then of course there are Eric Clapton covers, but maybe he's just made them his own and people have forgotten.
Oh, and how can they put Joss Stone's cover over The Clash?
_________________ Freedom's just another word for nothin' left to lose Nothin' ain't worth nothin', but it's free
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