Here are a few to get things started:
Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer as an 80s synth tune
Bossa nova version of Crowded House’s Don’t Dream It’s Over
Reggae-ish version of Aretha Franklin’s Respect
A capella men’s ensemble version of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance
Did anyone already mention Johnny Cash’s version of Hurt, original by Nine Inch Nails? A marvelous reimagined version, maybe, the best cover ever.
Cake - I will survive
They have other great covers tooDub Side of the Moon, a reggae cover of Dark Side of the Moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_Side_of_the_Moon
Joke answer: Disturbed’s “The Sound of Science” cover because it’s fucking horrid and ruins the point of the original’s meaning.
I once got to see The Easy Star All Stars playing Dub Side, and it was magnificent. Such a great band.
They also did OK Computer (Radiodread); their cover of Let Down is one of my favorite covers all-time.
Two very different examples:
Modest Mussorsky’s “Pictures at an exhibition” was originally written for piano (that was all the poor guy had available), and it took Maurice Ravel to turn it into an orchestral version and make it popular world wide. Both versions are great and have their own qualities, but I far prefer Ravel’s version (Although Khatia Buniatishvili’s rendition here is so really really good).
Bob Dylan’s “Lay Lady Lay”. The original is… well… it’s a Bob Dylan song. There is a really good cover version by Ministry that, althought technically is the same song, takes it to a whole other level. Love it.
My first exposure to Pictures At An Exhibition was my parents had the Emerson Lake & Palmer version. I like the classical versions you posted better. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWQct6D6HsM
Holding Out for a Hero - Frou Frou.
Those first couple of Shrek soundtracks were full on bangers. Pete Yorn’s cover of Every Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t Have) is a masterpiece.
Bantamweight’s haunting cover of Nirvana’s Heart Shaped Box is sorely underrated in my opinion.
ERRA’s versions of Audioslave’s Light My Way and Muse’s Stockholm Syndrome.
Art vs Science’s psychedelic-funk cover of Enter Sandman featuring a sweet as keytar solo.
Sleep Token’s heartwrenching unplugged version of Hey Ya!.
And finally, Denzel Curry’s supercharged version of Bulls on Parade. I didn’t think the track could sound angrier but he’s gone and done it.
Bonus: Andrew Hulshult’s Hell March, featuring chainguns as percussion, Master Boot Record’s Doom E1M1 metal chiptune remix, and GeoffPlaysGuitar’s argent-metalized Halo Overture.
I’m surprised nobody’s put up The Wiggles cover of Tame Impala’s Elephant
Yes, those Wiggles. It’s good.
Postmodern Jukebox ft. Haley Reinhart - Creep (original by Radiohead), jazz/big band style
Novena - Bury a Friend, progressive metal Billie Eilish. Starts out like the original and gets progressively heavier.
So many of the Postmodern Jukebox covers are fantastic.
Time, the Valuator covered Lovely as well. Pretty fucking amazing.
Surprised how far down I had to look for Postmodern Jukebox to show up!
Funnel Of Love by Wanda Jackson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt7PPidlIvg
Cover by Boris: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4T_XNdeRTs
A band on TikTok did an emo cover of Rascal Flatts’ What Hurts the Most that is pretty good.
It ended up on a compilation album Country Goes Hardcore that has some interesting ones. I like Ever Since Eve’s emo cover of Take Me Home, Country Roads.
Polysics covering My Sharona by The Knack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXHEVcYTZYQ
Goddamn it why am I just learning about Japanese DEVO today? Why has no one told me? Thanks for sharing, this cover is a banger and I must listen to Polysics’ entire discography now!
You’re welcome! And have you heard of Servotron? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gS4nzSWmCs
I hadn’t but I’m adding to my playlists! I first got really into music via prog rock so this type of high-concept silliness is well-aligned with my preferences :P
I love this post. This is a very weird cover of a song that was already weird. The video is also disturbing, which kinda did it for me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRdDTz8wL30
The original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mR6zmSTDNE
I normally go for parodies, but this would be the place to post the Devil Went Down to Georgia (Washing Machine Cover)
More seriously, 2CELLOS’ rendition of Thunderstruck is incredible: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT3SBzmDxGk
They have a ton of really good ones on their channel, but that one will always be my favorite for how into it they get
That is my favorite version of Thunderstruck, even more than the original.
(There was a really cool article I read ages ago that discussed how similar metal and classical music structures are. Have no idea where I found it.)
I do adore a cover version that brings something new to the song;
Orkestra Obsolete play Blue Monday
Gotye - Somebody that I used to know - Dutch choir
Not quite a cover, but more of inspiration taken from Paper Planes - ‘Paper Plates’ by Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer
Umbrella - Manic Street Preachers
Toy Dolls - Nellie The Elephant
Siouxsie And The Banshees - The Passenger and Dear Prudence
Cornershop perform Norwegian Wood
I could go on for ages. Might add some more later. Hope somebody enjoys at least some of these?
The Slits - I Heard It Through The Grapevine
Pure Imagination - Fiona Apple
Hotel California - The Cat Empire
Dolph Lundgren – A Little Less Conversation
Snuff - I think we’re alone now
China Drum - Wuthering Heights
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Smells Like Teen Spirit
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - Sweet Dreams
Hayseed Dixie - Bohemian Rhapsody
Richard Cheese - Gin And Juice
The Rock Orchestra - Chop Suey
Prime Orchestra - The Prodigy Medley
I was waiting for someone to mention Richard Cheese in this thread!
His version of Rape Me hasn’t aged terribly well, but my word is it great.
I used to regularly play Cheese stuff when driving my elderly mother places
FNM’s cover of Easy is fantastic. It’s a pretty straight cover, but Patton sells it.
Yeah! Siouxsie’s Dear Prudence!
shameless self-promotion : my band The Three Leonards also do covers that re-imagine the song. Our first album starts with a cover of One Headlight and we got some great response to it.
`````Perpetuum Jazzile’s Acapella cover of Toto’s` is pretty neat. It’s with it for the simulated rain sound at the start alone (and the beatboxing):
