Favourite Cover Songs

8.4  

Song: All along the watchtower
Original: Bob Dylan



I heard this version way before Bob Dylan's. It impacted on me so much that when I finally got around to hearing the quiet folky original I just found it utterly lifeless and uninteresting. I've warmed to it since, but this is such a much better version, it's just immensely cool. Hendrix shredding it up half way through the video makes it all look effortless.

The Flagship's rating:

7.2  

Song: Astronomy
Original: Blue Oyster Cult



Seeing as they covered the original almost perfectly, note for note, it would've been difficult to mess it up. Metallica score points for adding a little bit more emotion into the lyrics and the guitar parts are obviously more pronounced as well.

The Flagship's rating:

7  

Song: The Ghost of Tom Joad
Original: Bruce Springsteen



The profound lyrics are brought to life by Rage Against the Machine who fuel them with hatred, anger and vitriol! This is one of the highlights of the Renegades album, though I feel THIS collaborative effort trumps both!

The Flagship's rating:

8  

Song: Hurt
Original: Trent Reznor



Probably one of the most depressing songs ever recorded. Watching it with the video makes it even sadder. Seeing Cash as a withered, struggling old man makes it even more tragic. The only thing that hasn't changed is his voice, which is as characteristically deep as ever. RIP Man in Black!

The Flagship's rating:

7.7  

Song: Hallelujah
Original: Leonard Cohen



Props have to go to Leonard Cohen for writing such an amazing tune, but I've never seen a video of him performing it well. Jeff Buckley's voice is a force of nature, so his version is a guaranteed winner. The bombastic emotionless farce of the recent X-Factor version is a tragedy to all of mankind and an insult to both artists!

The Flagship's rating:

5.8  

Song: Don't let me be misunderstood
Original: Nina Simone



This song was brought to my attention thanks to its ingenious incorporation into Kill Bill vol 1. This video is a somewhat contracted version of the 10+ minute epic that appears on the soundtrack, but you can't help but love the Latino disco beats! Santa Esmeralda - what a smooth operator.

7.8  

Song: Heartbeats
Original: The Knife



I prefer the one-man-and-his-guitar version over the original, even though I'm a fan of The Knife. Gonzalez's voice does the song a lot of justice. It bugged me for years knowing that I had the original on my hard-drive somewhere until finally it emerged on a random playlist. Thank you Untitled Track.

The Flagship's rating:

10  

Song: Hotel California
Original: The Eagles



This track always brings back memories of unparalleled laughter as it's from The Big Lebowski soundtrack. It's probably not better than the original, but it's a refreshing change! When I first heard the flamenco version kick in I just thought it was the best thing I'd ever heard.