Song covers that are better than the originals


I was listening to Billy Idol's cover of LA Woman, and I thought to myself that his version is way better than the original. So I thought I'd post a few covers that I enjoy more than the originals and see what others can add. My top five in no particular order:

LA Woman - Billy Idol
Just a Gigolo - David Lee Roth
Feelin Alright - Joe Cocker
Roll Over Beethoven - The Beatles
MacArthur Park - Donna Summer
slanski62

Showing 1 response by smortega

R.E.M.'s covers of "Wichita Lineman" and "Galveston". Sadly, the latter is only available on YouTube as a snippet. While I prefer John Hartford's rendition of "Gentle on My Mind", R.E.M.'s version is much better than Glen Campbell's. Michael Stipe is a big fan of Jimmy Webb and John Hartford and R.E.M. has covered Webb in concert; I wish more of those were available on CD/vinyl.
The Doors' cover of Kurt Weill's "Alabama Song".
Gary Jules' version of "Mad World".