Johnny Cash - best cover artist ever? (1 Viewer)

[Arizona Ron]

I'm not calling Johnny Cash a "cover artist"; my question is there anyone else in the conversation of that is popular for their on stuff and covers as well? Does anyone else change a song like Cash did?

I'm driving and Johnny Cash comes on, playing Person Jesus. Which sounds amazing to me, I'm actually surprised it is not more popular among his songs. I always thought that was his song then found out it was a cover originally by Depeche Mode. I remember the Depeche Mode song on the radio in the early '90s but it just felt like a "poppy rock" song so I didn't pay attention to the lyrics.

I think the song Hurt by Nine Inch Nails might be the most popular but he's done a ton of covers. He's even covered Bob Marley for crying out loud.

Kurt Cobain covered David Bowie but his career was so short compared to Cash that who knows what else he would have done.

Full disclosure - I don't consider myself as a person with a large amount of music knowledge.

 

[ChiefD]

Van Halen is the best cover band in history.

 

[Abraham]

Hendrix was pretty ####### good.

 

[El Floppo]

Yo La Tengo has had a pretty good run with their covers.

 

[JNox3]

Taylor Swift does covers at every concert for the city she's playing in. She's the best

 

[Arizona Ron]

Taylor Swift does covers at every concert for the city she's playing in. She's the best

You might catch a little heat for this.

 

[JNox3]

Taylor Swift does covers at every concert for the city she's playing in. She's the best

You might catch a little heat for this.

I'm used to that. Whatever...she's awesome. She covers everyone!!

I can add youtube links if you want to check them out.

 

[Brony]

1.0 Jess Greenberg

 

[Doug B]

Taylor Swift does covers at every concert for the city she's playing in. She's the best

If we're talking about live covers, it's very hard to top Prince.

EDIT: Dang, it looks like a whole lot of live Prince just vanished off of youtube :(

 

[Doug B]

1.0 Jess Greenberg

<animalhouse>

"Thank you, God!"

</animalhouse>

 

[[icon]]

Cash indeed is great.

Not the best-ever by any stretch, and not everyone's cup of tea, but Disturbed has done some pretty damn interesting ones.

Sound of Silence - Simon & Garfunkel (Album: Immortalized)

Fade to Black - Metallica (Album: Music is a Weapon)

Land of Confusion - Genesis (Album: Ten Thousand Fists)

Shout - Tears for Fears (Album: The Sickness)

Midlife Crisis - Faith No More (Album: Covered a Revolution of Sound)

Living After Midnight - Judas Priest (Album: Another Way To Die)

There are others they do live like Pantera's "walk" that aren't on an album....

 

[Amused to Death]

The Grateful Dead incorporated a lot of covers into their repertoire - including Johnny Cash's "Big River". Marty Robbin's "El Paso" (fans of Breaking Bad know that one well), a lot of Dylan and later did a lot of Beatles. Hard to Handle, Johnny B. Goode, Big Boss Man, Bobby McGhee....I'm sure there are/were plenty of others.

 

[Doug B]

Not the best-ever by any stretch, and not everyone's cup of tea, but Disturbed has done some pretty damn interesting ones.

Land of Confusion - Genesis (Album: Ten Thousand Fists)

Wow, thanks for this one. What's interesting is that Disturbed's singer mostly stays in the lower part of his vocal register -- but when he goes high for a few notes here and there and loses the "growl", he sounds A LOT like Phil Collins.

Great video, too -- is the that the band's actual video or an unusually well-done fan animation? Kind of like The Wall meets Heavy Metal.

Checking out your other links, too.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

I actually prefer other bands' covers of Johnny Cash, notably Social Distortion's well-known cover of "Ring of Fire" and the lesser known cover of Sad Man's Tongue by Volbeat.

 

[JaxBill]

Bruce does a ton of covers live. Everything from 60's soul to Pete Seeger to ZZTop.

http://www.setlist.fm/stats/covers/bruce-springsteen-2bd6dcce.html

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Not Travis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IpanyupNCA

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Not REM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK8E2L08YLI

 

[[icon]]

Social Distortion's well-known cover of "Ring of Fire"

Big fan.

 

[[icon]]

Not the best-ever by any stretch, and not everyone's cup of tea, but Disturbed has done some pretty damn interesting ones.

Land of Confusion - Genesis (Album: Ten Thousand Fists)

Wow, thanks for this one. What's interesting is that Disturbed's singer mostly stays in the lower part of his vocal register -- but when he goes high for a few notes here and there and loses the "growl", he sounds A LOT like Phil Collins.

Great video, too -- is the that the band's actual video or an unusually well-done fan animation? Kind of like The Wall meets Heavy Metal.

Checking out your other links, too.

Yeah it's a pretty solid take on the song. Their sound isn't for everyone but I think they usually have interesting takes on covers.

That's an official video. IMO if feels a bit like a ripoff of Pearl Jam's "Do The Evolution" (PJ's first video since "Jeremy"...directed by Todd McFarlane), but its solid.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Van Halen is the best cover band in history.

Back in the 80's I had a mixtape made up of every cover they had done to that point.

 

[Limp Ditka]

I don't think anyone makes a cover his own piece of work quite like Cash could.

Someone else I enjoy for covers is Ryan Adams

His cover of Bob Mould's 'Black Sheets Of Rain' is perfect

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcrMwkyzY0

 

[[icon]]

Jeff Buckley's cover of Cohen's "Hallelujah" should be in the discussion for greatest cover ever, but he wasn't around long enough to qualify for this thread.

 

[Soulfly3]

Elvis Presley... and it aint even close.

 

[Evilgrin 72]

I don't think anyone makes a cover his own piece of work quite like Cash could.

Someone else I enjoy for covers is Ryan Adams

His cover of Bob Mould's 'Black Sheets Of Rain' is perfect

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xtcrMwkyzY0

Ooof, I don't know. He took all the intensity and rage out of that song. Sounds like something I'd hear at an arty coffee shop in Portland. Pass.

 

[MikeMan]

Metallica covers I like as well as or better than original: Am I Evil, Blitzkrieg (but no one knew the original until they were covered lol), the entire Garage Days album (Helpless, Small Hours), Breadfan, Stone Cold Crazy, Turn the Page, Whiskey in the Jar, Tuesday's Gone, Astronomy

 

[Spike]

Taylor Swift does covers at every concert for the city she's playing in. She's the best

You might should catch a little heat for this.

Fixed.