Bands And Albums.

I'm talking about covers by pros...covers that rock and covers that suck.

Ones I like:
Hard to Handle-Black Crowes
Simple Man-Shinedown

Ones I hated:
Turn the Page-Metallica
All By Myself-Celine Dion

Any cover by Guns and Roses, Kid Rock or Marilyn Manson...

(Yeah, I'll get hate mail from this one! )

Thats a hard one Joseph. I'd have to run em all on a one to one basis.
As far as the one's you mentioned. BC'S did good on Hard to Handle though I'm really not a Crow fan.
Turn the Page should have been left alone imo.
Simple man has a good message, Just dont screw it up as bad as we did when we tried to cover it.
No Celine Dion ever! She is talented, but just don't like her.

Yeah, I really felt bad for Eric Carmen after Celine turned his song into an octave-fest. Now he REALLY has something to be depressed about...

Well, for example, the Bob Seger cover: I like both versions. They both - how do I put it? - took the song/story and told them in different ways. Bob Seger's original was a little sad, but more forgiving and kinda "I'm getting over the bewilder-ness" feel. MetallicA's version was more like I'm still bitter bout it.
I used to perform this song.. my own way ofcourse. I took what I liked from both: the softness that Seger showed and the angst that Hetfield expressed.

Knockin' on Heaven's Door should have been left a folk song and that's that.

Simple Man is a great song. Both versions are excellent.
Hmmm... there are so many official covers that sucked. Most of the ones that were on the MetallicA tribute album sucked.

Three Days Grace covered Chris Isaak's Wicked Game in their own style, which I like. It was really good, imo.

Anyone who tried to cover Donny Hathaway's Song For You failed.. miserably. The original has more feeling than anyone can pour in a cover.

Johnny Cash should stop ruining great songs like Hurt and Rusty Cage. Poor Soundgarden.

A Kentucky band called Black Stone Cherry covered The Yardbird's Shapes of Things. If you're into their hard Southern rock style, then you'll like this heavier version of that classic.

There are more, but I'm too tired.

Best ever, imho, was April Wine's cover of "21st Century Schizoid Man." The Carpenters gave "Calling Occupants (From Interplanetary Craft)" justice.

There's too many bad ones to mention or to choose the worst, & why bother? We know what's bad.

I guess me and Philby are the only Wine fans on the mix. No one else ever seems to mention them. A great band imo, from a time of some really bad pop / disco music.

here ya go, sans - live no less - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fIPA1LgQhSw - I used to sing "Just Between You & Me" in a band way back in '91 or so, too. Yep, I liked that group a bunch, the little I heard of them.

Back on topic, I also love Victor Wooten's version of Norwegian Wood. Check it out - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9a4ThBNacY

For me, Hendrix did the best remakes. When he covered a song he made it his.

Hey Joe
All Along The Watchtower
Like A Rolling Stone
Rock Me Baby
Wild Thing
etc.

Two suckfull covers by Metallica are the classic Irish drinking song "Whiskey in The Jar" and Blue Oyster Cult's "Astronomy".
They should have left well enough alone, in my opinion, as both are otherwise great songs!

I always liked the way the Byrds covered the old English ballad "John Riley".(and of course, Dylan's "Mr Tambourine Man).

VERY GOOD TOPIC. A cover, in my opinnion, shouldn't be exactly like the original. Here's my choices:

Ones I like; I Heard It Through the Grapevine-Creedence Clearwater Revivial and Hey Joe-Roy Buchanan. Both of these are very different from the originals and KICK ASS.

Ones that suck; Come Together-Aerosmith and Smok'in In the Boy's Room-Motley Crue Both are virtually identical to the originals, literally no musical interpretation.

Later....Keep the good topics coming

Type O Negative's "Summer Breeze" and "Day Tripper"

Dream Theater's medley of "Carry On Wayward Son, Bohemian Rhapsody, Turn it on,..."

The Mission U.K.'s "Dream On" off the "Children" cassette only.

Enuff Z'nuff's "Jealous Guy" - (would make John Lennon proud)

Queensryche's "Scarborough Fair"

Heir Apparent's "The Sounds of Silence"

Stryper's "10,000 Years" (aka "Amazing Grace")

Weird Al's "Bohemian Polka" ("... Rhapsody")

Bad News' "Bohemian Rhapsody"

One of the worst covers I ever heard was a dance-mix version of Dokken's "In My Dreams".

I wonder why no one's mentioned Joe Cocker!!!! I LOVE his stuff, as a rule, & most of what I've heard from him is covers.

I've always been a fan of The Reverend Horton Heat's covers of Johnny Cash songs. I have his version of "Folsom Prison Blues" on the playlist I'm listening to as a matter of fact.

Recently, I can't remember who though, somebody completely slaughtered Lennon's "Imagine". Urge to kill....rising.....

There was a local guy that did a really kick-ass versin of Folsum Prison Blues. I think the lyrics went something like:

"I hear the train a-comin'
It's rolling 'round the bend
I hope it's bringing some women
Cuz I'm tired of f*cking men..."

lol. Oh man, I'll have to remember that.