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Jimi Hendrix's reworking of Bob Dylan's All Along the Watchtower has been named the best cover version of all time.It heads a list of the top 50 cover versions chosen by music critics working for the Daily Telegraph.
To qualify, a song had to be well established by one artist, then given a new lease of life by another.
The Telegraph says Hendrix's version of a 'so-so track' from Dylan's John Wesley Harding album completely outgunned the original."A light, scampering ballad re-emerged as a mini-epic of foreboding with Hendrix's heavy three-chord intro hanging like a thundercloud and Dylan's lyrics sounding an ominous epitaph for the 1960s," it said.
Second were the Pet Shop Boys for their 1987 version of Elvis Presley's You Were Always on My Mind with Sid Vicious's version of My Way at No 3.
The full top 10 was:
1) All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1968, orig. Bob Dylan, 1967
2) You Were Always on My Mind - Pet Shop Boys, 1987, orig. Elvis Presley, 1972 (after Brenda Lee, 1971)
3) My Way - Sid Vicious, 1979, orig. Frank Sinatra, 1969 (after Paul Anka, 1969)
4) Hallelujah - Jeff Buckley, 1993, orig. Leonard Cohen, 1984
5) Respect - Aretha Franklin, 1967, orig. Otis Redding, 1965
6) Tainted Love - Soft Cell, 1981, orig. Gloria Jones, 1964
7) Mr Tambourine Man - The Byrds, 1965, orig. Bob Dylan, 1964
8) Twist and Shout - The Beatles, 1963, orig. the Isley Brothers, 1960
9) Comfortably Numb - Scissor Sisters, 2004, orig. Pink Floyd, 1979
10) Mr Bojangles - Nina Simone, 1971, orig. Jerry Jeff Walker, 1967
I agree with All Along the Watch Tower, Respect, Twist and Shout and Taited Love but the rest I'm really ready to argue
WHO ARE THE SCISSOR SISTERS?
My Way and Watchtower are fantastic choices. I can honestly say that I think Sid did a better job with Sinatra's song than Sinatra!
As for Tainted Love, I'd have to go with Shades Apart's version which came out around 97.
Kind of surprised the Pet Shop Boys made #2, but I do remember liking that song at the time. Also got a kick out of Joss Ackland as the weird old man in the video.
Also kind of surprised that Mr. Bojangles by Nina Simone is considered great, when the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band certainly performed the most popular version of that song.
Post Edited (11-30-04 12:49)
Definitely agree on Sid-- flat out a killer recording (err, no pun intended). You ever see Mr. Mike's Mondo Video? It was a Mondo Cane parody that Michael O'Donoghue made as a TV movie in the late 70s (it was rejected by NBC-- the president at the time reportedly said it would air "over my dead body") that included the clip of Sid singing it and firing into the audience. When the movie was finally released on video (a few years after Sid & Nancy died), Paul Anka apparently flatly refused to let them use the song. Their solution: they kept the clip, silenced the audio, and put in a crawl explaining their situation!
Getting back to the list-- Haven't heard the Scissor Sisters song, but if they had to include a token new release, I'd suggest William Shatner's cover of "Common People" by Pulp. Seriously. Download it and see.
ah, agree.
Also that should be on there Iron and Wine's Version of Postal Services "Such Great Heights"
and Gary Jules Creepy version of Mad World by Tears for Fears
Found the full 50 here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2004/11/20/bmcovercont20.xml&sSheet=/arts/2004/11/20/ixtop.html
Gary Jules did indeed make the top 20 (as well he should). Also, big kudos for including a good amount of strange and obscure covers, like Senor Coconut doing Kraftwerk and the Flying Lizards' "Money." Still no Shatner, though.
Right on guys about Gary Jules's version of Mad World. Amazing song.
I always liked the Bananarama version of Venus and the Bangles version of Hazy Shade of Winter.
Dude, you should start a thread about this on this awsome pink floyd fan site in the forumAlso has forums and stuff not related to floyd too.Of course you have to register and stuff.
www.pinkfloydfan.net