Superior Covers

Sam Ary: Original by Otis Redding. Need some of this R-E-S-P-E-C-T fr…

• Regina Scime +3 — Love Otis Redding (R&B/soul musicians owe a lot to him), but this was the only cover that 100% was better than the original. Everything else was ok, but Aretha SINGS this.
• SamRobertsND +1 — I mentioned in my comment on Joseph’s that making a good song better is no small accomplishment. Aretha does not simply match Redding’s original but far surpasses, such that people nowadays firstly associate this with her rather than him (Johnny Cash did something similar with Hurt). An obvious vote.
• judd.baker +1 — This almost doesn’t read to me as a cover, which I know is ridiculous because it is a cover, but just goes to show how thoroughly Aretha owns the song. For this reason I feel compelled to upvote
• fionmul 0 — Obvi so good. Ultimately didn’t have enough votes and I liked the takes that picked a cover I didn’t know yet. Like vs the song being known better as the cover. But damn if I had 4-5 votes.
• Claire 0 — goated song but I feel like what I’m looking for in this round is a cover that innovates on the track that we all know and love…despite the fact that this is a cover, this is the version that became famous
• Edward James 0 — Sorry, but I just don’t feel good of voting a song where the original is not even known at all. I feel like this falls into that category, like “torn” by Natalie Imbruglia
• ared56 -1 — Downvoted because it’s just her song now. Similar to Midnight Train to Georgia for Gladys or I Will Always Love You by Whitney. While it fits the technical terms of the category, it seemed too easy. Letter of the law, not spirit etc

Claire: a masterclass in reinventing for a new genre while honoring the original

• ared56 +1
• SamRobertsND +1 — This one was screaming for a rock cover, and AAF nailed it. Played around with the details yet the song is still recognizable. It’s a classic banger in its own right, not much more to say.
• judd.baker +1 — This is such a fantastic cover, same notes as the T-Pain track; it’s doing something really unique, is very confident in how different it is from the original but as you said, still honors the original as well.
• Edward James +1 — It’s the GOAT. Simple as
• Sam Ary +1
• fionmul 0 — Hell yeah. This is so good. Ultimately I think it is similarly good to the original so it got beat. But this was an excellent pick and I hope it gets other people’s votes.
• Joseph Harvey -1 — Alas, the genre conversion does not work. Grating. I’d so much rather hear the original.

• Sam Ary +2 — Been listening to this cover for over a decade now, don’t know how I didn’t think of this myself. This would get all 3 of my votes if Alien Ant Farm’s Smooth Criminal wasn’t also on this playlist.
• fionmul +1 — Slay. > original
• SamRobertsND 0 — Joseph, I know you’ve been watching a lot of Law and Order recently, so you’re familiar with the concept of “fruit of the rotten tree,” and so when covering one of the worst songs in modern memory… Just kidding. It almost got my vote, as it turned a piece of garbage into something somewhat listenable (although only the faintest melodic traces of the original remain, so is it really still a cover?). This gets my fourth vote, as it’s easier to make a bad song good (especially when you basically reengineer the whole thing) than making a good song even better, which my final selections did.
• judd.baker 0 — This is silly but I still loved it
• Claire 0 — sorry Joseph but I do not agree that this is the best punk goes pop track
• Edward James 0 — I really really loved this. Enjoyed it and thought it was an incredibly fun interpretation. But interpretation was not the category, it was superior covers. And despite the fact that I love to hate the original, I do think it’s much better than this.

Regina Scime: Originally by The Beatles… this orchestration engenders an existential cry to the universe better than the original

• Joseph Harvey +2 — Ok, what the heck!! This was insanely good and contributes a ton to the song!
• fionmul +1 — This was so cool woah. I was ready to hate it cuz Cody Fry but I LOVE it. Why am I like gonna cry?!
• Claire +1 — My first listen of this song was on the south shore line and it didn’t quite hit, felt a little melodramatic. Second listen was in terminal 3 of ORD and this time I really dug the way he works more texture and narrative into the original material with the choral and orchestral arrangements. I feel like the (successful imo) creative reworking merits a vote
• shea nowicki +1
• judd.baker 0 — I wanted to like this but just couldn’t really get into it. It’s not bad, it’s definitely different from the original in compelling ways and the production value is high, but it almost seems like it’s trying too hard
• SamRobertsND -1 — This is a good example of confusing the sum of parts for a whole. The original Eleanor Rigby is one of the Beatles’ masterpieces. It is economical in runtime and minimal in production, yet it is dripping with mystery, packing a huge punch with little and in little time. This overly-long and over-produced imitation replaces any mystery with boring bombast. A good cover is a metamorphosis of one creature into another of equal or greater beauty. Like the Star Wars sequels, this is a puppeteered corpse dressed in new clothes, relying on brash restatements of the original’s accoutrements while losing the soul to which those elements were subordinated and given purpose.
• Edward James -1 — I actually really liked the instrumental opening here, very beautiful and Star Wars esque. But then it takes a nosedive imo. One time I saw a Beatles Christmas musical at an evangelical mega church. The music, performance, technical chops were all amazing and it was very fun. Despite almost everyone in the performance being a better vocalist than the individual Beatles, I would still not consider them better or even comparable. I feel the same way hearing this song. It has all the beauty and none of the artistic merit. Really just taking this as a moment to expound on why I often find beautiful vocals to be of only middling importance in music. Overall, the song was fine.

Edward James: T Pain is a renaissance man of the highest order

• ared56 +1
• SamRobertsND +1 — This is a great cover that succeeds in doing something different than the original while still remaining very recognizable. T-Pain’s depth is on full display, and he kills the cover. Glad to see him doing such excellent work all these years later.
• judd.baker +1 — This is it. THIS is a great cover. At first I didn’t think it was doing something all that different but it gets real good fast. Funky, doing something very distinct, interesting all the way through. I enjoyed.
• Claire +1 — I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Upvote for surprise, good deployment of organ, and genuinely cool vocals
• fionmul 0 — This was chaotic for me. I like the original better.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — When your production budget is $5
• shea nowicki -1

shea nowicki: Original by Tom Petty

• fionmul +1 — I really love this cover, ofc super Fionacore. I do think it is way better than the original and fresh and different. It was also on my CO playlist alongside To The Mountains 😭 Also Jesus vibes; you belong in freedom, in the garden!
• ared56 +1
• Joseph Harvey 0 — This was better than the other one
• SamRobertsND 0 — If you’re going for Tom, you better be pretty darn remarkable. I liked this cover, the singers are beautiful, but I don’t think it surpasses the original in any way.
• judd.baker 0 — I am not a Tom Petty fan so take this with a grain of salt but this is 100% a better cover than the original
• Claire 0 — This was lovely but didn’t feel suuuper innovative or impressive. It was however the wildflowers cover I enjoyed more, mainly bc of the harmonies
• Edward James 0 — This was good! I’ve never been super into tom petty’s more whimsical music and these takes are good interpretations. Liked the other one more tho

judd.baker: Original by Elliot Smith (not to be confused with Gotye)

• Claire +1 — Genuinely enjoyed this one. I think the slower tempo especially gives it a different vibe from the OG but in a cool way
• Edward James +1 — Hadn’t heard the original but listened to it and this and I liked this more. Simple as
• shea nowicki +1
• SamRobertsND 0 — I like Seth Avett at certain times, at others I find him entirely unremarkable. This was one of those latter times. Both songs were equally unmemorable for me (rip Elliot Smith).
• fionmul -1 — This was mid or sub mid for me. Strings helped. Also was a short song so thanks. Listened to the original and also didn’t like it. This is a touch better. I think I just dislike them both.

fionmul: (the Beatles)

• Joseph Harvey +1 — This works
• shea nowicki +1
• fionmul 0 — I just think this is so cool. I love that he heard the original and was like “Imma cover dat.”
• SamRobertsND 0 — Come Together is one of the Beatles hits that never did it for me. These songs seem more of less the same to me in terms of quality.
• judd.baker 0 — Not convinced it’s better than the original but MJ’s vocals eat on this track. The “mojo filter / spinal cracker” breakdown at the end cracked me up
• Claire 0 — he might be the best to ever do it but this cover wasn’t impressive to me. I expect more from the king
• Edward James 0 — This is a great cover and shows MJ has a deep love for this song, but there’s no way it beats the original, and that’s the category 😎

ared56: Original: Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

• Edward James +1 — I think wildflowers sounds like it should be bluegrassy, so this is a great read. The guys voice kind of annoys me but I liked the song and the interpretation.
• fionmul 0 — Ok this is also super sweet. I liked this a lot but like the WJs better.
• SamRobertsND 0 — While Peter and I listened intently at least to the first cover, we ended up getting distracted and talking through the duration of this one, which says something about its quality I think. Not as good as the first cover, which didn’t succeed in reaching the heights of the original.
• judd.baker 0 — Weaker of the two Tom Petty covers here imo
• Claire -1 — This is a perfectly fine cover but didn’t wow me…and because it is my second favorite cover of this song in this round, it receives my downvote

SamRobertsND: Original by King Harvest

• fionmul 0 — Ok this is cool! Unsure if I quite like it better though, than its original or than some other of these songs.
• Joseph Harvey 0 — Where’s the bass?? Doesn’t add anything to the original for me
• Claire 0 — This one felt like it went on about a minute too long. But I appreciate the way it figures out which sounds and techniques work to rework this song in a completely different genre
• Edward James 0 — The only parts of this song that really got me grooving were the parts where they use the backup vocals from the OG. It’s a fun interpretation but can’t hold a candle to the original imo.
• judd.baker -1 — This is simply not better than the original. The chorus sounds mostly the same and the verses are mildly worse
• Sam Ary -1 — Not for me sorry the OG is better imo
• Regina Scime -1 — How dare you posit this as better than King Harvest. Who raised you?