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January 7, 2022 10:39 am  #1


Better Than The Original

I've just been listening to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's version of Bob Dylan's "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", and to me, it's the best version of the song... better than Joan Baez, or The Byrds, or even Dylan himself.

What songs can you name where you feel the 'cover' is superior, perhaps even vastly superior to the original?

 

January 7, 2022 11:55 am  #2


Re: Better Than The Original

Two come to mind immediately and one is pretty odd. 

The first is Misty by Ray Stevens. The countrified rocking version leaves the slow, plodding one by Johnny Mathis in the dust. 

And there's Catch The Wind by Donovan. There were two versions released, both by him, one on the album and a different one as a 45. The faster one with just the guitar was always better and is the hit that was played on the radio, his debut single.

 

January 7, 2022 4:46 pm  #3


Re: Better Than The Original

Since you mentioned Dylan, two songs immediately came to mind. "It Ain't Me Babe" by the Turtles and "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix were two covers that I liked much more than the originals. 

 

January 8, 2022 8:39 am  #4


Re: Better Than The Original

I always preferred The Fleetwoods' version of "Tragedy" (1961) to Thomas Wayne's version (1958), even though Wayne's version did better on the charts.

 

January 9, 2022 6:13 am  #5


Re: Better Than The Original

alangee wrote:

Since you mentioned Dylan, two songs immediately came to mind. "It Ain't Me Babe" by the Turtles and "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix were two covers that I liked much more than the originals. 

there's a whole album of bob covers, mostly if not all songs he did with the band at big pink, called "lo and behold" by coulson, dean, mcguinness, flint. i think their versions surpass anything recorded originally or later by bob, the band, or together in concert..
 

Last edited by gopher (January 9, 2022 6:38 am)

 

January 9, 2022 8:54 am  #6


Re: Better Than The Original

gopher wrote:

alangee wrote:

Since you mentioned Dylan, two songs immediately came to mind. "It Ain't Me Babe" by the Turtles and "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix were two covers that I liked much more than the originals. 

there's a whole album of bob covers, mostly if not all songs he did with the band at big pink, called "lo and behold" by coulson, dean, mcguinness, flint. i think their versions surpass anything recorded originally or later by bob, the band, or together in concert..
 

Thanks. I'll have to search that one out. I know McGuiness Flint via their single "When I'm Dead And Gone" but I've never heard of this quartet. I'm keen to hear their take of "Don't Ya Tell Henry", because I always thought The Band's version was pretty top drawer.
 

 

January 9, 2022 11:57 am  #7


Re: Better Than The Original

Not hard to believe McGuiness & Flint (and friends) would cover anything The Band did... There were times I wouldn't have been able to tell for certain which band I was hearing... particularly on songs like "Malt & Barley Blues"... That could have just as easily been one of The Band's arrangements.  Now, I too have to go look for "Lo & Behold"... any tips as to where to find it??
 

     Thread Starter
 

January 9, 2022 12:45 pm  #8


Re: Better Than The Original

Cloud9 wrote:

Not hard to believe McGuiness & Flint (and friends) would cover anything The Band did... There were times I wouldn't have been able to tell for certain which band I was hearing... particularly on songs like "Malt & Barley Blues"... That could have just as easily been one of The Band's arrangements.  Now, I too have to go look for "Lo & Behold"... any tips as to where to find it??
 

YouTube has six tracks from the original album, plus two bonus tracks from the 2007 re-release. EBay has all sorts of them available in various formats.
 

 

January 9, 2022 2:22 pm  #9


Re: Better Than The Original

Not too many, but mine always seem to come down to duets
David Houston and Tammy Wynette - Something Stupid - just gorgeous
Conway Twitty and Sam Moore  - Rainy Night in Georgia
Lou Christie and Darlene Love - Summer Nights
As for It Ain't Me Babe, I prefer Johnny Cash
And it seems a bit surprising, but you haven't lived until you've heard Johnny Maestro sing Lonely Teardrops

 

January 9, 2022 5:32 pm  #10


Re: Better Than The Original

Not even close - Cyndi Lauper's Girls Just Want To Have Fun over the original by writer Robert Hazard.

 

January 12, 2022 12:52 am  #11


Re: Better Than The Original

Cloud9 wrote:

Not hard to believe McGuiness & Flint (and friends) would cover anything The Band did... There were times I wouldn't have been able to tell for certain which band I was hearing... particularly on songs like "Malt & Barley Blues"... That could have just as easily been one of The Band's arrangements.  Now, I too have to go look for "Lo & Behold"... any tips as to where to find it??
 

amazon has a pricey, but i'd say worth it, import cd:
https://www.amazon.com/Behold-Coulson-Dean-McGuinness-Flint/dp/B000OT6WMW/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=coulson+dean+mcguinness+flint+lo+and+behold+cd&link_code=qs&qid=1641966259&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-2
 

 

July 12, 2022 3:08 am  #12


Re: Better Than The Original

I don’t remember this version at all but apparently it was the most popular song July 1954.  Judge for yourself.
 

 

 

July 12, 2022 6:25 am  #13


Re: Better Than The Original

Listening to this song made me once again think about what a shock the advent of rock and roll must have been to my parents' generation.  Here they were, used to listening to the likes of this song and crooners such as Perry Como, Tony Bennet etc., and then along comes Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis, etc.

Little wonder they were always telling us to "Turn down that noise".  To them, based on what they were used to hearing, it truly was.

 

July 12, 2022 7:53 am  #14


Re: Better Than The Original

This just came up the other night.  George Harrison's ver of If Not For You is better than Dylan's, who wrote it.
I'd also say the Beatles ver of Roll Over Beethoven is better that Berry's 

 

July 12, 2022 8:04 am  #15


Re: Better Than The Original

memphis boy wrote:

This just came up the other night.  George Harrison's ver of If Not For You is better than Dylan's, who wrote it.
I'd also say the Beatles ver of Roll Over Beethoven is better that Berry's 

And sorry to let an old crush enter into this, but I like Olivia Newton-John's version of If Not For You even better.
 

 

July 12, 2022 2:41 pm  #16


Re: Better Than The Original

Here’s another. I heard it when I popped in to visit mom one day.  It's from the 1937 film Feather Your Nest.


 

Last edited by Taz (July 12, 2022 2:42 pm)

 

July 14, 2022 1:23 pm  #17


Re: Better Than The Original

aflem wrote:

And there's Catch The Wind by Donovan. There were two versions released, both by him, one on the album and a different one as a 45. The faster one with just the guitar was always better and is the hit that was played on the radio, his debut single.

 
The album version I think you're referring to here is the Epic album of his Greatest Hits. I believe there is a Hickory / Pye lp version that is similar to the 45 but is still a different recording. One has added strings but offhand I can never remember which is which.


Tom Diehl
 

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