Earworm

A while ago, I wrote a piece, New Is Always Better, about fantastic cover songs. The original article was about versions of songs that outshined the originals. This time I decided to double down on the concept and give a second list of top five cover songs that offered more promise than the primary renditions.

Here is week 46 of suggested listening, giving a nod to artists that put wonderful spins on classic tunes.

Suggested Music Listening

1. Just My Imagination (Running away with Me) – The Rolling Stones

• Genre: Rock
• Album: Some Girls
• Year Released: 1978

Regular readers will notice that this quality cover already got a slight mention in my article Perfect Track Record, because it features on one of my perfect albums, Some Girls. Nonetheless, it deserves a repeat mention for just how brilliant a version this is.

The Rolling Stones have never been strangers to releasing covers, but I reckon few would remember them doing justice to The Temptations. The original number is a classic in its own right, but something about the smooth guitars from Richards and Wood that build into an epic chorus combined with Jagger’s unique vocal makes Just My Imagination soar! The Temptations were certainly onto something with this song, but it needed the Rolling Stones really to bring it to life.

What is more is that the version is not just a recording-session throw-away to fill an album. The Stones took Just My Imagination out on the road, and there is a fantastic performance of them playing it in Texas that brings together the clarity of the studio with the raw energy of the live.

2. All Along the Watchtower – The Jimi Hendrix Experience

• Genre: Rock
• Album: Electric Ladyland
• Year Released: 1968

This is the second time I have suggested that another artist ended up outperforming Dylan with one of his songs. That is not a slight at the folk whizz; in fact I would say it is the ultimate tribute to his song-writing that so many artists wanted to pay their respects to the musical great with their own versions.

I doubt there are many that do not know Hendrix’s cover of All Along the Watchtower. From the opening thumb chords to the howling guitar throughout, Hendrix delivered the seminal version of All Along the Watchtower – even to the point that I have heard acoustic players copy this version rather than Dylan’s. Hendrix built a barbarous bullet out of Dylan’s almost biblical ballad, and I dare say that it changed the musical landscape for the good forever.

3. Bold as Love – John Mayer

• Genre: Rock
• Album: Continuum
• Year Released: 2006

Now we go from Hendrix being top of the pops to him being outpaced on the outside track by a wonderful modern guitar player. I know this opinion will split the room, given how divisive John Mayer’s playing can be amongst guitar aficionados, but I am going to be bold (as love) and say the young chap created the peak version of this Axis masterpiece.

For me, it’s how the marshmallow sweetness of how Mayer tinkles the strings on Bold as Love that makes it the superior version – although it also helps that he’s more a singer than Jimi really was. To really get the flavour, there is a fantastic version of his younger self playing this masterpiece with the John Mayer Trio. Some may find his talking a little bit too much fan service and a distraction from his playing, but you still can not deny how fantastic a job the Trio did on this number.

4. Hurt – Johnny Cash

• Genre: Country
• Album: American IV: The Man Comes Around
• Year Released: 2002

The Man in Black proved how relevant he remained all the way through his life, releasing a fantastic cover of Nine Inch Nail’s Hurt in 2002, one year before his passing. The second track on American IV: The Man Comes Around managed to take the American industrial rock band’s already powerful perspective and turn it into a masterpiece of a sombre song.

What makes this version of Hurt the zenith for me is the re-instrumentation that delivers more of the singer’s usual country style, paired beautifully with Cash’s baritone. The music video, which flicks between old videos of Cash’s life and his self from the time, also enhances the bittersweet and sobering temperament of the song.

5. Tennessee Whiskey – Chris Stapleton

• Genre: Country
• Album: Traveller
• Year Released: 2015

Last but not least is another country classic. Chris Stapleton’s turn at Tennessee Whiskey is an incredible outing which many may not realise is a cover of David Allan Coe’s version from 1981. One thing for sure, however, is how much music fans love the Stapleton song: the single has a 14x platinum rating at the time of writing.

What makes this version sing for me, not only for the 2015 duet performance of Tennessee Whiskey with Justin Timberlake at the Country Music Awards, is how beautifully simple it is. A few chords and a great guitar line that even a beginner could play, with what seems almost like a nod to Etta James’s I’d Rather Go Blind, shows that you do not need to be flashy to deliver a world-beating song.

Final Thoughts

As I have said in previous articles, a lot of people prefer original versions to cover songs, but I think this list proves that there are exceptions to every rule.

Is there a cover song that you think is more deserving of a place on the list? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

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About the Author

Lewis Brown

Lewis is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Earworm. His deep passion for music is what inspired him to create Earworm as a music magazine for lovers of all genres.

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