Which Version Is Better?

[KingLouieLouie]

Well, each day I'll post a cover of a certain song along with the original, and you'll tell me which version that you like the best.... This won't be posted as a poll since I plan on having a newer one every day.....

I attempted this lastnight, however, it wasnt a song that would attract much interest, so how about this one?

"You Really Got Me"

Original Version:
The Kinks
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/4/552/11326_1_1_04.asf
vs.

Cover Version:
Van Halen
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/1/202/7153_1_3_04.asf

To me, this is a virtual "toss-up".....

 

[Dback Jon]

Can't beat the Kinks

 

[KingofCards]

The original

 

[Pariah]

kinkity kink kink

 

[Beaver]

The Kinks in a knockout.

 

[AZ Shocker]

You guys are seriously old. Van Halen of course!!!

Are you kidding me? Not even close

 

[schutd]

Van Halen's version is excellent, and I heard it before I ever heard OF the Kinks, but in comparison, the Kinks version has that raw, underproduced, garagey sound that so many bands today try to capture. I'll take the Kinks by a nose, but only cause you MADE me choose...

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Okay....it appears that The Kinks version clearly is the winner..... Now, the next "match-up" will be..

"Higher Ground":

ORIGINAL VERSION:
STEVIE WONDER
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/1/829/5053_1_5_04.asf

vs.

COVER VERSION:
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/3/440/3087_1_2_04.asf

I prefer the original, however, by a slight margin....

 

[AZ Shocker]

Chili Peppers all the way! Hmmm...what decade did I grow up in? lol

 

[Dback Jon]

I like the Chili Peppers version as well.

 

[vince56]

Chili Peppers, hands down. That guitar part rocks.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Okay...the RHCP version was declared the best......

The next song was suggested by Mulli808, and I had considered doing it earlier.....

"Come Together":

ORIGINAL VERSION:
THE BEATLES:
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/0/6/228_1_1_04.asf

vs.

COVER VERSION:
AEROSMITH
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/2/213/506_1_9_04.asf

I absolutely love both bands, however, there is no way I would ever choose anyone over John Lennon (his vocals were amazing)....Steve Tyler did an impressive effort though....

Someone might say that Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me" is the best version since Lennon was sued for stealing the guitar riff and the lyric "Here comes old flat-top" from the song....

Should post a link of that song:
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/0/3284/17142_1_3_04.asf

 

[Mulli]

Thanks KLL, I had never heard that it was a ripoff of Chuck Berry. Props to Chuck. I suggested this when I heard Aerosmith's version recently. Steven Tyler's voice is great on this song. But I would agree with you and vote for Lennon and Beatles with points taken away and sent to Chuck.

 

[AZ Shocker]

Hmmm...tough one. Hard to go against the Beatles, but I think I will vote for Aerosmith's version. But only because it sounds just a tad bit "meatier". Nothing wrong with the Beatles version though. I mean that ones just classic.

 

[jstadvl]

Theee

Beatles!

 

[FischerKing]

well - i can't go against my band or John Lennon - so it has to be the Beatles for me.

shawn

 

[jstadvl]

I got one

"Love Hurts"
Roy Orbison or Nazareth?

 

[KingLouieLouie]

Well... the original won this time around....

Thanks KLL, I had never heard that it was a ripoff of Chuck Berry. Props to Chuck. I suggested this when I heard Aerosmith's version recently. Steven Tyler's voice is great on this song. But I would agree with you and vote for Lennon and Beatles with points taken away and sent to Chuck.

No problem...I've known about that suit for quite some time, however, never the particular lyrics that were involved....Here's an interesting link:

http://www.songfacts.com/detail.lasso?id=191

John Lennon was sued for stealing the guitar riff and the line "Here comes old flat-top" from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me." The lawsuit did not come from Berry, but from Morris Levy, one of the music industry's most infamous characters. He owned the song along with thousands of other early rock songs that he basically stole from the poor, black, and unrepresented artists. Levy sued the Beatles, or more accurately, John Lennon, over the song around the time the Beatles broke up. For years, Lennon delayed the trial while he and the Beatles tried to sort out all the legal and business problems that plagued Apple Records. Finally, in an attempt to avoid the court room as much as he could (Lennon felt like he was appearing in court more often than not), he settled with Levy. In return for dropping the suit, Lennon agreed to record his Rock N Roll album, which was just a series of covers of songs Levy owned. Lennon always wanted to make a cover album and was thrilled to have the opportunity, and Levy wanted the value of his songs to increase, and when a Beatle re-records a song, that is just what happens. To make a long long long story short, Lennon recorded the album over the Lost Weekend, a year-or-two period when he was separated from Yoko Ono and lived in LA. During that time he was often drunk or high, and was rather sloppy and useless. Levy was getting frustrated with the lack of progress. Phil Spector was the producer, but in a fit of madness (which was not too unusual for Spector) he ran away and stole the recording session tapes. Levy invited Lennon to his upstate NY recording studio, and that is where he finally recorded the album. (thanks, Matthew - New York, NY)

Okay, the next song is:

"Voodoo Child: Slight Return":

ORIGINAL VERSION:
JIMI HENDRIX:
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/4/53/6298_1_16_04.asf

vs.

COVER VERSION:
STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/3/515/6849_1_4_04.asf

Oh lord...this is an awfully complex one to decide from, however, the nod for me goes toward Hendrix here since he was way ahead of his time...especially w/the very innovative introduction part of the song.... Again though...the cover in this case was executed brilliantly by Stevie Ray Vaughan.....

 

[jstadvl]

I actually

like Yngwie Malmsteen's version on G-3 live jam.

 

[KingLouieLouie]

I guess I'm long-overdue to do another one....

How about....

"IN THE AIR TONIGHT"

ORIGINAL VERSION:
PHIL COLLINS:
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akama...load.akamai.com/8512/wmp/2/136/326_1_1_05.asf

vs.

COVER VERSION:
NONPOINT:
http://a420.v8383d.c8383.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/420/8383/3b858b51/mtvrdstr.download.akamai.com/8512/wmp/0/16459/29646_1_7_05.asf

This one of those rare instances in which I actually prefer the cover a lot better than the original..

Don't get me wrong...I've always enjoyed Phil's version since it
was first released (in 1981), but NonPoint added a lot more "brashness" to the song, which it lacked previously..

 

[AZ Shocker]

Hmmm I'm gonna have to still say Phil Collins. That's just got a real good "vibe" going. Althought the newer one is pretty cool...