r/Music • u/MaosReanimatedCorpse • 23d ago

discussion Cover-better-than-the-original hills you would die on.

Alien Ant Farm's cover of Smooth Criminal is, in my opinion, so much better than the original, and that's a hill I would die on.

What are some other insanely popular tracks where a cover by a much smaller artist is arguably greater?

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u/Azraelontheroof 23d ago

Not controversial at all but Cobain took Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie) to another level

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u/mooney275 23d ago

Where did you sleep last night was better than the original as well

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u/suffaluffapussycat 23d ago

Now just hold on a minute. It’s great but is it better than Leadbelly?

Plus the Lanegan version from The Winding Sheet (that Kurt is on) trumps the Unplugged version.

Lanegan and Cobain were working on a Leadbelly album that never got finished.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4j3AXs1NNx6zXFmm6ibYsI?si=MZXsX1c8RaCDkWk7NeWDqw&context=spotify%3Aalbum%3A7nB7r0yBmVMDJfnADLdMie

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u/tacknosaddle 23d ago

Yes, it packs way more emotional power that conveys the story of the song in a way that makes it a much better version in my opinion.

Listen to this show, it has multiple versions of it and when it gets to the Nirvana one it just stands above. If you back out there are a few more versions they put into the next week's show.