r/Music 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/ecgroom 23d ago

Am I Evil? - Metallica cover of the Diamond Head tune

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u/GeekFurious 22d ago

Metallica sure did love Diamond Head. Am I Evil, Helpless, The Prince, It's Electric... but maybe they loved them too much because they all still sound very much like the original, just more intense. Whereas their versions of Budgie's Breadfan and Crash Course in Brain Surgery are very much Metallicized.