So you don't have to go looking, here 'tis:


1. U2 - "Helter Skelter"
2. Oasis - "I Am the Walrus"
3. Joe Cocker - "With a Little Help From My Friends"
4. Fiona Apple - "Across the Universe"
5. Aerosmith - "Come Together"
6. Eddie Vedder - "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away"
7. Earth, Wind & Fire - "Got To Get You Into My Life"
8. The Breeders - "Happiness is a Warm Gun"
9. Wilson Pickett - "Hey Jude"
10. Johnny Cash - "In My Life"
11. Sonic Youth - "Within You Without You"
12. Elton John - "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
13. Sarah McLachlan - "Blackbird"
14. Elliott Smith - "Because"
15. Harry Nilsson - "You Can't Do That"

Pretty good. I would only say that Elvis Costello does a better version of "You've Got To Hide...", Stevie Wonder's version of "We Can Work It Out" is excellent, and Phil Collins does a tremendous "Tomorrow Never Knows" on his first album.

I kind of like World Party doing Happiness is a Warm Gun, and Monsoon doing Tomorrow Never Knows.

Gulper Eel: 8. The Breeders - "Happiness is a Warm Gun"
9. Wilson Pickett - "Hey Jude"

Should be higher

Gulper Eel: 2. Oasis - "I Am the Walrus"

Should be lower

Just MHO

Puh ~ LEEZE

SERGIO MEDES FOOL ON THE HIIL (new window)

STEVIE WONDER WE CAN WORK IT OUT (new window)

THE MUFFIN MEN SHE'S SO HEAVY/KING KONG mashup (new window)

FRANK ZAPPA I AM THE WALRUS (flawless!) (new window)

Soundgarden's version of "Come Together" FTW.

rocinante721: STEVIE WONDER WE CAN WORK IT OUT (new window)

Oooo, that's a good one too...

YES!

Link (new window)

what - no pixies "wild honey pie?"

Oh, hell no. Nobody does Beatles songs better than Joe Cocker.

Dreadstar: Soundgarden's version of "Come Together" FTW.

I love Soundgarden, but that version is un-listenable.

rocinante721: FRANK ZAPPA I AM THE WALRUS (flawless!) (new window)

this should be #1

I always liked this one because it reminded me of Peter Cook in Bedazzled (new window)

They probably don't count, but I really like what "Across the Universe" does with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" and "I Want You/ She's So Heavy."

Also, Jeff Back does a cover of "A Day in the Life" that isn't bad.

Some that I like:

Shonen Knife - Rain
Kate Bush - She's Leaving Home
Gov't Mule - She Said, She Said
Emmylou Harris - For No One

And of course Elvis Costello, as mentioned above.

Among the worst had to be the Thompson Twins cover of Revolution.

Nestea Plunge: Siouxsie & the Banshees - Dear Prudence


THIS.

Nope.

Best ever:

Frank Zappa - Norwegian Jim / Louisiana Hooker with Herpes

As featured here recently, Jeff Healey's While My Guitar Gently Weeps

Link (new window)

This is the second time it was played. The first time, the entire arena obviously was very amused and did a 16000 voice sing along!!!!

what, Mastodons - One (is the loneliest number) didn't make the list? Tis a travesty I say.

perdu: As featured here recently, Jeff Healey's While My Guitar Gently Weeps

I dunno, I kind of like Jake Shimbukuro's version better: Clicky

I'm not a huge fan, but I love Pearl Jam's "I've Got a Feeling" cover.

The Joe Cocker cover was better than the original, therefore, the best cover.

mojo_the_helper_monkey: The Joe Cocker cover was better than the original, therefore, the best cover.

That's specious logic. If song A is a 9 and cover of song A is a 8, but song B is a 6 and cover of song B a 7, the cover of song A is better than the cover of song B.

That said, I agree. Joe Cocker's cover should have been #1.

/and song 2 is a WOOO-HOOO!

Beatallica, The Thing That Should Not Let It Be.

That is all.

Godhead - Elenor Rigby

Nestea Plunge: That is a Three Dog Night song.

and we are talking about /covers/ in this thread.

/looks at thread title, yup.... still says best cover.

godhead is gay.

These lists are getting out of control! Oh man. I can barely handle the Beatles in the first place.

Nobody should ever cover the Beatles but my vote is with Zappa

Wow, I'm surprised to see Elliott Smith's version of Because on there. That wasn't even on an album.

Another thing: U2 sucks.

Gulper Eel: 7. Earth, Wind & Fire - "Got To Get You Into My Life"

Should be first. The EWF horns make that song jump.

Then Joe Cocker

Then George Burns' "Fixing a Hole," because it's obvious he put absolutely no effort into it whatsoever.

Another another thing: Joe Jackson - Eleanor Rigby.

My work here is done.

XTC, the above mentioned Zappa, and Oingo Boingo all have exceptional covers of "I am the Walrus."

rocinante721: Puh ~ LEEZE

SERGIO MENDES FOOL ON THE HILL (new window)




WIN!


Also Steve Martin's version of Maxwell's Silver Hammer probably deserves mention. If "mention" was actually another word for Death By Fire.

Sweet Jesus, are you f*cking kidding me??? I love the Beatles and I love U2, but their cover of Helter Skelter is ridiculous, pretentious ("Charles Manson stole this from the Beatles ... and we're stealing it back!") and just plain sh*tty (Bono purposely screwing up the timing of the line "... when you get to the top---of the slide"). Just f*cking horrific. Pure donkey balls.

And I don't care how many people love it, I have hated Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends with every fiber of my being for decades. F*cking HATE that version.

Surprisingly, for being the most popular band in the history of recorded music, there really isn't that vast sea of great covers of their music. I like Shonen Knife's version of Rain, Zappa's Walrus and Sinatra's Something, though.

the fact that Type O Negative or Pain (Swe) aren't on that list is disturbing.

Excuse me??? But have you guys heard Daniel Johnston's version of "saw her standing there" ????

He makes it sound ominous and spooky! Awesome

/hope you guys all know about johnston....

They probably have never seen the reggae punk version of Day Tripper by Bad Brains:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEImpnq-Z5k Link

Seriously just going through all the Beatles covers would last a few lifetimes.

That might be my favorite beatles cover.

ghoulie_mask: Sweet Jesus, are you f*cking kidding me??? I love the Beatles and I love U2, but their cover of Helter Skelter is ridiculous, pretentious ("Charles Manson stole this from the Beatles ... and we're stealing it back!") and just plain sh*tty (Bono purposely screwing up the timing of the line "... when you get to the top---of the slide"). Just f*cking horrific. Pure donkey balls.

And I don't care how many people love it, I have hated Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends with every fiber of my being for decades. F*cking HATE that version.



I don't like either of those either, but my god, son - lay off the caffeine before you explode!

Gov't Mule's "She Said, She Said" should be on the list, but then the list wouldn't suck, so I'm glad they left it off.

ghoulie_mask: ("Charles Manson stole this from the Beatles ... and we're stealing it back!")

That part has always cracked me up. It's so goofy. If I were in a band, I'd cover "Helter Skelter" and start it with "U2 stole this song from Charles Manson who stole it from the Beatles. We're stealing it back!"

Rufus Wainwright's "Across the Universe" >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Fiona Apple's "Across the Universe"

Gulper Eel: Stevie Wonder's version of "We Can Work It Out" is excellent

That version is heads and shoulders above everything else on the list. They should be embarrassed to have left it out.

Actually Aerosmith has done two awesome Beatles covers, Come Together and I'm Down.

And Breakfast Clubs cover of Baby You Can Drive My Car is just all sorts of fun.

So, what about the best covers done by the Beatles? Think most of us would agree Twist and Shout takes the cake.

I do not see 801's version of TNK on that list. That is wrong. As is the exclusion of Steve Hillage doing It's All Too Much.

And to the earlier mention of the egregious exclusion of their version of Fool on the Hill, I'd also add the Sergio Mendes/Brazil 66 version of Day Tripper.
.....

Nestea Plunge: That is a Three Dog Night song.

cannotsuggestaname: and we are talking about /covers/ in this thread.

/looks at thread title, yup.... still says best cover.


Okay, so you're not just a moron. You're a disingenuous moron.

CastorTroy
Oh, hell no. NobodyEVERYBODY does Beatles songs better than Joe Cocker.

FTFY

ghoulie_mask

Perfect rant full of win. Couldn't have said it better myself. Complete with rancor. Really, win, win, win!

I'm surprised Joe Cocker wasn't #1. Cause everybody always fawns over that one, even though it's a piece of blatantly bombastic, overblown, inadequate crap.

Inclusion of Oasis is invalid due to almost every one of "their" songs being an incredibly cheeky rip-off of The Beatles.

ghoulie_mask:

And I don't care how many people love it, I have hated Joe Cocker's With A Little Help From My Friends with every fiber of my being for decades. F*cking HATE that version.


Absolutely right. His version of She Came In Through The Bathroom Window is much better.

milliondollarmurray: Wow, I'm surprised to see Elliott Smith's version of Because on there. That wasn't even on an album.

I love Elliott Smith and the Beatles, so I'm compelled to add that Elliott Smith is pretty much a default on this list considering how Beatles-esque his music already is.

The list is way full of fail for not including this. This is the greatest Beatles cover of all time:

Link (new window)

If this hasn't been mentioned, this isn't bad: Sean Lennon, Rufus Wainwright and Robert Carmine perform This Boy (video)

Leon Russell and Bluegrass Revival doing I've Just Seen a Face.