And who can forget the Guns and Roses cover of Knocking on Heaven’s door by Bob Dylan: https://youtu.be/k04tX2fvh0o
(I’m pretty sure this is another case of a super popular cover eclipsing the original by another super star)
[Edit] Forgot this amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s Welcome to the machine by Shadows Fall: https://youtu.be/kvMDk3M3c1c
Kind of a pet peeve of mine, but Tainted Love was originally performed in the 60s by Gloria Jones, a black soul singer. Considering the lyrics of the song, I think it could be interpreted as an interracial love affair, which adds a political dimension to the song that the Soft Cell version seems to lack. I would consider it to be some sort of cultural appropriation even if it’s hard to define. In any case, it doesn’t really sit right with me that Soft Cell and later Marylin Manson had all the artistic and financial success with it while Gloria Jones is mostly forgotten about. Don’t get me wrong, I like all three versions (and there are quite some more even) in a vacuum, but I think it’s worth pointing out this bit of background info.
Some of these are a bit more obscure, but I think these deserve mention for either transforming or faithfully updating the original songs:
Visigoth covering Necropolis by Manila road: https://youtu.be/QWixcWq1HPk
Cradle of filth covering Temptation by Heaven 17: https://youtu.be/MfMa2lrFxhY
The unseen covering Paint it black by the Rolling Stones: https://youtu.be/QAowDvxJN1A
Type O Negative covering Cinnamon girl by Neil Young: https://youtu.be/BO9aD4mzSE8
Electric Callboy covering Everytime we touch by Cascada: https://youtu.be/AuBXeF5acqE
Marylin Mansion covering Tainted love by Soft Cell: https://youtu.be/srcb-zmKDOE
HIM covering Wicked game by Chris Isaak: https://youtu.be/8oYodfK4DkE
And who can forget the Guns and Roses cover of Knocking on Heaven’s door by Bob Dylan: https://youtu.be/k04tX2fvh0o (I’m pretty sure this is another case of a super popular cover eclipsing the original by another super star)
[Edit] Forgot this amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s Welcome to the machine by Shadows Fall: https://youtu.be/kvMDk3M3c1c
Kind of a pet peeve of mine, but Tainted Love was originally performed in the 60s by Gloria Jones, a black soul singer. Considering the lyrics of the song, I think it could be interpreted as an interracial love affair, which adds a political dimension to the song that the Soft Cell version seems to lack. I would consider it to be some sort of cultural appropriation even if it’s hard to define. In any case, it doesn’t really sit right with me that Soft Cell and later Marylin Manson had all the artistic and financial success with it while Gloria Jones is mostly forgotten about. Don’t get me wrong, I like all three versions (and there are quite some more even) in a vacuum, but I think it’s worth pointing out this bit of background info.
Thanks for adding that comment. I do recall reading about this somewhere but I forgot to add her as the original artist.
That said, listening to the cover by Manson it’s pretty clear he’s primarily inspired by Soft Cell’s version of the song.
Any chance somebody knows how to find saved comments on the Boost android app?
I’ve saved this one to listen to that Manila Road cover later but can’t find where they’re stored so commenting here instead. Sorry!
If we’re going obscure, chvrches is worth a mention: https://youtu.be/msgimk3mV6g
This Kendrick Lamar cover is incredible. Similarly, they have a cover of the Arctic Monkeys that’s awesome.
Wow. Never heard this version of the song, but man did Chvrches knock out it the park. It’s almost unrecognizable but familiar at the same time.