The best covers of all time, from here to eternity
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by Luke Saunders
October 13, 2022
Features
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Johnny Cash
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by Luke Saunders
October 13, 2022
Copied to clipboard
Features
Lists
Music
News
Pop Culture
Every so often, cover songs come along that are so incredible they shine with a vibrance of their own. These are the best covers of all time.
Don’t feel bad if this list represents song you didn’t know were covers, because you’re not the only one! Whether it’s an R&B playlist or an all country music covers playlist, when done right an artist truly makes the cover their own.
Only the bravest artists take on the monstrosity of an undertaking that is the ‘cover’. The best covers must be the perfect amount of interpretation and tribute, but on the other hand, the worst can make for a catastrophic failure. Much like the movie remake, it’s near impossible to top an original.
In principle though, it’s a beautiful concept. It’s a testament to the malleability of good songwriting and how artists are able to speak to each other through emotional expression, conversing across oceans and even lifetimes. Enjoy this list of simply the best covers of all time.
Sometimes, it even works. These are the 20 best covers of all time.
1. Hallelujah – Jeff Buckley
What is a cover song that’s good? Definitely this one. Quite often referred to as the king of covers, almost anything Jeff Buckley touches turns to gold. Including how to make a cover song flawlessly. The man is all class and an undeniably pure artist. Throughout time his legacy has swollen and grown as his music continues to speak to people decades after the release of Grace.
His incredible cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah is as near to a masterpiece as anything can be, as Buckley discovered a way to get inside the song to deliver it with a tortured pain that Cohen never could, making it the best cover of all time. Plus, it ends with Jeff’s famous 22-second note which has stunned vocalists for years to come. It has inspired so many artists, that this track is now one of the most covered songs of all time most likely.
For some of Jeff’s other untouchable covers that stand the test of time, check out:
Van Morrison – The Way Young Lovers Do
Bob Dylan – Just Like A Woman
Bob Dylan – Mama You’ve Been On My Mind
The Smiths – I Know It’s Over
Billie Holiday – Strange Fruit
2. All Along The Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
Another example of the perfect blend of interpretation and tribute, All Along The Watchtower was Dylan’s gift to Hendrix and Hendrix’s gift to the world. The fact is Jimi recorded plenty of killer covers in his time, including B.B. King’s Let The Good Times Roll and Tim Rose’s Hey Joe.
Since his first performance of the song in 1974, Bob Dylan has performed the Jimi Hendrix version more than 2250 times and has been quoted saying that it is Jimi’s song. Check out one of the best covers of all time below. For some people, this one falls into the category of songs you didn’t know were covers at all!
3. Hurt – Johnny Cash
Another tear-jerker, Johnny Cash covered Nine Inch Nails’ tune Hurt and immediately immortalised it. The incredible Johnny Cash cover songs clip was filmed just three months before June Carter’s death and seven months before Johnny’s. Their frailty is evident in the clip, which contains powerful religious images cut with archival footage of their youth and budding romance. It’s perfect for a love song covers playlist or a country music playlist covers list!
I can cry just thinking about it – that’s just about as powerful as a song can be.
4. Song To The Siren – This Mortal Coil
This magnificent cover of Tim Buckley’s Song To The Siren is made all the more poignant with a bit of context about vocalist Elizabeth Fraser. Fraser is also the singer in the Cocteau Twins and shared an intense romantic relationship with Tim’s son Jeff Buckley.
That’s right, there are intergenerational webs of artistry being spun here. The two singers became deeply infatuated with each other’s voices and once again, emotion produced music. Fraser and Buckley recorded a passionate duet together called All Flowers In Time Bend Towards The Sun, written by Jeff. Though it was never officially released, it is definitely worth a listen and deeply personal to Fraser. Witness a voice from another world below:
5. The Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana
Famously recorded at their last ever performance, everyone at MTV Unplugged was shocked when Nirvana pulled out a deep cut from David Bowie’s third album. Another great example of how wide-reaching...