Frank Sinatra had a go at Both Sides Now on Cycles and it was very plain, but makes a good go of Gentle On My Mind though.

Paul Wellers Close To You is underwhelming rather than terrible.

Bowie goes all butterfingers when comes to covers.
Neighborhood threat, Knock On Wood - and all of 'Pin Ups' leave me thirsty for the originals.

...I have a taste for machine coffee. The key is not to expect the real thing,

I'm a bit like that with the Stones' latterday versions of soul classics: I'm thinking of tunes like "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" or "Just My Imagination". They're clearly not up to the originals and if they were never made the world would still keep turning but they're oddly entertaining nonetheless. It's like watching "Strictly Come Dancing". Watching somebody not quite up to it struggle only confirms how much of an achievement it is to do it properly.

I must be the only person in the world who thinks Aretha Franklin's cover of The Weight is bloody brilliant.

U2's versions of 'All Along The Watchtower', 'Fortunate Son'
and 'Paint it, Black" are all fairly terrible and I'm a fan so god knows what everyone else thinks.

I keep stumbling across original versions of Elvis Presley hits, and I'm astonished by how little imagination he brings to his versions: Suspicious Minds by Mark James and Guitar Man by Jerry Reed are good examples. And, as I've written elsewhere on this site, Mickey Newbury's original recording of An American Trilogy is just overwhelming. Aside from that, though, I always think you could make an album called 'Songs Elvis shouldn't really have touched' for the precise reasons outlined in this thread. I'm thinking of Something, You Don't Have To Say You Love Me, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin', Bridge Over Troubled Water and the like. They're all just too well known by other people, and much better than Elvis' readings of them.

The flip side to this thread - covers that eclipse the originals - would be interesting too.

...is really rather good you know. Reassuringly wobbly at times but sincere nontheless. I've also always been rather touched by The Who's kind gesture to issue their covers of Stones numbers in 1967 to 'keep the band's music alive' whilst Jag and Keef served their prison sentences. Their versions were recorded in a hurry and were admittedly a bit slapdash but, in their defence, they were at least spirited and well-intentioned. Luckily the Stones were released a few days later so we were spared any further releases...

The John Martyn original is rich and fruity like a glass of good red. Clapton does reverse alchemy and manages to turn wine into water.

Leonard Nimoy did a more than respectable and highly logical version of Both Sides Now.

The thread has just reminded me of Eric Clapton's version of Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out which is like Bessie Smith's version except it doesn't have any soul, class, emotion, blues, reason...

I actually think Joe Cockers version of 'with a little help from my friends' far surpasses the original and Jeff Buckleys 'Halleleujah' while not surpassing Cohens original is a great alternative take of a truly classic song.
Eva Cassidy was wrongly derided because Wogan made such a fuss about her - 'Autumn Leaves' is exceptional and 'Somewhere over the rainbow' is a great version of an over-familiar song.
'Our Town' by Kate Rusby is also great complete with Yorkshire accent.

Then you get complete tripe like Rolf Harris doing Stairway to Heaven - what is the point you Aussie twerp!!!!

Johnny Cash had a real knack, towards the end of his life, of reclaiming covers so that the originals become nearly superfluous. Nine Inch Nails' Hurt, U2's One, Bruce Springsteen's Further On Up The Road and Gordon Lightfoot's If You Could Read My Mind all have their place, don't get me wrong; but Cash virtually owns these songs now, on account of his blindingly good covers. That's not to say that it always worked: his versions of In My Life, The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Bridge Over Troubled Water and Heart Of Gold are all completely inessential.

I mentioned on the great Dusty 7's blog (link on the blogroll)about Annie Lennox covers - they're not screaming howlers, but she seems to suck all the life and colour out until the song is left so thin sounding it's almost see through

Cover versions on You Tube, generally performed in American kitchens, can be a rewarding experience. I was in a Neutral Milk Hotel mood the other day and saw two cracking covers: Two-Headed Boy by 'thricedotted' and especially Kevin Devine's Holland 1945 live.

Always not quite there...especially if she throws in her godawful Dylan impersonation half way through.

Lucas after agree with you - mostly his covers were erxceptional. Apart from the howlers you mentioned Danny Boy was pretty ropey too.

I think Batman does a great job on this cover version.

Just changing the thread slightly. A couple of examples I reckon where the cover version eclipses the original....

Nilsson's cinematic 'Without You' rather than Badfinger's rather hesitant first draft.

Rita Coolidge's sumptuous 'We're All Alone' rather than Boz Scagg's impression of a strangled prairie dog.

I was in a bar in Islington about nine years ago, and I heard Neil Young's great, cracked, frail, elegantly wasted 'Mellow My Mind' bled dry of all worthwhile content by a bloody awful band who thought that they could do it justice by singing it 'properly'. If they'd gone the whole hog and done all of Tonight's The Night sober and in tune then I would at least applaud their perversity. As it is, it stands as one of the most misguided covers ever attempted. Furthermore, you just know that there are loads of people who probably like it, which makes it even more offensive: the Love Actually of cover versions.

TOWNES VAN ZANDT'S COVER VERSION OF SPRINGSTEENS RACING IN THE STREET GET'S ME EVERY TIME JUST SUBLIME.

ALSO ONE OF MY FAVOURITE BRITISH SINGERS CHRIS FARLOWE COVERED MANY A SONG AND KIND OF MADE THEM HIS OWN BUT WITH A VOICE LIKE HIS HE COULD SING RING A RING A ROSES AND I'D ENJOY IT.

The definitive version of Heard it through the Grapevine is clearly Marvins. Question, does it constitute a cover since the original was Gladys Knight's. The great riff on the Marvin version is an echo of the instrumental middle section of Gladys.

Or because its Motown are they just different versions of the same song and thus not covers?

BTW just saw an advert for a Boys II Men album of Motown cover versions. Why? Are people really going to buy this rather than any number of original Motown compilations?

Hell, to bring this full circle: Joni Mitchell may have written Both Sides Now, but Judy Collins recorded it before Mitchell did. Seeing as I've found myself naming these conditions, I'll call this the 'These Days' syndrome.

Will probably be completely derided here but Creedence version of 'heard it through the grapevine' is the definitive one for me.

Creedence's version of "Heard It Through The Grapevine" is great. As is Marvin Gaye's. And Gladys Knight's. It's not a contest.

Get a load of this. It's about a minute before you notice any similarities to the original, and then they're gone again.

http://mog.com/music/Joe_Simon/Gimme_Shelter_-_Vol_2/Let%2527S_Spend_The...

The first time I heard Nouvelle Vague's 'lounge' version of Just Can't Get Enough, I liked it, but now it's been on that Tropicana (or similar) advert, I much prefer the original again.