Foo - Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt", Great Cover Song or Greatest Cover Song?

Johny Cash was a legend in his own right, but his cover of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt" is so much better than the original that I nominate it for Greatest Cover Song Ever! (And i like a lot of NIN music from that time period)

some links if you don't know what I'm talking about-

The Original (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgSWRicWIy4)

The Johnny Cash Version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO9dbmJ_2zU)

and for comparison- David Bowie (worst cover) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNLNcIC3r3k)

Discus.

Cash's cover is the greatest.

Yep, two flavors of the same stuff.....notice Cash refused to curse in the song...the crown of thorns instead of the crown of ____.


And, yes I am a huge NIN fan....been to four concerts and will be going to a fifth soon.

i like the original better.

one of my fave cover songs....jimi's version of all along the watch tower.

Yeah, Cash definitely took control of that song.

How about "Tear Stained Letter"? Something about the way he sang it makes me want to laugh.

Great cover of a Cash song - Social Distortion doing "Ring of Fire."

Cash is King!

Discus.

NOt much to discuss. It's Johnny Cash for chri'sake!

Cash's version - for the lose! It has the lame.

the remake doesnt even come close to being as good as the original.

that being said, cash is still king.

Well....someone mentioned "All Along The Watchtower".


Dylan x Hendrix = unparalleled awesomeness.

Even Cash would agree. That song is something special, and nothing like that will ever happen again, unfortunately. Good thing we have the recording.

The first time I saw the video for that I got choked up - so powerful especially with the images of his wife spliced in.

Cash's cover is the greatest.

Yep, two flavors of the same stuff.....notice Cash refused to curse in the song...the crown of thorns instead of the crown of ____.


And, yes I am a huge NIN fan....been to four concerts and will be going to a fifth soon.


I'm remixing "Me, I'm not" right now. If you want PM me and I'll let you have a listen.



BTW. I love Cash and NIN. When I heard this I choked up. Beautiful remake.

Not that it's better than Cash's cover of "Hurt", but I've always appreciated Emmylou Harris & Gram Parson's cover of "Love Hurts".

Trent Reznor himself loves the Cash cover, and refers to it as a song that isn't his anymore. It's a great song in both versions

I love cover music. It's so cool to hear a song redone or reinterpreted by someone else.

I know Trent himself is fond of Cash's version but I can't dig it. Of course, I can't stand Johnny Cash at all, so YMMV when it comes to this sort of thing. I can appreciate the creative value in Cash's cover, but I don't care for the style.

That said, I also like cover music when it's executed with finesse and as a re-interpretation, instead of sloppily and/or an attempt at imitation. Hearing a band play someone else's song so well that it sounds EXACTLY like the original, while cool, doesn't really say much about the band that pulled it off.

While dwelling on cover songs, I have to get something off my chest... With a lot of mainstream artists doing covers of older work, does anyone just feel like bludgeoning kids when they talk about how awesome this "new" song is?

As a NiN fan, I like cash's a little bit better. But both are freaking awesome.

The cash cover is a great, great song.

Another 2 that I love - Amazing Grace, and Fortunate Son, covered by the Dropkick Murpheys.

i like the original better.

one of my fave cover songs....jimi's version of all along the watch tower.
you beat me to it.. +1

Tori Amos covering Led Zepp's "Thank You", just her and the piano. Great cover.

Frente covering New Orders "Bizarre Love Triangle".

Fear Factory covering "Cars" by Gary Numan.

Johny Cash was a legend in his own right, but his cover of Nine Inch Nails "Hurt" is so much better than the original that I nominate it for Greatest Cover Song Ever! (And i like a lot of NIN music from that time period)

some links if you don't know what I'm talking about-

The Original (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgSWRicWIy4)

The Johnny Cash Version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO9dbmJ_2zU)

and for comparison- David Bowie (worst cover) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNLNcIC3r3k)

Discus.

Yes...that just may be the best song cover ever.

…snip…Great cover of a Cash song - Social Distortion doing "Ring of Fire."

My favourite cover of "Ring of Fire" has to be FZ ("The Best Band You Never Heard In Your Life"; great stuff, including anecdotes…)

- Wil

Worst cover - Natalie Merchant, "Because the Night." Originally sung by Patti Smith, written by Bruce Springsteen.

Worst cover - Natalie Merchant, "Because the Night." Originally sung by Patti Smith, written by Bruce Springsteen.
As much as I love Natalie Merchant (one of my fave singers), I have to agree on that one. It was a bad cover.

I was listening to annie lennox's cover of "Train in Vain" and a guy in my office couldn't figure out what it was. After a few guesses i told him it was a Clash cover. He wouldn't believe me until I played him the original to compare...

The Bauhaus did a stand up job on their Ziggy Stardust cover. I love that song.

johnny cash version for me.

You're all wrong. First off the David Bowie "cover" was performed live WITH Trent & NIN , Second while Johnny Cash's cover version was awesomely haunting and a bit prophetic, NOTHING tops SAD KERMIT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ta7mkgrOU) Please note: while it's not graphic, it still ain't work safe

The Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" was better than Lou Reed's original, even Reed said so.
Cash owned "Hurt" better than anyone though.

The Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" was better than Lou Reed's original, even Reed said so.
Cash owned "Hurt" better than anyone though.

Okay, here's a true Cowboy Junkies story.

I was at a concert in Wisconsin that was to feature the Cowboy Junkies, Lou Reed and Elvis Costello. Lou Reed broke his arm, so they announce that they've substituted the Violent Femmes (most of the audience was happy; I was not).

Anyway, in the middle of Sweet Jane, the vocalist is singing the la la part and the forgets the rest of the words. Then the whole band starts laughing. She saves the day by stage whispering "Don't tell Lou" to the audience. The whole place breaks up.

The rest of the show is great, and Elvis Costello kicks everyone's ass with a total R&B reworking of his catalogue.

Led Zepp's "Thank You",



that was our wedding dance song at our reception



some bands should never be covered.......srv and rush. i bought the tribute albums to both these bands. CAN'T STAND them.

saw an srv cover band once. i grit my teeth and struggled through the first 3 songs. then, they tried to pull off riviera paradise....i walked out.

Yo La Tengo's cover(s) of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War".

The Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" was better than Lou Reed's original, even Reed said so.
Cash owned "Hurt" better than anyone though.

um..The Cowboy Junkies are performing tonight in Atlanta. Are ya goin?

um..The Cowboy Junkies are performing tonight in Atlanta. Are ya goin?


Are they at the Roxy? Who's opening?

Variety Playhouse - the sign said "Sold Out"

http://www.variety-playhouse.com/#junkies

Did not know they were in the area.
I've hung out with them when I used to work at the Classic Center in Athens.
One of the guys there grew up down the street from them.
Nice folks.

You're all wrong. First off the David Bowie "cover" was performed live WITH Trent & NIN , Second while Johnny Cash's cover version was awesomely haunting and a bit prophetic, NOTHING tops SAD KERMIT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57ta7mkgrOU) Please note: while it's not graphic, it still ain't work safe

The bit with Kermit fapping to the picture of Ms Piggy is hillarious in a very messed up way.

Oh, and there are two things that mess up the Bowie/NIN joint verion.

1) The guitar is too bright for this song....it screws tha ambiance up.

2) Bowie has a hard time expressing any negative emotions in a compelling way through his singing.

It's not all that bad, I saw far worse...it's just too sterile for my tastes....part of what I loved about that song is it pulls at you, and this joint version just lacked that pull.

The Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" was better than Lou Reed's original, even Reed said so.
Cash owned "Hurt" better than anyone though.

+1

Their rendition moves me. Every once in a while a song stirs something inside of me and that version by the Cowboy Junkies is definitely one of them.

A Perfect Circle- Diary of a Madman/Lovesong
Covers two songs simultaneously.

This one (www.devilducky.com/media/59809/) is even better.

Oh, and there are two things that mess up the Bowie/NIN joint verion.


My point was that it wasn't a "cover"

This one (www.devilducky.com/media/59809/) is even better.
Did you miss my post on the first page?

Yo La Tengo's cover(s) of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War".

Yo La Tengo actually do a pretty damn good cover of James and Bobby Purify's I'm Your Puppet as well.

I grew up with Johhny Cash and have been a fan since I was a kid but, for some reason, his Hurt cover does nothing for me.

Yo La Tengo's cover(s) of Sun Ra's "Nuclear War".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEhxHxMa36Q

Did you miss my post on the first page?

Oh no! Raiyn's world comes crashing down! Someone didn't notice something he already posted! :rolleyes:

Oh no! Raiyn's world comes crashing down! Someone didn't notice something he already posted! :rolleyes:
What is this: "Start **** with Raiyn Day"? :rolleyes:

I already posted Sad Kermit, not my fault you didn't read the whole thread

What is this: "Start **** with Raiyn Day"? :rolleyes:

I can't help it; you make it so easy some times. :)


I already posted Sad Kermit, not my fault you didn't read the whole thread

Huh, didn't say that it was your fault.

It's a slow night at work; the other boards I read are dead quiet. Sometimes the inanity of bikeforums.net is easy entertainment.

Placebo has a great live cover of The Cures "If Only Tonight We Could Sleep"

And Catherine Wheel has one of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" that I really like.

Check them out: Helle's Belles. (http://www.hellsbelles.info/) An all chick AC/DC cover band. Good stuff.

My point was that it wasn't a "cover"



I know, I just felt it was worth mentioning what was off about it, at least to me. It was cool in it's own right, but I think that song was not suitable for Bowie's style.

The Cowboy Junkies version of "Sweet Jane" was better than Lou Reed's original, even Reed said so.
That one totally slipped my mind. Good call, Allen. :beer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEhxHxMa36Q
Hah, that's great. I love the kids singing chorus. I only wish they played the entire track.

Best cover evar (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvcuaJy9Ow) according to Sir Mick

I really like Cash's version. Maybe its the added years of life experience and pain that really makes the song stand out. Plus, its more simple in composition. It's more raw in structure and in emotion. It speaks out to me and "gets" me much more than the NIN version.