response 1 of 65:

Jan 5 08:14 UTC 1993

I'm especially interested in hearing about covers of old Motown songs. I'm
trying to put together a compilation tape of Motown covers only, (good ones),
but will probably expand that to include covers of any older soul/R+B classics
if I can't get enough material.
   
So far I can think of the Rolling Stones' "Just My Imagination" (even the 
Temptations themselves were impressed by this one), the Afghan Whigs doing
a marvellously grungy version of "Come See About Me," and Big Youth doing
his wild, loopy version of "What's Going On."
  
But even if you can't think of any Motown covers, let's hear what other
covers you like, especially those that radically reinterpret a song....

response 3 of 65:

Jan 5 15:38 UTC 1993

I always liked Rod Stewart and the Faces version of (I know I'm) Losing
You.  Todd Rundgren's redo of "Hello, It's Me" is "better" than the
version he did with The Nazz.

response 5 of 65:

Jan 6 00:51 UTC 1993

Go ahead, morel, cross-genre covers are the most interesting of all.
  
I didn't know NIN did a Queen cover- must be on "Broken," which I still
haven't heard. In that vein, though, Lard (the Jourgensen/Barker/Biafra
combination) do a fantastically noisy, abrasive cover of the old hit
  
"They're Coming To Take Me Away Ha Ha" by Napoleon something-or-other.
  
Weird but sometimes fun are the covers on the compilation albums from
Pravda Records featuring modern artists doing old K-tel songs. Some really
work: the Phantom Helmsmen's "Gypsies Tramps and Thieves" is great, as is
"Jackie Blue" by Smashing Pumpkins. Also worth noting is the dischordant,
aggro reworking of "Theme From Shaft" by Cheer-Accident. 
  
I must also mention the Balanescu Quartet's version of Kraftwerk's "Computer
Love"- a string quartet doing early computer music/techno. They cover other
Kraftwerk songs as well but not to the same good effect, I'm afraid- for
example, their version of "Model"
pales compared to the version by the awesome Big Black.

response 7 of 65:

Jan 6 04:12 UTC 1993

The "Get Down Make Love" cover is on the "Sin" CD single.

response 9 of 65:

Jan 10 03:48 UTC 1993

I ought to be able to think of more Motown covers.  Creedence Clearwater
Revival's cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" is a classic.
God's Little Monkeys had a nice version of "Ball of Confusion" on their
last album LIP; you can borrow that obscurity from me.  The Beatles
covered several Motown tracks in their early days: "Money", "Please Mr.
Postman."
 
My favorite cover overall might be Fairport Convention's rendition of 
"Ballad of Easy Rider" with Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson, an outtake
from the LIEGE AND LIEF sessions.  Fairport did a lot of American 
folk-rock covers in their early days.
 
More recently, the Oyster Band has done a series of interesting covers:
"The Rose of England" from Nick Lowe, "Between the Wars" from Billy Bragg,
"Love Vigilantes" from New Order, "Mississippi Summer" from Si Kahn,
"All Tomorrow's Parties" from the Velvets, "I Fought The Law" from
somebody I forget right now.

response 11 of 65:

Jan 10 16:49 UTC 1993

A-ha....I really like "The Rose of England" and "Valentine's Day Is Over" but
wasn't aware that they were covers!
  
I must also mention Big Youth's *great* version of "Hit the Road Jack"- a
reggae toast remake of the Ray Charles classic. Mazzy Star does a beautiful
job covering Slapp Happy's "Blue Flower." 
  
On the more noisy side of things, the 1000 Homo DJs do a decent job on
Black Sabbath's "Supernaut" (Ministry actually performed it as an encore at
their recent show in Detroit). And Clint Ruin (aka Jim Foetus) and Lydia
Lunch do a decent job on Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper," although
it's not as demonically intense as some of his original work as Foetus.

response 13 of 65:

Jan 10 21:12 UTC 1993

  I have always liked CCR's version of "I heard it through the Grapevine"
I also like Ike and Tina's version too. The best one I guess is Marvin Gaye's
original.

response 15 of 65:

Jan 13 03:55 UTC 1993

You're right, "Why Don't We Do It In The Road" was/is good indeed.
  
On MTV, of all places, I saw the video for a delightful cover: Husker Du
doing "Love Is All Around," the theme from the Mary Tyler Moore show.
  
Also, Hole's version of Judy Collins' "Both Sides Now" (called "Clouds"
on the "Pretty On The Inside" album) is teeth-grinding good.
  
Theextremely chaotic, almost ambient version of "Back Stabbers" by Bark
Market has been growing on me lately as well. And I must also mention 
the fine cover of Cheap Trick's "He's A Whore" by one of my favorite
groups, the pulverizing Big Black.

response 17 of 65:

Jan 14 06:09 UTC 1993

 re #15,16:  also, Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" is on her album _Clouds_

 re #15:  I forgot about "Love is All Around"..  Even apart from its
novelty value it's still an enjoyable cover..

response 19 of 65:

Jan 16 05:12 UTC 1993

Swan Arcade has also done "The Children's Crusade" by that old English
folksinger Sting; they are also known for their rendition of "Oh Lord,
Won't You Buy Me A Mercedes-Benz?", which I believe originated
with Janis Joplin.

response 21 of 65:

Jan 18 17:33 UTC 1993

I can't believe JT is even *close* to the Beatles in having songs covered.

response 23 of 65:

Jan 20 20:03 UTC 1993

"These boots were made for walking..." as done by Megadeth.