POX: Worst Beatles Covers.

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None of these should ever have been attempted, let alone recorded for posterity.

1. "Helter Skelter" by Motley Crue
2. "Tomorrow Never Knows" by Danielle Dax
3. "I Saw [Her] Standing There" by Tiffany
4. "Helter Skelter" by U2
5. "I am the Walrus" by Oasis
6. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" by Elton John
7. "Revolution" by the Thompson Twins
8. "Across the Universe" by Fiona Apple
9. "Nowhere Man" by Dokken (!!!!!)
10. "Tomrrow NEver Knows" by David Lee Roth

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:32 (twenty-two years ago)

the whole soundtrack that the Fionna Apple on is on. what was the movie, maybe "i am sam". i can't remember. but the wallflowers sucked big time on it too. sad to say i can't recall what song. i guess this was a useless post. ah well, maybe one of you could inform me and help my failing memory.

― Emilymv (Emilymv), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:37 (twenty-two years ago)

emily, i think the movie was pleasantville. it was 'across the universe'.

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:40 (twenty-two years ago)

i really loved fiona apple's cover of across the universe. better than the original in my opinion.
1-10:William Shatner-Lucy in the Sky w/ Diamonds

― Felcher (Felcher), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

I really really really REALLY dislike the "Dear Prudence" cover by Siouxsie and the Banshees, but this is largely because I HATE the song itself.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Also, that Danielle Dax cover is fantastic baggy fun.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:43 (twenty-two years ago)

You're thinking of Candyflip's "Strawberry Fields", surely.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:45 (twenty-two years ago)

i know these don't really count cuz they are solo paul but those awful macca cover albums from a few years back were really really awful. some exceptions probably. the matthew sweet and robyn hitchcock ones weren't horrible, but boy there were some real stinkers on those things.

― scott seward, Monday, 22 September 2003 19:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Haha Alex, I deleted a third post that in essence said "Countdown to someone mentioning Candy Flip's fantastic 'Strawberry Fields Forever': T-5 minutes."!

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Bowie, "Across the Universe" (I loved the Fiona Apple cover too).

― Jeremy (Jeremy), Monday, 22 September 2003 19:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I fully expect to get pelted with rocks, garbage and leaky bags of urine-drenched dog-entrails for saying this, but I don't really mind the Candyflip track.

::ducks::

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I will be there to shield the blows, dude. That track is excellent (as is the b-side "Aqua Libre").

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i like the candyflip version although it didn't add much and was ultimatley unnecessary.

the movie was I am Sam.

what macca covers albums?

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:11 (twenty-two years ago)

worst cover that comes to mind that wasn't already mentioned: tori amos, happiness is a warm gun. Also, everything on the Sgt. Pepper soundtrack.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:12 (twenty-two years ago)

the paul solo covers albums were called Coming Up and Listen To What The Man Said.

― scott seward, Monday, 22 September 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

"Get Back" by Rod Stewart ("Damn, this bloody war")
"Revolution" by Stone Temple Pilots
"You've Got to Hide Your Love Away" by Eddie Vedder
"Tomorrow Never Knows" by Phil Collins
"She Said, She Said" by Matthew Sweet

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:22 (twenty-two years ago)

i like the candyflip version although it didn't add much and was ultimatley unnecessary.

Dude, did you hear the REMIXES????

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:25 (twenty-two years ago)

Tiffany, I Saw Him Standing There

― David Merryweather (DavidM), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:39 (twenty-two years ago)

All this talk of the Candyflip song makes me wonder if I still have the CD single. The remixes, eh?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

no, I never did hear the remixes, I should hunt for those.

― anthony kyle monday (akmonday), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:49 (twenty-two years ago)

One is a blissed-out dub excursion and the other one is smooth dance butter. Both are very necessary.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Monday, 22 September 2003 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

I used to quite like them -- somewhat inexplicably -- but the Mission's cover of "Tomorrow Never Knows" is, in retrospect, somewhat of a tepid dollop of spooge-pollacked dung.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 22 September 2003 21:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Gotta cite a track off one of the George Martin albums where Sean Connery sings (or is it speaks) "In My Life"

― Mike Salmo (salmo), Monday, 22 September 2003 21:41 (twenty-two years ago)

There's an incongruous and utterly dreadful rendition of Day Tripper on Yellow Magic Orchestra's otherwise excellent album Solid State Survivor.

― Palomino (Palomino), Monday, 22 September 2003 21:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Didn't Michael Jackson do "Come Together"? That was awful. Also: Wet Wet Wet.

― edward o (edwardo), Monday, 22 September 2003 21:49 (twenty-two years ago)

All of them.

― Burr (Burr), Monday, 22 September 2003 22:08 (twenty-two years ago)

The Bowie one is a shocker yes.

Joe Cocker!! I don't care if he had a big hit with it! Come to think of it I don't like any of the whole soul-men/blues-men do the Beatles subgenre, it's an excuse to make the songs longer in general.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 22 September 2003 22:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Didn't Michael Jackson do "Come Together"?

Oh jeez louise, I forgot about that one. Further proof of a malevolent deity.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 22 September 2003 22:36 (twenty-two years ago)

Ever hear that Type-O Negative cover of "Day Tripper"? hiiilarious.
I can't even imagine the David Lee Roth rendition of "Tomorrow Never Knows"; is that from his new album?

― momalley, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 02:44 (twenty-two years ago)

the fiona cover ( + )
the rufus cover ( - )

― reo fordecor, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 04:09 (twenty-two years ago)

Gotta say, "Across the Universe" is so good, it would take a complete moron to mess it up. Same goes for "I'm Only Sleeping." Call me crazy, but i love Rosanne Cash's cover of that one.

― Baby Boomerang, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 06:09 (twenty-two years ago)

I actually like that Fiona cover. It's purdy.

― oops (Oops), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 06:17 (twenty-two years ago)

not a huge fan of Christina's version of "You Can Drive My Car"

but then every once in a while i like it. i can't make up my mind

― JasonD (JasonD), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:01 (twenty-two years ago)

daniel johnston + jad fair's 'tomorrow never knows'?

― RJG (RJG), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:10 (twenty-two years ago)

in the history of beatles covers, aren't there only about 5 or 6 that are actually decent?

i place a vote on any cover in which a female vocalist switches the genders, ie "i saw him standing there," or the carpenters: "the boy that's driving me mad is running away, he's got a ticket to ride..." Gender switching in covers annoys me to no end.

― billstevejim, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 07:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Any version of "Guitar Gently Weeps" (esp. Marc Ribot's) is better than the original, because that's the worst song ever recorded

― dave q, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 09:23 (twenty-two years ago)

Ignoring the too-obvious "delights" of the all-Beatles volume 4 of Rhino's Golden Throats collection (Telly Savalas, Joe Pesci, Shatner of course) surely there are only 2 contenders:

Bing Crosby 's punch-drunk five rounds battling with "Hey Jude" on his album Hey Jude! Hey Bing!, complete with skin-irritating "pom... pom-pom, pomo-pa-pom-pom" interlude.

Or, Cabaret Voltaire's wretched long-distance whine in the approximate direction of "She Loves You", which you'd on that early years tape from Industrial and probably on a Mute Grey Area cd any moment now. Though to be fair to the guys, it sounds more like a cover of one of those Peter Sellers versions than of the Fabs original.

― marco (marco), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 11:54 (twenty-two years ago)

Rare Earth - Eleanor Rigby

― dave225 (Dave225), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:01 (twenty-two years ago)

I saw a picture of Jim Carey singing on that George Martin album.

I don't have sinasthesia, but that picture sounded awful.

(btw, Desmond Dekker doing "Come Together" is wonderful...)

― mark grout (mark grout), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:04 (twenty-two years ago)

oh yeah, wow, i'd totally forgotten about that george martin album, my mom had it, it was awful. really awful. had robin williams on too, if i recall. awful.

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:22 (twenty-two years ago)

Same goes for "I'm Only Sleeping."

Suggs (from Madness) covered this in about 1995, and I quite liked it, but it seems I was the only one.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 12:50 (twenty-two years ago)

to be honest, i don't find compiling lists of bad covers terribly interesting. But this thread is as good as any to serve notice that one of these days i wanna start a series of threads on good Beatles covers, done LP by LP if you follow me

― zebedee (zebedee), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 17:24 (twenty-two years ago)

didnt godhead cover eleanor rigby?
whether it was in a dream or in actuality, it was complete pig vomit.

― Felcher (Felcher), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 17:28 (twenty-two years ago)

Shatner's cover isn't awful, it is genius and one of the funniest things I have ever heard.

The Fall's version of "Day in the Life" is usually normal and not that memorable.

― earlnash, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 17:35 (twenty-two years ago)

The only good Beatles cover I've ever heard is Laibach's female-choir version of "Across The Universe."

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 18:17 (twenty-two years ago)

Oh, and Borbetomagus' version of "Blue Jay Way."

― Phil Freeman (Phil Freeman), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

in the good beatles cover department, stevie wonder's "we can work it out" is one of the greatest pop singles ever.

― fact checking cuz, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 18:21 (twenty-two years ago)

''Any version of "Guitar Gently Weeps" (esp. Marc Ribot's) is better than the original, because that's the worst song ever recorded''

that's crazy. its a bit whiny but its not that bad.

I agree with dan that 'dear prudence' version is terrible though i like that song a lot.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 18:34 (twenty-two years ago)

Where is someone with that Yesterday and Today cover? This is ILM, isn't it?

― dleone (dleone), Tuesday, 23 September 2003 18:43 (twenty-two years ago)

I don't know who covered them, but at a local club I heard some absolutely horrendous funk versions of Beatles songs. I recall a take on "Day Tripper" as being memorably bad. Also, not a Beatles song, but a funk cover of the Zombies "She's Not There" that I heard the same night was, incredibly, even worse.

― Ben Dot, Tuesday, 23 September 2003 19:35 (twenty-two years ago)

John Farnham's utterly turgid, slowed down, over-emoted cover of "Help" is enough to make most music fans want to ram wooden stakes in their ears. Argh!

― steve, Wednesday, 24 September 2003 02:14 (twenty-two years ago)

"I don't like any of the whole soul-men/blues-men do the Beatles subgenre, it's an excuse to make the songs longer in general"

Have you heard Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude'? It is fantastic: faster, punchier & shorter than the orig.

― bham, Thursday, 25 September 2003 08:00 (twenty-two years ago)

I have actually Bham but I hated Hey Jude SO MUCH anyway that I didn't really register many of the qualities of Pickett's version.

(Of couse that was when I didn't like the Beatles. Now I like them I may have warmed to HJ)

― Tom (Groke), Thursday, 25 September 2003 08:06 (twenty-two years ago)

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