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1 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Dear Prudence (1983) (orig. The Beatles, 1968)
Dreamy White Album psychedelia made into dark, androgynous sex-goth. Prudence was Mia Farrow's sister, who freaked out on the Beatles' infamous trip to see the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in India.
2 John Coltrane - My Favorite Things (1960) (orig. Rodgers and Hammerstein/The Sound of Music, 1959)
The legendary sax God takes the waltzing original on a cosmic trip to the spiritual beyond. A free jazz landmark... recorded five years before the movie made nuns'n'Nazis into timeless camp.
3 Cowboy Junkies - Sweet Jane (1988) (orig. The Velvet Underground, 1971)
Lou Reed's ultimate three-chord rock'n'roll anthem given an ethereal, campfire makeover, care of the Canadian indie-folksters' restrained acoustics and the blank, haunting voice of Margo Timmins.
4 Robert Wyatt - I'm a Believer (1974) (orig. the Monkees, 1966)
This unlikely, jazz-flecked version of the Neil Diamond-penned Monkees hit saw the recently paralysed Wyatt performing in his unique cockney tones from a wheelchair on Top of the Pops.
5 Elvis Presley - Hound Dog (1956) (orig. Big Mama Thornton, 1952)
Elvis's high-energy, hard-rocking cut of this dirty Leiber and Stoller ditty stomped all over Thornton's downhome original... just like rock stomped all over the blues.
6 Bryan Ferry - A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (1973) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1963)
A glam-derived nail in the coffin of '60s sincerity, as Ferry converts Dylan's anti-nuclear folk masterpiece into delirious faux-gospel pop deluxe.
7 The Slits - I Heard it Through the Grapevine (1979) (orig. Marvin Gaye, 1968, after Gladys Knight & the Pips, 1967)
The Gaye classic is a study in self-lacerating paranoia. The Notting Hill femme-punks delivered it as an eccentric, feminist, dub-disco jump for joy.
8 Richard Thompson - Oops!... I Did It Again (2003) (orig. Britney Spears, 2000)
The singer-songwriter and founding member of Fairport Convention covered Britney's 'Oops I Did It Again' as part of his show 1000 Years of Popular Music.
9 Devo - Satisfaction (I Can't Get Me No) (1978) (orig. The Rolling Stones, 1965)
Akron, Ohio's art-punk satirists turn Jagger's cocky machismo inside-out, revealing a black, creepy comedy of geeky male sexual frustration.
10 Al Green - How Can You Mend a Broken Heart? (1972) (orig. Bee Gees, 1971)
The soul master's most surreal, spooked and androgynous vocal performance proves that the Brothers Gibb were always blue-eyed soul boys at heart.
11 Oasis - I Am The Walrus (1994) (orig. The Beatles, 1967)
Less a tribute to their idols than an arrogantly thumbed nose, this live B-side replaces Lennon's queasy orchestras with Liam Gallagher's top-of-the-world, rock god disdain.
12 The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower (1968) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1967)
The ultimate instant cover, as Hendrix made this small, spooky song from the John Wesley Harding album into the raging, epic soundtrack to the turmoil of 1968.
13 The Specials - A Message To You Rudy (1979) (orig. Dandy Livingstone, 1967)
The 2-Toners revived this beautiful rocksteady plea for an end to 'rudeboy' violence, and, like the original, it was most loved by the skinheads who did the damage.
14 Soft Cell - Tainted Love (1981) (orig. Gloria Jones, 1964)
A northern soul classic, originally performed by Gloria Jones (later, mother of Marc Bolan's son, Rolan) turned into a deviant pop smash by Marc Almond and Dave Ball.
15 Pet Shop Boys - Always On My Mind (1987) (orig. Elvis Presley, 1972, after Brenda Lee, 1972)
The peak of Tennant & Lowe's dance-pop alchemy, as they charmed the planet with a sincere disco re-tooling of the maudlin Elvis ballad.
16 Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah (1994) (orig. Leonard Cohen, 1984)
If you had to prove that the tragic Buckley Jr was the voice of his generation, then this virtuoso choirboy take on Cohen's elegantly grim hymn would be Exhibit One.
17 The Byrds - Mr Tambourine Man (1965) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1965)
Jangling 12-string Rickenbacker and beatific Californian harmonies; Roger McGuinn poppifies Dylan and casually invents folk-rock, alt-country and indie. Bonus.
18 Scissor Sisters - Comfortably Numb (2004) (orig. Pink Floyd, 1979)
How do you remove the pomp from the Floyd and become huge overnight? Easy. Do The Wall's most miserable moment in the style of Saturday Night Fever Bee Gees.
19 Johnny Cash - Hurt (2002) (orig. Nine Inch Nails, 1994)
The Man in Black's rumbling yet fragile baritone - and Mark Romanek's extraordinary video - turned Trent Reznor's numb nihilism into a dying rebel's final, defiant stand on Judgment Day.
20 Saint Etienne - Only Love Can Break Your Heart (1990) (orig. Neil Young, 1970)
Bob Stanley, Pete Wiggs and early Saint Etienne singer Moira Lambert remix Young's fragile lament into a Balearic mash-up of piano-led, dubwise, dancefloor melancholy.
21 Tricky - Black Steel (1995) (orig. Public Enemy, 1988)
Adrian Thaws and Martina Topley-Bird heard Chuck D's macho prison-break scenario as digitised heavy metal sung by a drowsy cockney bird. Bizarrely, they were right.
22 Method Man featuring Mary J Blige - I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By (1995) (orig. Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, 1968)
This haunting, street-tough take on the great Motown duet set the standard for all future hip hop/R&B collaborations.
23 The Clash - Police and Thieves (1977) (orig. Junior Murvin, 1976)
Strummer, Jones and Simonon learned to play reggae better later. But this passionate, punked-up first-album centrepiece was brave, long and strong enough to inspire the 2-Tone movement.
24 The Beat - The Tears of a Clown (1979) (orig. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, 1970)
And Birmingham's key 2-Toners responded with ebullient, and somewhat weird, hit punk-reggae covers of Motown sacred cows.
25 Susanna and the Magical Orchestra - Love Will Tear Us Apart (2006) (orig. Joy Division, 1980)
The Norwegian duo's low-key version of the Joy Division classic just shaded out Nouvelle Vague's version in OMM's voting.
26 Youssou N'Dour - Chimes Of Freedom (1994) (orig. Bob Dylan, 1964)
Youssou N'Dour first heard 'Chimes of Freedom' when on the Amnesty International 'Human Rights Now!' tour alongside Bruce Springsteen and Peter Gabriel and later included it on his album Guide.
27 Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (1992) (orig. Dolly Parton, 1974)
Parton's original was a fragile, intimate love note. Troubled diva Houston's hysterical reading from The Bodyguard soundtrack broke our hearts. And many of our windows.
28 Patti Smith - Gloria (1975) (orig. Them, 1964)
'Jesus died for somebody's sins - but not mine.' Having casually despatched the best opening line in rock, the NY poetess turned beat-era Van Morrison into a beatnik feminist proto-punk masterpiece.
29 This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren (1983) (orig. Tim Buckley, 1970)
Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins took on the foolish challenge of out-singing Buckley Sr... and succeeded spectacularly. This 4AD label vanity project never matched its ethereal first single.
30 Happy Mondays - Step On (1990) (orig. John Kongos, 1971)
This triumphant reworking of a hit by obscure South African singer-songwriter Kongos perfectly encapsulated Shaun Ryder and co's gift for fusing happy, funky music with sinister, threatening lyrics.
31 The Communards - Don't Leave Me This Way (1986) (orig. Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, 1975)
This No. 1 duet between Jimmy Somerville's helium falsetto and the sultry baritone of Sarah Jane Morris gave a gender-bender twist to the Philly disco classic.
32 Rachid Taha - Rock el Casbah (2004) (orig. The Clash, 1982)
An Algerian rai rebel reclaiming the Clash's potshot at Arab nations who ban Western music is irresistible. It features on the soundtrack of Strummer documentary The Future is Unwritten.
33 Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet (2007) (orig. Grace, 1995)
In which the cosmic indie-dance threesome transform anaethetised trance cheese into an expansive ballad that throbs with doleful disappointment. A swooning standout on their debut album.
34 Jackie Wilson - Light My Fire (1969) (orig. The Doors, 1967)
Perhaps the most technically gifted soul singer of all, Wilson replaces Jim Morrison's cocksure croon with desperate, androgynous falsetto and sleazy big band funk. A lost masterpiece.
35 Pixies - Winterlong (1989) (orig. Neil Young, 1977)
The country-rockin' original becomes a surf-pop romance in the Boston indie heroes' version, buoyed by the boy-girl harmonies of Black Francis and Kim Deal.
36 The Who - Summertime Blues (1970) (orig. Eddie Cochran, 1958)
Gratuitous metal version of the Fifties teen anthem, from the definitively 'eavy Live at Leeds album that captured The Who at their violent peak. Works through sheer stubborn thuggishness.
37 The White Stripes - I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself (2003) (orig. Dusty Springfield, 1964, after Tommy Hunt, 1962)
Typically messy, spontaneous tilt at Dusty's torchy hit single, with Jack sounding as much girl as boy.
38 The Flying Lizards - Money (1979) (orig. The Beatles, 1963, after Barrett Strong, 1959)
If someone asks you what the early '80s was really like, play them this madcap electronic prophecy of Thatcherism, starring the frostbiting voice of Deborah Evans.
39 The Flying Burrito Brothers - Wild Horses (1970) (orig. The Rolling Stones, 1971)
Rumours abounded that Keith Richards's mucker Gram Parsons had a hand in writing this glowing country-rock ballad. Whichever way, the lived-fast-died-young Parsons recorded an equally great version.
40 Aretha Franklin - Respect (1967) (orig. Otis Redding, 1965)
Redding's original was a self-pitying plea for female sanctuary from a hostile outside world. Aretha's version's is feminism's greatest work of art - an unstoppable demand for women's rights. It's a tough call...
41. Sex Pistols - My Way (1978) (orig. Frank Sinatra, 1969, after Paul Anka, 1968)
The ultimate futile gesture of cartoon nihilism. Yet still better than Sinatra. Smuggled the line, 'You cunt/I'm not a queer' into the Top 10.
42. Nina Simone - Mr Bojangles (1971) (orig. Jerry Jeff Walker, 1968)
Walker's extraordinary character study of an itinerant black dancer is one of the finest of all American songs. When chewed over by the queen of controlled anti-racist fury, it's simply immortal.
43. The Isley Brothers - Love the One You're With (1971) (orig. Stephen Stills, 1970)
Crosby Stills Nash & Young's live favourite was a sanctimonious justification of rock-pig promiscuity. Ronald Isley's soaring, androgynous gospel voice made the song tell of a higher love.
44. Ken Boothe - Everything I Own (1974) (orig. Bread, 1972)
A fey MOR ballad given a deep reggae makeover, 'Everything I Own' hit No. 1 and gave Seventies skins and rudeboys a soppy love song they could admit to loving.
45. Rod Stewart - Reason to Believe (1971) (orig. Tim Hardin, 1966)
Teary, bleary and beery, this cover of Hardin's modern folk standard reminds you that, once upon a time, Rod Stewart was the best white soul vocalist in existence.
46. Richie Havens - Going Back to My Roots (1980) (orig. Lamont Dozier, 1977)
Odyssey got the big disco hit. But Woodstock veteran Havens became the biggest secret influence on house music with the pounding, joyful pianos of this Afro-centric anthem.
47 Talking Heads - Take Me To The River (1978) (orig. Al Green, 1974)
These whey-faced New Yorkers began as the whitest group on Earth. This swampy, surprise cover of Green's bluesiest track served notice of their future adventures in black music.
48 Kate Bush - Rocket Man (I Think it's Going to Be a Long, Long Time) (1991) (orig. Elton John, 1972)
Kate recorded her spacey, ethereal version of 'Rocket Man (I Think It's Going To Be A Long, Long Time)' for the 1991 tribute album Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.
49. Mark Ronson featuring Alex Greenwald - Just (2006) (orig. Radiohead, 1995)
Perhaps the most self-flagellating Yorke lyric of all... so R&B producer du jour Ronson arranges it as a happy(ish), horn-driven funky soul number. So wrong, it's utterly right.
50. Sinead O' Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (1990) (orig. The Family, 1985)
Prince gave this ballad away. Ms O'Connor picked it up and gave it one of the most heartfelt vocal performances in the history of global hits.
― Mark G, Thursday, 16 August 2007 16:09 (eighteen years ago)