Ten cover versions that trumped the originals

Sound Garden - Come Together

Seattle grungemeisters Sound Garden’s version of the Beatles' 1969 classic is one of the most listened-to covers of all time.

Ray Baretto - Pastime Paradise

Latin legend Ray Baretto speeded up Stevie Wonder’s snail-paced classic, added a couple of bongos and made it palatable for the dancefloor. Rapper Coolio’s 1995 “homage”, Gangsters Paradise, didn’t come close.

Eric Clapton – Cocaine

Cocaine was one of several of JJ Cale's songs recorded by bearded guitar maestro Clapton. Virtually impossible to listen to without playing along on air guitar.

 
Joey Ramone – Wonderful World

The late Joey Ramone took one of the greatest jazz ballads of all time and punked it up for the pogoing masses. Louis Armstrong probably wouldn’t have approved.

Happy Mondays – Step On

The Happy Mondays burst onto the nineties UK indie scene with this infectious piano-led cover version of an obscure 1971 song by John Kongos.

Iggy Pop – Family Affair

Veiny-limbed punk veteran Iggy Pop’s effortlessly brilliant take on the Sly and the Family Stone classic featured some killer guitar riffs.

Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower

We’re not sure how Bob Dylan felt about Hendrix taking one of his songs and belting it out in an infinitely superior manner but we’re sure glad he did.

Rage Against The Machine – The Ghost of Tom Joad

West-coast rap metalists Rage Against The Machine took this Bruce Springsteen track and bettered it by making it… well, angrier and much, much noisier.

 
Nirvana – The Man Who Sold the World

David Bowie’s version was a stone-cold classic but Kurt Cobain’s languid vocals (and the fact that he tragically died shortly after recording this) give Nirvana’s version an added poignancy. 

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

Originally a Leonard Cohen song, the late Jeff Buckley imbued it with a haunting quality absent from the Canadian crooner’s bass-baritone effort.