ARTICLE: 10 Rock cover songs that are better than the originals
Volbeat - “I Only Want to Be With You”
Volbeat has taken a "I'm so sad and lonely" song and turned it into a freight train of a monster, originally recorded by Dusty Springfield in the 60's, the band combined their tell tale vocals with insane drum velocity and thick, heavy guitar aggression to knock out this masterpiece.
Marilyn Manson - “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”
This was the breakthrough song for Marilyn Manson from his 1995 Album 'Smells like children'. Manson took a pop song and demonized it with dark vocals and murky guitars. Manson proved why he is the king of macabre. This is just one of the many covers Manson has in his collection.
Bon Jovi - “Keep on Rocking in the free world”
Bon Jovi has always been on of the monsters of Rock, although we believe that they hit their high in the mid 90's they still manage to sell out arena's even after the departure of Ritchie Sambora. We have only ever heard this song performed live and Jon's distinct vocals and Ritchie's mastery of the guitar adds an explosion of energy.
Joey Ramone - “What a wonderful world”
There is no doubt that this Louis Armstrong classic is an amazing song, what Joey Ramone did was take an already great song throw in some electricity, kick up the beat and reinvent this song for the 21st century. You can't help but nod your head when those first chugging notes hit you.
Disturbed - “The sound of silence”
This song has been covered many times since its original debut by Simon & Garfunkel in the 60's, until Disturbed decided to cover the song. David Draiman's deep vocals coupled with the sinister guitar chords have given the song justice by transforming it into the masterpiece it should have been from the start, a deep, dark monster.
Metallica - “Whiskey in the jar”
We can only wonder what was going through Metallica's mind when they decided to cover a 60's Irish folk song, but they did. In true metallica fashion they added their signature sound with heavy guitar riffs, thundering bass lines and the angry as fuck vocals from James Hetfield, turned this song into a staple in any rockers playlist.
Tenacious D - “The last in line”
Jack Black and Kyle Gass won a grammy at 57th Annual Grammy Awards in 2015 for their tribute to the late great Leviathan of rock, Ronnie James Dio.
Quiet Riot - “Cum on feel the Noize”
Quiet Riot was founded in 1973 by Guitarist Randy Rhodes, who passed away while on tour with Ozzy Osbourne in 1982. The band managed to turn the Slade original into a Billboard top 5 song in 1983.
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - “Crimson and clover”
Anyone who can make people believe that the cover song is the original has done a damn good job. With her seductive vocals,Joan Jett took a pop song and turned it into her own rock original.
Franky Perez & the forest rangers - “Can't help falling in love with you”
This song was recorded for the hit TV show, 'Sons of Anarchy' and that is exactly what happened to this Elvis original, the band took a slow love song and turned it into an upbeat rock classic. *Unfortunately this version is not available anywhere other than YouTube.
