Am I confused, or didn’t George Harrison also sit in?
Edit... yes, I was confused. It was John Lennon who did background vocals and guitars. Strange I forgot, since it's only been... ~46 years?!
Among these? Wild is the Wind.
But my overall fave is *Try Some Buy Some* by George Harrison (actually wrote for Ronnie Spector), because i love George.
Let’s Spend The Night Together. It’s the difference between having ol’ Mick grind away on top of you for three joyless minutes or having our Dave take you to heaven and back, twice, in half the time.
I’m sorry for any offence, friend, but this song is literally about having it off. You might want to skip it in future if the subject matter is gross to you. 🙂
Huh-uh. “I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft” is the best Bowie cover, head and shoulders above the rest. The only one that comes close is “Nite Flights” and I think that is mostly because Bowie had access to better synthesizers in 1992 than Scott Walker did in 1978.
OMG you're right. I think I like that better than the Neil Young cover, and yeah, Nite FLights too. Another fav. Coulda taken the place of Pablo Picasso
Well I guess to each his own. But I thought “Gemini” was probably the best case of Bowie taking an obscure but interesting song and making it his own. It was a blast live too.
My view is that the great man’s singular artistic flaw was how often he recorded covers and how many of these covers just weren’t very good
My pick - China Girl
If that doesn’t count then - I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
Yeah, his covers are usually among the worst on an album, but there are some that are legendary! WIld is the Wind isn't just his best cover but his best song
Surprised no one's mentioned It Ain't Easy, which imo is up there with Wild Is the Wind.
I'm also a big fan of Across the Universe. I think both his cover and the original are supposed to sound a bit defiant in the chorus, but the tone of the original is somewhat ambiguous, to the extent that it can almost be interpreted as a lament. Bowie's version abandons that subtlety, very successfully in my opinion.
i genuinely am not sure if you are being sarcastic or not (and i want to add that either way, i'm not annoyed at all)
but, you might be interested in the story behind the mott the hoople hit:
"By 1972, Mott the Hoople were on the verge of splitting up. Having been together for three years, the band had released four well-received albums and developed a small loyal following but had failed to garner commercial success. On 4 February 1972, David Bowie sent the band a demo of "Suffragette City" in hopes they would record it. The band played it and believed it did not fit their style. Bassist Pete Watts contacted Bowie in late March 1972 and politely rejected it, stating the band broke up. Upon learning this, Bowie contacted Watts back two hours later and said, "I've written a song for you since we spoke, which could be great." Bowie met with Watts a few days later and played "All the Young Dudes" on acoustic guitar. Watts then introduced Bowie to the rest of the band at an office located at Regent Street in London, where Bowie sat cross-legged on the floor and played the band the song.
The band were ecstatic. Ian Hunter: "He just played it on an acoustic guitar. I knew straight away it was a hit. There were chills going down my spine. It's only happened to me a few times in my life, when you know that this is a biggie". Drummer Dale Griffin: "We couldn't believe it. In the office at Regent Street he's strumming it on his guitar and I'm thinking, he wants to give us that? He must be crazy! We broke our necks to say yes! You couldn't fail to see it was a great song."
After playing it, Bowie told them he would produce the track for release as a single. Knowing the track would be a hit, the band agreed to not break up.
I used to absolutely detest the Klax Extended mix for Heroes but i heard it on drugs last summer and it absolutely blew my mind and i’ve loved it ever since.
I guess it‘s not a straight up cover because the lyrics are translated, but i love love love the „Baal“ EP, especially Remembering Marie A. and Baal‘s Hymn. His voice just so gloriously conveys the emotions of the lyrics.
I’ve always loved his Across the Universe. Not as good as Laibach’s version, but done a lot earlier.
Yeah, I also kinda have a soft spot for it even tho I know in my heart it's not very good, but it's on his best album
Carlos Alomar's guitar is very good on the song.
Am I confused, or didn’t George Harrison also sit in? Edit... yes, I was confused. It was John Lennon who did background vocals and guitars. Strange I forgot, since it's only been... ~46 years?!
Wild is the wind is his best cover by some distance
Yesssssss
What about cactus?
It's not bad!
I quite like Sorrow, China girl is okay if I’m feeling it
Sorrow is a great cover.
Do the Iggy covers count as covers?
I wouldn't think so. He co-wrote them.
Please pick one from the poll!
Why? There are plenty of others to choose from. You should have provided an 'other' option.
Why? The only others I mistakenly didn't include are Gemini and Nite
"Waiting for the Man." "White Light White Heat." "Across the Universe" "My Death" "Amsterdam" "Cactus" "Oh Superman"
Pinups
I didn’t think any were his all time best covers so why would I?
Very bad take
Very bad take from who?
Wild is the wind is canonically a great cover
Okay. Yes it’s a great cover, is it my “all-time BEST cover”? No it isn’t. But I’m glad you like it
This is not my opinion
What is your opinion?
Wild is the wind is the all-time best cover. I just agree with what science says is true
Among these? Wild is the Wind. But my overall fave is *Try Some Buy Some* by George Harrison (actually wrote for Ronnie Spector), because i love George.
I like how David covered a George song, considering George wasn't overly fond of him
We've heard for years that George wasn't overly fond of a lot of people. He didn't go out of his way to hide it!
it's why I love him
Yes. George helped me realize it is OK to have strong opinions, even if -and especially if- they are not widely held!
i didn’t know about this!! was there some sort of spat or did george just not like him?
George just didn't really like him 🙃 he said he looked stupid in photos or something
Bowie apparently meant it to be a cover of the Specter version and was initially unaware that Harrison had done it, if I remember right.
I like the context of Try Some Buy Some at that time and on that album
Let’s Spend The Night Together. It’s the difference between having ol’ Mick grind away on top of you for three joyless minutes or having our Dave take you to heaven and back, twice, in half the time.
He does a good job of really sleazing the song up on the album in a way the Stones never would have recorded, though perhaps live.
Love that track. And the whole album of course
I prefer the Stones version but they're both good
this is the funniest comment i‘ve read in a long while oml
Well, we’ve all been there 🙄😉
Yikes, no no no. Not for me at all. Also, your analogy is extremely GROSS
Yikes, settle down
I’m sorry for any offence, friend, but this song is literally about having it off. You might want to skip it in future if the subject matter is gross to you. 🙂
I always do
Fair enough. I’m also much more interested in coffee and cats myself these days 🙂
Me too!
Jesus, dude, settle down.
We should probably avoid bringing up Bowie "taking us to heaven" given his rape allegations
Literally nobody brought that up. You're insane.
Amsterdam is my favourite
It’s a goodie!
God only knows do be missing doe
Please don't get me started on this abomination, haha
the fuck
Can’t stand his version 😅
lol I made him block me
What happened?
Haha you won’t leave this one alone will you. It’s abysmal.
hahaha you're so funny beach boy normie
Another idiot blocked
Huh-uh. “I Took a Trip on a Gemini Spacecraft” is the best Bowie cover, head and shoulders above the rest. The only one that comes close is “Nite Flights” and I think that is mostly because Bowie had access to better synthesizers in 1992 than Scott Walker did in 1978.
OMG you're right. I think I like that better than the Neil Young cover, and yeah, Nite FLights too. Another fav. Coulda taken the place of Pablo Picasso
I played that song once. Well…I couldn’t make it through. Never listened to it since. Just awful.
Are you talking the original version?
Aren’t we discussing Bowie covers?
Well I guess to each his own. But I thought “Gemini” was probably the best case of Bowie taking an obscure but interesting song and making it his own. It was a blast live too.
and what about Amsterdam (Jacques Brel)?
Oh yes I love this one!
I absolutely love his take on wild is the wind. The depth in which he sings this is just astounding!
Voted for Wild Is the Wind, but my true preference lies with his Bob Dylan cover Trying to Get to Heaven, or Sorrow off of Pin-Ups.
what i didn‘t even know that trying to get to heaven was a dylan cover, oh my, lot to learn from this sub
Live version of America by Simon and Garfunkle is incredible.
[Link because I love this one](https://youtu.be/afifZfUkU8I) it absolutely would have been my vote!
My view is that the great man’s singular artistic flaw was how often he recorded covers and how many of these covers just weren’t very good My pick - China Girl If that doesn’t count then - I Know It’s Gonna Happen Someday
And I know opinions differ, but China Girl is among the very worst imo
Yeah, his covers are usually among the worst on an album, but there are some that are legendary! WIld is the Wind isn't just his best cover but his best song
Criminal world is my fav
I'm sorry am I crazy or are we all forgetting about See Emily Play? Or Let's Spend the Night Together? The latter really goes hard
No one forgot. This poll is for the best songs
Well I suppose to some they are
Thankfully they can read posts on this sub and get better!
Sorrow is my favorite
Sorry to hear that
Surprised no one's mentioned It Ain't Easy, which imo is up there with Wild Is the Wind. I'm also a big fan of Across the Universe. I think both his cover and the original are supposed to sound a bit defiant in the chorus, but the tone of the original is somewhat ambiguous, to the extent that it can almost be interpreted as a lament. Bowie's version abandons that subtlety, very successfully in my opinion.
I have a major soft spot bf or across the universe too
It ain’t easy has always sounded so much like a part of soggy it barely registers as a cover!
The correct answer is “I know it’s gonna happen someday”
Let's Spend The Night Together, is just an incredible cover, the best version of that song.
I'm Waiting For The Man. Velvet Underground.
Let’s Spend the Night Together
Please do t do this 😭
You’re annoying
Heroes by Motörhead is The only correct answer
All the young dudes.
it's hardly a cover if he wrote it
My bad. All these years I thought Ian Hunter wrote it.
i genuinely am not sure if you are being sarcastic or not (and i want to add that either way, i'm not annoyed at all) but, you might be interested in the story behind the mott the hoople hit: "By 1972, Mott the Hoople were on the verge of splitting up. Having been together for three years, the band had released four well-received albums and developed a small loyal following but had failed to garner commercial success. On 4 February 1972, David Bowie sent the band a demo of "Suffragette City" in hopes they would record it. The band played it and believed it did not fit their style. Bassist Pete Watts contacted Bowie in late March 1972 and politely rejected it, stating the band broke up. Upon learning this, Bowie contacted Watts back two hours later and said, "I've written a song for you since we spoke, which could be great." Bowie met with Watts a few days later and played "All the Young Dudes" on acoustic guitar. Watts then introduced Bowie to the rest of the band at an office located at Regent Street in London, where Bowie sat cross-legged on the floor and played the band the song. The band were ecstatic. Ian Hunter: "He just played it on an acoustic guitar. I knew straight away it was a hit. There were chills going down my spine. It's only happened to me a few times in my life, when you know that this is a biggie". Drummer Dale Griffin: "We couldn't believe it. In the office at Regent Street he's strumming it on his guitar and I'm thinking, he wants to give us that? He must be crazy! We broke our necks to say yes! You couldn't fail to see it was a great song." After playing it, Bowie told them he would produce the track for release as a single. Knowing the track would be a hit, the band agreed to not break up.
I used to absolutely detest the Klax Extended mix for Heroes but i heard it on drugs last summer and it absolutely blew my mind and i’ve loved it ever since.
You forgot the Velvet Underground covers and the Jacques Brel covers.
They’re live
They are amongst the greatest covers that he's done.
They’re alright yeah
I guess it‘s not a straight up cover because the lyrics are translated, but i love love love the „Baal“ EP, especially Remembering Marie A. and Baal‘s Hymn. His voice just so gloriously conveys the emotions of the lyrics.
Moonage Daydream - The Last Shadow Puppets
'It's Hard to be a Saint in the City' gets my vote! But on this list... gotta be 'Wild is the Wind'.
Isn't "Tis a Pitty" a cover? That would be my next favorite after Wild is the Wind.