Today I have learnt that the worst cover version ever made is a version of AC-DC's 'You Shook Me (All Night Long)" by... Celine Dion. Admittedly, this is a matter of opinion - the opinion in question belonging to the staff of Total Guitar magazine. I think you can imagine the reaction in that office when they heard Celine's take on a hard rock classic - it's just lucky they don't keep guns in their office. Having perused the link above, I can confirm that it is truly horrible - I got as far as the first line of the vocal, having nearly plucked out my eyeballs at the sight of Celine's attempt at air guitar.
Other musical butcherings in the list include Girls Aloud and the Sugababes collaborating on Walk This Way, in an unprecedented attempt to use a charity record to resuscitate not one, but TWO, ailing groups' careers. Will Young's lounge version of Light My Fire makes a deserved appearance, as does Westlife's version of Extreme's More Than Words. I've not heard it, but judging by the shame they inflicted on Uptown Girl, and the fact they've obviously missed the uncomfortable sexual overtones of the original, I can imagine it's not great. Rounding off the list is Mike Flowers' version of Wonderwall, which is unfair, as it's better than the original. It's on the 'best covers' side of things, however, that I find a revelation:
'All Along The Watchtower' was originally recorded by Bob Dylan.
Jimi Hendrix' version was a cover, and I feel I may be the only person in the world who doesn't know this. Truly, my Dad will be appalled. You can see the rest of the list here, but it's not nearly as fun as the worst covers collection. Personally, I've been racking my brains to think of my favourite cover, but the truth is that outside of concerts, I don't really see the point of them. If it's an alternative version of a pop song, then you can't like it and then pretend not to like the original - if it's a mainstream version of an alternative song, it is almost guaranteed to be horrible. Finally, if the genre of the covering band matches that of the original, then it's totally pointless. To be honest, it's Sunday afternoon and my mind's drawing a blank, so I'm going to have come back to you on this - the fact that Alien Ant Farm's 'Smooth Criminal' is currently the best I can think of suggests I may have to do some research...
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