Do renditions of national anthems count as covers I wonder?
If that is the case I nominate Nico’s version of “Das Lied der Deutschen” (yes, “Deutschland Ueber Alles”) as better than, the, uh, original.
I have a recording of this in which she dedicates it to Andreas Baader, one of the founders of the ‘urban guerrila’ terrorist Red Army Fraktion - locally this performance was considered an outrage on par with Hendrix’ version of the Star-Spangled Banner. Whatever the story surrounding it, it’s still a chilling version of the song.
Mention of Abba in the disco thread reminded me of this amusing [url https://youtu.be/U43Fkr4HV3Q]Leather Nun cover of their “Gimmie Gimmie Gimmie (A Man After Midnight)”. I wonder if anyone other than our resident Swede Tomas Forsberg has heard it.
I honestly have a weak spot for the Abba original, but is also kind of amusing how the singer channels Iggy Pop singing “Gimmie Danger”…and the stage set ups the amusing factor as well.
Edit: yes I realize Sisters of Mercy do this one too. They’re all good. Each in their own way shining a blazing klieg light upon the issue of our time; the need to have a man after midnight.