10 Hard Rock Music Covers You Wish Never Happened
Annie you are NOT okay.
Covering another artists material can be considered one of the highest compliments one musician can pay to another. When Jimi Hendrix covered Sgt. Pepper back in 1967, it was merely to pay homage to a group of musicians he respected and admired (maybe there was a bit of guitar flexing to).
Similarly, when Johnny Cash released his version of Hurt, the original writer Trent Reznor commented on how moved he was that such an icon would think to sing his song.
But this is the best case scenario, all the good will in the world might have been present, but if the execution of a cover is sloppy or miss-judged, then damn is it noticeable. There's also the uglier, corporate side to music covers though.
Unfortunately, the music business is out to make money, and very often covers occur as a means to capitalise on already well known songs. It's not difficult to tell when this is the case, with such tracks often sounding like lazy attempts to sell the public a rehashed and insincere version of something they hold dear.
This list contains examples of cover songs that were either poorly executed to the point of embarrassing, or else were so obviously money grabs, we wish they had never had happened.
10. Children Of The Revolution – Elton John & Pete Doherty
In 2005, Live 8 brought musicians together from around the globe in an effort to raise money for impoverished African nations. With Will Smith, Stevie Wonder, Deep Purple and Green Day all giving performances.
One of the most highly anticipated appearances was that of Elton John, who would be joined by Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty, to perform a version of Marc Bolan's Children Of The Revolution.
This had all the ingredients to be a great cover. A noble cause, an iconic rock track, the new face of indie music, and Elton John. But, something went wrong in the cooking process of this particular number.
It turned into an exercise of style over substance, with Doherty living up to the name of his band, bumbling around the stage with all the shambolic chaos that made him a tabloid favourite. Of course, Doherty got the usual treatment from the press, with accusations that he was under the influence of something sinister...
Musically the backing band were tight, and Elton John rarely gives a bad performance, but Doherty wasn't on his A game, singing out of tune, dropping lines entirely and being too concerned with his ill-fitting hat.
It was a shame, but it was part of the routine that often marked Pete Doherty's live performances at that time.