10 Cover Songs That Outshine The Original

9. Metallica - Whisky In The Jar

It's tough to get right down to the origin of Whisky In The Jar. Many people might be under the impression that this song originated with The Dubliners or Thin Lizzy but upon further investigation you can see that the origins of this song date all the way back to the 17th century. Whisky In The Jar has been recorded many times as "Kilgary Mountain" but it seems as if The Seekers were the first band to record it under the now popular title of Whisky In The Jar. For the sake of argument because so many bands have recorded this song we will be comparing the general Irish folk version to the modern rock version. The Irish folk version of Whisky In The Jar is a hell of a song. Whisky in the jar has a spirit akin to many other Irish sing-alongs in the respect that it's timeless and just about anyone can relate to the lyrics. Fast forward to the year 1998 and Metallica decided to give the song a little update by including it on their Garage Inc. album. Not only did Metallica manage to introduce this song to a whole new generation but it also helped them win a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000. One of the best aspects of Metallica's cover is that it somehow manages to maintain all of the spirit contained in the original while simultaneously taking it in a different direction. In a manner of speaking Metallica gave the song balls. Primarily in the past Whisky In The Jar was always played on acoustic guitars. Metallica turned their amps up to 11, downtuned their guitars and layered this song with some awesome lead guitar licks that will get stuck in your head for days. James Hetfield manages to sing the song in a tone that conveys despair, sadness, and regret but at the same time shows signs of hope, ambition and happiness. There's an awesome contrast in the vocal performance here that gives you the impression that the singer is both wallowing in his personal demons and overcoming them at the same time. Whisky In The Jar will live on as long as music exists. This song will be played in many different variations whether it be rock, folk or country wherever a guitar is available. Thin Lizzy may have been the first ones to attempt to convert this song to a full fledged rock song and they did a great job but Metallica perfected it.