10 Hard Rock Cover Songs That Are Better Than The Original

Performing a cover song is a bit tricky for any artist to take on. Even though you didn't write the tune, you're still dealing with a fragile composition that you have to somehow make interesting. What gets even more complicated is when you have to translate something so delicate onto the hard rock stage.

From the moment these songs were written, they probably weren't meant to be played with loud guitars and pummeling drums, and yet somehow these musicians were able to find a way to make it work. Whether it's an old standard being brought up to the next generation or just a rock and roll favorite, these acts were able to truly make these songs their own. Across these tracks, these musicians don't so much perform these songs as much as inhabit them, letting every note seep into their DNA before they have just the right track that they want to use.

These covers have gotten so big that they actually end up doing a whole lot better than the original composition, with most fans recognizing the song more for the cover than anything else. Some of these covers should sound like a dumpster fire when put together, but once you give them a listen, you realize that these are musicians who definitely know what they're talking about.

The blues standard Train Kept A-Rollin had pretty much already gone down in history before anyone had even heard of Aerosmith. Though originally written by Tiny Bradshaw, the real push of this song came with the Yardbirds, who gave it the high energy bounce that got people listening to the British Invasion bands. On the other hand, Aerosmith's version blew up the original to mammoth like proportions.

Given the original's almost garage rock like delivery, it almost feels like these Bad Boys from Boston took the song out of its cage, bringing a more forceful rhythmic structure to the tune. Instead of just playing the straight rhythm, Aerosmith adds somewhat of a swing beat into the mix, making the entire track feel like it's slithering across the floor. That's before you even get to Steven Tyler's vocal, which is dripping with sexual angst at every other word.

Compared to Aerosmith's revamped version, the Yardbirds make the idea of meeting a girl on a train seem almost infantile. What really brings this version over the top is the mid song raveup, where everything drops out before Joey Kramer's drum roll brings back the groove even more forcefully than the first time. Though Aerosmith's first outing didn't really light the world on fire, this is one of the first songs that got people to stand up and pay attention to what they just heard.