10 Nirvana Covers Better Than The Original
3. The Man Who Sold The World
There’s plenty to debate on this one, and whether you prefer the Nirvana cover or the David Bowie original, it’s a superb song. The Nirvana version on the Unplugged album, though, seems to find something at the heart of the song that Bowie perhaps buries under the bells and whistles of his 1970 version.
Bowie’s oblique story of a mysterious, all-too-familiar figure features one of his best riffs and conjures the imagery of the song through Eastern sounds and percussion, as well as ghostly, howling coda.
Nirvana simply take the melody and play it acoustically, and allow the spooky nature of the song to speak for itself. Cobain, here racked with health and substance abuse issues, holds himself close to the microphone throughout, his weary vocals adding a great deal of drama to the rendition.
The simplicity of the performance only highlights what a great piece of songwriting this is, and whichever version you prefer, this can stand as an all time great cover.