10 Rock Cover Songs Better Than The Original
2. Johnny Cash: Hurt (Nine Inch Nails)
From the 1970s to the 1990s Johnny Cash existed in the metaphorical wilderness. He was active musically, but barely. His most celebrated work was behind him and during the '80s he was mostly considered a has-been. That all changed when producer Rick Rubin decided to help him revive his career with 'American Recordings' (1994). The album consisted of the Man in Black giving well known songs, the husky Cash treatment.
Up until his death in 2003, Cash continued releasing albums as part of the 'American Series' with his most celebrated being 'American IV: The Man Comes Around'. The track list is filled with wildly stirring renditions of other artist's material. From Sting, Martin Gore and Paul Simon, Cash delivered a number of devastating takes.
Non was more emotive than his unlikely cover of Trent Reznor's 'Hurt', however. He took a song about a young man's pain in finding meaning in a meaningless life, and turned into into a reflective account of a man facing death, haunted by his past misdeeds. Reznor's version is powerful in its own right, but Cash's transcended into something else entirely.