Top 5 Cover Songs

     Music covers can go one of two ways in music.  They can either be paying tribute to a band you really like that influenced you, or it can be executing a different vision then the original artist had.  Either way, if they are done well, cover songs can be a great addition to a bands catalog and sometimes go down a historical song.  Here are 5 covers that are very well done and worth recognition.

5.  Shinning Star by Stryper

Originally done by Earth Wind and Fire, Stryper decided to take this 70's hit and put a metal spin on it on their 1990 Against the Law album.  It may be a little eye brow raising at first but when you listen to it, this truly is a great cover.  Stryper almost completely changed the song, from adding heavy guitar and heavy drums.  Their is some funk like guitar that reminds you of the original song, but aside from that the two versions sound completely different.  Michael Sweet does a great job on lead vocals, putting his own vocal style to the song and delivering killer vocals on it.  This is a good example of taking a certain song and making it your own,

4.  Let It Go by Hyolyn

With Let It Go becoming one of the most iconic Disney songs in history, Disney took it abroad to have many nations perform and cover the song in their country's language.  Their are many different people who would sing this song but one of the best takes on it comes from Hyolyn from South Korea.  Famed for being the leader of her main group, Sistar, Hyolyn is considered to have one of the best singing voices in Kpop and she carries that into this song.  Musically, the song doesn't change much except that it is slightly softer then the original.  But Hyolyn's singing ability makes this a very good cover and one that is defiantly worth listening to.

3.  Sunday Bloody Sunday by Pillar

  

Sunday Bloody Sunday was originally recorded by U2 in the 80's and would go on to be a very successful hit for the band.  Decades later, it would be picked up by Pillar who would put their own spin on it.  Pillar would chose to put a more heavier metal sound to it, resulting in heavier lower tuned guitar work with the military style drum beats to back it up.  Rob Beckly does a great job on vocals.  Delivering a very chilling feel for a song about war brutality.  This is one of the most underrated songs off the bands Where Do We Go From Here album, one I wish people would listen to more often.

2.  Whiskey in the Jar by Thin Lizzy

Many people don't know this, but Whiskey In the Jar is a song that dates back to the 17th century, and has been done by many artists in Ireland since then.  Now, a lot of people will say that Metallica's version surpasses this one, but I personally think this one is better.  With the melodic guitar work of Eric Bell and the Phil Lynott's voice, Thin Lizzy's version has a good feel that reminds you that this is a folk song in Ireland.  With a good acknowledgement to the past, and foot in the present (at the time the song was recorded) you got one cover that is very underrated and deserves more attention. 

1  Hurt by Johnny Cash

With out a doubt, one of the best covers of all time has to be Hurt by Johnny Cash.  A lot of people actually don't know that this song was originally written by Nine Inch Nails in the 90's.  Johnny Cash would pick up on the song in 2002 and put a country twist on the song.  This version without a doubt has a much bigger impact then the Nine Inch Nails version, in fact Trent Reznor himself has said that he felt like he wrote this song for Johnny Cash to use.  With that single acoustic guitar and Johnny Cash's voice, you really get a feel for the pain this song is portraying and results in one of Johnny Cash's biggest hits.  Sadly, Johnny Cash would die 5 months later after the song was released.  He would go down in history as one of the greatest country performers of all time.  RIP Johnny Cash.