Artists Who Covered Their Own Songs?

I really like this remake. Not better but different and still fun!

 

A good version of someone who has covered their own song is Bob Welch and Sentimental Lady.

Originally recorded during the Fleetwood Mac Bare Trees sessions in 1972, but the big version was the one he did in 1977 for his French Kiss album (With Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie!) I own both albums on vinyl.

 

In 1967, Del Shannon re-recorded "Runaway" at a slower tempo and with strings, produced by Andrew Loog Oldham in London.



Maybe it's just me, but some of the backing and chord changes reminds me of "In the Year 2525" by Zager and Evans, which came a bit later.

 

Great song, both versions!

 

About half of the material on Bryan Ferry's 3rd album was him covering his own tunes that he did previously with Roxy Music.

 

The Human League's Being Boiled.

Original single in 1978.
Re-recorded for the Holiday '80 EP in 1980.
Martyn Ware also recorded a new version with Heaven 17 in 2008.

 

Also Styx re-recorded Lady with Tommy Shaw in 1995 for their Greatest Hits album. (The original version, released in 1973, featured guitarist John Curulewski, as Tommy Shaw did not join until 1976.)

 

Sadly this:

 

PEDANT ALERT!

I replied to your above post -stand by my comment, by the way - but something has niggled away at the back of my memory. Went & checked, and the 1991 album, with the original version of Ships, was No Place Like Home, as, no doubt, you know! I'm sure it was just what we used to call a slip of the pen, back in the dark ages!

 

If you like re-recordings, you could buy entire CD sets full of them -- often not disclaimed as re-recordings, or falsely advertised as "Original Hits", featuring singers decades past their vocal prime, and groups like the Drifters which had changed their entire lineup multiple times since the original versions -- and with the finest Casio keyboards and electronic drum machines replacing the original musicians.

 

James Taylor did "Rainy Day Man" on both his 1968 S/T debut from Apple and his 1979 Columbia album Flag. Also originally did it with the Flying Machine, though he did not intend for that version to be released and it ultimately came out I in between.

 

I Melt with You by Modern English-they re-recorded the song in 1990.
Colin Blunstone of The Zombies re-recorded She’s Not There as Neil MacArthur and re-recorded it under his 0wn name.

 

Oh man, these are dreadful. I don't know these ones in specific but there have been countless cheapo supermarket CDs featuring cheesy re-recordings of classics. Very difficult to listen to.

I even have one set that includes re-recordings as well as one of the two Alice Cooper songs that are not Alice Cooper at ALL, that somehow were included in all these repackagings of the Toronto 69 show.

The Equals re-recordings are a disgrace. The original recordings are so exciting...

 

The single versions of “I Am a Scientist” and “My Valuable Hunting Knife” are also completely different, and more fleshed-out, recordings than the album versions.

 

The Red House Painters included versions of the song “New Jersey” on successive albums - one a solo guitar arrangement, the other a full band recording.

 

"Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake (appeared on Saints & Sinner in 1982, then again on Whitesnake in 1987)
"Beth" - Kiss, with Eric Carr on vocals
"Money" - Pink Floyd (re-recorded in 1981)...(did Pink Floyd re-record it, or was it just David Gilmour?)

 

has anyone mentioned Alex Chilton?

 

Gang Of Four did a whole album of them, "Return The Gift".

 

I have three different studio recordings of Journey To The Centre Of The Earth by Rick Wakeman, which was originally recorded live with vocals, choir and orchestra back in 1974.

1. An edited version released on the Classic Tracks album in 1993 - with vocals but without choir and orchestra.

2. An edited, instrumental version on the Greatest Hits album recorded in 1992 and released in 1996 - without vocals, choir and orchestra.

3. An extended version released in 2012 - with vocals, choir and orchestra.

 

They also re-recorded their greatest hit for Rock Band (as dd a few bands for either contractual or technical reasons):

 

New Order released Ceremony as a single in early 1981 and re-recorded and released it again later that year. Temptation and Confusion were recorded in 1982 and 1983, respectively and re-recorded them for the Substance release in 1987. They recorded True Faith in 1987 and re-recorded it in 1994. I believe any other re-releases by them were flat out remixes.

 

Brian Wilson has covered some of his Beach Boys songs solo, 'Let Him Run Wild' is one

 

If it's not mentioned. Jeff Lynne re-recorded ELO-songs. (Why re-record something that great is a mystery)

 

Ringo Starr has re-recorded Back off boogaloo two times

 

The Stones - Country Honk