"Breathe" by Roesy, is that the Prodigy song or am I just being thick as usual? No doubting Johnny Cash can do good covers, but thats like saying Ducks have webbed feet, I think interpreting a song was as natural as breathing to Mr Cash. Fave covers, original artist in brackets: 1969 - Solex (The Stooges) The Light 3000 - Schneider TM (originally "There is a light that never goes out by the Smiths) Sweet Child of Mine - Luna (Guns and Roses) I wanna be sedated - Dsico (The Ramones)

Hmm, cover songs, the bread and butter of the pub rock band and the nemesis of the singer/songwriter open mic night where 'originals' are ruthlessly promoted and any attempt to re-interpret a song are discouraged. Disagree about Johnny Cash's cover of Loudon Wainwright III 'The Man Who Couldn't Cry'. I think Ole Johnny removed every ounce of humour from that song with his graveyard delivery and killed it like yer man in Reno. On the other hand, he breathed new life into 'Bird on a wire', 'Won't Back Down', 'Desperado', 'Hung My Head' and 'Personal Jesus'. Ok, 'Stolen Car' sung by Patty Griffin (Bruce Springsteen) 'In The Jail House Now' as sung by Steve Earle (Jimmie Rodgers) 'Johnny Hart' as sung by John Mellancamp (Woody Guthrie) 'Honky Tonkin' as sung by The The (Hank Williams) 'Tennessse Plates' as sung by Charlie Sexton (John Hiatt) 'One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer' as sung by George Thorogood (John Lee Hooker) 'Frontin' as sung by Jamie Cullum (Pharrell Williams)...Yep, you heard me right. 'Twist and Shout' as sung by Bruce Springsteen (Phil Medley & Bert Russell ) 'Froggy Went A Courtin' as sung by Bob Dylan (Traditional) 'Stairway to Heaven' as sung by Rolf Harris (Led Zeppelin)...so original, you have to play it twice just to believe that you are hearing what you are hearing. 'Whiskey in the Jar' as sung by Metallica (Trad / Arr: Thin Lizzy) Hey, this is fun...

That version of "I Will Survive" (Cake? or some other nonces) is pretty good: transforms it from gay anthem to diasaffected hetrosexual indie rant.(etc.) Yeah, I like that Schneider 3000 thing, too: only heard it a couple of times, though. It has some kind of electronic voice on it, right? I'm Your Fan is pretty good Cohen covers lp; The Bridge, ditto Neil Young. Both came out mid 1990s: both have Pixies, Nick Cave, etc. doing good stuff. The Clash and The Rolling Stones did plenty of good covers, too...but that's speaking the obvious. My 20 cents worth, anyhow.

Johnny Cash's version of Nine Inch Nails' 'Hurt' is one of the most stunning things I've heard in years. On a lighter note Elbow version of 'Independent Woman' by Destiny's Child was pretty cool.

Yeah Vandale, The Schneider TM cover is the one with the vocodered vocals on it. Schneider TM has the unique talent of using a vocoder in a song and not making it suck or sound like a cliched gimmick. Eyeballkid, I love Elbows version of Independant Woman! Have you seen the Flash animated video Joel Veitch created for it? Everybody has probably go this link in their email sometime, but for those who haven't: http://www.rathergood.com/independent_woman/ Three More great covers for ya: Together in Electric Dreams - Lali Puna (Human League) Open Your Heart - Ladytron (Human League) - notice a pattern here? Dancing in the Moonlight - Smashing Pumpkins (Thin Lizzy)

Liked the Elbow with kitties ! Ok, y'all probably seen this one too but if you haven't Johnny Cash as interpreted by monkeys http://www.apsv04.dsl.pipex.com/desperado.swf

"Hallelujah" - Jeff Buckley

'Smoke on the water' as sung by Pat Boone (Deep Purple) 'Its Not Easy Bein' Green' as sung by Van Morrison (Kermit The Frog / Joe Raposo)

The Catina Band as played by ASH (John Williams - from one of the original Star Wars films) All Along The Watchtower as played by Jimi Hendrix (Bob Dylan) Young Man Blues as played by The Who (Mose Allison) Lucy In The Sky With Diaminds as interpretted by William Shatner (The Beatles)

'Hallelujah' - Jeff Buckley ? Yes, this song, brilliant reimagined by Jeff Buckley, has since been done to death by a host of lesser talents such as...you know who you are ! It is this generations answer to Jimi Hendrix's version of 'All Along The Watchtower'. I used to like it alot but hearing these other pale imitations makes me want to nail my...to a... Sometimes, very good people cause very bad things to happen. Why did Jeff have to die and not those other toe rags who ape him ? On the subject of Johnny Cash, you should keep in mind that Cash was a product of Nashville where there is a clear distinction between the writer and the singer. In Cash's case, his ability to make a song his own, which was equal to George Jones, is partly why he was offered so many great tunes. At the height of his fame, he was the holy grail for aspiring writers and Kris Kristofferson resorted to landing a chopper on his lawn just to get him to listen to material. I have loved Cash's music since I was a kid but for many years this was not a popular position to have. Cash was a joke, a has been, a figure of fun. His records were about as cool as a Daniel O'Donnell record is today and when he was dropped by Columbia there was a tacit view in the 'credible' music press that he deserved it. I find it funny that so many people who would have sneered at Cash in the Eighties now go on about how much they rever him. His former sins, such as 'Chicken In Black' (not a bad song and a very funny video), are forgotten by them. I am glad that so many people have, in the words of Hank Williams, seen the light. Even so, just because someone has his last couple of discs does not mean they have got a fully rounded view of his work. Yes, its a good introduction, but you need to take it from there. Rick Rubin, like the Nashville execs before him, did not fully encourage Cash to write his own material. Prehaps because he felt it better, given the artist's age and ill health, just to get on with recording him. Even so, Cash's songwriting, always undervalued, just got better. 'Drive On' is one of his best. Bob Dylan was probably Cash's greatest fan, admiring him primarily for his ability to write great tunes and, indeed, he stole lines from Cash during co-writing sessions. He called Cash his North Star. Cash also had a great sense of humour, a quality that is not so much in evidence on most of the late records, nor is his mastery with a crowd. Although, I would recommend a live CD that Cash did with Willie Nelson (on American Recordings) for a VHI Masters gig. Brilliant, sublime, seldom mentioned. On it, Nelson and Cash sing and explain the backgrounds to their biggest self penned hits. Check it out if you value the craft of great songwriting and want to study the art of great performing. For me, his key work is 'Live In San Quentin' where he played the single toughest crowd in the world and became the light of salvation for a thief by the name of Merle Haggard. Listen to that record and hear a man who truly was on a mission from God. Cash is king, pay him his due.

Yeah, hands up, I admit it! I'm only a recent fan of Cash. I only own a copy of American 4: The Man Comes Around. I didn't spend the eighties sneering at him, but the only reason for that is that someone of my age during the eighties was too busy watching Transformers cartoons and trying to get a new high score on Sega OutRun. I really liked his song "The Man Comes Around", it was definitly among the best 3 tracks on the album and better than a lot of the covers. Shame he did not write more original tracks for his last couple of albums.

Hey, no worries. A few cd suggestions. The Essential Johnny Cash (Sony/Columbia) is a good place to start. It has all his major cuts, his duet with U2, and none of the really bad stuff about Christmas etc. Title: The Essential Johnny Cash Number of Discs: 2 Label: Sony Catalog: #86290 ASIN: B00005Y1M2 'Live at San Quentin' or 'Live At Folsom Prison' are also great although 'Essential' contains cuts from them. That VH1 album is... Title: Vh1 Storytellers (Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson) Label: American Catalog: #586952 ASIN: B000068FWG Overall, Tower have a good selection and will let you listen before you buy. Some people say that Hammell on Trial is heavily influenced by Cash. I can't hear it. One artist who is though is Josh Turner. Title: Long Black Train Artist: Josh Turner Label: MCA ASIN: B0000DD55S Oh yeah !

I love Michael Hedges' cover of "All Along the Watchtower." Also his version of Sheila E's "A Love Bizarre." Aretha Franklin - "Respect" (covering Otis Redding) Waterboys - "Sweet Thing" (Van Morrison) Melvins - "Going Blind" (Kiss) Earth Wind and Fire - "Got to Get You Into My Life" (Beatles) Johnny Cash - "The Mercy Seat" (Nick Cave) Ben Folds Five - "She Don't Use Jelly" (Flaming Lips) Eva Cassidy - "Fields of Gold" (Sting) Everything But The Girl - "Alison" (Elvis Costello) Ryan Adams - "Wonderwall" (Oasis)

'Go Your Own Way' as sung by The Cranberries (Fleetwood Mac) Looking for a copy of this actually.

ok, how's this gotten this far without a mention of Cash's cover of Bonnie Prince Billy's (Will Oldham's) "I see a darkness"?! Perfect example of a great song gone better... I actually went to Nashville for the first time in march and saw an otherwise forgettable pub-band do a countrified cover of Prince's 'Kiss' that blew me away...(try to hear it in your head and you'll realize how kick-ass this could be...) Other great covers: Jesse Malin - Death or Glory (The Clash) Iron and Wine - Such Great Heights (Postal Service) Iron and Wine - Waiting for Superman (Flaming Lips) (This cover breaks my heart again and again...they had to cover it as 'waiting for A superman' so they wouldn't get sued, but it's worth hunting for...) Ramones - Do You Wanna Dance? (Beach Boys) this is fun...sure beats sleep... -h.

oh, and one more: this isn't a cover exactly, but Wilco and Billy Bragg's rendition of "california stars" (the song was penned, but never recorded, by Woody Guthrie) is stellar. whew.

faith no more easy, the first recorded case of a sarcastic guitar solo "...plus the chicks in the video were, like super hot dude!"

'Death Is Not The End' as sung by Gavin Friday (Bob Dylan)