- Whether they’re really or really bad, some covers are just weird.
Cover songs can be great. They let artists pay tribute to other musicians, can introduce people to a band they wouldn’t have otherwise heard of, and can even be better than the original.
But not every cover song can end up good. Sometimes, you hear a cover that makes you scratch your head and wonder why it exists.
Sometimes an artist makes an absolutely bizarre genre switch with their cover, or the cover is so bad it makes you wish you’d never heard the original. And perhaps the strangest covers are the ones that really, really shouldn’t work — but somehow, they end up sounding fantastic.
Here’s a list of six of the weirdest cover songs of all time that includes a little bit of something from all of those categories.
1. William Shatner — Rocket Man (by Elton John)
Maybe we shouldn’t start with William Shatner. His music career has been… Well, let’s say that most people like it for the comedy factor.
It’s the same story with Elton John’s “Rocket Man.” We could’ve picked any of Shatner’s songs to feature here, but this one has a space theme that you’d think would fit Captain Kirk.
Yet, Shatner’s slow spoken-word reading of “Rocket Man” somehow manages to strip the classic song of all tensions or drama. That’s even with Shatner’s unnecessarily dramatic pauses and enunciation.
If you need something to put you to sleep at night, though, listen to this.
2. Sid Vicious — My Way (by Frank Sinatra)
Sid Vicious is a weird musical icon. The Sex Pistols’ bassist is renowned as a punk rock legend, even though he couldn’t play his instrument enough for even punk standards.
Seriously — they had to unplug him at concerts because he was so terrible. And his “My Way” cover proves he couldn’t sing, either.
Vicious begins with a possibly intentionally pretentious and off-tune… We suppose you could call it crooning.
Then you hear the punky guitar and drums kick in and think, “Maybe he can still salvage this, maybe the beginning was just a joke.”
But no, Vicious can’t sing punk either, which is a small achievement in itself. Though this song is a great drinking game — challenge your friends to listen to it in its entirety or they have to down a shot of something equally nasty.
3. Ozzy Osbourne — Staying Alive (by Bee Gees)
First of all, let it be known that your humble author loves Ozzy Osbourne. But as soon as you hear him screech “ALL ABOARD THE DISCO TRAIN,” you know you’re in for a weird ride.
Then again, the song was made in collaboration with Frank Zappa’s son Dweezil Zappa. Anything touched by the Zappa family is bound to end up strange.
Now, this song isn’t the worst cover of all time. Your mileage may of course vary with music, but it’s an okay funky rock rendition of “Staying Alive.”
It’s just somehow really weird to hear Ozzy’s take on Bee Gees. You can’t help but wonder how much drugs Zappa had to pump into the Prince of Darkness to get him to sing disco.
4. Limp Bizkit — Faith (by George Michael)
The late George Michael was popular back in the day, despite his later sex-scandal-tarnished image. Yet despite all of that, we can’t help but feel sorry for him after hearing Limp Bizkit’s take on “Faith.”
Limp Bizkit rode the nu metal wave to fame in the early 2000s and the group was popular at the time. Say what you will about their music, but at least their originals are better than this abysmal cover.
Fred Durst just isn’t that great of a singer. And his voice certainly doesn’t do this abomination of a cover any favors.
Fun fact, according to Bizkit guitarist Wes Borland, Mr. Michael absolutely loathed the cover — and Limp Bizkit for recording it. It’s hard to not agree with him.
5. The Mike Flowers Pops — Wonderwall (by Oasis)
You’ve heard “Wonderwall.” You’ve probably heard it so many times that you never want to hear it again.
But you’ve never heard “Wonderwall” like this.
In case you’ve never heard of the Mike Flowers Pops, they’re an obscure British easy listening band. They had a moderate hit in the UK with their “Wonderwall” cover but we have to wonder… Why?
Did anybody ever wish that there was a weird jazzy lounge rendition of “Wonderwall?” Maybe this cover got popular for a moment exactly because it’s so strange.
6. Disturbed — The Sound of Silence (by Simon and Garfunkel)
In theory, this should be awful. Disturbed of “Down with the Sickness” fame covering one of the most beloved soft rock songs of all time?
There’s no way the band should be able to ooh-wah-ah-ah-ah its way out of this.
But some way, somehow, Disturbed made it work. And they didn’t even go hard and heavy on the song — the band’s orchestral cover is touching in a way you really wouldn’t expect.
And it’s not just us saying that. Paul Simon himself — you know, one half of Simon & Garfunkel — went public with his praise for Disturbed’s version of the song.
It shouldn’t work. But it does, and that’s the weirdest thing.
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