Hurt was always a great track. But Cash picked it up and put a folk singers life of real pain behind it. In addition he picked it up and blessed it right squarely in front of the faces of the original nine inch nails fans that are starting to age, like you saying see what’s coming. It almost made it personal.
I’m a huge NIN fan, and the first time I hear Cash sing Hurt, I cried.
Every thing you said his soul is just there so raw and worn.
Even Trent has said it is not his song anymore
I stopped listening to radio and spotify some time ago. I only pop out a few times a year and look for new stuff to add to my repo. I had heard this came out which is a bit unusual. New tracks don’t make the news very often.
I expected it to be good because Cash is historically good. I expected it to be just another cover that I would like and respect but not like as much as the original.
The first time I heard it it was very strong, I didn’t really shed any tears though. I knew Trent’s history with the song, and I knew he put his experiences into that song.
I think it was when I read the piece the independent did on his cover before I realized the actual gravitas.
When cash recorded this, his wife was on her deathbed and he not far from it. You can almost feel him slipping away while he’s singing it. It’s the last prayer of a dying man.
That’s some amazing work.
My vote goes to Jimi and ‘All Along the Watchtower’.
sinead o’connor nothing compares to you
Mainstream speaking it’s hard to beat All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix.
Some of these are a bit more obscure, but I think these deserve mention for either transforming or faithfully updating the original songs:
Visigoth covering Necropolis by Manila road: https://youtu.be/QWixcWq1HPk
Cradle of filth covering Temptation by Heaven 17: https://youtu.be/MfMa2lrFxhY
The unseen covering Paint it black by the Rolling Stones: https://youtu.be/QAowDvxJN1A
Type O Negative covering Cinnamon girl by Neil Young: https://youtu.be/BO9aD4mzSE8
Electric Callboy covering Everytime we touch by Cascada: https://youtu.be/AuBXeF5acqE
Marylin Mansion covering Tainted love by Soft Cell: https://youtu.be/srcb-zmKDOE
HIM covering Wicked game by Chris Isaak: https://youtu.be/8oYodfK4DkE
And who can forget the Guns and Roses cover of Knocking on Heaven’s door by Bob Dylan: https://youtu.be/k04tX2fvh0o (I’m pretty sure this is another case of a super popular cover eclipsing the original by another super star)
[Edit] Forgot this amazing cover of Pink Floyd’s Welcome to the machine by Shadows Fall: https://youtu.be/kvMDk3M3c1c
Kind of a pet peeve of mine, but Tainted Love was originally performed in the 60s by Gloria Jones, a black soul singer. Considering the lyrics of the song, I think it could be interpreted as an interracial love affair, which adds a political dimension to the song that the Soft Cell version seems to lack. I would consider it to be some sort of cultural appropriation even if it’s hard to define. In any case, it doesn’t really sit right with me that Soft Cell and later Marylin Manson had all the artistic and financial success with it while Gloria Jones is mostly forgotten about. Don’t get me wrong, I like all three versions (and there are quite some more even) in a vacuum, but I think it’s worth pointing out this bit of background info.
If we’re going obscure, chvrches is worth a mention: https://youtu.be/msgimk3mV6g
This Kendrick Lamar cover is incredible. Similarly, they have a cover of the Arctic Monkeys that’s awesome.
