Hit Covers of Classic Rock Songs That Fans Actually Hate
A good artist can perform a competent version of a cover song. A great artist can cover a song and make it their own. For example, Johnny Cash's version of 'Hurt' by Nine Inch Nails is one example of a cover song that sounds nothing like the original, stripping down the guitars and slowing down the tempo, making the song even more melancholy. From Jimi Hendrix's electrified version of 'All Along the Watchtower' to Amy Winehouse's R&B take on 'Valerie,' some cover songs are better than the original version. Then there's the other side: Some cover songs are just bad.
When an artist covers a popular classic rock song, they might get a lot more scrutiny and criticism than if they released a lackluster original song. For example, reviews of Britney Spears' 2001 album 'Britney' tended to single out 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' for particularly harsh critique. Even though the album as a whole also received generally mixed reviews, none of the original songs drew the same kind of ire. To put together this list, we drew from critical reviews, fan comments on social media sites such as Reddit, and user-submitted reviews to music sites such as RateYourMusic.com. We also checked the chart and/or social media performance of each song to verify that it could justifiably be called a 'hit.' Without further ado, here are five hit covers that classic rock fans actually hate.
- These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Jessica Simpson and Willie Nelson
Pop star Jessica Simpson recorded a cover of Nancy Sinatra's 'These Boots Are Made for Walkin'' for the 2005 'Dukes of Hazzard' movie, featuring her co-star Willie Nelson. The lyrics and melody were drastically rewritten to pack them with references to the movie, adding lines like 'Tick-tock, all around the clock, drop it/ Push ya tush, like that.' Simpson simply doesn't sound convincing, crooning lines like 'Yee-haw' and 'Come on, boots' while Nelson's backing vocals are almost mumbled, and the added banjo is not a good fit. Despite peaking at No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, the cover received harsh criticism. One RateYourMusic.com commenter writes, 'This is the single worst cover song of all time. You want a real cover of 'These Boots'? Go literally ANYWHERE ELSE and you've got it.'
- I Love Rock 'n' Roll - Britney Spears
Britney Spears' cover of Joan Jett's version of 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' (itself a cover of a song by Arrows) was the fourth single from her 2001 album 'Britney,' and it was also prominently featured in her 2002 movie 'Crossroads.' While not a hit in the U.S., 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' reached the Top 10 in Germany and Austria. Similar to Spears' 2000 version of the Rolling Stones' 'Satisfaction' (which was not a single), music critics and classic rock fans alike immediately hated the cover. The song features a spoken-word intro, jarring background voices, and Spears' breathy vocals, which don't fit the lyrics or theme. One RateYourMusic.com commenter wrote, 'Memo to Britney: You do not rock. Repeat, you do not rock. Leave it to Joan Jett.' Even Britney fans rank it as one of her worst singles.
- About A Girl - Puddle of Mudd
2020 was a weird time for music. Along with Verzuz battles on Instagram Live and dozens of livestreamed concerts, the COVID-19 pandemic brought us Puddle of Mudd's infamous acoustic cover of Nirvana's 'About A Girl.' After being filmed as part of a SiriusXM session in late 2019, the song went largely unnoticed until April 2020, when clips of the performance were posted to Instagram and the original YouTube video quickly went viral, racking up over a million views despite being unlisted. Top-voted YouTube comments include 'This literally sounds like something South Park would do to imitate Nirvana' and 'When you think 2020 couldn't get any worse... You find this exists.' The off-key vocals and undecipherable lyrics can still give the listener secondhand embarrassment, and Puddle of Mudd's decision to add bongos to a Nirvana song was definitely questionable.
- Behind Blue Eyes - Limp Bizkit
Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst is not a vocal powerhouse like The Who's Roger Daltrey, and that's very evident when you listen to his cover of The Who's 'Behind Blue Eyes.' While Durst's vocals don't compare to Daltrey's range, power, or emotion, the thing that really stands out is Limp Bizkit's decision to add a digital Speak & Spell voice saying, 'Discover, L.I.M.P., say it' over and over again on the bridge, immediately dating the song in a very bad way. In 2011, the song was voted the second-worst cover of all time by Rolling Stone readers. One Redditor writes, 'Limp Bizkit's 'Behind Blue Eyes' made me hate them on sight.' Nonetheless, the single performed moderately well in the U.S., reaching No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 11 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs. However, it was a bigger hit in much of Europe and even reached No. 1 in Sweden.
- The Sound of Silence - Disturbed
In 2015, Disturbed released a slowed-down, orchestra-ed up cover of the Simon & Garfunkel hit 'Sound of Silence.' Disturbed's version extends the vocal range of the song, moving certain lines to a lower or higher register, while lead singer David Draiman crisply enunciates the lyrics to the verses and basically screams the chorus. Combined with the piano and strings, this makes the cover sound incredibly overdramatic and over-produced when compared to the simple, timeless nature of the original. While Disturbed's cover topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs chart and racked up over 1 billion views on YouTube, it received criticism for its dramatic and over-produced nature. One Redditor wrote, 'It's like some child is trying to be edgy, but all it comes off as is incredibly immature and cringey.'
