Cover versions that surpass the originals
I've been grooving to Lucinda Williams glorious cover of "Magnolia" lately, and figured it was time for another covers thread. So post some covers that you all thing equal or surpass the original versions.
Lucinda Williams playing JJ Cale's "Magnolia":
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Heh. I only knew of the UB40 version. And boy do I know it. 
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And yeah, Nothing Compares 2 U is a textbook case.
Pardon me while I brag for a minute.
Met him in the Green Room after the symphony, when I was about twelve.
I said "I saw you on TV last week!" Mr. Copland: "Was I good?" Me: "Yeah, you conducted the 1928 piano concerto." I was referring to having seen him conduct a concert on PBS.
Keith Emerson is a frickin' genius. 
Those big - remember, they were analog in those days - Yamaha synths were so touchy they could go out of tune under stage lights. IIRC Keith's techs built a device to keep the beast at a uniform temperature on stage so it would stay in tune. I don't think it would have been very happy freezing in Olympic Stadium in midwinter. 
ETA - gotta love Greg Lake's custom-built Alembic 8-string bass guitar. What a monstrous sound.
My first pop concert!!! The grandparents thought it was a gospel group, so that's why they let us go. 
My big sister and I were on the front row of the balcony grooving on it, and the grandparents sat there completely shell-shocked "Oh My God it's white boys singing that Nigra Music!!" It was loud. My mom got a headache after the first note, and flew out the door on her broom to the lobby.
Fuzz, nice slide guitar and later on Hendrix-esque 2nd solo, and one of the loudest live bands around. 
