This is another one of those songs that as a kid I had no idea it was a cover. Billy Idol rocks this song though, the original is pretty good though. It just seems like it may have been written for the 80’s and Billy. One interesting note is the live version of this song from 1987 knocked Tiffany’s “I think we’re alone now” out of the number one spot. What’s interesting about that? Her song was also a Tommy James and the Shondells cover.
At the start of this song Thee Ultra Bimbos take it in a completely different direction from the original by Twisted Sister, with the gregorian chanting of the lyrics and symphonic music, but shortly into the song, it just becomes a near-identical song. Not bad, but kind of a letdown.
The Reel Big Fish cover of this Aha song is definitely fun and unique. I like that it doesn’t even try to be an exact remake of the original and they just make it entirely their own. Also, the music at the beginning, when played by brass instruments, sounds just like the Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
This is such an iconic anti-establishment song, I never actually knew that it not only wasn’t originally a song by The Clash but that it had been covered a few times after it was originally performed by Sonny Curtis. The Clash version is a little more punk rock, which I prefer, but the original is good too.
The Damned do a blistering cover of the Sweet song Ballroom Blitz. I was never a big fan of this song, but I never disliked it either. I do like the much heavier version though.
