One of my favorite Simon and Garfunkel songs is “The Boxer.” When something is that good, it’s pretty much impossible to cover it and expect the result to be anywhere close to the genius of the original…right?
Listen to this version featuring Mumford and Sons before you answer that question:
And then I started trying to think of other covers that outstrip (or nearly) the original versions. This one by First Aid Kit came to mind:
And I think the hands-down winner in this little contest I have going in my head would be Jeff Buckley’s version of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Here’s that one:
If anybody else can think of any others to add to this list, I’d love to hear them!!