According to Slate’s Dan Kois, Stevie Wonder’s “We Can Work It Out” is the best Beatles cover out there:
Stevie Wonder and his cover of “We Can Work It Out,” not only the best Beatles cover of all time but the only one that is definitively better than the Beatles’ original.
Now…my first response to this claim can be summed up as “OH, WORD?”
To my mind, as good as Stevie’s cover is, it’s in competition with at least two other covers from the same era: Al Green’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand” and Aretha Franklin’s “Eleanor Rigby.” Showdown!
- Aretha Franklin: Eleanor Rigby (From This Girl’s In Love With You. Atlantic, 1970)
- Al Green: I Want To Hold Your Hand (From 7″. Hi, 1969. Available on Love Ritual)
- Stevie Wonder: We Can Work It Out (From Signed Sealed & Delivered. Tamla Motown, 1970)
Who wins? You decide.
One of my favorite “micro-genres” is soul/jazz/funk covers of Beatles tunes. There must be hundreds. My money amongst the three in the poll is on the Aretha joint but for the bass line alone. However, my favorite all time has to be the Stevie/Syreeta future-baroque version of She’s Leaving Home. It’s mind bendingly emotive and weird at the same time.
“Tomorrow Never Knows” & “Taxman” by Junior Parker are amazing, but there are soooo many.
Also if you wanna hear a whole lot of Eleanor Rigbys (maybe too many) check this out:
http://www.chanceswithwolves.com/episode-90/
Oh man, if solo careers count, Donny Hathaway’s “Jealous Guy” is my top of the pops