Similar to the other thread regarding cover songs that are better than the originals, has anyone else been grateful for cover songs for introducing them to the (possibly better) original artists?
Ages ago in my youth, my girlfriend at the time bought the This Mortal Coil boxed set, which had three CDs of TMC songs. (For those not familiar, they were a rotating collaborative group of artists from various bands -- I think mostly/all on the 4AD label -- doing both original and cover songs.) There was a fourth CD that, for me, was the most interesting. It contained the original versions of many of the songs that the band had covered. In many cases, I liked the originals better and became a new fan of some of the original artists.
Notable original artists & songs that caught my ear...
Kangaroo and Holocaust by Big Star
I Am the Cosmos & You and Your Sister by Chris Bell (also a member of Big Star)
Til I Gain Control Again by Emmylou Harris
Song to the Siren & I Must Have Been Blind by Tim Buckley
Carolyn's Song by Rain Parade (I like the original, but not the other songs I've heard by them -- though I'm a Mazzy Star fan!)
And although I was familiar with The Byrds, I had never heard "I Come and Stand at Every Door" which is a flat out amazing song. (Especially since I had also read John Hershey's "Hiroshima" at just about the same time, and could freshly relate it to his graphic account of the incident that inspired the song.)
I know there have been others since then, but I always appreciated the fact that TMC published an entire CD of songs by the original artists that inspired them.
Anyone else have some "found great original song/artist because of cover" songs?
