Root Down in the Shadow

It is argued frequently what constitutes a good cover song.  Is it playing a song just like the original artist?  Is it stripping it down and recreating it in the covering artists' style?  Is it only good if you were not familiar with the original?  But what happens when the cover takes on a new life, and changes the intended song and what it stands for? 'Hurt' (live) by Nine Inch Nails, from the Downward Spiral The original 'Hurt' as shown in its officially released video version from Nine Inch Nails is in itself haunting. It speaks of a man questioning life in general and it's fragile existence. The video goes deeper showing the decay (in reverse) explicitly showing how everyone of us "goes away in the end" If you've never experienced this live, watch the video closely. This is not some effect of editing superimposing Trent Reznor and band over a screen. There is a large translucent screen that the band plays behind and in front of, while

The 1963 Johnny Cash song 'Ring of Fire' has been my long time favorite song from the country legend.  When I first purposely started playing ol' Johnny Cash, it was my song of choice in the Jukebox at Denny's bar in South Oakland(Pittsburgh).  My high school buddy Fat Tom, loved Johnny Cash, and I quickly grew to love 'Ring of Fire'.  I still have great memories of darts and pitchers at the bar playing this song over and over. I eventually picked up Johnny Cash - Legend of Johnny Cash as my primer to his collection, of which I have about 20 albums now.  Ring of Fire has always held strong as my fav.  Johnny Cash - 'Ring of Fire' Through the years, there have been many cover versions of Ring of Fire. The one that sticks out the most was the Social Distortion attempt from 1990. That was at least until in a deep music exploration session, I came across The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show: 1969-1971, including a live version by Ray Charles.