The best covers are better than the original. The classic example is Jimi Hendrix's All Along The Watchtower which even made a stubborn artist like the allmighty Bob change the way he performed his original in every concert since (and that was over 40 years ago).

It's not very often a cover makes me exited but this one is definitely worth sharing. The Black Keys covered Never Gonna Give You Up, a soul classic by Jerry Butler which has the unfortunate fate of having the same name as that awful Rick Astley song. The orginal is a wonderful song, but The Black Keys manage to make it even better. Here's the amazing cover (no video available unfortunately:



And here's the original Jerry Butler version:



It amazes me that a hardcore blues-rock duo as The Black Keys are able to make a cover that has even more feeling and heart than a soul classic like this. Their new album, Brothers is really, really good and they're a great live band as well. I was lucky enough to see them in concert a few weeks back and they tore the roof off the place.

Here are some already sifted songs from the album:

http://videosift.com/video/The-Black-Keys-Tighten-Up-Official-Video (first single and a funny music video)

http://videosift.com/video/The-Black-Keys-Next-Girl (another fun music video and a great bluesy track)

http://videosift.com/video/The-Black-Keys-Too-Afraid-To-Love-You

http://videosift.com/video/The-Black-Keys-Ten-Cent-Pistol

Yes, I am a fan.