Cash's versions in levels above the NIN original. It brings in a personal effect and he certainly did make it his as it was stated above. Cash also did an amazing job on Soundgarden's Rusty Cage.
I don't think that's true at all.
What about a whole decade of him working with Rick Rubin?
There was also his appearance at Glastonbury in the mid 90s where he said the reception he got was one of the highlights of his career.
And then there's him working with Nick Cave , U2 , Joe Strummer and a whole load of others.
Although the original is not Metal, the cover has rock elements and is one of the best cover versions you will ever hear. It takes the original and makes it sound completely unique. Both rock.
The original:
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The songs obviously about young love. I love Big Star but they very much sound dated sometimes and that song is one of those times which makes it sound like its coming from an older person which very much takes away from it. Elliott's sounRAB like it's coming from a much younger person, someone who could be Thirteen perhaps and I think that makes the lyrics much more powerful because they sound less like reminiscing and more like serenading.
Wow...I really do appreciate the effort you put into this! I only listened to "Am I Evil" and "Breadfan", since those are two of my faves. Metallica did a great job on both covers, thought I must say I really liked Diamond Head's version of "Am I Evil". I could take or leave the original version of "Breadfan" though. Thanks for posting those!