Hüsker Dü
Eight Miles High

The incredible proliferation of cover and tribute bands in recent years demonstrates not only a vertical drop in "creativity" (whatever that word means), but also how the audience, on the brink of catatonia, is now only receptive to the "already known".
In other cases, especially when the cover is performed by established groups or those aspiring to be, it serves to boast illustrious influences and renowned spiritual fathers, naturally almost always non-existent.

However, the landscape is not always so barren. For a very few exceptional artists, a cover is a testing ground on which to prove their unmistakable personality. There are bands that have the ability to make every other composition their own, so much so that it's hard to spontaneously realize the rendition in progress.
The corollary of this principle is that it's difficult for any ordinary group to cover songs by these excellent artists without the listener realizing that it isn't their own grain of ingenuity.

An outstanding example? Who could ever, unknowingly, say that "Police on my back" or "I fought the law" are not original Clash songs (originally composed in 1967 and 1958, respectively!!).
And conversely: have you ever heard anyone cover an original Clash song without it invariably sounding like reheated soup? Even the least savvy reader will understand where I'm heading with this.

"Eight Miles High" was one of the most successful singles by the Byrds. Released in 1966, it is one of the tracks where Roger McGuinn's band’s psychedelic streak is most evident.
The same track, recorded at the end of 1983 and released in the early months of 1984 by Gregg Ginn's SST, represents one of the expressive peaks of the band called Hüsker Dü.

McGuinn's visionary 12-string and his inspired singing transform, in the hands of Bob Mould and company, into a sharp and compact wall of sound and a deeply emotional and pathos-filled performance.
Again: the magnificent succession of lighter moments, where the instruments seem to simmer, to others where the now definitively post-hardcore fury of the three Huskers pours onto the listener, maintain a level of tension hardly matched in this field.

The trio from Minneapolis manages to turn this track into "something else", even though it comes from a formation full of personality and talent, making this version definitively "their own thing".
A capacity that further demonstrates, if ever there was a need, the greatness of a band not within reach of all listeners.