Honorable mentions to Roberts Flak for "Killing Me Softly" and Rod Stewart for "first Cut is the deepest"
On the basis they've added some value rather than a karaoke style homage: Santana, black magic woman Take that, relight my fire Joe Cocker, little help from my friends (probs my favourite cover) Gangsters, the special aka. The beat, tears of a clown (not better, just different) And who can forget, Mike Myers pop, wonderwall lol
I used to think the Hollies cover of “just one look “ was the best and that included the brilliant Linda Ronstadt version . Then I heard the original Doris Troy and that drew me away from covers . Thing that amazes me is the versions of Springsteen songs that people acredit to someone else and didn’t realise that he’d wrote and sung himself . Same with Dylan .
By underrated, you mean named as one of the best albums of 1980/the 1980s and given almost universal praise at the time? Reaching No 6 in the album charts and a No 1 hit single with "Geno"? And it is still a cracking album 40+ years later.
The first time ever I saw your face, Roberta Flack. And if you don’t believe me, here’s the original.