Top 10 Best Song Covers by R.E.M.

I've been listening to a lot of R.E.M. in the past couple of months, and I've heard many of their deep cuts.

I noticed a lot of cover songs, so I decided to try to rank them. Feel free to add to this list.

I will be ranking the R.E.M. versions of each song, not the originals.

The Top Ten

Love Is All Around

Released as the B-side to Radio Song, this song was sung by Mike Mills and was originally recorded by The Troggs. This led to The Troggs collaborating with three of the members of R.E.M. on the album Athens Andover.
My favorite version of this song is the one from MTV Unplugged.
Superman

This song is the last track on Life's Rich Pageant and was originally recorded by a Texas pop band called The Clique in 1969. The group invited the original songwriter, Gary Zekley, to perform the song with them at a show in 1986.
Crazy

This song was originally recorded by their contemporaries from Athens, Georgia, Pylon. The members of R.E.M. always expressed their admiration for Pylon, repeatedly saying that they believed they were a better band.
There She Goes Again

The song was originally recorded by The Velvet Underground on their first album. R.E.M. put their version out as the B-side to Radio Free Europe.
The Lion Sleeps Tonight

The B-side to The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite, they recorded their own version of this song as part of a deal with the song's publishers to use a short portion of the song's melody in Sidewinder.
Femme Fatale

Another song from The Velvet Underground. This one's interesting because it was originally sung by a woman, Nico.
Dark Globe

Originally written and recorded by Pink Floyd's former frontman, Syd Barrett. Roger Waters claims that he once went to an R.E.M. concert and met the band backstage. He was greeted warmly by everyone except for Michael Stipe, who ignored him throughout the concert except for at the end when he performed Dark Globe. Roger interpreted it as Michael's way of telling him that Syd was all right, but Roger was just a jerk.
Strange

Originally recorded by the band Wire on their album Pink Flag. The band sped up the tempo and changed the words "Joey's nervous" to "Michael's nervous".
Toys in the Attic

Originally by Aerosmith. Peter Buck said in the liner notes for Dead Letter Office that every kid who grew up in the 70s pretty much learned how to play this song.
King of the Road

Originally by country artist Roger Miller. The band recorded it during a tryout session with Neil Young's producer, Elliot Mazer. The band was very drunk when they recorded this, and Peter Buck said that if there were any real justice in the world, Roger Miller would be able to sue for what they did to his song.