Who Covered it Better?

For the inaugural post of Who Covered it Better, I thought what better way than to kick things off with a classic? The song in question here is the classic-rock supergroup Cream's Sunshine of Your Love. While a number of artists have taken on this song, I chose from a few of the more notable versions to provide an array of different takes on it. First, let's start with the original:

As a classic-rock purist I feel comfortable saying that this song stands on its own merits.

The covers:

Goo Goo Dolls

Funkadelic

Carlos Santana feat. Rob Thomas

The Verdict:

The Goo Goo Dolls do a great take on the original in which they add a little bit of a harder edge but don't otherwise stray much from the original. Funkadelic provides a great cover that is deconstructed in the sense that they bring it to a level of almost pure rhythm; not say this is a bad thing, just ask James Brown. The winner, in my humble opinion, is Santana's take on the classic. He maintains the structure of the song while adding his trademark flair. For a song that is so closely associated with the origins of popular psychedelic rock, Santana's guitar riffs are the perfect addition while Rob Thomas provides vocals that hold up well against the backdrop of the rollicking drums.