I'd say this differently. There are cover versions Beatles song that are fantastic but none of them supplant the original. The definitive version is always the Beatles version, except *maybe* that Joe Cocker one. However the Byrds and Hendrix produced the definitive version of those Dylan songs.
It can depend what you hear first. As a kid, I thought the original "Help" sounded dreary, because I was more used to the Bananarama/ French and Saunders version.
I sometimes feel I must be the only person alive that hates that Joe Cocker version. It's an everyman song and he absolutely ruins it with his histrionics. It's like Whitney Houston's cover of I Will Always Love You.
Hard agree, his constipated walrus approach singing to the song just ruins it, plus The Beatles were geniuses at understanding how long a song should be to support the underlying material and stopping just short to leave you wanting to hear it again. Cocker's version hugely outstays the welcome.
Phew it's not just me. It's routinely rolled out as the best Beatles cover. The actual best Beatles cover is this, by a country mile. youtu.be/wKfKhgP9Tl0?...
That's great, joyful fun! You might therefore like this: youtu.be/vYqtUVEyA3I?...
There's something about hearing them in foreign languages that makes the brilliance of the tunes stand out.
Ooooh yeah I'll have more of that! That's getting playlisted
I’d argue that Bryan Ferry produced the definitive Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall and numerous other great Dylan covers.