'Cry Little Sister' -- Which Version?

Ok, I'll admit it: I had no idea that "Cry Little Sister" was a cover song. I honestly thought it was an original Season's After tune. I've even interviewed the band about the song and they never mentioned it was a cover! So, the song was written by Gerard McMahon (under his pseudonym Gerard McMann) for the soundtrack to the 1987 horror flick The Lost Boys. Well, I've never seen the movie... so how would I know the song was a cover, right?

Last night, I went out to YouTube looking for some really random L.A. Guns song... and ended up seeing their version of "Cry Little Sister." I was intrigued, clicked and then realized that Season's After song I love so much was a cover! Let's just say I was excited, embarrassed and all annoyed all at the same time.

So, turns out, everyone and their mother has covered "Cry Little Sister." And you know what that means! It's time to pick your favorite version of the Gerard McMahon song "Cry Little Sister."

Here's the original:

Here's my fave, Season's After:

Here's the L.A. Guns version:

Here's the famous Aiden version:

Here's the Ventana version (for fans of Mushroomhead):

Which Version of 'Cry Little Sister' Rocks Hardest?

• Gerard McMahon (original)
• Season's After
• L.A. Guns
• Aiden
• Ventana

Comments

[Rock-It]

Since the Gerard McMahon original is the first version I heard and the one I am most used to I'd say that is the best version. I can't at all deal with the Seasons After version or the Aiden version. The L.A. Guns version is listenable but far from great. The Ventana version just plain sucks.

[Chris]

He also wrote Is That You? From Kiss' Unmasked Album.

[Metalboy!]

Huh-uh-lo-oh!

What an amazing song!

Though I love the original, it's way cool to ROCK OUT to the L.A. Guns Glam Metalized version, which I've owned since it came out. To me, it showed the band still had "it". I also bought the movie on VHS upon it's release, as well as the soundtrack to "The Lost Boys".

Plus, ya gotta see this movie. It's a cult classic. Yeah, sure, on the surface, it seems like a kid flick and it's got some campy moments but it's also got great directing, acting, cinematography and art direction. You want 80's L.A. Style, you want to watch this movie. It didn't get two thumbs up from Siskel & Ebert for nothin'!

[JT]

I can't believe you've never seen Lost Boys. One of my all-time favs. Two Coreys, Kiefer, and Alex Winter...it's impossible to go wrong. Well, I guess the excitement of the saxophone player in concert was a little wrong. But other than that, it's a GREAT movie!

[Will]

I think the biggest take from this is that you have never seen Lost Boys!!

[Dana80's]

I think that the best version of the song is the original, Gerard McMann is amazing, but the L.A. Guns version is also very good cause it has that glam metal theme to it, but the other stuff are not listenable at all they are so new in the worst way I wouldn't choose listening to them :)

[Dana80's]

@JT I think that Tim Cappello is amazing and that scene is one of the best in the movie :P

[Anna]

Hi,
Did you know that "The 69 eyes" a glam-rock-gothic retro band from Finland (known as Helsinki Vampires) opens their live concerts with "Cry little sister"? It is played bevore they start the gig.
Btw: The lost boys is cult!

[Kenny Ozz]

Theres a rap-rock band called 'Zug Island' that does a great cover of this as well.

[scott whitt]

Ally, how old are you if you don't mind saying? I figure that most if us here are in the same age range, so I along with others are stunned that you never saw The Lost Boys.
Have to go with the original. Lot cleaner than the others. What I mean is that the others try to go over the top in certain aspects of the song. The Season's After picture should have had the girl with a knife. Because they butchered that song.

[Allyson B. Crawford]

Scott,

I'm 32.

- Allyson

[stu]

Charlie Sexton also covered the song on his first album.

[Metalboy!]

Always wanted to like Charlie Sexton but he was forever victimized by overproduction and too much cross genre convolutedness. His version of "Cry" sounds like all that was wrong with 80's music except his voice and the guitars.

If only he rocked out more, he woulda been a lot bigger. He certainly had the voice, looks and talent!

[M.]

Sorry, but outside of a few small differences in production, there really isn't much to distinguish these from each other. The original is surprisingly lame compared to the others (are the "girl" singers intoning "Thou shalt not fall" - whatever that's supposed to mean - supposed to be that far off key?), but they're all the same song, done basically the same way. Cover your eyes, do "eeny-meeny-miney-mo", whatever, but any preference is going to be a weak one.

[Metalboy!]

That's kid singers during the "Thou Shalt Not Fall" on the original.

The devil is in the details and the guitars on the L.A. Guns version are punchier which really serve to ROCK the song out more.

The original beats 'em all for originality's sake.

You can have the rest of 'em.

[FatesWarn]

As a child of the 80's and a die-hard Lost Boys fan (AND LA Guns), I have to say the original is the best, but I admit that I found your post because I am upset that Marilyn Manson has never covered it. That really needs to happen!

[LJ]

Mystic Circle. If you haven't, look them up.

[Andrew M.]

My favorite cover is the band.Zug Island . It has an industrial sound and. With a man simply named Syn as lead. Vocal short. In stature not lacking power for his size . He almost matches the original note for note with his wreckless abandon in his. Voice. . he. Let the chips fall where they may and it was. Unapologetically good. In its own right even though some lyrics were changed in order to suit the theme of the band which was. The only rock band on an all hip hop label