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Cover versions

Ted CTed C Posts: 11,730
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in Music #1
Have to say straight off that I a coming from more of an older perspective on this, but I am a person that has no problem at all with people doing new versions of classic songs...as long as they shake them up and do something different with them, and make them their own.

I have never seen the point of copying a song note for note, same as the original...why bother?

To illustrate what I mean, I remember the initial shock when the Flying Lizards covered The Beatles' Money. And yet gradually people warmed to the quirkiness of it and it became a hit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-P2qL3qkzk

Here's another example...I loved the band Yes for years (not so much now), but Don't Kill The Whale was my most hated song by them. But these guys (Magellan) did a superb version, which I thought managed to capture the feeling of early, classic Yes and the later 80's Trevor Rabin era -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMWX4Ch5TmE

Another fave is this cover of The Beatles All Your Loving by metal band Helloween -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgFPbBV-z0g

I also used to have a stunning version of Pink Floyds In The Flesh by Sweet Billy Pilgrim, but lost it...it was on a free CD from a music mag and not commercially available. Still trying to track that bugger down...




That's kind of where I am coming from - that's what I want from a new version of a song...you should not even recognise it at first.

Comments

  • BoselectaBoselecta Posts: 1,640
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    #2
    I sorta agree with you but sometimes there are songs that are perfect as they are, say Imagine for instance. In such cases I think EVERYONE should just leave it alone. Plus just changing it does not necessarily validate things... I remember Fine Young Cannibals putting their "stamp" on Ever Fallen in Love (another song EVERYONE should leave untouched on the basis it cannot be improved) and although it was, ahem, "different" it was an abomination.

    This is my fave cover I reckon:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC7gTDRgdKc
  • dd68dd68 Posts: 17,837
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    #3
    I like to think the whole point of a cover is to reinvent it
  • Ted CTed C Posts: 11,730
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    #4
    Boselecta wrote: »
    I sorta agree with you but sometimes there are songs that are perfect as they are, say Imagine for instance. In such cases I think EVERYONE should just leave it alone. Plus just changing it does not necessarily validate things... I remember Fine Young Cannibals putting their "stamp" on Ever Fallen in Love (another song EVERYONE should leave untouched on the basis it cannot be improved) and although it was, ahem, "different" it was an abomination.

    This is my fave cover I reckon:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC7gTDRgdKc


    But a cover version does not change the original, it's just a different version. A cover version is not intended to replace the original.

    And I don't understand why people think the point of a new version is to 'improve' on the original. Why? It's just another artists take on the song, and such remakes are usually done out of a love and a respect for the original, even if they can be quite different.

    And I cannot agree that some songs should not be remade, as long as the original artist agrees to it or the song is in the public domain, then the song is fair game for a new version.

    I never understand the notion of getting upset over a new version of a favourite song...if you don't like the new version then don't listen to it and stick to the original, job done.
  • Urban BassmanUrban Bassman Posts: 2,230
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    #5
    Ted Cunterblast wrote: »
    .....

    To illustrate what I mean, I remember the initial shock when the Flying Lizards covered The Beatles' Money. And yet gradually people warmed to the quirkiness of it and it became a hit.

    Which in turn was a cover of a Tamla song originally recorded by Barrett Strong in 1960.

    It can be quite funny when people think of a cover version as the original. Tainted Love by Soft Cell was a cover and The Zutons were once asked why had they covered Amy Winehouse's Valerie.

    Even I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye was a cover that had been previously recorded by Gladys Knight.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 2,302
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    #6
    Ted Cunterblast wrote: »
    I also used to have a stunning version of Pink Floyds In The Flesh by Sweet Billy Pilgrim, but lost it...it was on a free CD from a music mag and not commercially available. Still trying to track that bugger down...

    Track 1:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313&_nkw=The+Wall+Re-Built%21&_sacat=0
  • Ted CTed C Posts: 11,730
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    #7
    Smudged wrote: »
    Track 1:

    http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2053587.m570.l1313&_nkw=The+Wall+Re-Built%21&_sacat=0

    I actually managed to find another (free) download of it somewhere else, but many thanks for the link anyway.

    I love that track, and for me it does what a cover version should do...it starts off kind of quirky and bizarre and you have no idea what it is...until gradually the melody comes in and you realise.

    My take on this kind of cover version is that if I were the original artist, I would absolutely love what the artist had done with it.
  • yorkieUKyorkieUK Posts: 2,159
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    #8
    One cover version I particularly like is John Otway's version of Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive" sung in the style of Bob Dylan. It is certainly different but I like it! :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_cE6I5V-bY
  • silentNatesilentNate Posts: 84,079
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    #9
    yorkieUK wrote: »
    One cover version I particularly like is John Otway's version of Gloria Gaynor's "I will survive" sung in the style of Bob Dylan. It is certainly different but I like it! :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_cE6I5V-bY

    Thank you, that is hilarious!! :o:D
  • EraserheadEraserhead Posts: 22,016
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    #10
    I agree that a note-for-note cover version is not particularly impressive - the Bauhaus version of "Ziggy Stardust" springs to mind.

    I like it when an artist does their own take of a song in their style (as long as I like the artist and they're not an X Factor muppet haha).

    One of my favourites is the Jesus and Mary Chain's cover of "Little Red Rooster" which is drenched with their trademark distortion and feedback to the point where the song is barely recognisable.
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    #11
    Ted Cunterblast wrote: »

    I never understand the notion of getting upset over a new version of a favourite song...if you don't like the new version then don't listen to it and stick to the original, job done.

    dont you? really?

    quite often you cant dodge the cover and in some cases it gets elevated to become more popular or better known then the cherished original.

    'i will always love you' is possibly the most obvious example.
  • welwynrosewelwynrose Posts: 33,666
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    #12
    I heard on the radio the other day some awful cover of Chris Issack's Wicked Game - whoever had done it had added nothing to the song
  • VerenceVerence Posts: 104,587
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    #13
    Speaking of cover versions John Holt lead singer of the Paragons who wrote The Tide Is High, famously covered by Blondie died a few days ago

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Holt_(singer)
  • mushymanrobmushymanrob Posts: 17,992
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    #14
    these are some of the best cover versions imho, surrounding the scandanavian gothrock band HIM..

    solitary man the neil diamond original
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4IiP__5ck

    solitary man the HIM cover
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql4IiP__5ck

    dont fear the reaper - blue oyster cult original
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy4HA3vUv2c

    and the cover by HIM
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvxRTs9bVoo

    and for a change 'join me in death' this time a HIM original
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1V4AscLidWg

    and a danced up cover by lightforce
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02MrsIQMnlY

    three examples of covers that take the original to a different place, and although personally i prefer the originals in all three cases, imho the covers are very credible.
  • CAMERA OBSCURACAMERA OBSCURA Posts: 8,010
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    #15
    A few that spring to mind.

    Jumping Jack Flash – Thelma Huston
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewewL64hsNE

    He Fought The Law - She Trinity
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xucHG7gY9WQ

    Don’t Let Me Down - Marcia Griffiths
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZIc12OIWvU

    Heroes – Nico
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TFK1zgMaJk

    Back In The USSR – Chubby Checker
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1B4Pvml30-A

    Sister Morphine - Ren Harvieu
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJHEmKlMiAY

    Scarborough Fair – Sandi Shaw
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCMzGkHa3io
  • bspacebspace Posts: 14,303
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    #16
    Urban Bassman wrote: »
    Which in turn was a cover of a Tamla song originally recorded by Barrett Strong in 1960.

    It can be quite funny when people think of a cover version as the original. Tainted Love by Soft Cell was a cover and The Zutons were once asked why had they covered Amy Winehouse's Valerie.

    Even I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye was a cover that had been previously recorded by Gladys Knight.

    My favourite version is by Creedence Clearwater Revival
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