Are Cover Songs Ever Better Than the Original?
In the recent nights, I've been attempting to get Bootykid3 to sleep in her bedroom by herself. It's certainly been an ordeal, and I'm usually finding myself in a war of attrition with her... even when she does fall asleep in her room, she'll find her bawling voice at some awful time in the morning.
One technique that has been working on and off is playing some music from my phone for her. Of my three children, Bootykid3 has the closest affinity to music -- you will find her trying to sing every radio song and commercial jingle as they play. My mother had mentioned that she liked the Takarazuka (Japanese Broadway-like troupe), so we play some of those videos at night.
Okay, well last night I found a video of an acoustic version of Heart's song Alone which she liked very much. In the "related videos" section, I thought I'd play Carrie Underwood's version of it having remembered her performance from American Idol. We weren't disappointed. It's an enormous song, and Underwood does a great job.
So, while driving to work this morning, I was startled by hearing that a group called "The Australian Pink Floyd Show" was coming to Boise. Being an avid Pink Floyd fan, I couldn't help but feel a little sick to my stomach thinking about this blasphemy. I'm sure they are talented musicians and performers, but this just doesn't sit well with me.
This got me thinking, what are the cover songs that supersede the original? I can definitely appreciate some remakes of songs like Underwood's Alone or Jennifer Hudson's And I Am Telling You, but both are done more to pay homage to the original power of the songs rather than to own it. Then there are just some blasphemous remakes, probably too many to mention.
The only one I can think of right now is Tears for Fears's Mad World redone by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews.
One technique that has been working on and off is playing some music from my phone for her. Of my three children, Bootykid3 has the closest affinity to music -- you will find her trying to sing every radio song and commercial jingle as they play. My mother had mentioned that she liked the Takarazuka (Japanese Broadway-like troupe), so we play some of those videos at night.
Okay, well last night I found a video of an acoustic version of Heart's song Alone which she liked very much. In the "related videos" section, I thought I'd play Carrie Underwood's version of it having remembered her performance from American Idol. We weren't disappointed. It's an enormous song, and Underwood does a great job.
So, while driving to work this morning, I was startled by hearing that a group called "The Australian Pink Floyd Show" was coming to Boise. Being an avid Pink Floyd fan, I couldn't help but feel a little sick to my stomach thinking about this blasphemy. I'm sure they are talented musicians and performers, but this just doesn't sit well with me.
This got me thinking, what are the cover songs that supersede the original? I can definitely appreciate some remakes of songs like Underwood's Alone or Jennifer Hudson's And I Am Telling You, but both are done more to pay homage to the original power of the songs rather than to own it. Then there are just some blasphemous remakes, probably too many to mention.
The only one I can think of right now is Tears for Fears's Mad World redone by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews.
Posted by Bootyboy on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 02:17PM
- 21 comments
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Keywords:
takarazuka,
songs,
cover
(Edited on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 02:58PM)
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#21 Tiberath:
Tsfreaks wrote:
> heh.. don't ask..
I have no intention of doing so. =)
Saturday, September 19, 2009 03:09AM
#20 Tsfreaks:
Tiberath wrote:
> The heavier the music, the more of a fan I am of it, that's how it works for me.
Same here. It has to be real moody for me. It can be techno, metal, orchestra, or even elevator music as long as it resonates some form of pain.
heh.. don't ask..
ts
Friday, September 18, 2009 11:39PM
#19 Rghneck2004:
David Bowie's "Hello Spaceboy"
Pagan's Mind "Hallo Spaceboy"
No clue if the spelling is intentional on the song, but I find it to be a good cover.
Friday, September 18, 2009 09:27PM
#18 Tiberath:
The heavier the music, the more of a fan I am of it, that's how it works for me.
Friday, September 18, 2009 08:55PM
#17 Disturbed Puppy:
Tiberath wrote:
> I agree with Mike H. The value of the cover is more on an individual taste. I enjoy Cradle of Filth's version of 'Hallowed By Thy Name' over Iced Earth's and Iron Maiden's. And no doubt, several people who are fans of the other mentioned bans would disagree.
I'm one of those. Iced Earth's is pretty snazzy, but Maiden made it. perfectly. It's all relative though.
Friday, September 18, 2009 06:13PM
#16 Tiberath:
I agree with Mike H. The value of the cover is more on an individual taste. I enjoy Cradle of Filth's version of 'Hallowed By Thy Name' over Iced Earth's and Iron Maiden's. And no doubt, several people who are fans of the other mentioned bans would disagree.
Thursday, September 17, 2009 02:08AM
#15 Tsfreaks:
Mike Patton and company have done a ton of fun covers.
Cover of The commodores (Lionel Richie) Easy
While this isn't a cover... it's just more endless fun to be had with Patton...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxNDKsyvMOI
ts
Thursday, September 17, 2009 12:16AM
#14 Bootyboy:
Great suggestions everyone! Here are a couple more songs where I prefer the remake over the original:
Jimi Hendrix's Little Wing by Stevie Ray Vaughan
The Rolling Stones' Wild Horses by The Sundays
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:27PM
#13 Disturbed Puppy:
The first cover that comes to mind is "All along The Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix(Bob Dylan is the song's original artist). I find it to be straight superior on every plane to Dylans.
Another cover Johnny Cash did is of the song "thirteen" by Danzig. It seems much better from where I stand.
Really though, it all comes down to personal taste. Two people can hear two versions of a song, and have different preferences. I tried to show two examples where there's a majority opinion the cover is better nonetheless.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 06:33PM
#12 Redbutton:
Metallica has a great cover album garage inc, some are good some not bad.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 11:56AM
#11 KirbyAllStar:
Framing Hanley's cover of Lollipop by Lil' Wayne.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 10:57AM
#10 Tsfreaks:
Limp Bizkits cover of 'Faith' was pretty amazing...
ts
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 05:05AM
#9 Mike H:
In many cases, whether the cover is better than the original depends on the personal taste of the listener. I can't stand Bob Dylan, but Eric Johnson's cover of My Back Pages is fantastic (original). Similarly, any cover of a Neil Young song is automatically an improvement on the original. The man cannot write a good tune, sing, or play worth a damn. Despite that, some artists have actually had success in making his songs sound enjoyable.
My favorite covers generally have a completely different feel from the original, where the covering artist has really made it their own. One of my favorite albums of all time is Herbie Hancock's The New Standard, where he covers several pop and rock songs in his traditional jazz style. Some are recognizable, others require careful listening to pick out the original song. For example, compare New York Minute - (cover) (original). I don't think I own any of the originals on that album (and have no real interest in them), but the covers are great.
Others along these lines are Johnny A.'s cover of The Wind Cries Mary, which I love because it's so different from the original; and Alex Skolnick's cover of Tom Sawyer (original). Yeah, I particularly like (good) jazz covers of pop/rock songs.
I have plenty of other covers in my collection which I like a lot, probably more than the originals, but they don't stand out as much as the above.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009 01:18AM
#8 Tsfreaks:
Aren't those guys going to be huge fans?
They can tour making their own music but they do Pink Floyd instead so they can meet people, drink, and talk shop (Pink Floyd) no doubt. An excuse to continue the party... They prolly don't make enough to cover more than a half rack (plus expenses) and rely on the locals to provide the party.
:)
ts
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 07:25PM
#7 Zxcvdnm:
look up Tool's cover of Zeppelin's "No Quarter." Tool truely transformed that song into something amazing.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 04:54PM
#6 Riva:
George Jones & Alan Jackson - A good year for the Roses (Original)
Elvis Costello - Good Year For The Roses (Cover, but not so great.)
Butch Walker - Good Year For The Roses (Good Cover)
Not a big country fan, but Butch does it right here.
Son House - Death Letter Blues (Good old school blues.)
White Stripes Death Letter (Amazing cover!)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 04:40PM
(Edited on Tuesday, September 15, 2009 04:46PM)
#5 ACWraith:
> Also this.
Yet another way to avoid giving Ya Kid K credit on that song. ;)
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 03:38PM
#4 Airjoe:
Also this.
[edit]
Yeah, Reznor has even gone as far to say that the song no longer belongs to him. I had actually thought Cash's version was the original and NIN's was the cover.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 02:57PM
#3 Bootyboy:
Airjoe wrote:
In other situations, I feel covers are really great. Take Johnny Cash's version of NIN's 'Hurt', for example. Both versions are excellent. Cash changed the song in such away to keep the merit of both songs, if that makes any sense.
Oh of course! I completely airballed on that one. That is a fabulous remake -- Cash put a great signature on that song.
I'll take a look at some of your other suggestions tonight.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 02:57PM
#2 Airjoe:
I think it depends a lot on the song and the band.
I share similar feelings with you about Pink Floyd- there's a cover band that tours around here called "Blue Floyd", and I just can't stand it (especially because cover bands seem to throw in their own flair. Guess what, Floyd songs are already perfect, don't touch them!)
In other situations, I feel covers are really great. Take Johnny Cash's version of NIN's 'Hurt', for example. Both versions are excellent. Cash changed the song in such away to keep the merit of both songs, if that makes any sense.
Weezer's cover of Pokerface makes the song about a million times better, too. Lily Allen's cover of womanizer is much better than the original. Paramore turns "Use Somebody" into a song that's, you know, listenable.
Daughtry's cover of Fuel songs were pretty good, too. He didn't change too much there, for better or worse.
Speaking of Tears for Fears, I kind of like Disturbed's cover of shout.
A friend of mine does such a great cover of Blackbird, I can't even listen to the original.
Overall, it really depends on who made the original, who did the remake, and any attachments you have to either.
Here's an interesting thread for you.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 02:50PM