covered
i just don’t understand cover songs that sound just like the original. what’s the point of covering a song if it’s going to sound exactly like it did before? tracy and i were watching VH1 the other day and saw a ronan keating cover of the goo goo dolls‘ song ‘iris’. what a disaster! the video is almost (almost) worse than the song itself. you can tell it’s just one of those songs that ronan keating has always wanted to sing, and he covered it for absolutely no other reason. perhaps that is a good reason to cover a song, but not if you’re an ex member of a quickly-fading-from-recognition boy band from the 90s that people knew for songs with names like ‘key to my life’.
some say a cover can never be as good as the original, but i must admit, personally, that there are a few covers that i’m tempted to like even more than i do the original. i was trying to think of cover versions that i like and cover versions that i hate and found a number of dynamics : there are covers that are utterly distasteful by artists that i absolutely love, there are covers i love by artists i wouldn’t otherwise listen to. there are good songs that have been mutilated by the artist that covered it and not-so-great originals that have been salvaged by their cover versions.
remember when madonna covered don mclean’s ‘american pie’ for the original soundtrack of that terrible film, ‘the next best thing’? that was a complete nightmare, especially for one that loves madonna as much as i do. following that, here’s a list of cover songs i really don’t like…
goo goo dolls’ iris, covered by ronan keating
sick sick sick. it’s not like ‘iris’ is a great song in itself, why cover it? why ronan keating?
the who’s behind blue eyes, covered by limp bizkit
fred durst is the last person that should be singing this song. his wounded, pathetic vocal style really doesn’t do this any good.
guns n’ roses‘ sweet child o’ mine, covered by sheryl crow
again, what a song to cover. i hate this song anyway, but the sheryl crow version is so much more hideous than the original one, which is saying alot. and i quite like sheryl crow. tragic.
berlin’s take my breath away, covered by (that slut) jessica simpson
what is with this girl and doing fucked up cover versions of good songs? even though she raped robbie williams’ ‘angels’ and nancy sinatra’s ‘these boots are made for walkin'’, this cover song of that stunning, sophisticated, sexy hit from the soundtrack of ‘top gun’ has to to be her worst crime committed (yet).
the rolling stones‘ satisfaction, covered by (that slut) britney spears
did that talentless hack honestly think she could pull this off?
on the other hand, here are some covers i really like…
j j cale’s cocaine, covered by eric clapton
people barely remember that this song isn’t a clapton original. an appropriate song to head a list of ‘good cover songs’ any day.
prince’s when doves cry, covered by ginuwine
here’s what i meant by ‘covers i love by artists i wouldn’t otherwise listen to’. still not better than the original, in which prince really capitalizes on his sex appeal and raw edges, ginuwine managed to hammer out a cover version of a great song that sounded genuinely ‘ginuwine’.
talking heads‘ burning down the house, covered by the cardigans featuring tom jones
oh how i love the cardigans. at the risk of being shot down by fans, i must admit i like the cover version of this song even better than the original. tom jones’ vocals really brings a lot of funk and flavour to the song, and combined with nina persson’s sugary vocal style and the jazzy-bluesy feel this cover has to it, it’s a lot more fun to listen to.
prince’s nothing compares to you, covered by sinead o’conner
what a fantastic voice. it almost seems as if this song were written for her. prince’s original is great, but o’conner really puts her everything into this one, making it one of my favourite cover songs of all time.
otis redding’s respect, covered by aretha franklin
it’s safe to say that it has become her most popular recording. her attitude is infectious and i think it works a lot better as a song of feminism than the original, in which redding asks for respect from a woman. she sings it full of zest and style and really makes her version difficult to forget.
red hot chilli peppers‘ under the bridge, covered by all saints
i always kind of liked all saints, especially their single ‘pure shores’ from the original soundtrack of danny boyle’s ‘the beach’. containing samples from the red hot chillie peppers original, particularly the distinctive guitar playing in the beginning and through out the song in parts, with the original lyrics slightly changed, the all saints recorded this cover because they liked ‘the overall sound and feeling of the recording’. great, great cover.
labelle’s lady marmalade, covered by christina aguilera, mya, li’l kim and pink
…for the original soundtrack of baz luhrmann’s moulin rouge! a fantastic combination of voices and talent, the four ladies work well together (and look good together too) in a quality remake of the soul sisters labelle’s hit. a tight and solid track.
the guess who’s american woman, covered by lenny kravitz
lenny kravitz is sexy. he brings all this sexiness into his version of ‘american woman’ and it works wonderfully.
U2’s one, covered by U2 featuring mary j blige
a beautifully sung cover of the U2 hit from 1992. bono really steps back and lets mary j blige own this song, and boy does she do that well. her vocals are amazing and strong, stomping out the lyrics and making the song her own.
I can’t agree on All Saints version of Under the Bridge - I think they murdered it.
Comment by R — July 18, 2006 @ 9:34 am
Yeah I agree with most of these… Limp Bizkit even trying to live up to The Who by covering Behind Blue Eyes was a terrible idea and the song proves just how bad it was. Remember the fucking A Teens who tried to cover ABBA’s fucking music?? Goddamn that was the worst fuckin thing someone could do to a band that was so popular in its time. Retarded fucks. Anyway I enjoyed this and all your other blogs! Rock on!
Comment by Rehan — July 18, 2006 @ 6:07 pm
what is the point …?
it is the money of course
they are milking them to the last drop, as they should.
and in most cases ppl seem to enjoy them (sometimes we too) if we go by sales.
Comment by sittingnut — July 19, 2006 @ 2:45 am
Okay first, this is absolutely freaky. I was going to put up a post on exactly the same topic, which was inspired the exact same stupid cover by Ronan Keating.
I could never understand making covers that sounds the same as the original. To perform at a gig is one thing, but to release as a new single is plain stupid. Monetary gain and perhaps the potential use as a career salvaging tool is all what I can think. The Keating cover of Iris is identical to the original.
The other stupid move is to cover great songs that don’t suit one’s style at all. Past weekend I saw the video of some woman doing a cover of “Nothing else matters” by Metallica!!! WTF?
I too beg to differ on the all saints cover of under the bidge. They just murdered one of the best songs written and performed ever.
Comment by SpectralCentroid — July 19, 2006 @ 5:27 am
I agree with most of these though I have to say that Tom Jones and the Cardigans version of Burning Down The House was a complete massacre of a great song by an even greater band. How could an aging crooner like Tom Jones do the song any justice, even with such a great band as the Cargigans? However, couldn’t agree more with the comments on barbie doll songs by the likes of Britney and similar clones. Sick.
=)
Comment by Charlotte — July 19, 2006 @ 12:18 pm
Sinead O’Connor and Ginuwine… two marvelous covers there!
Cardigans are a great band, can’t help but agree with you on that…have to differ on the cover they did with Tom Jones though… it is fun to listen to… but all in all, didn’t completely cut it for me.
Here’s something you can give a ear to though, try looking for the lenny Kravitz acoustic cover of the Bill Withers classic “ain’t no sunshine”. That voice sure does justice to the song. Lighthouse family covered it too… they’ve taken it and given it a smooth feel, quite interesting… especially if your looking at music to set the mood for a romantic evening.
I’m sure you’ve heard the song that was burnt to a crisp by overplaying it on nearly every radio station…”amazed” by lonestar, if your first reaction is a dreadful Oh Noooo!!! then try the version by Bonnie Tyler, here too her voice just gives the whole song a new and different feel, quite interesting.
Ever heard “bizzare love triangle” by Stabbing wesward, nice… but the version by Frente is so darn cute… simple too… it’s just her voice with a guitar strumming in the background. soft, sexy but has this slight edge that just makes it stand out.
Funny how a voice can sometimes have such a compelling impact on a person…
Comment by Rudster — July 19, 2006 @ 3:10 pm
The shittiest thing about Covers is, some people (mostly the younger generation) believe that it’s an original and think the Cover is hip, when they don’t know what there missing.
Geez. I sound old saying the “younger generation”.. lets rephrase.. “the dudes and dudettes who aren’t tuned in with their musical roots”
Comment by Chaar~Max — July 20, 2006 @ 5:32 am
Dandoo and Thalia both covered Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round” which makes me want to put my hand in my head and weep.
Dandoo’s cover was slightly more of a trainwreck, but they were both bad.
Comment by Tori — July 21, 2006 @ 5:17 pm
hmmm interesting topic.. well hu really cares abt Ronan keating anyway?? every single song of his has been a cover…”tomorrow never comes” , “life is a rollercoaster” , even wen he was in Boyzone they were doin covers….like “words” and “going gets tough” …and when he became the producer and manager of westlife…wht did he get them to do?? COVERS!!!! I doubt ronan keating has as much as original talent in his whole body than most of us hav in our little finger…
by the way….RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS rule…all saints screwed up a perfectly awesome track…
cheers
Comment by Munky (teague) — September 10, 2006 @ 6:52 pm