Cover songs versus the original track, which ones are better?

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In summary, the conversation discussed which songs were performed, arranged, or produced better in a cover than the original version. They also debated which songs should have been left alone and whether restricting covers to released singles limits interesting comparisons. The discussion also touched on the subjectivity of judging which version is "better" and the importance of adding something unique to a cover. Examples of good and unnecessary covers were also mentioned. Overall, the conversation highlighted the different interpretations and emotions that can be evoked by a cover compared to the original version.
  • #876
fresh_42 said:
"One chord is enough. Two chords are borderline, and three chords are jazz."
And 20 odd chords is Yes!

If it's minimal it really has to have something unique, special.

Never a fan of velvet underground. Give me prog rock, rock, good pop, jazz and Bach!
 
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  • #877
fresh_42 said:
I have read a quote by Lou Reed - presumably since it was without a reference as always nowadays on the internet - in the context of people complaining about the few chords Quo normally uses:

"One chord is enough. Two chords are borderline, and three chords are jazz."​
That is a hilarious quote! :oldlaugh:

I like some Velvet Underground songs, but I'm not a die-hard fan. They were a bit too lo-fi for my taste,
but I can understand their appeal.
 
  • #878
"The jazzman plays a thousand chords for three people. The rock band plays three chords for a thousand people."
 
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  • #879
Grace Bowers

 
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  • #880
Hornbein said:
"The jazzman plays a thousand chords for three people. The rock band plays three chords for a thousand people."
I'm one of the three!

With a qualifier, I like rock but three chord stuff bores me.
 
  • #881
pinball1970 said:
I'm one of the three!

With a qualifier, I like rock but three chord stuff bores me.
I used to like it. I've listened to a hell of lot of music since then. You get tired of the same old thing.
 
  • #882
pinball1970 said:
Red Spandex outfit was never going to end well! Started out ok, she is playing a Ricky which is always cool.
Three cool dudes at the back however.....roller skater fella just killed me! That was a thing in the 70s, roller disco!
Wonderfully awful :)
 
  • #883
Hornbein said:
Grace Bowers


You can't play Hendrix on an SG is she crazy!?

Loved it actually. Here is one with bass and drums.

 
  • #884
The much-neglected art of dynamics.

 
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  • #887
 
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  • #889
That guitar solo is quite something. It's a family band.



Their other stuff is just as good. Average age : 12.

 
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  • #890
This song is very famous in Japan. There must be hundreds of covers.

My that's a pretty face and voice. It hardly seems real.



Does she trim those bangs every day?

Symphony orchestra.



Other notable efforts by jazz groups, the Glory Gospel Singers, marching bands, and on numerous silly instruments.



Imagine the amount of work that went into that. The Frank Sinatra version is pretty good too.

How on 49 guitars?

 
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  • #891
I'm Waiting For My Man.

 
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  • #897

Midnight Cruiser - Cover of Steely Dan by Foxes and Fossils​


 
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  • #898
Ska - Watermelon Man .
Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. Sure glad I got this retro FM radio and getting: 'Top News Radio .93.5 FM in Pattaya* with this Brit DJ playing stuff never heard before. The station says it is an international music platform? Not sure how this works: Is music streaming online all over the world, and then channeled to local venues?
 
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  • #899
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Becker
https://jasonbecker.com/
AIMM Archives - Jason Becker (1989) [he was 20 years old here]

1986 - He (at age 16) and Marty Friedman (at age 24) formed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cacophony_(band)

1989 - He had just joined David Lee Roth's band ...
recorded Roth's 3rd album https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Little_Ain't_Enough (1990)
[ David Lee Roth (with Jason Becker) A Little Ain't Enough (audio playlist) ]
but never got to tour with him because he began to suffer from ALS.


COVERS


Jason Becker - Perpetual Burn Live (rare audio) - [ Jeff Loomis- Perpetual Burn (Jason Becker Cover) ]


Cacophony Ninja lost footage 1989 [studio version (audio): Cacophony - The Ninja ]


Cacophony - Black Cat live in Japan 1989 [studio version (audio): Cacophony - Black Cat ]

... more videos of Cacophony
 
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  • #900
Maybe I've posted this one in the previous favorite songs thread (which sadly seems to have disappeared), I don't remember...

...but this is actually a cover which I like at least as much as the original, perhaps even more:

Laura Branigan - Gloria


The sound is outdated and definitely 80s, but it still is a splendid song.
Why do I like this song so much?

1) It's wonderfully composed, everything is great, melodies, verse, bridge, chorus...
2) Laura Branigan sings like a darn goddess on it ❤️
3) It's a tricky song, upbeat and happy sounding, but dark lyrics (I like those)
4) The lyrics are very thoughtful and poignant (the line "if everybody wants you, why isn't anybody calling?", gosh, what a perfect line...

The original is Italian, and here it is:

Umberto Tozzi - Gloria


Another interesting thing is that the original has a different meaning of the lyrics (less somber), but I really, really like the rewrite in Branigans cover.

Original lyrical content : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_(Umberto_Tozzi_song)#Lyrical_content
Cover lyrics content: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gloria_(Umberto_Tozzi_song)#Laura_Branigan_version
 
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  • #901
Oh, by the way, I heard this cover yesterday... U2 covers ABBA:s SOS :smile::



I like the cover, very emotional, and I am a fan of U2, but sorry, the original is still the best:



(it's a weird song, perfectly composed but done in a strange and special style, like it's a mix of baroque/pop/rock, and a killer bridge after the chorus which (to me) sounds like it's influenced by The Beatles, but I don't know if it is.)

Song Impact:

I've heard that John Lennon really liked this song (but maybe it's only a rumour).
I've heard that Pete Townshend of The Who liked it very much.

And, very weird and unexcepted, it was an inspiration for the Sex Pistols punk song "Pretty Vacant". :oldlaugh:

Wikipedia said:
According to bassist Glen Matlock, the song's main riff was inspired by hearing "SOS" by ABBA.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pretty_Vacant

And here's another cover, where U2, Björn and Benny (of ABBA) perform "Dancing Queen" live together on a U2 concert in Stockholm, Sweden in 1992 (U2 Zoo TV tour). And I actually was on that very concert! (it was one of the best concerts I've been to)

(another fun fact is that we happened to stumble upon U2:s bassist walking around alone in Stockholm, and since we were fans, we asked for a photo and an autograph, which we got)

U2 ft. Björn & Benny ABBA : Dancing Queen (1992) & Satellite of Love
 
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  • #902
great music and memories, thanks!
The British music invasion of the U.S. was fully ongoing still and highly successful always by the early '70s.
Aretha Franklin covered 4 Beatles songs. This one along with "Eleanor Rigby", "Fool on a Hill", and "Let It Be."


She also covered Elton John.



And Lulu.

 
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