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Bogus_Burger
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Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 7:27 pm

As suggested by Mooby and my recent obsession with the coverville podcast, here is the thread I've been waiting for:

THE BATTLE OF THE COVERS.

Every now and then I'll post youtube videos for original songs and their covers (the ones I can find on Youtube), analyze them, and decide which I think is the best. Then you can decide for yourself if you believe me. I'm also open to suggestions.

Songs We Already Posted(with original artists):

1. "First We Take Manhattan" by Leonard Cohen
2. "Mad World" by Tears for Fears
3. "Common People" by Pulp
5. "c** on Feel the Noise" by Slade
6. "Jump in my Car" by Ted Murly Gang
7. "Downtown Train" by Tom Waits
8. "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails
9. "No Aphrodisiac" by The Whitmans
10. "This Must be the Place (Naive Melody) by The Talking Heads
11. "99 Luftballoons" by Nena
12. "Imagine" by John Lennon
13. "Good Year for the Roses" by George Jones
14. "Can't Get it Out of my Head" by Electric Light Orchestra
15. "Engel" by Rammstein.
16. "I Kissed a Girl" by Katy Perry

Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 7:28 pm

Case #1: "First We Take Manhattan"
*Most songs will not have this many cover versions.

Why this song?

Besides the fact that I find it interesting, and a little haunting, this is also a catchy song. It's catchy, but not to be taken lightly. Besides, I couldn't think of a good place to start so I spun the musical equivalent of the character wheel. Later on I'll probably mention Cohen's most popularly covered (and over covered) song: "Hallelujah." For now, though, here's "First We Take Manhattan"

Original

Cover #1: Jennifer Warnes
While not bad, I don't like this cover anywhere near as much as I like the original. I think it's kind of mediocre.
Cover #2: R.E.M.
This cover isn't as good as the original, but it is still a great cover. I prefer it to Jennifer Warnes' version.

Cover #3: Joe Cocker
(see the R.E.M. clip)
sorry about the double video. It was the only clip of the R.E.M. version I could find. I think that this version is well sung, but lacks the feel of the other covers. As a poster on you tube put it
"Leonard's dark vocals are intense and atmospheric, causing the chilling words to cut like a knife. I thought Joes's well sung version was not lyric conscious"-Singingweasel
Cover #4: Sirenia
Of the four covers, this version is the most interesting. Usually, bands that carry a song over into a different genre either do extremely well or butcher the song completely. I think that Sirenia did a great job with their cover. That being said, the original is still the best in my opinion.

Verdict: Leonard Cohen's version>Sirenia's version/R.E.M's version>Jennifer Warnes' version>Joe Cocker's version.

Bogus_Burger
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Mooby the Golden Sock

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Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 4:15 pm

Case #2: "Mad World"

Why this song?

Because I think this is a case where the original artist failed, and the cover brought out what should have happened the first time.

Tears for Fears (Original)
This is the original version. The lyrics are great. Excellent lyrics. However, the music completely takes any punch out of them. It seems like the singer spends the entire time trying to keep his singing up with the music, without putting any feeling into it. In other words, Tears for Fears' melody wastes the lyrics in the same way Jessica Simpson's lyrics wasted the melody from Jack and Diane.

Gary Jules (Cover)
Gary fixes everything wrong about this song. He slows down the melody and ports it to a simplistic tune on the piano. He sings it in an introspective, melancholy tone. The result: the lyrics sink in, and are pretty damn powerful. Unlike the original version, Gary Jules' cover could bring a tear to one's eye. Gary Jules saved this song.

Verdict: Gary Jules > Tears for Fears. And in a weird double-whammy verdict, John Mellencamp > Jessica Simpson.

Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 4:54 pm

Case #3: "Common People"

Why this song?

Because William Shatner covered it.

The Original by Pulp:

Pulp's version isn't bad, but it strikes me as mediocre. The lyrics have the potential to be much more powerful than they sound in this version. The vocals are a little tedious and don't seem to bring out their full potential. Still, overall this is a good song.

The Covery by William Shatner:

This is an excellent version of "Common People." Shatner and the other singer's delivery of the lyrics make them much more powerful way. The song seems to escalate with the speaker's outrage in a way that Pulps version does not.

The verdict: William Shatner's version> Pulp's version.

Bogus_Burger
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Mooby the Golden Sock

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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 6:01 pm

Case #4: "c** On Feel The Noize"

Why this song? Because more people are familiar with a cover than the original.

Slade
The original. A nice, solid rock song. It rocks pretty hard considering it was from the 70s. The vocals are good, the instrumentation is good.

Quiet Riot
Their cover moved the song into 80s territory, and it feels like any other 80s rock song. Other than that, the song is basically the same exact thing as the original. I like Slade's vocals better, though.

Oasis
Erm, yeah. This one just falls flat. I don't know what they were trying here, but it didn't work.

The verdict: Slade > Quiet Riot >> Oasis

Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 3:23 pm

Mooby, I agree with you on your "Mad World" verdict. I prefer Quiet Riot to Slade on "c** on Feel the Noise" though. Oasis' version isn't even worth mentioning.

Bogus_Burger
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jaythenerdkid
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Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 10:03 pm

!postbodystart

..! { Does someone want to do "Jump in My Car", or shall I? } #!.

!postbodyendThis post was brought to you by [S.E-m] Enterprises, Ltd.

Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 10:41 pm

It's all yours.

Bogus_Burger
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jaythenerdkid
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 12:22 am

!postbodystart

..! { Then here we go:

Case #5: "Jump in My Car"

Quite a few people don't know that Hasselhoff wasn't the first one to perform this song. It was originally written and recorded/performed by the Ted Mulry Gang (an Australian group). Here's the original.

And here's Hasselhoff's cover version. That's the one you're all probably more familiar with.

My verdict? In terms of performances, they're pretty much equal - neither performer (or, in the case of the Ted Mulry Gang, group of performers) sings the song better. But in terms of videos? I'll take the original any day, mainly because it didn't give me nightmares for weeks afterwards. } #!.

!postbodyendThis post was brought to you by [S.E-m] Enterprises, Ltd.

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:25 am

TI: The original wins by a few feet, I think. I prefer the singer's gritty vocals to Hasselhoff's voice. Also, the bass line is more pronounced and that's always a good thing.

Bogus_Burger
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Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:49 am

Case #6: "Downtown Train"

Why this song?

Most people don't realize that the most popular version of this song is actually a cover.

The original by Tom Waits:
The audio quality on the real music video for this song sucked, so I decided to link to this video. Wait's gravelly vocals give a more melancholy tone to the song. Overall, this is a great version.

The cover by Rod Stewart:
The more popular version of this song, Stewart's seems more grand than Waits' version. The instrumentals are more pronounced and take some attention away from the vocals. There are some parts I wish he would have sung differently: the first couple of lines, "They stay at the carnival/but they'll never win you back." That last part, I think, Waits hits much better. In my opinion, while this is still a good version of the song, Stewart's voice just can't compare to Waits'.

The Verdict:
Tom Waits' version> Rod Stewart's version.

Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 4:13 pm

Bogus_Burger

TI: The original wins by a few feet, I think. I prefer the singer's gritty vocals to Hasselhoff's voice. Also, the bass line is more pronounced and that's always a good thing.

!postbodystart

..! { Hmmm, fair enough. (Always a good thing? Hmmm, maybe...) Thing is, I saw both of those clips for the first time on Spicks & Specks, and both in a sort of point-and-laugh context, so I guess my perception of the song and the singers will always be a little coloured by that. } #!.

!postbodyendThis post was brought to you by [S.E-m] Enterprises, Ltd.

jaythenerdkid
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Bogus_Burger
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Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:43 am

Case #7: "Hurt"

Why this song?
Because it's an excellent song and one of the many songs covered by Johnny Cash. The debates about which version is better are pretty heated.

The original by Nine Inch Nails

This version is slower and grittier. It also evokes a greater feeling of despair than Cash's version.

The cover by Johnny Cash

Cash's version seems a bit faster and more hopeful than Nine Inch Nails' version. I think that in some ways, Cash's singing makes the song more meaningful than the original.

The verdict: Johnny Cash's version>Nine Inch Nails' version.

Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 4:23 pm

I really ought to post more covers. Anyone got a song they particularly want done?

jaythenerdkid
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Bonus Burger

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Posted: Thu May 15, 2008 5:14 pm

Nothing in particular. I've got a bunch of songs I want to post still.

I can't find a video for the Hindu Love Gods' cover of "Raspberry Beret" or else I would've posted it already though.

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