When covers are more than a remake

Rumor has it that there's this manblog editor who claims to be a perennially self-deluded and pompous meta-being who'd shove the fact down anyone's throat that his auditory taste and appreciation to a great varied musical genre is extraordinarily over and beyond the comprehension of your common iPod-wielding-and-mainstream-music-listening excuse for musically inclined posers. Wrong! There are nine editors who fit the tab and I'm their king!

For a central theme of this music-inspired article, we'll feature what probably are the better cover versions of old and popular songs. Songs so popular that I'm almost certain everyone has heard of them at least once in this lifetime. Why? I say, why not?! The airwave is thick with artists doing nothing but remakes, moreso bad remakes, that everyone would have probably lost faith in believing that that attribute they call vocal talent was nothing but a myth to begin with, there being no physical evidence to support anyone ever manifested one. Ever.

The track collective below features 5 newer versions of old songs that are so popular, even your senile gramps would recognize them by their distinctive beat from the amps. For you to draw a comparison from, the songs as sung by their original artists are also provided for you reference.

We start off with the instrumental rendition of Like A Prayer (previously mentioned in my String quartet tribute to your favorite bands article) performed by the Da Capo Chamber Players. The album String Quartet Tribute to Madonna where this track is from was released in 2002. Enchantingly transfixing, the melodiously crisp sound of the strings build towards a crescendo of character and power as the quartet takes the listener through this rare and excitingly paced arrangement. Rich and precise, if this doesn't change your view classical music, nothing probably will.

StringQuartetTributetoMadonna-LikeAPrayer

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Madonna-LikeAPrayer

Lucie Silvas lends a chilling breath to the legendary Metallica's Nothing Else Matters original (from the band's self-titled album released in 1991). Hauntingly sincere and unforgettable, the track could make your friends' jaws drop should you decide to give this version a try in a KTV bar with Metallica's original accompaniment in the background. Don't forget to give me credit for giving you that idea! Lucie Silvas is only 25 and is from Leicester in the UK. She blogs, too.

Metallica-NothingElseMatters


Next, this Wonderwall cover by Ryan Adams may only sound familiar to fans of The O.C. but, hey, the guy's voice gives this Oasis original some pleasantly trippy facelift. Awesome shit, too. A truckload of it. Close your eyes, lay your head back on your recliner, and see flashes of that scene where Seth and Summer did some slow sensual dance while this cover track played. A moment you could only ever wish to want to share with the person of your dreams (for a bit of trivia, this song was played in the episode where the two characters mentioned had a whole day's worth of raunchy, hot sex that was, unluckily, only left for the viewers to speculate. Dammit!).

Oasis-Wonderwall

Twenty three years after Depeche Mode did their Just Can't Get Enough song in 1981 and this bossa-sounding cover by popular French pop-duo Nouvelle Vague comes as a sort of redemption for new wave to those who are not too keen on music from this genre (like me). I initially did not expect to be blown away by this cover but its head-bopping beat makes it quite likeable. Make that enjoyable. Too enjoyable even.

NouvelleVague-JustCan'tGetEnough

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DepecheMode-JustCan'tGetEnough

Last, I present to you Tori Amos's orgasmic rendition of R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion (from R.E.M.'s Out of Time album originally released in 1991). By orgasmic, I really meant orgasmic. Hers, not mine. I ran short of descriptors for Tori's vocal style in this particular song but the one word I gave is actually more than enough. You'll agree. Listen and relate.

ToriAmos-LosingMyReligion

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REM-LosingMyReligion

If you like the tracks, buy the artists' original albums. Don't be a cheap pirate! Show them your love and get their CDs.

Should you really and truly need to just get some free well made cover track, get the remake of the BeeGees' To Love Somebody (done by Eagle-Eye Cherry) from thier official website under the "Rarities and Remixes" section through here, as featured in the soundtrack of the movie Y Tu Mama Tambien.

As I close, bear in mind that your enjoyment is at the top of our objectives. Mine, in particular. Now, praise and thank me, bitch!


As published in the not-so-humble pages of the Man-Blog through here.

Labels: Music

posted by Fritz @ 2:28 AM