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Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: May 19 2008, 11:29 Kind of inspired by The Caveman talking about Mike`s cover of Abba`s Arrival in another thread.I thought I`d start a thread about other peoples and Mike`s cover tracks that you maybe prefer to the original versions. There are a number of covers which are probablly more famous than the originals for example.Such as the Hendrix cover of Dylan`s All Along The Watchtower which he kind of made his own in his own unique way.Or Harry Nillson`s cover of Badfinger`s Without You is another one that springs to mind for me as well. From the same album as Arrival of course is Mike`s take on Wonderful Land by The Shadows.I actually probablly love both of those versions equally really.Yeah sitting on the fence a little bit as they`re both very different from each other of course.I could`nt possibly decide though. A couple of people I`m keen to mention as great exponents of cover tracks are This Mortal Coil.Who were kind of a collective of people on the 4AD label during the 80`s/90`s.And Robyn Hitchcock who has done so many amazing cover versions now it`s almost impossible to keep track of them as they seem to turn up all over the place. A personal favourite of mine though is The Wings live version of The Long And Winding Road which appeared on their Rockshow album during the 70`s.In my view infinitly superior to the Phil Spector orchestral massacre that appeared on Let It Be..Yeah Wings Rule,rock on Paul!...I`m off upstairs now to bounce on top of my bed while singing the words to Jet!..     Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: May 19 2008, 14:07 Just a few faves off the top of my head (because I could go on for hours about this), and I've mentioned a couple of them on other threads: 1) Streetheart's version of the Stones' "Under My Thumb". 2) ELO's version of Chuck's "Roll Over Beethoven". 3) Jeff Beck's version of the Troggs' "Wild Thing". 4) The Stranglers' version of Bacharach's "Walk On By". I remember reading that after Dylan heard the way Jimi did "Watchtower", he started to do it in that arrangement too!  Do accolades come bigger than that? -------------- Turn up the music... Hi as Fi can go. Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: May 19 2008, 14:16 Ooh!  Ooh!  I almost forgot! Palmer/Power Station's version of Bolan's "Get It On". See what I mean?  Once I get started... -------------- Turn up the music... Hi as Fi can go. Back to top

Guest Unregistered Posted: May 19 2008, 17:01 Well, I have to stick to Oldfield. I dunno who wrote it...it figures as "traditional" but Mike Oldfield's version of "Flowers of the forest" from The Voyager album just gives me goosebumps.. god I like this number..I like to see it performed live with a full choir and bagpipe orchestra.. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 19 2008, 18:45 Off the top of my head it's hard, but here's a few... - Mike's "Arrival" and "Wonderful Land", of course. - Iron Maiden's "Women in Uniform" (The Skyhooks). - U2's "All along the Watchtower". - U2's "Helter Skelter" - on the same album as the one above. - Blackmore's Night's "Streets of London" (original by Roger Whitaker, I guess). - The Ramones' "What a Wonderful World". - Andrea Bocelli's "Can't Help Falling in Love". Long live the King. These are the ones I remember right now, I shall put more here when they come into my mind... -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: May 19 2008, 19:45 Cool thing you mentioned What a Wonderful World: has anyone heard The Flaming Lips' version for it, on their LP In a Priest Driven Ambulance? I find it absolutely brilliant, as it's faithful enough to be respectful, but different enough to be fresh. And, in fact, it almost sounds like they WROTE the song. There's also Squarepusher's cover of Joy Division's Love Will Tear Us Apart, in which he put his own, unique jazzy twist. It's far faster than the original, but it has a windy, hushed, dreamy sound. It's wonderful, especially coming at the tail end of the not very good Do You Know Squarepusher EP. One weird thing I have here is Dánarfregnir og Jarðafarir, a cover version made by Sigur Rós of a song that's traditionally used as the background of death and funeral announcements in Icelandic radio stations. What an evil thing to do! And on the EP it was released on, it follows the cover of a traditional Icelandic tune, Bíum Bíum Bambaló. I really like that EP. I have to say, though, I like Mike Oldfield's version of Arrival a lot less than ABBA's original. It sounds too cluttered, and I find it a bit annoying how he constantly switch instruments. We know you have a wide range of instruments you can play, Mike. There's no need to put them all on the same song! -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Tayniee Group: Members Posts: 132 Joined: April 2008 Posted: May 20 2008, 08:39 Can we include some good dance/drum and bass remixes as not big on songs; 1.Yes/Owner of a lonely heart (Max Graham) 2.Depeche Mode/Personal Jesus (Pump mix) 3.The Course/Ready or Not (Jean Michel) 4.Candi Staton/You Got the Love (Stephens Harris) 5.Adam F/Circles (Bob James) .....Lots more of the above...... As for covers; 1.Kate Bush/Hounds of Love (The Futureheads) 2.10cc/ I'm not in Love (Tori Amos) 3.Troggs/Wild Thing (The Goodies) -------------- As we all know, endings are just beginnings. Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: May 20 2008, 09:30 Joe Cocker's version of With A Little Help From My Friends.It's rare that anyone surpasses a Beatles song in a cover (IMHO-big fan of post Rubber Soul Beatles)but this kicks arse!The original is a wimpy number and Ringo (bless 'im)isn't the best singer but Cocker's version ROARs!And of course Jimmy Page is all over it which is the icing on this particular cake (I love Led Zep too). -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Sir Mustapha Group: Musicians Posts: 2802 Joined: April 2003 Posted: May 20 2008, 15:35 Yarrrgh, the above post made me short-circuit. I'm deeply sorry, but I think if Aerosmith had turned Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da into an anthemic "swing your lighters" power ballad, it would have made a more adequate cover. -------------- Check out http://ferniecanto.com.br for all my music, including my latest albums: Don't Stay in the City, Making Amends and Builders of Worlds. Also check my Bandcamp page: http://ferniecanto.bandcamp.com Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: May 20 2008, 16:16 I don't know how old Caveman is, but clearly one does not necessarily need to have been around in 1968 to enjoy a tune of that vintage.  What is clear is that different songs appeal to different people for many, many different reasons.  However, it also helps to be old enough to understand the emotional and/or social context in which a song was created to gain an informed opinion of how to appreciate it. Back to top

Ugo Group: Members Posts: 5495 Joined: April 2000 Posted: May 20 2008, 17:46 IMHO Joe Cocker's version of "Little Help" is horrible as a cover version, because (always IMHO) it shows a total disrespect of the original version. But I also think that it's wonderful as a song in its own right, avoiding every kind of comparison. So there you go. A couple of re-interpretations I love exactly for the same reason (i.e. extreme departure from the originals) are George Michael's "Roxanne" (on Songs from the Last Century) and Liza Minnelli's "Rent" (Pet Shop Boys), on the PSB-produced album Results. However, I also love when someone is so faithful to the original that it almost sounds like a carbon copy. This is the case of my fellow Italian Zucchero covering Black's "Wonderful Life" - not to mention the soapy version of the same song by Lara Fabian, which even copied the synth accompaniment pattern from Black!! - and of Def Leppard copycatting Sweet's "Rocket". The final results, to me, are excellent in both cases. -------------- Ugo C. - a devoted Amarokian Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: May 21 2008, 02:41 Bassman i'm 33.But my Dad had great music taste so i got to hear a lot of classic stuff from my earliest memories in the very late 70's on through the 80's (avoiding 'pop' like the plague).Including of course MO. -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: May 21 2008, 02:59 This has made me think.Clearly Sir Mustapha doesn't agree with my choice but that leads me to ask what makes a good cover?My own band plays around 50% covers.We're a 3 piece acoustic band so we have to do some pretty extensive 're-working' to get songs to fit the format.The way i look at covers is to take a song that you love and interpret it in your own way.There's little point in slavishly apeing the original (unless you're in a (shudder)tribute band)so you need to put your stamp on it. -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: May 21 2008, 03:47 I used to really disike that Joe Cocker cover when I was younger.Probably partly because I liked the original version so much.Over time though I`ve actually grown to like it now,even though I still don`t prefer it to the original. Imo I think as long as a cover is done in a style that is the artists own.And that the artist is covering a song that they like.Then for me the whole radical reworking thing should be superflous anyway.I must admit I do like to hear completely different versions myself rather than a kind of xerox effect.But by the same token I`m not one for covers that seem to get ripped apart for the sheer hell of it sometimes.Again though that can be a matter of one`s own personal tastes anyway of corse. Walk On By from The Stranglers is a good shout there from bassman.And is kind of a perfect example of what I was trying to say there.Although I`d guess there are many people out there who probably felt they ripped the whole soul out of that thing.Creedence Clearwater Revival`s ten minute workout of I Heard It Through The Grapevine is another one I really like.Which again probably left a lot of people polar divided in their opinions of it."Sacrilege to Marvin Gaye" some may well have balked.But then of course Marvin Gaye`s version was`nt even the original either. Anyway back on All Along The Watchtower for a second I`m forgeting about XTC`s way out version from their debut album White Music.Fantastic stuff,play that groovy harmonica Andy!..   Oh yeah and Rocket Man by Kate Bush is a cracking cover as well. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: May 21 2008, 04:22 Anyway a few more radical reworkings I suppose while I`m thinking about it.. I Will Survive...Cake Baker Street...Foo Fighters And a couple from Britney of all people.Which not only do I prefer to the originals,I actually like em`.. Hit Me Baby One More Time...Fountains Of Wayne Ooops I Did It Again....Richard Thompson And a version which I could`nt possibly like over the original.But which deserves a special mention for sheer hilarity and bizzare rating alone has to be..Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds by William Shatner...It`s a cover version Jim,but not as we know it. Back to top

The Caveman Group: Members Posts: 2178 Joined: Jan. 2008 Posted: May 21 2008, 07:25 Ooh i've heard that.It's erm,well,let's say interesting.I love the original but for comedic value (and for having the sheer balls to unleash this beast onto the world)William Shatner takes some beating. It's crap Jim but not as we know it   -------------- THE COMING OF THE GREAT WHITE HANDKERCHEIF IS NIGH. Back to top

Bassman Group: Members Posts: 548 Joined: Feb. 2008 Posted: May 21 2008, 10:02 I'll venture to offer an answer to the question, "What makes a good cover?".  First, if the band doing it injects their own personality to it-retaining some fundamental elements of the original while giving it new elements.  And second (and more important), if one enjoys it. And you guys reminded me, a couple of years ago The Shat did a cover of Pulp's "Common People" (admirably aided and abetted by Joe Jackson) that was absolutely brilliant.  That track alone justified the cost of the CD.  And if you want to talk about Brobdingnagian balls, his version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" is at least aurally equal to the onslaught that is "Lucy"!  But in my humble opinion, neither of them touches his "Rocket Man".  It just doesn't get any better than that!     Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: May 22 2008, 03:49 Common People was great.I did`nt think it would be possible to derive any more humour from Mr Cocker`s fantastic opening couplet.But in his own unfathamble style Shatner certainly acheived that.And Mr Tambourine Man was equally as hilarious I agree.Another good one of his,was his rendition of A Very Good Year..."When I was thirty five...     Anyway howsabout a few cracking instrumental covers of famous songs... Eleanor Rigby..Stanley Jordan Papa`s Got A Brand New Bag..Jimmy Smith Heart Of The Sunrise(Yes)..California Guitar Trio Or maybe some re-interpratatons of something from the classical field.. Sabre Dance..Love Sculpture/Dave Edmunds Sprach Zarathustra..Eumir Deodato Beethoven`s Triple Concerto..William Orbit. I`m actualy not that keen on that classical album from William Orbit.For all I`m a big fan of a lot of his stuff.Imo most of it kind of sounds like a Mickey Moog plays the classics on Studio 2 or something from about 1971.I really love that Triple Concerto track though.Some major mood enhancing deconstruction took place on that one. Back to top

Dirk Star Group: Members Posts: 1331 Joined: Sep. 2007 Posted: May 22 2008, 04:26 OMG Classical re-interpratations and I neglected to mention William Tell Overture by Spike Jones And His City Slickers(sorry mike)...   So apparently it used to be a kind of gauge of one`s higher academic upbringing or something.If you could listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking about The Lone Ranger..Heh heh,so here`s the reason why it always make me think about horse racing. Spike Jones cracking whips and firing off pistol shots live onstage...Made Iggy Pop look like Val Doonican..     Back to top

Sweetpea Group: Members Posts: 1476 Joined: April 2007 Posted: May 22 2008, 05:39 "Sukiyaki" - The Picketts "Linus and Lucy" - Game Theory "Like a Hurricane" (live) - Roxy Music "Romeo & Juliet" - Indigo Girls "This Wheel's On Fire" - Siouxsie & The Banshees -------------- "I'm no physicist, but technically couldn't Mike both be with the horse and be flying through space at the same time? (On account of the earth's orbit around the Sun and all that). So it seems he never had to make the choice after all. I bet he's kicking himself now." - clotty Back to top

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