In general, the mere concept of the cover version doesn't make much sense to me. (1) If it was good the first time, what makes a person believe they can make it even better? It's like covering "Stairway to Heaven" or something. Do you really think that's gonna get you very far? Really? (2) If it wasn't good the first time, why even bother redoing it? I don't think even the godliest of musicians could salvage Limp Bizkit's "Rollin'." Though I'd like to hear Spencer Krug or Colin Meloy try.
Okay, yeah, I'd really, really like to hear Spencer Krug or Colin Meloy try.
But! Some artists have done the nearly impossible and managed to produce cover versions of songs that not only do justice to their originals, but actually surpass them in terms of quality. Though there are a few others (can we see a Gotcha Covered, Pt. II in the future? Ooooh!), I've chosen three I'm quite partial to. Let's see what trouble we can get into.
Wow. Low bandwidth this week. So, really, you have no excuse for not indulging.
10,000 Maniacs - "Because the Night" (mp3|3.40MB)
It must be kind of weird for a band's biggest hit to be not only a cover, but a live cover. Does that happen? Like, how many live cuts in general end up on FM airwaves? It's fascinating. In the case of 10,000 Maniacs, though, I'm glad it happened, or else most of us would never have gotten to experience their beautiful take on Patti Smith's "Because the Night" (which, incidentally, was written by Springsteen, though I don't think The Boss ever recorded it himself). They haven't really done too much to the song itself: they've changed a few words, smoothed out the sound, and replaced Smith's gravel-pit pipes with Natalie Merchant's much more mellifluous contralto, but aside from that it's very much the same song. But it just seems to work better in these guys' hands. It's pretty. It's passionate. It's vaguely haunting. It almost makes me want to dive deeper into the Maniacs' catalogue except, you know, I really doubt it'd be as good.
(from the 1993 album MTV Unplugged)
Johnny Cash - "Ghost Riders in the Sky" (mp3|3.39MB)
Probably the best country song ever. And not just the song overall, but Johnny Cash's version of it. Man. "Ghost Riders in the Sky," a 1948 cowboy epic, deals with some dark lyrical themes to start with (I'm a fan of this pictorial representation), but leave it to Mr. Cash to step in and turn it into one sinister, brooding piece of music. It's almost intimidating in its power, which of course is what gives it such a shattering effect. I've never fully embraced Johnny Cash as a "country musician" in the way that, say, Garth Brooks or all those other multitudinous "mah dawg got run o'er by a semi 'n' mah girl left me fer mah bud"-type singers qualify (which is probably why I like him; can you tell I'm not the biggest cuuuuntry fan?), but this song certainly gives plenty evidence enough that, given the right combination of ingredients, even this genre can be turned into something stirring and unforgettable.
(from the 1979 album Silver)
Jimi Hendrix - "All Along the Watchtower" (mp3|3.67MB)
Forgive me for being so unoriginal, but it has to be mentioned, right? This is arguably the cover version of all-time, which has always been something I've found highly ironic. Jimi Hendrix is widely considered the greatest rock guitarist who ever lived, so it seems peculiar that his finest moment should be a rendition of a fairly obscure Bob Dylan song. Because yes, not only is "All Along the Watchtower" a fantastic re-imagining, it's also the best thing Hendrix ever put to tape in his short time on earth. His secret is, instead of merely copying Dylan (which would've been, uh, weird), he truly makes the song his own. Though Dylan's signature "drugged-out literate whacko" persona is missing, Hendrix injects the affair with a vibrancy completely alien to the original. The central guitar solo is still one of the most exciting and "cosmic" I've ever heard, and the whole thing just rocks. Not to mention Jimi had a much, much nicer voice. Much nicer.
(from the 1968 album Electric Ladyland)
All right. I'm tired. I'll catch you all later. Right now, though, I'm going to go slip under the covers.
And no, I'm so tired I can't honestly tell if the pun was intended or not. If it was funny, yes. If it wasn't, heck no.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment