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Post by Dawn on Jan 6, 2010 13:26:03 GMT -5
Ken's mention of Tiffany's butchering of "I Saw Her/Him Standing There" inspired this thread idea. I think we may have mentioned this topic in passing here on the Click, but don't recall an in-depth discussion of it. Over the years, many artists from all genres have covered songs from the Beatles' catalog. Some have succeeded admirably, while others (such as the aforementioned Tiffany attempt) did not. Which covers of Beatles songs do you think worked well, and which were misguided and/or horrible? I'll start off with a few examples. The Good: One of my favorites is "Hey Bulldog," as covered by the all-girl band Fanny in 1972. There are a few changes from the original, but they definitely do justice to this great rocker. I wasn't able to locate a video, but you can hear a clip of it here: www.amazon.com/Hey-Bulldog-LP-Version/dp/B001248FG4 . Another winning effort is Stevie Wonder's take on "We Can Work It Out." Stevie skillfully puts his own touch on this song, and it comes off wonderfully well. Here is a YouTube clip of it: Then there is the Four Tops' reworking of "Eleanor Rigby," recorded in 1969. The Beatles were very much influenced by the work of early Motown artists, even covering several of their songs, and it's nice to see it come full circle. I love this soulful interpretation. The Bad and/or Ugly: Mrs. Miller was something of a novelty act back in the day, but honestly, even allowing for the kitsch factor of her singing, this is abysmal. Among the then-contemporary hits she covered was "A Hard Day's Night." If you watched American Idol in 2008, you may remember Kristy Lee Cook. While some of the other contestants struggled with the songs on Lennon/McCartney night, Kristy Lee's take on "Eight Days A Week" was especially notorious. This is limp, rushed, and doesn't translate well into a country style. What are some of your nominees for good, bad and ugly? |
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Post by m c dornan on Jan 6, 2010 14:03:03 GMT -5
I'm not gonna even think about bad Beatles covers!
There's one song where I like the cover better than the Beatles original- and that's Earth Wind & Fire's version of "Got to Get You into My Life".
And two covers I like almost as much as the originals
Aerosmith's "Come Together"
and
Judy Collins' "In My Life".
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Post by Ken on Jan 6, 2010 17:23:22 GMT -5
I inspired a thread! very cool!  The Good: I was very surprised to find video footage of this. 10cc - Across The Universe. IMO a very nice version that doesn't stray from the original arrangement. Aerosmith - I'm Down - Cranking the amps to 11 and and kickin' butt. One of my all time favorite Beatle covers. The Bad & The Ugly: Laibach - One After 909 I was also very surprised to find this on youtube. I have this and the 10cc cover on a compilation of Beatles covers included with an issue of the British music magazine UNCUT. Yikes, this version is just plain wrong, misguided in every way possible. The guitarist even manages at one point to sneak in the riff to "Smoke on The Water" lol! |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 6, 2010 18:23:21 GMT -5
I'm not gonna even think about bad Beatles covers! There's one song where I like the cover better than the Beatles original- and that's Earth Wind & Fire's version of "Got to Get You into My Life". And two covers I like almost as much as the originals Aerosmith's "Come Together" and Judy Collins' "In My Life". I'm a fan of EW&F's version as well. Their version is very different from the original, but tastefully done. I remember Judy's "In My Life" was used in an episode of The Wonder Years. Nice version. |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 6, 2010 18:28:27 GMT -5
I inspired a thread! very cool! The Good: I was very surprised to find video footage of this. 10cc - Across The Universe. IMO a very nice version that doesn't stray from the original arrangement. Aerosmith - I'm Down - Cranking the amps to 11 and and kickin' butt. One of my all time favorite Beatle covers. The Bad & The Ugly: Laibach - One After 909 I was also very surprised to find this on youtube. I have this and the 10cc cover on a compilation of Beatles covers included with an issue of the British music magazine UNCUT. Yikes, this version is just plain wrong, misguided in every way possible. The guitarist even manages at one point to sneak in the riff to "Smoke on The Water" lol! I agree that the Laibach cover is horrendous. It almost sounds like it was their intent to make it sound as awful as possible. I wonder if Paul has ever heard it?  I like the 10cc cover a lot. It's understated and shows a lot of respect for the original. I think John would have been pleased! |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 6, 2010 18:37:48 GMT -5
Two covers from Anne Murray:
"You Won't See Me"
"I'm Happy Just to Dance With You"
Anne's version of "You Won't See Me" is the one I heard first. It sticks pretty closely to the style and tempo of the original, and comes off well, I think.
On the other hand, Anne changed the arrangement considerably with "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" - it's hard to believe it is the same song. In this case, though, I think her changing it so drastically actually makes the song work better for her. Had she done this one in a style and tempo closer to the original, it probably wouldn't have suited her vocal style and would have sounded forced.
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Post by Jughead on Jan 6, 2010 23:28:42 GMT -5
I know this song's been mentioned before, but I think Chantal Kreviazuk did a FANTASTIC job with "In My Life". If any of you watched the show "Providence" starring Melina Kanakaredes, you'll know that it was used for the opening credits. Here's the song...and try ignoring the CSI theme in it. ;D As for the bad...well, as much as I like them, and as much as it was meant to be a parody teaming with French & Saunders, Bananarama needed some "HELP"!  |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Jan 8, 2010 12:09:53 GMT -5
I love Joe Cocker's cover of A little Help from My Friends. (Especially that primal scream!)
Now this is going to be interesting - I found that I can't access YouTube from here, but I CAN google the song, right click on the You Tube link, look at "properties" and get the URL. Now - all I know is that this is a live version and lasts about 9 minutes.
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Post by Ken on Jan 8, 2010 12:35:09 GMT -5
I love Joe Cocker's cover of A little Help from My Friends. (Especially that primal scream!) Now this is going to be interesting - I found that I can't access YouTube from here, but I CAN google the song, right click on the You Tube link, look at "properties" and get the URL. Now - all I know is that this is a live version and lasts about 9 minutes. Ed, It's been quite awhile since I've seen the film, but this looks like the version from "Mad Dogs & Englishmen." |
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Post by Ken on Jan 8, 2010 12:38:15 GMT -5
Two covers from Anne Murray: "You Won't See Me" "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" Anne's version of "You Won't See Me" is the one I heard first. It sticks pretty closely to the style and tempo of the original, and comes off well, I think. On the other hand, Anne changed the arrangement considerably with "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" - it's hard to believe it is the same song. In this case, though, I think her changing it so drastically actually makes the song work better for her. Had she done this one in a style and tempo closer to the original, it probably wouldn't have suited her vocal style and would have sounded forced. Hi Dawn, I had no idea that Anne covered "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" Nice version! |
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Post by dave910 on Jan 9, 2010 0:04:18 GMT -5
I think the key thing to keep in mind with the Beatles remakes are how the artist covering the material makes the song by, doing something different with the arrangement. Joe Cocker and Earth, Wind & Fire versions come to mind. Both great artists, but they weren't intimidated by taking on the challenge. Yes, there are the butchered versions of Beatles' songs. Even though people hated Tiffany's version of "I Saw Him Standing Him Standing There", it was contemporary for its time. Bing Crosby tried his hand at "Hey Jude", and well...let's say Bing should have have steered clear of covering any rock music, considering the guy probably couldn't stand any music past 1953!  |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 11, 2010 13:34:48 GMT -5
I know this song's been mentioned before, but I think Chantal Kreviazuk did a FANTASTIC job with "In My Life". If any of you watched the show "Providence" starring Melina Kanakaredes, you'll know that it was used for the opening credits. Here's the song...and try ignoring the CSI theme in it. ;D As for the bad...well, as much as I like them, and as much as it was meant to be a parody teaming with French & Saunders, Bananarama needed some "HELP"! That "Help!" version is pretty bad, I agree. They did a really nice job with their cover of the Velvettes' "Really Saying Something", though. |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 11, 2010 13:37:57 GMT -5
I love Joe Cocker's cover of A little Help from My Friends. (Especially that primal scream!) Now this is going to be interesting - I found that I can't access YouTube from here, but I CAN google the song, right click on the You Tube link, look at "properties" and get the URL. Now - all I know is that this is a live version and lasts about 9 minutes. Joe's version is almost as definitive as the Beatles' original these days, it seems. He has definitely been a skillful interpreter of others' songs. |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 11, 2010 13:43:07 GMT -5
Two covers from Anne Murray: "You Won't See Me" "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" Anne's version of "You Won't See Me" is the one I heard first. It sticks pretty closely to the style and tempo of the original, and comes off well, I think. On the other hand, Anne changed the arrangement considerably with "I'm Happy Just to Dance With You" - it's hard to believe it is the same song. In this case, though, I think her changing it so drastically actually makes the song work better for her. Had she done this one in a style and tempo closer to the original, it probably wouldn't have suited her vocal style and would have sounded forced. Hi Dawn, I had no idea that Anne covered "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" Nice version! Yes, Anne must have been a Beatles fan, as in addition to these two, she also did a cover of "Day Tripper." That one doesn't work quite as well for her as the other two, IMO. |
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Post by Dawn on Jan 11, 2010 13:49:34 GMT -5
I think the key thing to keep in mind with the Beatles remakes are how the artist covering the material makes the song by, doing something different with the arrangement. Joe Cocker and Earth, Wind & Fire versions come to mind. Both great artists, but they weren't intimidated by taking on the challenge. Yes, there are the butchered versions of Beatles' songs. Even though people hated Tiffany's version of "I Saw Him Standing Him Standing There", it was contemporary for its time. Bing Crosby tried his hand at "Hey Jude", and well...let's say Bing should have have steered clear of covering any rock music, considering the guy probably couldn't stand any music past 1953! Good point, Dave, about the different arrangements. It seems like often the covers that are the most successful are the ones which do put a different spin on the song. Not many people are going to do a straightforward "Beatles"-style better than the Fabs did. One thing that is striking about the Beatles' catalog is how well it lends itself to being interpreted in different styles, and that says a lot about the quality of the songwriting. In that vein, here's a nice version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," as done by Kenny Rankin. He's also done covers of "Blackbird" and "Penny Lane" in a folk/light jazz style, and they are great as well. |
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