Got it Covered
Lately I've been hearing a lot of covers that I love... sometimes even better than the original, and these originals are classics! Others make me cringe. Thoughts and preferences? To avoid some sketchy videos and cool-video-bias, I've pulled up lyric videos for these rather than music videos. I also strongly recommend listening to these on headphones or other surround sound environment (auto, home theater, etc)Original: Mad World - Tears for Fears (no one knows this one... and I find it forgettable myself... much more manic than then next two though - updated to post 1/2/18)
Cover: Mad World - Gary Jules
Cover: Mad World - Adam Lambert
Original: Wicked Games - Chris Isaac
Cover: Wicked Games - Parra for Cueva ft Ana Naklab
Original: Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel
Cover: Sound of Silence - Disturbed (but I like this performance better)
Original: Stand By Me - Ben E King
Cover #1: Stand By Me - Otis Redding
Cover #2: Stand By Me - Prince Royce
Modified Cover: Stay With Me - Sam Smith
Original: Free Falling - Tom Petty
Cover: Free Falling - John Mayer
(Youtube Playlist)
Actually, I think the originals should be listened to off headphones, and the new ones with. Very different sound engineering.
ReplyDeleteTHAT'S the original Mad World?? Never knew, probably because they were a UK band. Don't really dig the original, I've always loved Gary Jules' voice and that piano.
ReplyDeleteLambert is still good, except the piano feels a little honky tonk. lol. Maybe because it's a keyboard versus a real piano? Still a good cover. Here's a version with Gary Jules and Curt Smith https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3b1OwCG8WN8
First time hearing the original Wicked Games!!! You'll laugh, but this was the first cover I heard of that song - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Am2ii340rWk
It's an NES that is playing the backing track with Chris (sadnes) singing and playing guitar. Thanks for the memories, lol!!
Didn't really dig the other cover. Felt like it dragged on and I got bored half way through :\ I liked her style of voice but she was so PITCHY. Really bugs me when bad pitch turns into a vocal style.
Man, David Draiman has an incredible range/voice. Respect on that. I'm slighted to the S&G version, just because it's simple and I have a thing for folk duos. The Disturbed performance was great, it's incredible to see the diversity that a band can pull off, however it felt over-dramatic to me. Still good, but I just prefer the simpler version.
I can't hear a huge difference between Ben E. King and Otis Redding. They seem very similar in vocal styles. I kind of prefer Ben E. King though, his diction is great.
Prince Royce - ehhh... not my thing. That's all I'll say.
Sam Smith - Is it really a cover? I liked it. Simple, but I do like that vocal style.
Free Fallin' - I'm super torn. I love both. I like the guitar work better with John Mayer, the 12-string guitar has really been overused and it takes a specific song for me to like it. Tom Petty rocks the vocals though, it feels like Mayer could hit those notes but he is holding back. :(
I need to look into Mayer's work, all I hear is how much people hate him, especially as a guitarist, but I have nothing but good memories of his work? #squirrel
I'll post some rebuttals next.
I just learned about the Tears for Fears - Mad World myself. I had no idea. I go back and forth on the others. I really like both, but I think you make a good point about the keyboard. It's such a different mood. I'll check out your link tomorrow.
DeleteWicked Games: Yup - I grew up on the Chris Isaac version - love it still. It's also the sketchy video, lol. I love the Parra for Cueva remix as a remix (I have a thing for trance) but also really struggle with the singer herself. I assume it's because English isn't her first language, but she also drops entire words and the ends of words and other choices that could be argued to be stylistic but that I find really distracting.
I thought I loved the Simon and Garfunkle version of SoS better, but this is the song where the headset versus a traditional stereo comes into play. Unless I'm in my car, which has a bomb sound system, Simon and Garfunkle is the better traditional stereo sound. However, in my car or on headset, Disturbed wins hands down. Reason: I never actually understood the song or bothered to listen to the words until I heard Disturbed, and since then I've made several choices based on the lyrics that I wouldn't have otherwise. S&G is a pretty folk song. Disturbed is a call to action.
Stand By Me - I also have a very slight preference for Ben E King, and his version is the original and most well known. LOL on Prince Royce. He's the heir apparent to Enrique Iglesias, and I have friends who swoon over him, but he annoys the crud out of me. Sam Smith - more of a variation on than a cover, but that man is on my "see live" bucket list. Watching him sing live on TV makes my jaw drop every time.
You and I are in total agreement on the Petty/Mayer breakdown. Petty's vocals are incomparable. I also feel really torn about Mayer. I feel like he's one of those guys people love to hate, and I'm not sure why. I didn't know that people don't like his guitar work? He may or may not have broken up with Taylor Swift in dramatic fashion and therefore earned the hatred of most of America and a place in at least one of her songs.