Hi Everyone!
Do you think that a cover can be better than the original? I think that it depends on the original, if it allows for any improvement or not. For example, I don’t think that Howlin’ Wolf’s Smokestack Lightning can improve in a cover version of it. Elvis’s version of Hound Dog does not sound as cool to me as the original by Big Mama Thornton as another example of when the original is better. Sometimes the cover may be as good as the original, like Ball and Chain by Big Mama Thornton covered by Janis Joplin. Some artists managed to make covers very successfully and in fact so successfully that those covers were their very best songs. Consider for example Tennessee Ernie Ford’s take on 16 Tons and Ray Charles’s take on Georgia on My Mind. A more recent example I have in mind is the song Rebel Yell by Billy Idol successfully covered by Scooter. Both versions are very nice. And let us not forget about Sweet Dreams covered by Marilyn Manson. That was a great cover, wasn’t it? Here below I draw your attention to three covers that I think are a lot better than the originals. At least this is my personal impression.
Kiss by Tom Jones: https://open.spotify.com/track/58UEwo2r86awBBUSMZCP5X
Beggin’ by Maneskin: https://open.spotify.com/track/3Wrjm47oTz2sjIgck11l5e
Search and Destroy by Ministry: https://open.spotify.com/track/1GxlODOZeS7UhYT13k1U7S
I like all three. There is more energy, interesting ideas, and of course modern high-quality mixes are helping a lot too. Can you think of more examples of great covers? Post a comment or send me a message to let me know.
News:
A new playlist is now available for music submissions. I am calling it “Instrumental”. I will be accepting compositions in all genres as long as they are instrumental (no vocals), the sound it bold, music is original, mixing and mastering are done professionally.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1y5bNxIA1yUdZC27jThAOU
Music Picks:
Today I would like to surprise you with the beauty of Persian pop music. Let me know how you like it.
Toranj by Mohsen Namjoo: https://open.spotify.com/track/0S8tYVLgAdgjwA0UXibLBg
Raftanet by Ayhan Bazzazi: https://open.spotify.com/track/19jiokYN81CCRa0xEcYtnN
Cloudy Heart by myself and Mehdi Moodi: https://open.spotify.com/track/2jCWXldkIpb3gg5dUhvcB7
Modern take on Mozart:
I have a treat for you. This is the opening act of Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni performed at the Liceu in Barcelona in 2008.
Great singers and very good actors too are having a lot of fun. Let me know if you think that Mozart himself would be fond of this interpretation. I think he would. Although there is no such a thing as a cover in opera, but the act itself is still open to interpretation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJxjGCYLl70
16 Tons and Soviet propaganda:
Imagine that you need to write a song to praise miners working in the Soviet coal mines and to publicize the success of the Soviet economic model. You also know that there is a hit like 16 Tons which happens to be a song about a coal mine worker too. You may want to change the key, write solid lyrics, make great arrangements and there you go, your musical hit is even more impressive than the original. Or maybe this huge resemblance is just coincidental. It happens like that too sometimes. What do you think?
16 Tons by Tennessee Ernie Ford: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRh0QiXyZSk
vs.
The Miner’s March by Vladimir Vysotsky: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_lef1fq0fs
In fact, Tennessee Ernie Ford’s take on 16 Tons was such a success that he had a 2nd go-go version of it, which I personally like more than the one standardly admired. Here it is for your attention:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92arUrGVt6k
Final Thoughts:
When it comes to the music that I add to my playlists, I value originality above all. Despite many examples of very successful covers, in the absolute majority of cases, the best music is the one made to sound like you and like nobody else. Even in the best covers, the most likely reason why these covers are so good is that the artists chose to use their own distinct style. Originality is the key to everything. Would you agree?