Covers vs Originals

I was having a wee think about cover and original songs recently and then stumbled upon a blog from Red Dog Music where they were discussing just that so I thought I'd give my take on the debate.

I'd better point out at the start that I'm talking about recorded music here rather than playing covers live.  I've played both original and cover gigs far too many times to count and although I find them totally different experiences, I've had just as much fun playing both.

Also, it'd be far too easy to just write a (very long) list of covers that completely destroy the original but that wouldn't be very big or clever.  We all know what they are and I'd be forced to talk about X-Factor contestants and a slew of turgid, done for maximum profit, cash in releases and it'd make me angry... and you wouldn't like me when I'm angry.

Anyway, back to my point.

My default stance is that the original is always better but I'd also argue that this is not always the case.  Take Bob Dylan, for example.  There are a lot of his songs where I've heard a cover before his actual recording and have, pretty much 100% of the time, preferred the cover version.  Now this could just be that I'm not a fan of his vocals and while I think there's something in that, I also think there's more to it and it's probably because when people cover Dylan, it's usually more of a re-working of the song than a direct copy.

I'd say that it's in this bracket where I'm more open to covers as I find them far more interesting to listen to than just a plain old re-hash of someone else's song.  So here's a few which I'll ponder over.

Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles/Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry is a master at re-working cover songs and I absolutely love his version of The Shirelles, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow".  He's turned an upbeat pop song into a melancholic ballad and flipped it from a song that wouldn't sound out of place at a party to one that you'd listen to in a darkened room when its all gone wrong.  Two completely different versions of the same song and I couldn't actually say which one I prefer.

I Just Want To Make Love To You - Willie Dixon/The Sensational Alex Harvey Band

Alex Harvey was very skilled in making a cover song sound like his own.  With this one he's not strayed so far away from the original as Ferry did with The Shirelles but here he's given it a harder edge and a killer groove.  Just listen to the groove of his version, it stomps along full of arrogance, swagger and menace.  I love the Etta James version of this song too and while that's a far more popular choice, I think the SAHB version really nails it.

We'll Meet Again - Vera Lynn/Johnny Cash

Johnny Cash doesn't stray too far from Vera Lynn at all but the pared down sound combined with the context of his version (it's the last track of his last album and recorded with increasingly failing health), the song has a real personal poignancy to it.  Most people usually point to his cover of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and I wouldn't argue with that but it's this song that really touches my soul.  It's a beautiful song to finish any album and what a way for Johnny to say a musical goodbye.  On a different note, the guitar playing in this song is fantastic.

Crazy in Love - Beyonce/The Puppini Sisters

Now this is a good example for me where I was completely un-fussed by the original but love the cover.  The music was good but I was totally turned off by the auto-tune in Beyonce's voice and rapping mid-song doesn't do anyone any favours.  The Puppini Sisters version just sounds so alive and joyful that its almost impossible not to dance when listening to it.  It's one of the very few songs for me that, when finished, I could hit repeat and start it all over again.

So there you have it.  To sum up I guess my take on the issue is that it's totally fine to do covers so long as it does something interesting and isn't just a re-hash of the original.