Well Done cover/tribute songs rare?

[insertNameHere]

For me, normally when I hear a cover song I am for rounding up a posse for hunting down the offender and getting retribution. Ie, Brittney spears trying to sing satisfaction. Rarely, do I feel a cover song should be recognized as a work of art, actually had to write a paper on it freshman year so Ill save time by posting the first paragraph.

"Classic songs are destroyed on a daily basis by artists trying to make money. Writing a good song that people will like is a difficult task faced by many artists, but it is very easy to make a cover song because the majority of the work has already been done. A cover song is a remake of a song, usually at one time the song was popular. However, at times, songs few people have heard of are remade so the artist can give an unknown song to their audience that has a special influence or meaning to the artist. Rage Against the Machine covers “The Ghost of Tom Joad”, originally done by Bruce Springsteen, and keeps the meaning behind the song, then improved the song for their audience with minor changes to tone and word choice."

I feel the best cover songs are done by those who actually understand and EMBRACE the original and put a part of them into paying tribute. I like the song "Bad Company", and I heard it the other day and was like hell yeah, but noticed words were different and it just was a little off, then I realized it was a cover and that I was not forgetting how it started.
The remake was done by Five Finger Death Punch instead of Bad Company, but I loved how it retained the normal elements but incorporated the changes well. The reason I went for rage against the machine with my paper was their album Renegades was ALL cover songs, and most people had no idea.

Another thing I think is cool is when the original artist gets involved in the tribute, for instance on Renegades, "How I could just" is on the album twice, the second one is a live version where two of the guys from Cypress Hill are doing rages version with them. It is interesting that they were able to take a whole album, that at for the songs I compared remained true to the original in sound and tone while also incorporating how rage against the machine sounded normally.

[HYHYBT]

I don't quite understand the apparent insistence that people ought not sing songs they didn't write themselves.

[insertNameHere]

I don't quite understand the apparent insistence that people ought not sing songs they didn't write themselves.

I think it has something to do with many horrible attempts, like I said I don't mind if it is done well. The ones that bother me are songs were the words and taken but no emotion is given or they just generally done bad, as it seems many are.

Actually, I don't think many people realize how many artists don't actually write ALL their own music, and get to take credit for others work.... But I guess it comes down to when you re-release a once popular song the motives need to be considered.

[Racket_Man]

I think it has something to do with many horrible attempts, like I said I don't mind if it is done well. The ones that bother me are songs were the words and taken but no emotion is given or they just generally done bad, as it seems many are.

.

this right here.

one of the better examples of a GOOD cover is the song Signs by the 5 Man Electrical band
Original song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1Q7cP3ij5g)

cover done by Tesla (5 Man Accoustical Jam)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gklM1AiZX0s

the cover just kicks with emotion of the original

Now IMO an example of "bad" cover is in this vein

Bob Segar's original Turn The Page live (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wC3us4_BgE)
vesp the live version. it has heart, soul, great music and Sax solo and tells a story of a tired rock star

Metallica's version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOibtqWo6z4)

IMO no heart no soul just a playing of the notes and singing of the lyrics nothing behind it no underlying understanding coming through

[telecom_goddess]

A great remake is Footloose done by the Bacon Brothers...I think it's kinda fitting that Kevin Bacon sing it :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZXoa3zadVA

[Gravekeeper]

Going to go out on a weird limb here and point out that a number of the cover songs for Elite Beat Agents were as good as or better than their originals. Especially if it was a cover of an older song since they usually had to rework the song to bring the tempo up to make work in the game. Hell, the game made an Ashlee Simpson song listenable. Probably by using someone that could actually sing. ;p

For actual covers by other bands, first thing that comes to mind is some of the Black Sabbath covers. Some of them are really good.

[Andara Bledin]

One of my favorite covers is Cinnamon Girl by Type O Negative (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI9b_ure9QU). But then, I like Type O and can't stand Niel Young, though I enjoy a lot of the songs he's written.

And most people have likely never heard the original version of Blinded by the Light, which I tend to prefer; Springsteen's singing can actually be understood and the lyrics changes by Manfred Mann make the whole song make even less sense.

Faith No More does an awesome cover of War Pigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4oZXfrf18Y).

^-.-^

[Gravekeeper]

Faith No More does an awesome cover of War Pigs (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4oZXfrf18Y).

^-.-^

I have a Gregorian chant version of War Pigs on my iPod... >.>

[Andara Bledin]

That... sounds like it'd be really cool.

^-.-^

[Ginger Tea]

The covers that are better than thread revealed alot of good gems in the take it and run with it vein.

The Xfactor/American Idol Karaoke versions don't do anything for me, some songs got a new arrangement some for better some for worse, couple upstairs are divided on "Run" by Snow Patrol/Leona Lewis, although she favours the Lewis version as she has that in her "sort of karaoke" gig listing.
Nelly Goulding (I think) did a cover of "your song" late last year and I hated listening to every minute of it at work, made worse that one woman always upped the radio and her "AAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAH" but loud is very bad, bad quiet mind you. Doesn't help that I'm not a fan of the original either.

Captain Dickhead insisted I should see Diane Vickers when she played early last year or whenever and I had no idea who she was, recognized one song on her myspace page, her over played and did not like single "Once" so I decided to give it a miss, then later I got the CD dirt cheap for shits and giggles and once had grown on me but more so was her cover of Sugarcubes "Hit" thankfully without the blokes lines which I always thought spoiled it, don't listen to any other songs from the album but even with Hit, I would not have seen her live as she didn't have enough songs online that interested me at the time of the gig

[blas87]

I can't really stand what the kids on Idol sing and the dorks on Glee sing other people's music. Personally, any bands that refuse to let that show have any rights to use their songs, I give them props. I can't remember the most current band to say no, but they did, and they said that not everyone likes Glee. Thank you! Someone finally had the balls to say it!

[AdminAssistant]

I'm not a fan of the show itself, and I really wish they would cut out their use of Autotune. However, the a capella group does do some really nice covers. Their rendition of "Teenage Dream" is much, much, much better than Katy Perry's.

[muses_nightmare]

:P I pretty much love all of the songs Glee has done. They actually did original songs in the last episode I saw. To Each their own I suppose.

There are some excellent cover songs done by people on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/KurtHugoSchneider - I love most of the covers on this channel (Especially the ones sung by Sam Tsui)

http://www.youtube.com/user/TraciJHines - If you like Disney songs (she does other songs as well)

http://www.youtube.com/user/anafree - She's been doing more of her own stuff lately, but she has some great covers on her channel.

[Ginger Tea]

This years Xfactor winner released "when we colide" and although he said it was a cover, a vast majority of the population would never know the song or the band till then and I've forgotten the band name myself, I think they were Scottish.
But having said that he's from the UK reality TV music factory, afaik only Darius has released his own material, others sing other peoples songs (poorly) and do insipid covers.
And I've never heard a SuBo (Susane Boyle) song and I don't care how great she might be, I just hope to not hear one either.

Bands doing covers of songs they love is part of the new band gigging tradition, you only have 6 songs of your own and more time to fill, so belt out an anthem and even if its only "good enough" the audience will love you for it, its atleast one song they can sing along to.

[Andara Bledin]

And I've never heard a SuBo (Susane Boyle) song and I don't care how great she might be, I just hope to not hear one either.
I just don't get this. What rational reason does a person have for refusing to hear someone sing when they have no idea how good they may or may not be?

^-.-^

[Ginger Tea]

As I don't have a TV and even if I did I wouldn't watch Xfactor etc (iir she was on Britains got tallent) she was just thrust into the public concious that people living under rocks knew about.

I won't willingly seek out a Justin Bieber song either, but if either are on the radio and I hear it, well I wont know its them, to trick me into listening to it, play it, just don't tell me who it is, well radio does that most of the time anyway, it's not as if I would know instantly its her and run away screaming.

I only listen to the radio at work and its normally a dance station, so no SuBeiber there and at home I listen to 5+ year old songs, mostly 90's grunge and alternative.
She is tarred with the TV factory brush and Bieber well just cos hes Bieber.

[Andara Bledin]

She is tarred with the TV factory brush and Bieber well just cos hes Bieber.
I think this is as bad as automatically going with something just because it's currently popular.

I don't let other people make my decisions, and I don't base my decisions on what other people want me to do or not do.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

I just don't get this. What rational reason does a person have for refusing to hear someone sing when they have no idea how good they may or may not be?Reasons don't have to be rational to be legitimate in areas like this. For instance, I *know* crab legs are delicious. But I don't eat them because they look like a giant spider. So the thoughts they bring to mind are unappetizing, to say the least. It's not rational, but it's as legitimate a reason to choose a different dinner as not liking the taste would be.

[Andara Bledin]

Food is not the same as music. There's a lot more to food than just the taste.

Music, however, is about the sound. There are no other senses that get involved.

^-.-^

[HYHYBT]

Food is not the same as music. There's a lot more to food than just the taste.

Music, however, is about the sound. There are no other senses that get involved.

^-.-^
Not the point at all. There *is* more to music than the sound... at least in the sense that there can be other associations. How about someone who doesn't enjoy Michael Jackson songs, not because of any inherent flaw in them, but because the song reminds them of the singer, which reminds them (whether fairly or not) of child molestation? Should they listen to anyway? Why?

[telecom_goddess]

Music is tied into emotions and memories, at least for me. A lot of different songs remind me about different events in my life.

[Andara Bledin]

I guess I'm just not that sentimental, then.

I like music for what the music brings to the table, not my own baggage. :shrug:

^-.-^

[Lace Neil Singer]

Also, most people have an idea of what kind of music they despise so therefore won't want to listen to anyone new who sings that way.

For example; I detest bubblegum pop. Therefore, even before I listened to Bieber, I knew I wasn't going to like his singing; listening to his "song" simply confirmed that for me.

As for good covers; I listed a few in the main thread. Bad covers on the other hand; well, a group/band could put their own spin on a cover and the cover would still be bad cuz they've made it crap, instead of making it better. For example, Atomic Kitten's abysmal cover of "The Tide Is High". They tried to make it into a plastic girl group song, when it's not and never can be.

[Ginger Tea]

Some people can polish a turd and turn it into something way better than the original*, sadly they are few and far between when lined up against those that wipe their arses with the song sheet, it's the only way I can see the music going so bad, they can't read the score through the stains.

*I'm not saying every song I think is covered better is shite by the original artist, no these are shite songs pure and simple, but somehow taking away something or reinterpreting it makes it work.
Example the Dylanesque cover of Friday, although I didn't listen to it all the way through, it didn't want me to damage my ear drums any way near enough as the original (which I put the blame purely at the feet of Ark)