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Great Covers that may be better than originals


Lucky

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RonS2V made me think about it.

I almost prefer "Every Time You Go Away" by Paul Young rather than the original by Hall and Oates

I sure don't. I loved Paul Young when he was in the Q-Tips, but then he went solo with that not-great version of a great song. Why did he change the tune/rhythm of the chorus? I don;t see the point. Actually, I don't see the point of that cover at all. Take a great song by a hugely successful contemporary act, change the chorus a little, and release it as a single. I mean... why?

I guess part of what annoys me is that Darryl Hall is a hugely under-appreciated blue-eyed-soul singer. He made it big doing poppy peppy bubble gum music, but he was in fact a singer to-die-for. (Love the stuff he did for Robert Fripp..._

Anyway, I don't think that the cover is a patch on the original, and I don't think that Paul Young solo was ever as wonderful as the Q-Tips had been.

That's just me venting. I wish I could sing like Paul Young. Obviously...

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In 1966-68, I performed as half of a folk duet "Jim & Me." Our songs were almost exclusively lifted from Ian and Sylvia albums. I would not say we covered their music, but that we emulated their music. There is a big difference, though both methods are rooted in respect.

That Jason Mraz slowed down The Ramones' piece or that Paul Young de-souled Darryl Hall is secondary to both artists' creative ability to interpret. This creative interpretation is so much more noteworthy than mere emulation, relying on hopefully "better" voices, arrangement or instrumentation.

Lauro Niro certainly did not have the vocal talents of David Clayton Thomas; and Bob Dylan's voice certainly takes some getting used to, but how can one assert the writer's own version is less "how it should be played" than those who covered them? Or that the cover artist had the intention of denigrating the original?

There can really be no "right or wrong" "great or awful" in those cases - only our individual taste in music, which will steer us to appreciate more or less a particular version, though all great covers are born from the covering artist's respect for another version and the desire to make it their own. Adoption, as it were. And anyone who has adopted will tell you that much consideration goes into that decision.

I feel a lot of our opinions can be tainted by which version we heard first. I heard Paul Young's version of Everytime You Go Away many times before even knowing it was originally by Darryl Hall, whose voice and style is in my Personal Pantheon of Admired Voices. Now (thanks to Songfacts) that I have discovered Hall's outstanding original I share respect for both versions. Though Hall's version goes straight to my gut, I also appreciate that Paul Young did not simply, by virtue of his voice alone (like Jim and me used to do - albeit very, very poorly) lift Hall's song, but did alter the chorus and other parts, so that he in fact paid homage to what I am sure he felt was a great song.

Ironically, Hall and Oates did a remake of the Righteous Brothers song, You've Lost That Loving Feeling with hardly a note out of place from the original. That was more imitation than interpretation, but as the saying goes, "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery."

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OK so I'm new and this thread is already 14 pages long so forgive me if I'm reposting.

Nine Inch nails - Hurt

Johnny cash - Hurt

This would never have been possible (in my opinion) if the cover hadn't had been done when Johnny Cash was so close to dying. The video is one of the best at capturing the truth behind what everyone was thinking.

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This would never have been possible (in my opinion) if the cover hadn't had been done when Johnny Cash was so close to dying. The video is one of the best at capturing the truth behind what everyone was thinking.

I think that really has a lot to do with why it's so popular

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