25-05-2011, 11:25
The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Guns n' Roses, Neil Young, Rod Stewart, Paul McCartney, John Lennon,Johnny Cash,etc, have all made cover versions of songs that other people wrote.
Tribute albums have been done for The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Black Sabbath, etc.
Cover songs such as Dylan's All Along the Watchtower electrified by Hendrix and Cohen's Hallelujah sung by Jeff Buckley are just a couple of examples how popular a cover version can be. Spooky Tooth's cover of I am the Walrus is one of my all time favorites. Van Morrison's version of Comfortably Numb could never top the original but his cover ain't bad !
Australian Pink Floyd is a fabulous band that I managed to catch and they replicate Pink Floyd better than anyone. Gig in the Sky is phenomenal! Cover bands serve a worthwhile purpose in providing us with the next best thing to seeing the real band in person when we realise we'll never see them live.
The Bluegrass series Pickin' On do their version of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath among other groups to shed new light on legendary songs.
I have only skimmed the surface of the vast library of covers but for the most part I enjoy covers and tribute albums as it may refresh an old song or offer appreciation to a song that you didn't care for before. When I heard Cash's version of NIN's Hurt I liked his version better because it was basic and stripped down.
Of course the music purists will detest covers. However there must be some benefit for them. Is it to fulfill a record contract or done to fill a void of no new material ?
What are your opinions, recommendations, and responses to "Covers" ?
Tribute albums have been done for The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Black Sabbath, etc.
Cover songs such as Dylan's All Along the Watchtower electrified by Hendrix and Cohen's Hallelujah sung by Jeff Buckley are just a couple of examples how popular a cover version can be. Spooky Tooth's cover of I am the Walrus is one of my all time favorites. Van Morrison's version of Comfortably Numb could never top the original but his cover ain't bad !
Australian Pink Floyd is a fabulous band that I managed to catch and they replicate Pink Floyd better than anyone. Gig in the Sky is phenomenal! Cover bands serve a worthwhile purpose in providing us with the next best thing to seeing the real band in person when we realise we'll never see them live.
The Bluegrass series Pickin' On do their version of Pink Floyd and Black Sabbath among other groups to shed new light on legendary songs.
I have only skimmed the surface of the vast library of covers but for the most part I enjoy covers and tribute albums as it may refresh an old song or offer appreciation to a song that you didn't care for before. When I heard Cash's version of NIN's Hurt I liked his version better because it was basic and stripped down.
Of course the music purists will detest covers. However there must be some benefit for them. Is it to fulfill a record contract or done to fill a void of no new material ?
What are your opinions, recommendations, and responses to "Covers" ?
The ultimate connection is between a performer and its' audience!