What makes a good cover?

BigBear
Posts: 0
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2009 11:02 am
Status: Offline

Thu Mar 03, 2011 4:33 am

Tony- for me that's an easy question. Whether it's a professional cover or a TG cover the performer needs to be make it his or her own. You will never sound like the original so why not make it your own?

A classic example might be Jimi Hendrix cover of All Along the Watchtower. So different yet so good! :cheer:


michelew
Posts: 87
Joined: Sat Aug 22, 2009 5:43 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia
Status: Offline

Sat Mar 05, 2011 6:25 am

What makes a good cover? I'm not sure what the essential elements are.

Eva Cassidy has done some great covers, Songbird, Autumn Leaves, Field or Gold, Kathy's Song to name a few. I like the Indigo Girls covered like Water is Wide, Midnight Train to Georgia. All of these are similar to the original, but add the performers own strengths; Eva especially with her awesome voice and the Indigo Girls combo of their fabulous playing and strong voices.

Remakes that are different, reinterpretation - the best one I've heard recently is Adele's Lovesong. It's almost unrecognisable from the Original Cure version, which is way too depressing for my taste (believe it or not, yes even i have my limits). I love the new groove, especially the bossa nove version on her you tube videos. Her amazing voice, the hip guitar and the more upbeat feel just works much better for me. It is so gorgeous.

But, hey get a woman with a gorgeous voice to cover a great song and chances are I'll love it. Well maybe that's one of the elements for me. Who knew?

Oh, yes I hear you. Blokes make good covers too. Sure.

Michele


sws626
Posts: 0
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 1:00 am
Status: Offline

Sun Mar 06, 2011 5:33 am

When I think about the covers I most like to listen to, they all take the original song and transform it in some fundamental way, drawing something latent in the original version. The artists who have done this well have accomplished something more than just "making the song their own." These covers resonate in a different emotional register than the original, but a part of their effect comes from knowing and hearing a tension between the memory of the original and the new version. Examples that come to mind are:

Talking Heads, 'Take Me to the River' (Al Green)
Jeff Buckley, 'Hallelujah' (Leonard Cohen)
Johnny Cash, 'Personal Jesus' (Depeche Mode)
Annie Lennox, 'White Shade of Pale' (Procol Harum)
Eric Clapton, 'Layla' (acoustic version)
Cowboy Junkies, 'Powderfinger' (Neil Young)

-Stuart


Post Reply Previous topicNext topic