Get under the bloody covers...

I was considering what to write about next last week and the whole cover versions debate came into my head. I was just about recovering from being subjected to hearing a someone sample 'Cecilia' by Simon and Garfunkel and it made me think about what a good cover version is. To be fair The Vamps haven't covered the whole song, they've just pinched the chorus. This song has been covered quite a bit, but the version I most remember is Suggs from 1995. Thing is, I don't remember it so much for the song. I have to admit that the reason I remember it is because Chris Eubank was hosting Top of the Pops when it was in the charts and due to his rather heavy lisp he had a lot of trouble reading out "At Six it's Cecilia by Suggs"...

Apologies to anyone with a lisp, it was the unfortunately chart placing that means it's stuck in my head not the fact that Chris had a speech impediment.

Anyway. Back to cover versions. When I listen to new music nowadays and I hear a sample or cover of an old song it does pain me somewhat if the new version has destroyed the original. As an example, I spent yesterday humming a little bit of a tune in my head as it was frustrating me why Olly Murs new single sounded so familiar. Now I'm not saying he has sampled someone else, but 'Wrapped Up' sounds very much to me like 'Love Come Down' by Evelyn Champagne King at the chorus. So much so that I took to annoying my other half by singing it over the top of Olly's song to prove my point.

It also makes me consider that perhaps new bands or singers don't have the talent to write their own music so they rely on classics to score a hit. Maybe or maybe it's a sure fire way to get them noticed and the managers are just playing it safe. The X Factor seems to rely on a lot of cover versions to score hits, although I don't watch the programme myself as I have other things to do, like watch some paint dry...

Was this always the case though? I'm sure back in the 80s when I was getting into music the issue would have been exactly the same. But I guess being of the age where you listen to that particular band or singer you probably won't know any different and just think 'hey, that's a good song'.

I asked, they told me

So I asked some lovely folk for their opinions on good and bad cover versions and this is what I was told:

"It has to do something different or add something to the original. Chili Peppers took Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground and added a shot of funk. Mark Morriss made Nightcall his own, blasted the original out of the water. If you want bad, then pretty much any One Direction cover takes the hook and loses the feel of the track" - Mike @mike_mimo

"Mindless Self Indulgence almost unfailingly does great covers, as well as Anthrax. 97 Bonnie and Clyde and Enjoy the Silence by Tori Amos. Bad would be Adele doing Love Song by the Cure. Already overdone and her version is pitiful". Michelle @littlehotmess77

"I think it needs to be something different or a really good take on the original without messing it up". Nicole

Now, I did ask Mark Morriss himself what he thought about covers as he has done a fair few himself with and without The Bluetones and is in fact putting together an album of covers which is hopefully being released next year. As somewhat of an expert I asked his opinion, but was told that "He's tied up at the moment, putting some stuff together and finishing off some important work". He was in fact doing his ironing at the time so was a tad preoccupied...! Nice to know that even the rock stars among us take the time to do their own housework. I'm sure his creases are amazing...

Worst superhero ever?

According to the all knowing Wikipedia, 3 different types of entertainers who might do cover versions are tribute acts, cover bands or revivalist artists. Tribute acts are bands who make their living by recreating the works of popular artists (eg, Bjorn Again, the Australian Pink Floyd Show). Cover bands are entertainers who perform a broad variety of crowd pleasing music for audiences on cruise ships or in bars (not sure about this one to be honest). Finally revivalist artists are bands who are inspired by a entire genre of music and dedicate themselves to introducing it to younger audiences who may not have experienced it before (eg, the Blues Brothers). A bit of food for thought there.

There are some bands though who just cannot be covered. I will always moan about people covering Queen songs as I don't think anyone could do it justice to be honest. Freddie Mercury had such an amazing voice and for anyone to try to emanate it, it would always fall short. That's just my own personal opinion though, as is most of what I write.

A few people mentioned that they like to hear something a bit different when an artist is covering a song and I would agree with this. Hearing the Bluetones do a cover of 'Woman in Love' by Barbara Streisand was quite unique as although it was written by the Gibb brothers, I don't think it was intended for a bloke to sing! The same with the Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson duet of 'I Know Him So Well' from the musical Chess. It has been covered by various people, but the one that stands out for me is the John Barrowman version which he recorded with Daniel Boys. Worth a listen I'd say!

Sing along everyone...

I don't think this post is actually answering the question of what makes a good cover version to be honest as I guess it's really all about opinion. Some people will love it, some people will think it's an abomination, but it's their choice. I like some, hate others and have no opinion on the ones that are just a waste of time. Whilst trying to appear a bit professional and researching online for some examples I came across the video below by Okkervil River. It's a cover of the 80's song 'Dance Hall Days' orginally by Wang Chung. It was listed in Paste as one of the best covers of 2013 and stated that with horn section and Will Sheff's unmistakable low-croon, it could slip by in a live set without younger fans knowing any better. Very true.

So to recap, basically it's all about opinion. I'll leave you with the best response I got to my quest for insight on covers which comes from Adam Devlin, guitarist extraordinaire. He summed it up very succinctly as "the good covers are good, the bad ones are bad and the TV ad 80s acoustic covers are the ugly". Amazing...

He speaks for the people