I enjoy a good cover or remake of a song, but I must say that country artists should not be allowed to either cover or remake a song, unless it was originally a country song or your name is Johnny Cash. They all suck! Anything Johnny Cash covered was amazing from U2, Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails to Depeche Mode, it was damn cool.
For example:
The Wilkinsons' Fast Car, Tracy Chapman original
Rascal Flatts' Life is a Highway, Tom Cochrane original
Unknown, Lips of An Angel, Hinder original
Luther Wright and the Wrongs, Another Brick in the Wall Pt. 2, Pink Floyd original (this one is so bad, it's funny and I actually like it. It's like a spoken word hill billy version.)
Mark Chestnut, I Don't Want To Miss a Thing, Aerosmith (written by Diane Warren)
I've only heard the country version of Hinder's Lips of an Angel once and didn't hear who was singing it, but what a joke that is. The singer has no passion, no 'umph' in his voice and the rental band he brought in for the recording session also needs a shot of adrenaline. I'm not even really a big fan of that song either.
However, I do really like Tracy Chapman's Fast Car. That's a beautiful and soulful song that the Wilkinson's just butcher. It's a very simple song too. The chords are very repetitive and so is the melody but they managed to shit the bed on the remake.
I know there are likely many more country remakes that I can't think of at the moment (and maybe even a few good remakes), but who ever owns the rights to the original song should be allowed to revoke and destroy the remake if the remake sucks (according to me). I just don't like it when they butcher a rock or folk song.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
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4 comments:
Maybe if the songs were done properly the first time, they wouldn't have to be remade!
I must admit, I'm not a fan of Tracey Chapman. An ex had that CD and would play the hell out of it every time that she wanted to get even more depressed than she was before. It was more of a punishment for me in the long run. I regretted buying her that CD after a while. UGH.
Anyway... you neglected to mention When the Stars Go Blue, already covered by U2 and the Coors, but faced with added insult from Tim MCgraw (whose live like you were dying is incredible, so it's not a bias on Tug's kid).
However, i must say, there is enough country covers that get souped up, so we can rejoice. THe Lemonheads and Cracker did great jobs with a lot of the things that they touch (from Haggard to Mel Tillis to Gram Parsons).
The difference with country is that they aren't played with the tongue in cheekness that alt rockers do, and thus, you have to take them at face value.
The real atrocity with country though is genre mixing. I love the first Big and Rich (save for the presence of Gretchen Wilson), but take Trace Adkins. That man is the anti christ.
There, I've said it.
Now I feel better.
I forgot one of the worst ever that you reminded me of: Tim McGraw's Tiny Dancer.
New addition: Aaron Pritchet's cover of The Band's "The Weight." Terrible.
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