Tom's thread about Shawn Colvin's cover of Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" got me thinking about a subject that I thought we'd all have a lot of fun with not to mention an emotional experience.
I was sitting on the beach this weekend, staring into the Atlantic Ocean, and musing for hours about some of the truly outstanding covers that musicians have done over the years. I would never argue about whether these are "better" than the originals; that's not my point at all. When a musician does a cover that's influenced by the original but wildly different, full of homage and yet still blows your mind because of how great it is in it's own right... well, that's what this thread is about. In fact, the point is that these covers make you think about the originals, the artists (both new and original), and often bring back very strong memories. Anyway, please contribute with videos or audio if it's available. It's all about sharing the music, right?
First, with a nod to Tom, I agreed with the majority of folks that Shawn's cover is truly outstanding. I had never seen that one before. The mood, the voice... well, all of it. It's particularly amazing because folks felt so strongly that this is a nearly impossible song to do justice to because of the perfection of the original and, of course, ... Gerry Rafferty!
I was sitting on the beach this weekend, staring into the Atlantic Ocean, and musing for hours about some of the truly outstanding covers that musicians have done over the years. I would never argue about whether these are "better" than the originals; that's not my point at all. When a musician does a cover that's influenced by the original but wildly different, full of homage and yet still blows your mind because of how great it is in it's own right... well, that's what this thread is about. In fact, the point is that these covers make you think about the originals, the artists (both new and original), and often bring back very strong memories. Anyway, please contribute with videos or audio if it's available. It's all about sharing the music, right?
First, with a nod to Tom, I agreed with the majority of folks that Shawn's cover is truly outstanding. I had never seen that one before. The mood, the voice... well, all of it. It's particularly amazing because folks felt so strongly that this is a nearly impossible song to do justice to because of the perfection of the original and, of course, ... Gerry Rafferty!