Spectacular Song Covers #2
I had so much fun writing the first story, that I had to do another one.
I am going to start with a 2-for-1 special.
If You Don’t Know Me by Now
Original by Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes (1972)
Cover by Simply Red (1989)
Cover by Seal (2008)
This is one of those songs in which I had little familiarity with the original version, as it came out when I was a baby. The original song is much slower and conversational in nature. Simply Red’s version is a somewhat faster tempo and yet remains very soulful. I also must mention the excellent cover by Seal, which came out 2 decades after Simply Red’s version. If I had to pick a winner of the 2 cover songs, I would have to go with Simply Red’s rendition by a narrow margin. This is probably because Simply Red’s version came out when I was a teenager, so I am more emotionally attached to it. Seal’s version is a bit closer to the original song’s style though, and worth listening to.
Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
Original by Van Morrison (1989)
Cover by Rod Stewart (1991/ live version 1993)
This is another time that I had little familiarity with the original version of the song. I did know that when Rod Stewart covered it, he was not the original singer. This song fits Rod Stewart’s voice like a glove. purposely mentioned the live version separately from the album version. The MTV Unplugged version is the one that you want to seek out here. In this version, Rod Stewart dedicates the song to his wife. If you watch the video from the performance, you will see that he pours his emotions into the song. You can even see him weeping a bit while singing it. By the end of the song, you can hear that he is a bit choked up. It is such a beautiful moment that is forever encapsulated in this song.
I Can’t Make You Love Me
Original by Bonnie Raitt (1991)
Cover by George Michael (1997)
Now we get to a song that I was very familiar with the original version. Bonnie Raitt’s version is just about perfect, but if anyone was going to do it justice it was going to be George Michael. George Michael had a way of pulling at the heartstrings with the sad love songs. He didn’t change the style of the song much, but he put his stamp on it.
Wild Horses
Original by Rolling Stones (1971)
Cover by The Sundays (1992)
Ok, now we are back to me not being familiar with the original song until much later. I remember hearing the Sunday’s cover version on the radio, and thinking it is one of the most beautiful songs that I’ve ever heard. Lead singer Harriet Wheeler showed that her range of voice was well suited for this awesome cover. At some point, I remember this cover version of the song was featured in a Superbowl Budweiser commercial featuring the World-Famous Clydesdale horses.
Mad World
Original by Tears For Fears (1982)
Cover by Michael Andrews (featuring Gary Jules) (2001)
I was introduced to this song from the movie Donnie Darko. I remember hearing the original song a few times before, but it didn’t resonate with me too much. The thing I remember the most from the original song is watching Roland Orzebal from Tears For Fears do that funky dancing in the background of the video.
Those were some serious aerobic moves! The cover strips away all of the music and replaces it with nothing but a piano. Stripped down to the song’s bare soul, it sounds appropriately creepy. This fits the movie Donnie Darko well, as it is equally creepy. The tempo of the song is also a bit slower. Both the slower tempo and the stripped-down instruments transform the song into something completely different in tone. I feel that it is made much better as a result. Many people may recognize this cover as being featured in a TV commercial for the first Gears of War video game.
Hurt
Original by Nine Inch Nails (1995)
Cover by Johnny Cash (2002)
This song is the epitome of why I love good cover songs. A cover can be a well-performed version of the original. A spectacular song cover transforms it into something completely different beyond what the original artist ever envisioned. This cover is one of those songs. The original song from Nine Inch Nails had a lot of Trent Reznor’s pain and anguish in the song. When Johnny Cash covered the song, he was not only at the end of his career but the end of his life. I’ll let Trent Reznor’s quote about Johnny Cash’s cover say the rest because I can’t say it any better.
“I pop the video in, and wow… Tears welling, silence, goosebumps… Wow. [I felt like] I just lost my girlfriend, because that song isn’t mine anymore… It really made me think about how powerful music is as a medium and art form. I wrote some words and music in my bedroom as a way of staying sane, about a bleak and desperate place I was in, totally isolated and alone. [Somehow] that winds up reinterpreted by a music legend from a radically different era/genre and still retains sincerity and meaning — different, but every bit as pure “ (Source: Alternative Press #194 September 2004)
Here is a link to the first one in case you missed it: https://imdlegend-gaming.medium.com/spectacular-song-covers-ae3f343c17c1
