What are you listening to ...right now?

[Magical Realist]

They came and went in 1985 and left only this----a poetic masterpiece!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UXnulANF8g

[Magical Realist]

[Image: UwIeGRV.jpeg]

"When recording More Songs About Buildings and Food, Brian Eno wanted the Talking Heads to try recording a cover song. David Byrne didn’t want the band to have to go the route of including somebody else’s material with each new release, but he eventually relented.

The choice of songs was somehow both ingenious and fraught with issues all at once. Several other artists just happened to be releasing their own version of “Take Me To The River”, originally an Al Green track, at around the same time as Talking Heads. Besides, how would the band’s post-punk leanings mesh with such a soulful original?

Eno convinced the band to slow the pace down from the original version. That allowed for some of the band’s spacey atmosphere to come to the surface. In addition, Eno knew that, in Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, the band possessed a rhythm section with more than enough wiggle to do the song justice.
On top of that, Byrne’s delivery seemed to imbue the song’s lyrics with strange new meanings. The Talking Heads’ version of “Take Me To The River” made it to No. 28 on the pop charts in 1978. They wouldn’t hit the Top 40 again for another five years."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9f21bsjMIo

[Magical Realist]

"The Seeker" by The Who...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx-QkUhz5Oc

[C C]

The last #1 hit of The Beatles.

Phil Spector was brought in to rescue the troubled "Let It Be" album that the song appeared on. So it was a future convicted murderer who ensured the success of the band's concluding effort. Albeit, at the time, Spector was purely a famous record producer who had pioneered various studio/audio practices during the 1960s. His "sound" was heavily influential and unavoidable during that era. (AI-generated song: Please Don't Shoot Me, Phil)

Spector was invited by Lennon and George Harrison to take on the task of turning the Beatles' abandoned "Let It Be" recording sessions into a usable album. He went to work using many of his production techniques, making significant changes to the arrangements and sound of some songs.

Released a month after the Beatles' break-up, the album topped the U.S. and UK charts. It also yielded the number 1 U.S. single "The Long and Winding Road". Spector's [orchestral] overdubbing of "The Long and Winding Road" infuriated its composer, Paul McCartney.

In addition to McCartney, several music critics also criticized Spector's work on "Let It Be". Spector claimed this was partly due to resentment that an American producer appeared to be "taking over" such a popular English band.

Lennon defended Spector, telling Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone: "he was given the shittiest load of badly recorded shit, with a lousy feeling toward it, ever. And he made something out of it. He did a great job."

The Long And Winding Road (The Beatles) ... https://youtu.be/yDP3dwpoVTo?list=RDyDP3dwpoVTo

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/yDP3dwpoVTo

[Leigha]

One of those light, fun songs that is just too short.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/KGJfJNPQyEA

[Leigha]

I love when a good cover of a beloved classic, manages to give you something fairly unique, while honoring the vibe of the original. I don't think a cover should sound almost identical to the original, but when covers do too much (not sure how best to say that), they can really botch the whole thing. I feel this cover managed to strike the right balance. I have friends who loathe covers of any kind because they feel all originals are sacred. I feel it's a compliment to the original artist, but as mentioned above, as long as you strike that right balance.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rdyvhSIvk-c

[C C]

I love when a good cover of a beloved classic, manages to give you something fairly unique, while honoring the vibe of the original. I don't think a cover should sound almost identical to the original, but when covers do too much (not sure how best to say that), they can really botch the whole thing. I feel this cover managed to strike the right balance. I have friends who loathe covers of any kind because they feel all originals are sacred. I feel it's a compliment to the original artist, but as mentioned above, as long as you strike that right balance.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/rdyvhSIvk-c

Yah, it can add new life to an old song that one has heard too many times. Occasionally, a cover may become more famous than the original, as with Hendrix's version of Bob Dylan's AATW or the Guns N' Roses take on his KOHD.

I feel that acoustic covers (even solo) should be obligatorily accepted because they are as radically different in character as you can get from the electronic effects and digital modified sounds of pop studio recordings since the 1960s. In that context, I don't mind the vocal style even being imitative of the original, because it doesn't hurt to have at least one common aspect carrying over.

[Syne]

I don't mind good covers... as long as they don't slow the tempo, like so many do.
I also like good mashups:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/OrlWWrSwaB8

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/27Oz26pz0zg
Or mashup covers:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/ooZR4LSuppk

[Syne]

...mashup cover:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/Gl9GtO_vQxw

[Magical Realist]

Audioslave
"I Am The Highway"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZDAYg196x8

Dire Straits
"Brothers In Arms"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhdFe3evXpk