Covers versus original songs

[comet]

After Hayley's success with Bridge over troubled water in Taiwan.

It would be fair to ask: what are the advantages of singing covers of other artists hits.

Bridge over troubled Water was a huge Number 1 hit worldwide for Simon and Garfunkel in the early 1970s
six million copies of the single were sold, so it is obvious that millions of people have loved and connected with the song over decades
and if they connected with the song before it is likely the next generation of listeners will connect with the song too.
Dozens of other artists have covered the song. Let's just say the song has a great track record. Half the battle is won of it being a sucess again.
You can easily have confidence in the song itself, it has already proven itself.
It helps if the new artist loves the song too. Thats the time to sing it, while you still love it, while you can still connect with the emotion of the song.

Often the cover is a better version than the tentative unproven original version of the song.
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face is a good example, It had been sung by numerous singers before anyone really hit the nail on the head.
Roberta Flack probably released the most sucessful version. Some of the earlier versions were a bit rough to say the least.

Many artists are very unsure of their own work, Some of the great songwriters like Leonard Cohen and Tori Amos are very insecure about their writing.
Writing and re writing, often over years.
(There was a certain advantage to the Brill Building method of songwriting, usually someone else selected the singer that would best suit the song)

When an artist writes and then sings the first version of a song themselves,
they expose their souls in several ways, their writing and their singing and perhaps their composing abilities as well.
It takes a brave artist to place that much of themselves before the public, open to criticism by all.

[martindn]

I have always been of the opinion that if a songwriter is also a performer, they will write the song to suit their own talent. It will then take an exceptional artist to equal that performance, let alone better it. So if the composer is a reasonably competent artist. there is usually nothing to be gained by a cover. If the early versions of a song are "rough", then it may be because the composer is not actually a very good performer, or hasn't spent the time to perfect the arrangement or performance.
So a songwriter who is also a good performer will have an advantage when performing their own song. A songwriter who is just performing a demo may not.
Hayley I think is an exception to the rule. It is hard to think of a song that was so written to the strengths of the composer as an performing artist than Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights". Yet Hayley came along and bettered it (in my opinion). I think she has just done that again with BOTW, as I suspected she would having heard her rehearse it last August. She has a habit of doing that with other people's songs. "Both Sides Now"? Even the sainted Dame Vera Lynn.
Very few others try to better Hayley's performances. They can't. Although sometimes they might try to sell it on the basis that the original is not well known. I've seen that so many times. But there are even exceptions to that.
The Troggs song "Love is all around" is a case in point. I far prefer the Troggs version to the later cover by Wet Wet Wet, even thought he latter version is vastly superior technically, it somehow lacks the atmosphere of the original.
So I don't think there can ever be a general rule.
I remember thinking that Hayley's song "Talk to Me" would be impossible to cover for most artists, with its huge range. Yet our own Rory did a very good cover of it.
As for BOTW, it is a very good song. It deserves to be remembered, and performed by the best. I am thrilled that Hayley has taken it on.

Martin D

[Elliot Kane]

The main reason is usually to reach a wider audience, IMO.

This is why the songs that get covered are almost always famous rather than necessarily being amazing. Songs that are both get covered a truly huge amount. Try looking for 'Summer Of '69' on YouTube and count the thirty billion or so covers, as one easy example!

When an artist is just starting out, they have few of their own songs and no-one knows who they are. Covers add a few songs that their audiences are likely to know, plus when they put them on places like YouTube and people search for the song, they may discover - and like - the artist.

Covers are also a good way for a new artist to show how versatile they are and what they are capable of. This is especially true when a new artist has a better voice than the original singer, of course If the original artist is truly outstanding (Like, say, Debbie Harry or Freddie Mercury) then pulling off a cover that gets close can be impressive in itself.

Sometimes, artists outside of a particular genre might do cover versions as a homage or just because they love them. This is especially true of show tunes and the like. Dee Snider (Of Twisted Sister) put out a very good album called 'Dee Does Broadway' where he sings show tunes. Amazingly well, IMO. Robbie Williams, of course, released 'Swing When You're Winning'.

For very established artists, a cover version is probably just something they really love and can do well, though. Miley Cyrus' cover of 'Jolene' is outstanding (Though considering Dolly Parton is her godmother, she may have an advantage, there!) and her cover of Billy Idol's 'Rebel Yell' is also pretty terrific. Miley is not exactly lacking hits, so I doubt she's covering a song most of her fans won't be old enough to know for any other reason than that she really likes it.

I think there is one other, specific to Classical, and that's that the genre IS basically cover versions. It's only once an artist really establishes themselves very thoroughly in the genre that they seem able to branch out into doing their own thing.

So yeah, many and varied reasons. Probably a few I've missed, too. But the most common is almost certainly to try to reach a wider audience.

[Libby]

Covers vs. Originals:

Well, in general, I prefer mostly original songs by any artist. Either that, or they at least sing new and different songs that are unique and special. These days, I find myself leaning towards the folk side of country, though I can't say I'm actually a fan of country. I don't mind it, but it's not my most favorite. But one of my favorite contestants on AI this season is Kree, who has a great voice for soft, folk/country music. But she also has some power in her voice, too. Angie Miller first stood out to the judges when she performed her own original song. Before that, they hadn't thought they would choose her for the final group, but the original song was a huge "game changer" for her.

One of my favorite arists besides Hayley is Brandi Carlile. She and her band write every song on her albums. The style of music could sometimes be considered folk rock, I think, but I've also seen it described as Indie rock. However, you can't really put a label on her music, other than it's "Brandi Carlile" music. Some songs are soft and beautiful, while others are a little more rock and not very quiet. On one side of the Brandi spectrum you have the soft, tender songs like "That Year", and the beautiful, slightly haunting "Just Kids". Then you have a song like "Raise Hell", probably her wildest, most hard-core song. I wouldn't say it's my usual style, but I'll tell you, it is really good. Some songs even sound sort of pop, then one song sounds sort of bluesy... You see, this is why I enjoy her music so much. Everything is unique and different. Not to mention her voice itself. She has a very wide range. Sometimes her voice sounds very lovely, and other times kind of rough. She interprets the emotions of songs so well, that I often get chills listening to it, even songs I've listened to over and over. She interprets the mood of every song perfectly, even down to the instruments themselves. I enjoy pretty much every song on her albums. I think there's a "wow" moment in nearly every song, there's something really special about all of them.

Did I tell you I'm a fan of Brandi Carlile? LOL

I'm a Hayley fan first, but when I'm blown away by her, it's mainly her stunning vocals, and beautiful melodies. There's been only one recorded song of hers that really moves me in a deeper way. And that song is Amalia Por Amor. And I believe that that song is partly responsible for the wonderful change in Hayley's much improved vocal performances. I remember in one of the promo videos with Ennio Morricone, Hayley appeared almost on the verge of tears, and I think it was Ennio was really trying to get the emotion out of her. I feel certain all this was for Amalia, because no other song on Paradiso sounds as deeply emotional as Amalia does. The other songs are softer and romantic or ethereal, or more upbeat and cheerful, or just more jazzed up (Metti).

Actually, I Know You By Heart affected me more emotionally, because of the story and the beautiful way Hayley sang it.

Anyway, so the reason I'm so set on hearing more original songs by Hayley is that they're always among my favorite songs, so we know she's good at it. I'd just love to hear lots more of that sort of song from Hayley. I'm ready for something new, something unique. Any cover songs have to be really good ones.

[comet]

What really got me thinking about covers was David Bowie and his album Pin Ups which I play regularly, Not just because it has a signed picture of Twiggy on it but it helps.

Pin Ups is Bowie at his best in my opinion, he loves the songs and you can hear this tremendous energy in the whole album, It needs to be played loud on a decent amp and speakers with plenty of wallop.

[comet]

I'll just bump this thread back into view,

I would be more than happy with an album of covers like Jolene, Something Good, The Rose, Black is the colour, Here there and everywhere, Hallelujah, I hope I never.


and of course Talk to me and Greener lands and the mysterious Not Alone and Who will echo my heart.

[Libby]

Dec 17, 2017 17:15:52 GMT comet said:

I'll just bump this thread back into view,

I would be more than happy with an album of covers like Jolene, Something Good, The Rose, Black is the colour, Here there and everywhere, Hallelujah, I hope I never.


and of course Talk to me and Greener lands and the mysterious Not Alone and Who will echo my heart.

Yes, I will be sad if the covers she's been singing live are not on her album. I really wouldn't want to have 12-15 originals, or we'd be waiting 20 years to hear all of them. Seriously, it's so upsetting to know that Taiwan gets to hear all the songs, and everyone else is left to scrounge for bootlegs.