Coverversions on records are pretty pointless unless they open a new door for a song.
In a live situation things like this one may work fine giving everyone a good time.
But why on earth should one listen to that recording when you can have the original?
I always thought the point of a cover version of a song was not to outdo the original artist, which is not possible, but as a tribute to the artist. Hence the "tribute to..." albums. Of course Freddie outsings them all. Hell, he is Freddie Mercury! One of the finest singers I know. This cover is merely a tribute and it's well executed. I see no point in saying "Queen is better". They're not trying to be better.
I always thought the point of a cover version of a song was not to outdo the original artist, which is not possible, but as a tribute to the artist. Hence the "tribute to..." albums. Of course Freddie outsings them all. Hell, he is Freddie Mercury! One of the finest singers I know. This cover is merely a tribute and it's well executed. I see no point in saying "Queen is better". They're not trying to be better.
There are defininitely some cover versions that outdo originals such that they become the definitive versions of the songs. In some cases people don't even know they're covers. Joan Jett's 'I love Rock and Roll' and Manfred Mann's 'Blinded By the Light' come to mind as examples.
The_CrY wrote: "I always thought the point of a cover version of a song was not to outdo the original artist, which is not possible, but as a tribute to the artist. Hence the "tribute to..." albums. Of course Freddie outsings them all. Hell, he is Freddie Mercury! One of the finest singers I know. This cover is merely a tribute and it's well executed. I see no point in saying "Queen is better". They're not trying to be better."
I agree. I've always thought that STL was among the more difficult Queen songs to cover; since Freddie's performance was so overwhelmingly awesome. Often singers either try to out-Freddie Freddie (a bad mistake), or they try to alter the song, which being a traditionalist, I'm not a huge fan of.
Personally, I really like this rendition, although I think it sounds much better watching the Glee cast actually perform it. While it will never go down as a great cover version, I do think it is highly enjoyable. :D
The point of a cover song is to interpret your own rendition - in other words sing it or play it as if you were the composer.
The greatest covers of all time, in my opinion, and great examples of what a cover should be are the following:
1) Hallelujah by Jeff Buckly (originally by Leonard Cohen) - this is where the cover is better than the original
2) Love Hurts by Nazareth (Roy Orbison)
3) With A Little Help From My Friends - Joe Cocker (The Beatles)
4) Satisfaction - Otis Redding (Rolling Stones)
5) Stand By Me - John Lennon (Ben E King)
6) Live And Let Die - Guns 'N Roses (Paul McCartney)
7) The Book Of Love - Peter Gabriel (Magnetic Fields)
and for the everyday Queen fan - try listening to Little Boots' take on Love Kills by Freddie Mercury, doesn't rank with the songs listed above, but very interesting!
They're all different from the originals and they sound more like the artist interpreting the song rather than the orginal artist that wrote the song.
Jimmy Dean wrote:
The point of a cover song is to interpret your own rendition - in other words sing it or play it as if you were the composer.
The greatest covers of all time, in my opinion, and great examples of what a cover should be are the following:
1) Hallelujah by Jeff Buckly (originally by Leonard Cohen) - this is where the cover is better than the original
If there was ever a song that needs to stop being covered for a bit, it's this one. Among the very best ever written, but beyond over-covered. But I digress.
Buckley's was an early cover (that probably inspired most of the ones that followed), and is viewed by an awful lot of people as the definintive version of the song. It's haunting and sorrowful and beautiful. And that, oddly, is my 'problem' (probably too strong a word) with it. The song as written was a cynical and somewhat bitter and almost dispassionate statement on betrayal and a failed relationship. Most people cover it in a way that it ends up described as 'beautiful', and I think something is lost.
You people are going to laugh at me when I tell you who I think best captured the original sense of bitterness and loss of the 7 or 8 versions I'm familiar with. It's the performance most often panned and dismissed, and by far not the strongest voice or the most substantial artist, but the emotion I think he got right: link