Pointless cover versions.

[adams house cat]

Pointless cover versions.

Thanks G-Man. Both Jimmy Nail and Madonna totally ballsed up the sublime "Love Don't Live Here Anymore.

[Various Artist]

Pointless cover versions.

Honorable exception to the '90s boyband covers rule? Take That revamping Barry Manilow's Could It Be Magic into a joyful hi-NRG romp.

There's some magnificently 'different' covers on Johnny Cash's final American Recordings albums, with the slow, cracked, tired takes on the likes of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, U2's One, NIN's Hurt, etc. A man at the end of his life singing something like We'll Meet Again, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's I See A Darkness or — to go back to the Beatles — In My Life is often genuinely and shockingly moving.

The Lily Allen take on Somewhere Only We Know mentioned above is an exemplar of a genre that surely cannot have added a single jot to the sum total of human happiness nor musical goodness in the world — the feeble, dreary, mimsycore 'advert song'. Breathy, drippy, usually female vocals on top of slow, plinky, earnest 'reinventions' of classic songs so that we can all really see the overlooked meanings of these lyrics that obviously we all missed in the brilliant originals, whilst simultaneously being consumed with the desire to go Christmas shopping, of course. Yuck. Rip-my-ears-off vileness without exception.

[Bored Of Education]

Pointless cover versions.

Electro Velvet Android wrote: There's some magnificently 'different' covers on Johnny Cash's final American Recordings albums, with the slow, cracked, tired takes on the likes of First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, U2's One, NIN's Hurt, etc. A man at the end of his life singing something like We'll Meet Again, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's I See A Darkness or — to go back to the Beatles — In My Life is often genuinely and shockingly moving.

The thing about Cash's covers is that they can vary wildly. His originals or, at least, songs he grew up with can benefit from his "around the note" singing. Well established covers can be very hit and miss for the same reason. In his American Recordings era, covers such as Bridge Over Troubled Water, In My Life and Danny Boy are pretty awful while Personal Jesus and, obviously, Hurt are incredible.

The thing is that the ones that aren't pointless - the latter two, Rusty Cage - work well. The standards don't.

[Various Artist]

Pointless cover versions.

Hah, "around the note", I like it. Yes, there was a reason I didn't cite Bridge Over Troubled Water or Danny Boy above, as they certainly do take, erm, getting used to. Funnily enough I was the same with his take on Personal Jesus on The Man Comes Around to start with, probably just because I love the original so damn much, but I think I've come around somewhat now. It doesn't have the same power as Hurt, First Time Ever I Saw... or Rusty Cage, though, to me.

[Hamish! Dougal!]

Pointless cover versions.

Green Calx wrote: Yes. Madonna doing American Pie.

There was a covers CD given away with Q magazine a fair few years ago which featured her version of Imagine. Truly, utterly dreadful. She made Leonard Cohen sound like Steps.

[MsD]

Pointless cover versions.

Guy Potger wrote: But back on thread, there was the "non-cover" Andrew Sachs did of "Shadappaya Face" - he'd heard it in Aus or some such, got his people to speak to Joe Dolce's people and say "I'd like to do a version of this"

"Fine". Came the reply.

And before it was pressed, guess who'd put out the original version in Blighty?

That's what happened with Jimmy Pursey and Hurry Up England (not a number one hit, though, only got to 10). He was approached by a band who had the idea of adapting Hurry Up Harry as the England song, so he did it himself. Much to their disappointment.

[Guy Profumo]

Pointless cover versions.

MsD wrote:

But back on thread, there was the "non-cover" Andrew Sachs did of "Shadappaya Face" - he'd heard it in Aus or some such, got his people to speak to Joe Dolce's people and say "I'd like to do a version of this"

"Fine". Came the reply.

And before it was pressed, guess who'd put out the original version in Blighty?

That's what happened with Jimmy Pursey and Hurry Up England (not a number one hit, though, only got to 10). He was approached by a band who had the idea of adapting Hurry Up Harry as the England song, so he did it himself. Much to their disappointment.

Ah. Let's just go down the pub…

[Big Ben]

Pointless cover versions.

I'm not a particular fan of either of these artists, but "I Will Always Love You" was beautiful in different ways whether sung by Dolly Parton or Whitney Houston.

Marilyn Manson, really did the business on their version of "Tainted Love."

The Beat's rework of "Tears of Clown" still holds up.

For utter cheek you have to tip your hat to Madness doing "Swan Lake," the Selecter doing "James Bond," The Specials doing "Guns Of Navarone," & the Jam doing "Batman."

And one my favs is the "Undertones" version of "Under The Boardwalk." Some kids from windswept Derry enthusing about fun at the beach on a Summer's day. I think the Drifters would have approved.

Best piss take cover? Probably the Slits version of "Heard It Through The Grapevine." I can hear Marvin Gay go "WTF."

Last but not least, the most moving cover for me was SLF's version of Bob Marley's "Johnny Was." The sentiments come through very strongly in both versions.

[Land Waster]

Pointless cover versions.

George Michaels cover of True Faith was pointless and shite.

[3 Colours Red]

Pointless cover versions.

Meanwhile his cover of As was almost verging on the tolerable (if still completely pointless) until Mary J. Blige decided there was no kill like overkill, forgot all about singing and just started doing her best imitation of a foghorn.

Surely George could have taken her to one side and told her Aretha never had to resort to that. Then again, they do say cannabis has a detrimental effect on memory...

[G-Man]

Pointless cover versions.

But Aretha has had her overkill moments too. I blame Patti LaBelle for all that notes gymnastics.

[3 Colours Red]

Pointless cover versions.

True, Aretha has occasionally let her excesses get the better of her but unlike Blige I don't think she's ever forgot that she was actually meant to be singing.

Your second point - true again but you could apportion as much if not more blame the likes of Whitney and Mariah for popularising needless oversinging. As popular and talented as Patti was and still is, she never consistently shifted records in as ridiculous quantities as those two. They were the ones who allowed it to spread like a disease.

[G-Man]

Pointless cover versions.

Oh yes, they were the disease (though Whitney less so than Carey). And Boyz II Men.

[adams house cat]

Pointless cover versions.

Patti got less and less interesting after she left LaBelle.

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

Pointless cover versions.

Fyfe Dangerfield's cover of Billy Joel's She Always a Woman was pointless as it was almost identical to the original.

[Sits]

Pointless cover versions.

I'm in a cafe and can hear what sounds like Dido doing Hotel Califirnia. Try to imagine. Actually don't.

I don't know who it really is and don't care.

[Calvert]

Pointless cover versions.

I've nothing constructive to add to the horror already mentioned on this thread except that the words 'Boyz II Men' actually made me burst out laughing when reading the previous page.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

Pointless cover versions.

It seems The Cranberries' Dreams also got the plane music treatment. Because it wasn't saccharine-sweet enough, you know...

[Bored Of Education]

True, Aretha has occasionally let her excesses get the better of her

This seems a bit insensitive at the moment but one song that popped up during the recent tributes on Facebook was Aretha's version of "96 Tears". Of course, I had to click on that but she did a real Johnny Cash on it. It isn't right for her voice (or vice versa), the backing and arrangement are terrible - truly lesser than the sum of its parts. Luckily, during the listening session, I discovered for the first time "Rock Steady"

[Stumpy Pepys]

Aretha's version of "96 Tears".

I'd never heard that. You're right, it's not good.

Then again, I never liked Wilson Picket's version of Hey Jude.

[Bored Of Education]

I don't think I have ever liked anyone's version of "Hey Jude"

[elguapo4]

Phil Collins version of "time after time " is an object lesson on how to suck the goodness out of a song

[Jah Womble]

As in the Cyndi Lauper tune, or another?

But I wouldn't trust Collins to cover a school exercise book.

[adams house cat]

I'm sure I've mentioned this before but the Dells reinvention of "Love Is Blue/I Can Sing A Rainbow" is an example of how some cover versions can really work.

[elguapo4]

As in the Cyndi Lauper tune, or another?

But I wouldn't trust Collins to cover a school exercise book.

My error,it was actually "True colours " by Cyndi but the rest applies