Some people like 'em, some folks hate 'em. I personally like cover tunes. I enjoy faithful covers that attempt to reproduce an original but I really enjoy the ‘unexpected’ covers that surprise you along the way. Post a cover song or two that took an unexpected or creative turn in execution or interpretation!
I’ve recently come across a few that I really enjoyed but I’ll start off with this one: Wicked Game (Chris Isaak cover) - Hannah Boulton, Rabea Massaad, Dave Hollingworth & Ben Minal. Unlike so many younger musicians out there these guys understand the value and impact of dynamics in their performance. Rabea’s Strat work is intense and tasty. The first time I heard this it gave me chills.
This one grabbed me last year. There’s an ‘official’ video, but the Conan live performance seemed more gripping. I was familiar with Disturbed’s metal stuff, so I was quite surprised at the softer sound of the early part of “The Sound of Silence”, of Simon and Garfunkel legacy. It does kick in to the metal intensity in the last third. Nice orchestral backup.
I love cover tunes. On the rare occasion that I perform publicly, it’s a cover show. One of these days I’m going to dig out the first recording I ever did (a cover of Strange Ways by KISS) and post it on YouTube.
I’ve got the same love hate relationship wth covers. Hendrix’s All Along the Watchtower, stunning. Robbie Williams version of George Michael’s Freedom - not so much. Van Halen doing You Really Got Me is stunning, All Saints singing Under the Bridge was a travesty in every sense of the world.
I really do like it when an artist or band covers a song with their own style - to me that’s a real sign of respect. Years ago I heard A Perfect Circle singing John Lennon’s Imagine. My first reaction was “this is blasphemy” - but having heard the song, I realised that the band had actually taken Lennon’s song of hope and turned it into a reflection of what the world had actually turned into in the time since the song had been released.
I loved that song! It was a ‘deep cut’ and not widely known probably, except by KISS aficionados.
I like your version. It sounds close to the original, but comfortably its own as well. The guitars are a bit bright (the original had a dark sludgy sound), but that may be because the bass is less prominent in this version, generally. The heavy bass tied into the guitars in the original helped the sludge (which I love BTW).
Your bass comes in strong at the beginning of verse sections, then seems to disappear. It’s more consistent in the chorus, but tamer (which may be necessary to get other elements to fit). I’d like to hear the bass thumping throughout, especially on the verse where it comes and goes.
I’d like to hear more grit on the chorus vocals. Maybe push in some distortion or saturation or something, as well as more vocal shred (if your voice can handle it). IIRC, it was Peter Criss singing the song verses, and Gene dominating on the chorus. Powerful chorus vocals is maybe what I’m trying to say. Also, the vocal effect is okay but a little overcooked maybe, especially with the stereo aspect of the effect. The verse could use that, just a bit subtler. Try even less of it or a different combination of effects for the chorus, so we can notice the change and the difference.
Realize that I AM comparing this to the original because you have followed it pretty closely, and that’s where I’m coming from with the suggestions.
Yeah, Disturbed did a great job on this one. I think I might even enjoy their cover better than the original version…At first I preferred the original version but this is SO GOOD!
I do covers at home when I’m stuck or mentally blocked and can’t seem to get my own compositions to work.
But i never finish them. Usually by the time I get about halfway through, whatever was stuck breaks loose and I go back to my own stuff. I keep a list of songs that might be interesting to cover. Some work out, some don’t.
I have a few guidelines I generally follow when working on a cover, whether it’s my own tinkering or the occasional odd cover with a band.
If the cover is in the same genre as whatever originals I’m working on, it’s generally a classic of that genre. Otherwise I tend to search outside the genre.
Right now, nearly all my active (musical) projects are some sort of hard rock/metal thing. The next cover on my brain lock-up list is Genesis - that’s all. I’m kinda looking forward to it. Even though, like all the others, it will never get finished.
My last couple of brain freezes netted me a couple half finished sabbath covers😆
I won’t claim they’re any good, but they’re mine. They did their jobs and helped get me refocused on my own stuff.
Thanks for the critique, @Stan_Halen! Even though I won’t be revisiting this specific recording, I will keep your input in mind for future recordings. As for the vocals, I didn’t have much confidence in myself when I recorded this. Hehe.
These are all great examples. Thanks for sharing your covers and for pointing out some others I hadn’t come across before. I’m not a big Disturbed fan but that version of ‘The Sound of Silence’ was really good.
Here’s another neat cover that takes the original in a totally new direction. Toto - Africa (metal cover by Leo Moracchioli feat. Rabea & Hannah). This guy is having too much fun.
One of my favourite stories about a cover version comes from Paul McCartney. He and George Harrison went to see Hendrix in concert, and to their surprise he opened his set with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band - 3 days after it was released!
I love Sabbath. It’s fun listening to others covering the tunes that I grew up with and love.
I’ve always felt that Sabbath is the perfect band to cover, because they have great songs and their albums are terribly produced , so it’s easy do make better recordings than they did. Haha …Well, until Heaven and Hell, anyway. Their productions improved a lot at that point.
These are all great examples. Thanks for sharing your covers and for pointing out some others I hadn’t come across before. I’m not a big Disturbed fan but that version of ‘The Sound of Silence’ was really good.