I love cover songs. I get great joy in hearing a new re-imagining of an old song. It is one of the reasons why I watch and love 'Glee'. It is also one of the biggest reasons that I listen to The Coffee House station on Sirius. My favorites are when an artist takes a Pop or R&B song and turns it into an acoustic performance. Think Yael Naim's version of Britney Spears' 'Toxic'.
Without covers, what would bands play at the bar on Saturday night? How would we learn how to play guitar? There are so many benefits of covers, but there are also songs that should never, ever be covered. Some songs are just sacred in their original form and to change or rearrange them is not only disrespectful, but borderline sacrilegious.
The number one song that I think should NEVER be covered has indeed been covered over 100 times (including by the cast of 'Glee'). That song is John Lennon's 'Imagine'. This is a beautiful, if not hard to listen to, song about a world filled with peace and tolerance. It is simple, yet moving. Understated, yet philosophical. I don't believe that it is possible to do a better version than Mr. Lennon. Nor do I think it is possible to rearrange or pull alternate meanings out of it, as you can in so many other songs. The song is what it is - perfect.
And it isn't that I think that this song should only be covered by amazing artists. Indeed it has been covered by amazing artists! Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, Joan Baez, Elton John, Queen, Smokey Robinson, Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, Ray Charles - just to name a few! It doesn't matter. It just shouldn't be touched. And it especially shouldn't have been touched by Rick Springfield, Avril Lavigne, American Idol singers and Miley Cyrus! Really? How do you have the balls to cover this song when you can't even sing your own?
So, as I say to my dog when she is about to get into something that she shouldn't be - LEAVE IT!
What songs do you think should never, ever be covered?
After performing all originals for several years, we've just recently added some covers to our set list because -- get this - people like hearing songs they know. We're a little slow...;-)
ReplyDeleteBesides pleasing our audience, another benefit to playing covers is that we stretch our voices and become aware of different intervals, new chord patterns that we enjoy singing and playing. It has definitely improved my songwriting.
I think songs that are deeply autobiographical should NOT be covered: Janis Ian's At Seventeen, John Denver's Rocky Mountain High, Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust.
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