Are there songs that should never be covered?

[Ommadawn]

Having listened to Susan Boyle murder 'Wish You Were Here' and bearing mind the meaning behind the lyrics, I feel that is a song that could never sung by anyone other than Pink Floyd.

Can anyone think of any others? I'm sure there are hundreds which forever reason, are best left to be sung by either the composer or by the artist who made it well known.

[Bisque]

Killing In The Name Of

[grumpyhack]

No. I enjoy hearing other people's interpretation of music. But there is a difference between just trying to sound like the original and adding something new.

It may be that the new version/cover is better or brings a new insight or you may simply decide it's not a patch on the original but let's not preserve music in a glass case and say once done it should never be repeated.

[Rose-Colored Boy]

Do They Know It's Christmas

[Amy Lawn]

I don't know, but I do know that some artists would do well to cover 4:33 for the rest of their careers...

[stuartbert two hats]

Good Vibrations. God Only Knows. Wouldn't it Be Nice. In fact pretty much anything by The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson was annoyed that Lennon + McCartney got so many more covers than him, but his production + their vocals were so on point, there's pretty much nothing anyone can do to improve the originals.

Can anyone think of a Beach Boys cover that isn't an absolute murdering of the original? I can't.

[Bisque]

Edited November 23, 2014 by Couchy

[Bisque]

[salvador wali]

Killing In The Name Of

disagree after seeing this live (in York not Middlesbrough) Was their last date of the tour and they were absolutely plastered which added to the overall anarchy

[Bisque]

disagree after seeing this live (in York not Middlesbrough) Was their last date of the tour and they were absolutely plastered which added to the overall anarchy

By who?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

If it weren't for covers I'd not have got to hear this (see below).

I know that it indicates that I have a worryingly low mental age, but have no choice but to soldier on in my appreciation of this rendition.

[midnight]

Well, I guess there are some songs that shouldn't be covered because they are best forgotten.....

[salvador wali]

By who?

Sorry thought i'd embedded this when i posted

[sparkythetortoise]

Having listened to Susan Boyle murder 'Wish You Were Here' and bearing mind the meaning behind the lyrics, I feel that is a song that could never sung by anyone other than Pink Floyd.

Can anyone think of any others? I'm sure there are hundreds which forever reason, are best left to be sung by either the composer or by the artist who made it well known.

That is such a horrific idea I had to immediately google and listen. My God! I don't suppose I'll ever be able to quite forget seeing that, so cheers for those mental scars

Nothing wrong with covering the song though - Rodrigo y Gabriela did a pretty good on West Holts a few years back - the problem here is that SUBO seems entirely oblivious to the meaning of the lyrics she is singing to a degree that is vaguely unnerving. Symptomatic of X factor/BGT though - Alexandra burke didn't understand Hallelujah either

[Mardy]

grumpyhack has pretty much nailed it. Spot on. I've got no problem with anybody covering anything, but bring a bit of yourself to it. There's a special pit of hell reserved for coverbands who just shamelessly ape somebody else's creativity.

[russycarps]

Alexandra burke didn't understand Hallelujah either

This makes me rage to this day.

X FACTOR winner Alexandra Burke hated the song Hallelujah when she first heard it, she revealed last night... and feared it could lose her the competition.

The singer, who will today top the Christmas charts with her cover of the haunting ballad, stormed out of the studio in frustration when she first tried to sing it to her mentor, show judge Cheryl Cole.

Alexandra said: “When Hallelujah got picked I was gutted. I thought I had lost there and then. I wanted to leave the show.

“I didn’t know the song before and it just didn’t do anything for me. It left me cold.

[FuzzyDunlop]

This makes me rage to this day.

X FACTOR winner Alexandra Burke hated the song Hallelujah when she first heard it, she revealed last night... and feared it could lose her the competition.

The singer, who will today top the Christmas charts with her cover of the haunting ballad, stormed out of the studio in frustration when she first tried to sing it to her mentor, show judge Cheryl Cole.

Alexandra said: When Hallelujah got picked I was gutted. I thought I had lost there and then. I wanted to leave the show.

I didnt know the song before and it just didnt do anything for me. It left me cold.

At least she was honest. Its the plebs who bought it who are more annoying.

[russycarps]

At least she was honest. Its the plebs who bought it who are more annoying.

*sounds alexandra burke fan klaxon*

you sicken me

[CaledonianGonzo]

I dunno if anyone, even L. Cohen, properly "understands" Hallelujah. It's deliberately obtuse and gnomic.

Anyway, the more inviolate and sacrosanct a song is considered by the reactionaries the more open it should be for anyone to gleefully dismantle it in whichever fashion they choose. Everything is fair game.

[The Nal]

All fair game but someone covering John Lennons Julia for example would sound a right twat.

[Mardy]

Russy, you never hated a song on first listen, only to grow to love it?

[stuartbert two hats]

I dunno if anyone, even L. Cohen, properly "understands" Hallelujah. It's deliberately obtuse and gnomic.

Anyway, the more inviolate and sacrosanct a song is considered by the reactionaries the more open it should be for anyone to gleefully dismantle it in whichever fashion they choose. Everything is fair game.

Point taken, but "it leaves me cold"?

[russycarps]

I dunno if anyone, even L. Cohen, properly "understands" Hallelujah. It's deliberately obtuse and gnomic.

I disagree. He's a perfectionist and his poetry is meticulously crafted. He understands every syllable of every poem he's ever written I reckon. Everything has a deep, studied meaning.

Russy, you never hated a song on first listen, only to grow to love it?

I have, but that isnt what happened with this vacuous Burke harpy.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Something can still be deliberately and lovingly crafted to be ambiguous.

I'm not saying he doesn't know what he's doing, only that sometimes his words and their meaning are intentionally left open to interpretation.

[Avalon_Fields]

I'd be happy for any song to be covered, if the new version adds something - i.e. is radically different or good in it's own way - but the trouble is most covers are a poor version of the original, especially so if you love the original already.