BAD COVER VERSION 021: LOVE IS A BANQUET
Aug. 3rd, 2008 11:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
defrogThis week's episode is a classic case of two acts covering a song that was written and recorded but never released by another famous act: The Bruce.
THE SONG: “Because The Night”
THE ORIGINAL: Patti Smith Group
COMMENTS: The story is that Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded the song for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, but it didn't fit the rest of the record, so he gave it to Patti Smith (who was recording next door at the time) and the rest is history. Patti's take bubbles over with desire without resorting to sexy breathy vocals, and it's got a strikingly dark edge, as if the main character knows she's playing with dynamite but doesn't care – we either do this now or we die. It's arguably the ultimate carpe diem song from a female POV.
THE COVER: 10,000 Maniacs
COMMENTS: 10KM basically play it straighter than straight for their version, which became a big hit for them on VH1. Oddly, it didn't strike me until I heard this how similar Natalie Merchant's voice is to Patti's. That said, Natalie has always had more of a languid singing style. It doesn't work against her here, but somehow the dark edges that haunt the original version are gone.
WINNER: Patti Smith Group. It's probably because I spent most of 9th/10th grade playing the PSG version (off of a K-Tel comp, of all places) entranced by its menacing, lusty call to action, but the 10KM version, good as it is, doesn't add anything new, and even loses some of what made the song attractive to me in the first place.
Next week: The Supremes vs Vanilla Fudge and Kim Wilde!
The night belongs to lust,
This is dF
THE SONG: “Because The Night”
THE ORIGINAL: Patti Smith Group
COMMENTS: The story is that Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded the song for Darkness On The Edge Of Town, but it didn't fit the rest of the record, so he gave it to Patti Smith (who was recording next door at the time) and the rest is history. Patti's take bubbles over with desire without resorting to sexy breathy vocals, and it's got a strikingly dark edge, as if the main character knows she's playing with dynamite but doesn't care – we either do this now or we die. It's arguably the ultimate carpe diem song from a female POV.
THE COVER: 10,000 Maniacs
COMMENTS: 10KM basically play it straighter than straight for their version, which became a big hit for them on VH1. Oddly, it didn't strike me until I heard this how similar Natalie Merchant's voice is to Patti's. That said, Natalie has always had more of a languid singing style. It doesn't work against her here, but somehow the dark edges that haunt the original version are gone.
WINNER: Patti Smith Group. It's probably because I spent most of 9th/10th grade playing the PSG version (off of a K-Tel comp, of all places) entranced by its menacing, lusty call to action, but the 10KM version, good as it is, doesn't add anything new, and even loses some of what made the song attractive to me in the first place.
Next week: The Supremes vs Vanilla Fudge and Kim Wilde!
The night belongs to lust,
This is dF
