Wednesday, September 23, 2009
My holiday.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Bad cover
I think it's generally acknowledged that the worst cover of all time is William Shatner's "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". it is a truly appalling recording and has to be heard at least once because otherwise you will not believe how badly a song can be destroyed.
On a slightly related note (ha! geddit) there is Jezza's first law of music which is that any cover of a Beatles song is bound to be crap. The Beatles were the best band ever with the best songs ever so it stands to reason that any cover is going to be a disappointment. I cite Joe Cocker's version of "A Little Help from my Friends" as an example. He tries to add emotion and pathos to something that was not supposed to be more than a humorous ditty and ends up detracting from it.
I found out tonight that the worst cover ever is not William Shat's LSD or Joe Cock's WLHFMF but Siouxsie and the Banshees' Dear Prudence. It's the worst cover ever, not because it is bad - it's not - but because the image of Siouxsie Sioux miming it on Top of the Pops is an image of the triumph of commercialism over art - or over punk rock, at least.
On a slightly related note (ha! geddit) there is Jezza's first law of music which is that any cover of a Beatles song is bound to be crap. The Beatles were the best band ever with the best songs ever so it stands to reason that any cover is going to be a disappointment. I cite Joe Cocker's version of "A Little Help from my Friends" as an example. He tries to add emotion and pathos to something that was not supposed to be more than a humorous ditty and ends up detracting from it.
I found out tonight that the worst cover ever is not William Shat's LSD or Joe Cock's WLHFMF but Siouxsie and the Banshees' Dear Prudence. It's the worst cover ever, not because it is bad - it's not - but because the image of Siouxsie Sioux miming it on Top of the Pops is an image of the triumph of commercialism over art - or over punk rock, at least.