Many songs get re-recorded over the years, whether by the original artist or different ones. It became a natural thing.
The more I get into the hobby, I feel the very original version is the best one to my ears. Regardless of recording capability at the specific time. This thread is to share some examples of that. E.g.:
The above is a classical example. Folks growing up back in the 90s remember that one way too well.
Then I start noticing in TV series and recently in movies as well. What have they done with the Nirvana song in Batman 2022, for instance?
Itâs funny you bring it up because I saw Batman and they seem to not use the whole song but the parts that are more like the original. Then again I could be remembering it wrong but it took me a few times to hear it and understand that it was remixed in the movie. It sounded so good I even questioned if they used a different singer but then realized it is Kurt but the recording seemed way better and detailed vs. how I remember the song.
I just went to listen to the remixed song on YouTube and yea that is way different and I donât remember most parts in the movie, just the simple acoustic parts with Kurt singing chorus with the acoustic guitar.
In the movie it works great and adds a wonderful atmosphere! The song itself beginning to end is fine. Not a favorite. Definitely them really scoring it up and I donât blame them for doing it because if youâre seen the movie that song choice was a perfect pick.
But for listening without the movie on a sound system⊠Iâd probably pass.
The great thing about remixed and remasters is it doesnât detract from the og song. If itâs better then thatâs awesome. If it isnât then itâs easily ignored and they learn from their mistakes hopefully
I tend to prefer the original version too, but it depends on the case and how well the remake is executed. As a rule, I strongly dislike mainstream pop versions because they tend to be laughable, odd, boring, or ill-advised. Case in point: Michael Jacksonâs cover of The Beatles âCome Together.â
Some songs are so attached to a specific artist/version that one cannot imagine an effective remake or even a remixâŠStairway to HeavenâŠBohemian RhapsodyâŠ
Some songs become pop standards and are performed by dozens of artists over the years. It then becomes a matter of taste. I once pulled together a playlist of about 20 versions of âRoute 66â â the funniest mangled the town names. (The Stray Cats sang Barstow â Reno â San Diego. Reno is hundreds of miles north of Route 66). Some percentage of new songs will become standards over time, such as Joy Divisionâs âLove Will Tear Us ApartââŠand Elton Johnâs âCandle in the WindââŠand unfortunately Bette Midlerâs âWind Beneath My Wings.â
Some songs are so heavily transformed by a new version that youâd never guess the original artist. Sting wrote âI Hung My Headâ but it was remade by Johnny Cash. Per the old west lyrics itâs much more of a Cash song than a Sting song. The Clash remade âI Fought the Lawâ and itâs way different than the original, as is Rod Stewartâs pop remake of Tom Waitsâ growly âDowntown Train.â
Well, the loudness wars have infected the production of nearly all pop, rock and country music in this generation. Music is mastered just too loud these days, reducing dynamics and leading to congestion and distortion.
So, a lot of stuff recorded pre-2000 sounds better than the recordings of today. A perfect example: Listen to any Beatles recording, especially the more dense, complex stuff from âRevolverâ and âRubber Soulâ onward. Sir George Martin was a master producer, elicting the dynamics of a song while maintaining pinpoint imaging and separation of tracks.
A lot of current producers and mastering/mixing specialists could learn from him.
As for covers, most are inferior to the original. A few exceptions immediately surface: âLive and Let Dieâ by Guns Nâ Roses, âI Fought the Lawâ by The Clash, âHurtâ by Johnny Cash, âAll Along the Watchtowerâ by Jimi Hendrix, âWonderwallâ by Ryan Adams, âSmokinâ in the Boys Roomâ by Motley Crue, âYou Really Got Meâ by Van Halen.
There are plenty of cover tunes that surprise you like that. For example, Princeâs âNothing Compares 2 Uâ sounds like it was tailor-made for Sinead OâConnorâs voice.
Not making judgments on original vs. cover here, but interesting list of fairly well-known cover songs compared to their original or preceding versions, some of which are in the âdidnât know it was a coverâ category. (Like âTainted Loveâ was a 60s song by Gloria Jones, or âBlack Magic Womanâ was originally recorded by the Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac, before Santana.) In many cases both can be great in their own way.
In some cases, âAndy Warhol,â âCalifronia Dreaminâ,â the writers gave their song to someone else before recording it themselves, or in the case of âMotorhead,â rerecorded it with a new band.
OK, this may be heresy, but depending on the day, I think Motorheadâs cover of âSympathy for the Devilâ may exceed the superb original by the Stones.
Lemmy knew the end was near when the band recorded this, and he unleashed everything he had in his hands and larynx. The raw power is palpable. Plus the solo is incendiary.
If you are old enough (like me), compression/loudness was the norm for âpopâ music in the 50âs and 60âs.
There were no FM stations yet and I remember listening to music from a little portable radio hanging from
the rear-view mirror of my '56 Mercury.
Word the was that much of top 40 music was mixed on a 6x9 car radio speaker so they could tailor it to
air play.
It is probably as much comment on the cars I was able to drive, but I always found the NPR/Classical
stations unlistenable while driving because of the lack of compression If I turned it up enough to hear the quiet parts it would blow me out on dynamics.
