TDOS Tropical Island IPOD Cover Draft - Round 20

No idea if this would have been taken, but I might as well take songs that I actually like:

Bon Iver - I can't make you love me
Original by Bonnie Raitt, I can't make you love me, 1991

Capt is up!
 
Last edited:

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Up to now, I'm pretty sure that my selections have been "firsts", in that both the original artist and the covering artist had not previously been selected in the draft. But I knew that couldn't possibly last, and now is about as good a time as any to break that streak. The "first" original artist streak will fall eventually, but the covering artist streak falls now (at least technically...this act isn't the same as the solo act that did "Me And Bobby McGee" but everybody equates them with Janis Joplin anyway).


Piece Of My Heart by Big Brother And The Holding Company (1968, off "Cheap Thrills")

Originally written by Bert Burns and Jerry Ragavoy, originally recorded by Erma Franklin (1967)


I have to admit, I love listening to Janis Joplin just ripping her vocal cords to shreds as she belts out a good tune, and this is one of the best she's ever done. I knew "Me And Bobby McGee" -- which went in the first round -- was a cover and in preparation for the draft I put it really high on my list. Then a little voice in my head said "just check and see if "Piece Of My Heart" is a cover too, because that's a slightly better song". Sure enough, it is a cover, and it jumped to the top of my Joplin list. It has finally made its way to the top of my list (some sort of intuitive metric combining how likely a song is to be picked and how much I need it on my island) so I'm grabbing it!
 

Larry89

Disgruntled Kings Fan
Back to me it seems, and I am in the country!

Well let me first say I am a country boy and I have a very distinct taste in music, southern rock, bluegrass, etc.. one of these common factors in the music I listen to is not only the sound it brings, but nostalgia.. it makes me remember of good times, bad times, times I can appreciate. So with this next pick I will pick a cover of a very famous song that holds true to my heart.


Simple Man - Shinedown


This is an acoustic version with very little instrumentals compared to the original by Lynyrd Skynyrd. You can feel the passion running through Brent Smith's veins.


Studio album by Shinedown

Leave a Whisper

Released May 27, 2003
Recorded Henson Recording Studios
(Los Angeles, California)
The Blue Room
(Los Angeles, California)
Genre Alternative metal, hard rock, post-grunge
Length 47:01
60:39 (enhanced edition)
Label Atlantic
Producer Bob Marlette


Original

Simple Man - Lynyrd Skynyrd



"Simple Man"
Song by Lynyrd Skynyrd from the album Pronounced 'lĕh-'nérd 'skin-'nérd
Released 1973
Recorded April 30, 1973 at Studio One, Doraville, Georgia
Genre Southern rock, hard rock
Length 5:57 (album version)
6:39 (live version)
Label Sounds of the South - an MCA subsidiary
Writer Ronnie Van Zant Gary Rossington
Producer Al Kooper



 
Last edited:
Making this song's second appearance in the draft, I'm going with Guns N Roses, Knockin On Heavens Door, original by Bob Dylan. With apologies to Eric Clapton, this is the version I grew up on. Bonus points to Slash for the double neck guitar and at one point stepping off stage in order to get a cigarette placed in his mouth. Kids, this is rock and roll in it's full most over the top glorious form, and GnR at their peak right before it fell apart.

The version below is from the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert. So when Axl says "let's make this one reach the heavens" around 7:30 and then screams as only he can "knock knock knockin on heavens door make it LOUD" I like to think Freddie heard that one. :)

Guns N Roses, Knockin On Heaven's Door, 1991


Bob Dylan, 1973
 
Last edited:

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Otay dotay.

First up on the little end of the snake swing, a Bob Dylan cover I liked so much I used it on last year's KF Season Kickoff vid:


The Times They Are A Changin' - Flogging Molly (2012)
(the song was on a complilation album of Dylan Covers (called Chimes of Freedom) done by various artists for Amnesty International)

Take one of Dylan's best, and give it an Celtic Punk wash and voila! Great cover.


here was Dylan's original:
 
Last edited:
Okay. Still kind of winging it here; picking based on mood from a big list rather than ranking and planning. Have no idea if this is on anyone's radar, and am certain other stuff on my list probably is, but I love this song and would want it on my Island. So, to close out this round I'm taking:

"Dead Souls" -- Nine Inch nails on The Crow (soundtrack), 1994
Originally written and recorded by Joy Division, 1979

I'm kind of a big NIN fangirl in general, granted, but I've always loved this cover. Far more than the original, in fact. Though I know I meet enough hipster criteria to make a fondness for Joy Division almost a given, I've just never been a fan. Oh, apologies for the cheesy Brandon Lee gushing on this embedded video. I'll try to replace that when I'm on my laptop, since many of YouTube's offerings are available to a tablet.


Original version:
 
And to start the next round I'm taking one that I'm about 99.98799% sure would have been available in the last round, but I know I want it so I might as well take it now.

"Tootie Ma is a Big Fine Thing" -- Tom Waits and Preservation Hall Jazz Band on Preservation: An Album to Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program, 2010
Traditional Mardi Gras Indian chant originally recorded by Danny Barker, 1947

Since I took a cover of a Waits song earlier, seems only fair I get the real thing on my list as well. And the pairing with Pres Hall is just entirely too fun to ignore. One of my favorites, and a great way to bring a bit of my adopted city with me.

Original recording:
 
Last edited:

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Going to make a switch from my original target here, and take something that's going to need a little refereeing as to which is the cover, and which is the original.

here is the story: In 1987 a song was written for Roy Orbison, and he in fact recorded his version in 1987. But it was not released until 1992. In the interim, Cyndi Lauper recorded a version of the song in 1989 and released it, and it became a big hit for her (her last top 40 hit). So, is Cyndi's a cover of Roy's because Roy recorded his first (as she surely was aware of and probably had heard before she recorded hers)? Or is Roy's a cover of Cyndi's because Cyndi released hers first? I've always kind of considered it Roy's song and Cyndi's cover, but...dunno. But I like both versions of the song, so I'll let the referee decide and be happy to take whichever one turns out to be the cover.

Here's the wiki on the song's history: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Drove_All_Night


candidate 1:

I Drove All Night - Cyndi Lauper (1989)

now normally I would expect to very much care between an Orbison version and a Lauper version. Cyndi had her fun little hiccups and pauses and whatnot but I never considered her a great vocalist that could just stand behind a mike and belt out a winner. But she really sang the hell out of this song. In fact I think it might have been the most impressive vocal performance of her career, and maybe even better than Roy's.


candidate 2:
I Drove All Night - Roy Orbison (1992)

And yes, that is a young Jason Priestley and Jennifer Connelly starring in the video.
 
Last edited:

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
Making this song's second appearance in the draft, I'm going with Guns N Roses, Knockin On Heavens Door, original by Bob Dylan.

Guns N Roses, Knockin On Heaven's Door, 1991
That was my next pick, so I guess that evens us out for Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.
 
For this one I'm going to go with another Bob Dylan song. This was originally released by Billy Joel a couple of months before the original. It's been released by many artists since then, and probably many more as time goes on. I discovered this song through the original Dylan version, so I'm calling it the original since he wrote it. 10 years after hearing the original, I heard this version being played by my now wife one evening and was blown away. I remember stopping what I was doing and saying "Did you know that's a Bob Dylan song?" She didn't. Rarely do I enjoy a massively popular current artist, but Adele is the exception. Beautiful lyrics, beautiful voice, one of the great great songs of the last 25 years by one of the, if not the greatest, song writers of all time. I'm not a love song guy, but this one is great, and will give a little balance to my list, so, before someone else grabs it. It starts like this...

"When the rain is blowing in your face,
And the whole world is on your case,
I could offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love.
When the evening shadows and the stars appear,
And there is no one there to dry your tears,
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love."

Adele, Make You Feel My Love, 2008


Bob Dylan, 1997
 
No idea if this would have been taken, but I might as well take songs that I actually like:

Bon Iver - I can't make you love me
Original by Tank (Now or Never - 2010)

Capt is up!
Ok, this has been bugging me. THIS is the original version by Bonnie Raitt. I feel she should get some credit here. It's brilliant and people should hear it. Per Wikipedia, "Raitt recorded the vocal in just one take in the studio, later saying that it was so sad a song that she could not recapture the emotion: "We'd try to do it again and I just said, 'You know, this ain't going to happen.'"[7]

Bonnie Raitt, I can't make you love me, 1991


 
Last edited:
This one isn't on the radar of most, but it is a lovely blend of profound lyrics, soul felt vocals, and guitar harmonics that always gives me pause to listen intently. With my 8th selection, I choose:

The Maker - Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds (2007) Live at Radio City


Original: The Maker - Daniel Lanois (1989)


Oh, oh deep water, black and cold like the night
I stand with arms wide open,
I've run a twisted line
I'm a stranger in the eyes of the Maker

I could not see for the fog in my eyes
I could not feel for the fear in my life
And from across the great divide, In the distance I saw a light
Jean Baptiste's walking to me with the Maker

My body is bent and broken by long and dangerous sleep
I can't work the fields of Abraham and turn my head away
I'm not a stranger in the hands of the Maker

Brother John, have you seen the homeless daughters
Standing there with broken wings
I have seen the flaming swords
There over east of Eden

Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Burning in the eyes of the Maker
Burning in the eyes of the Maker

Oh, river rise from your sleep

More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadie_(album)
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Ok, this has been bugging me. THIS is the original version by Bonnie Raitt. I feel she should get some credit here. It's brilliant and people should hear it. Per Wikipedia, "Raitt recorded the vocal in just one take in the studio, later saying that it was so sad a song that she could not recapture the emotion: "We'd try to do it again and I just said, 'You know, this ain't going to happen.'"[7]

Bonnie Raitt, I can't make you love me, 1991


still the most elegant version. Even Adele with all the power of her voice had problems modulating and resisting overdecorating it.
 
Ok, this has been bugging me. THIS is the original version by Bonnie Raitt. I feel she should get some credit here. It's brilliant and people should hear it. Per Wikipedia, "Raitt recorded the vocal in just one take in the studio, later saying that it was so sad a song that she could not recapture the emotion: "We'd try to do it again and I just said, 'You know, this ain't going to happen.'"[7]

Bonnie Raitt, I can't make you love me, 1991


Ah, thanks. Did not realise that. I'll update my post!
 

Larry89

Disgruntled Kings Fan
Back to me...

My ipod seems filled with too much rock and rolly, funkytownness. I need something slow..

Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers


"Unchained Melody"

Single by The Righteous Brothers
from the album Just Once in My Life
A-side Hung on You
Released July 17, 1965
Format 7"
Genre Blue-eyed soul
Length 3:36
Label Philles
Writer(s) Music: Alex North Lyrics: Hy Zaret
Producer(s) Phil Spector



In 1936, songwriter Alex North approached Bing Crosby with the still untitled song. Crosby turned the song down and it remained unrecorded for almost twenty years. In 1955, North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted to write a song as a theme for the prison film Unchained, and their song eventually became known as the "Unchained Melody". The song does not actually include the word "unchained", and songwriter Zaret chose instead to focus his lyrics on someone who pines for a lover he has not seen in a "long, lonely time". The 1955 film centers around a man who contemplates either escaping from prison to live life on the run, or completing his sentence and returning to his wife and family. The song has an unusual harmonic device in that the bridge ends on the tonic chord, rather than the more usual dominant.

With Todd Duncan singing the vocals, the song was nominated for an Oscar in 1955, but the Best Song award went to the hit song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing".

Original

Unchained Melody - Alex North, Hy Zaret

 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
El Paljasso has asked me to make his pick for him because he was expecting to be away.

El Paljasso selects:

Mack the Knife - Bobby Darin (1959)


-- "Mack the Knife" or "The Ballad of Mack the Knife", originally "Die Moritat von Mackie Messer", is a song composed by Kurt Weill with lyrics by Bertolt Brecht for their music drama Die Dreigroschenoper, or, as it is known in English, The Threepenny Opera. It premiered in Berlin in 1928 (Wikipedia)
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
And now for my own selection:


It's Oh So Quiet by Björk (1995, released on the album Post)

Written by Hans Lang and Bert Reisfeld, originally released by Betty Hutton (1948)


This is just a straight-up fun tune that plays up some pianissimo to fortissimo transitions (and vice versa) which match the lyrics to pretty good effect. Definitely worth a listen if you aren't familiar with the song. When I found out this was a cover I figured that Björk must have really spiced the song up, but Hutton's version has the same sort of dynamic range and must have been a much more avant-garde tune in the late '40s than when Björk released it in the mid-'90s. Still, lots of fun.
 
Well that came back around quick... I'm surprised this song hasn't been taken yet, and I don't want to let it slide any further:

Elvis - Blue Suede Shoes (Elvis Presley - legacy edition 1956)
Original by Carl Perkins (1955)
 

Bricklayer

Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Back to me...

My ipod seems filled with too much rock and rolly, funkytownness. I need something slow..

Unchained Melody - Righteous Brothers


"Unchained Melody"

Single by The Righteous Brothers
from the album Just Once in My Life
A-side Hung on You
Released July 17, 1965
Format 7"
Genre Blue-eyed soul
Length 3:36
Label Philles
Writer(s) Music: Alex North Lyrics: Hy Zaret
Producer(s) Phil Spector



In 1936, songwriter Alex North approached Bing Crosby with the still untitled song. Crosby turned the song down and it remained unrecorded for almost twenty years. In 1955, North and lyricist Hy Zaret were contracted to write a song as a theme for the prison film Unchained, and their song eventually became known as the "Unchained Melody". The song does not actually include the word "unchained", and songwriter Zaret chose instead to focus his lyrics on someone who pines for a lover he has not seen in a "long, lonely time". The 1955 film centers around a man who contemplates either escaping from prison to live life on the run, or completing his sentence and returning to his wife and family. The song has an unusual harmonic device in that the bridge ends on the tonic chord, rather than the more usual dominant.

With Todd Duncan singing the vocals, the song was nominated for an Oscar in 1955, but the Best Song award went to the hit song "Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing".

Original

Unchained Melody - Alex North, Hy Zaret


doh doh. I knew that once upon a time. And if I had remembered it....

Maybe I should do more research for this draft.
 
Fairport Convention -- Matty Groves (1969)

Time for some folk music! This is a traditional English folk song, one of many that Fairport Convention played with electric instruments, launching an English folk rock movement. It's essentially a soap opera -- husband out of town, wife invites a young man home, husband comes home and it ends badly -- but from a long time ago. There's an intense feel to it, appropriate to the subject matter, and a great instrumental jam at the end.

The main attraction of this song for me is the voice of Sandy Denny. Her voice is amazing; I love to listen to it. She wrote the much-covered Who Knows Where the Time Goes?, and is the answer to an interesting trivia question: On all of the Led Zeppelin studio albums, there's only one song that has a vocalist from outside the band. The answer is The Battle of Evermore, featuring Sandy Denny and Robert Plant's duet.

 
Last edited:
For my 9th selection, I'm going to add to the Bob Dylan covers in this draft by picking:

Mr. Tambourine Man - The Byrds


And the original:


Album:
Mr. Tambourine Man
Released: 1965
Original Artist: Bob Dylan
Original Released Date: 1965
 
Inspiral Carpets - Gimme Shelter [1989]


Original version: Rolling Stones [1969]


Madchester take on the Stones' classic. You should listen if you're a fan of manic keyboard playing.