I am the kind of person that hardcore fans hate. I’m the obnoxious git that’ll listen to a song with an enigmatic grin upon my face and think “close, but no cigar”. You may offer me an original song, my friend, but I will retort with “ah, but have you heard THIS BAND’S version? It’s AWESOME”.
This is especially brought to focus in light of Apple finally releasing some of The Beatles’ music onto iTunes. A great day for us legal purchasers, yes. But one opinion of mine that has led to receiving the stink-eye off many a few extreme Beatles lovers is that other artists can, in fact, make the songs better than the originals.
The Beatles were undeniably one of the greatest popwriters of all time. I think it’s pretty remarkable when songs almost half a century old are still breathtakingly beautiful whilst fantastically simple (eg I Want To Hold Your Hand, I’ve Just Seen A Face). I know it’s an overused phrase, but the majority of The Beatles’ anthology are timeless classics.
Yet, it is hard to argue that the Fab Four were fab vocalists. Their perfectly-penned pieces are given a new sound with, well, better singers, who more often than not put their own individual twist on a song. I’m going to take this opportunity to don my far-too-frequently-donned Zealous Hat and pick my top 5 Beatles covers. How very High Fidelity.
1) Ben Harper – Strawberry Fields Forever
I’ve always felt sorry for Ben Harper. His protégé Jack Johnson’s career excelled his own, despite being indisputably better. Harper’s stunning vocals truly shine here, especially on “I think I know, I mean a ‘yes’ but it’s all wrong”. It’s confusion and it’s pain, all done without slowing down the vocals (as heard on the original). Controversial change in the introduction to go from keyboards and switch to violins, but it works. It sounds less like an LSD trip and more of an honest outpour from a lost soul.
2) Eddie Izzard – Being for the Benefit of Mr Kite
Comedian? Singing? Surely not, not after Shatner’s and Jim Carrey’s attempts at covering The Beatles! Put your worries aside, this song is made for Izzard. The song was inspired by a poster for a circus from yesteryear. Fun, no? Dare I say it, Lennon sounds genuinely bored when he sings it. This rendition is taken from Across The Universe, a 2007 jukebox musical of The Beatles’ songs. It is amazing. Truly. It was hard to choose just one song from it, but this was topping the bill, baby (ah ha, ah ha.) The comedy adlibs, the circus atmosphere and, well, general Eddie-ness that’s added to this version just make you feel a little bit cheated by the original.
Nb – This scene in the movie is FUCKED UP. But don’t let it stop you from watching it, it’s easily in my top 10 favourite films.
3) Stevie Wonder – We Can Work It Out
Most people wouldn’t consider R&B and The Beatles as mixing. But this is a fine bit of aural pleasure (wink wink…), with Wonder’s tender vocals bringing a real passion to this song. The determination he screams the title with works beautifully with the lively beat and the guitar riff. The bridge is phenomenal – lifted from the borderline monotonous chants of the original to one of the best bits of this song.
4) Elliott Smith – Because
I admittedly know very little about Elliott Smith bar one or two songs, and the notorious tragedy of his death and troubled life. But one thing I do know is that this man is The Don of harmonising. The Beatles were good singers, but they weren’t great. Because’s strength is its stunning harmonies, and I’m glad the baton passed to Smith. One man has made a more chilling and haunting sound than the three voices on the original, undeniably making it the superior version.
5) Me First and the Gimme Gimmes – All My Loving
And where better to finish than on punk rock. No, I am not insinuating that Me First are better singers than The Beatles, but I’d like to think that if they were starting off today, they’d probably sound a little bit more like this. Lovely.
This list is not exhaustive, and I’d love to hear any suggestions of favourite Beatles covers. Just thought I’d put a few suggestions out there. Hope you enjoyed, and don’t want to throw rare bootleg vinyls at me until I admit I’m wrong =)
0 Responses to “I Get By With A Little Cover From My Friends”