The Great HTF Music Challenge (2 Viewers)

[BobO'Link]

Sam Phillips, "Zero Zero Zero!" - Some of the production sounds quite a bit like some of Chris Isaak's material. It's not bad and I'd likely not skip it should it come on somewhere but it's nothing I'd purchase.

Sam Phillips, "Slapstick Heart" - I liked this one much better than the first selection. I hear more of a Middle-Eastern influence rather than Bond though. I really wish they'd have mixed the drums further into the background as I found them somewhat distracting.

 

[BobO'Link]

Heart, "Heartless" - Love this one, but I like just about everything they released before their 80s transformation. It's also one of the better tracks from that album.

Heart, "Straight On" - Another favorite track from an excellent album.

 

[BobO'Link]

Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now" - This one doesn't work for me at all. It has none of the bottom of the original nor none of the style. To be fair, I don't like Tiffany at all so that absolutely colors my opinion.

Tiffany, "I Think We're Alone Now" (re-recorded) - This one has more bottom but still doesn't work for me. She also enunciates worse than in the original.

Kristine W, "Barracuda" club version - Blech! They take a great rock song, bury the guitar, and turn it into a dance track?!? I'd change the station/hit skip/etc. in a heartbeat should this appear...

DJ Sammy, "California Dreamin" - Please... make it stop! Song. Totally. Ruined.

 

[BobO'Link]

Westworld (is this the artist?), "So Long Cowboy" - Kind of a generic rock song.

Piano verison of "Raining Blood" - Someone has too much time on their hands... Being played on solo piano didn't make it better at all for me.

 

[jcroy]

Gretchen also did an album called "Under the Covers" on which she did some excellent rock covers that are even more impressive when you consider she's primarily a country act.

Nowadays a lot of current/recent country music sounds a lot like the pop/rock of yesteryear, with maybe a slight drawl/accent in the singer's voice and the presence of instruments like the violin, banjo, etc ...

Such musicians playing/singing country music today (or recently), likely also grew up hearing stuff like Guns N Roses, Nirvana, Metallica, Ozzy, AC DC, def leppard, etc ...

 

[BobO'Link]

Toronto, "What About Love" - Hmmm... never knew Heart's version was a "cover." I like the production of this one better and would like to hear Ann and Nancy do it this way without all that overproduced 80s sound.

I looked up Toronto to find their version, while recorded in 1982, wasn't released by the band which triggered Brian Allen and Sheron Alton's departure from the group with them subsequently offering it to Heart. The Toronto version was finally released in 2002 as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the album. So... Heart's version isn't *exactly* a cover as they *did* release it first, even though they didn't record it first.

 

[jcroy]

Toronto, "What About Love" - Hmmm... never knew Heart's version was a "cover." I like the production of this one better and would like to hear Ann and Nancy do it this way without all that overproduced 80s sound.

I looked up Toronto to find their version, while recorded in 1982, wasn't released by the band which triggered Brian Allen and Sheron Alton's departure from the group with them subsequently offering it to Heart. The Toronto version was finally released in 2002 as a bonus track on the CD reissue of the album. So... Heart's version isn't *exactly* a cover as they *did* release it first, even though they didn't record it first.

More background about how it eventually ended up with Heart, by one of the original writers.

Toronto - What About Love?

Songwriter Jim Vallance offers his personal perspective on several hundred songs and albums from his catalogue of work. Selections range from Aerosmith to Zucchero!

www.jimvallance.com

 

[jcroy]

For example, such as Garth Brooks playing KISS "hard luck woman".




or Taylor Swift playing Def Leppard "Hysteria"

 

[jcroy]

... or Carrie Underwood playing covers of classic rock songs.


Paradise City (Guns N Roses)





Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

 

[sleroi]

I prefer the string cheese incident’s version of walk this way.

they’re kind of a bluegrass influenced laid back jam band.

 

[BobO'Link]

Garth Brooks & KISS, "Hard Luck Woman" - Well... two artists I just don't like makes for a song I still don't like. Brooks' vocals are horrible on this one. He's trying, hard, to "rock" and the band is trying to country it up for him.

Taylor Swift w/Def Leppard, "Hysteria" - It's better than "Hard Luck Woman" but doesn't work for me. She just doesn't have the voice to pull this one off and they tone it down a bit, apparently for her. I'll take Def Leppard's original any time.

Both of those are nothing but "stunt casting" on a musical stage...

 

[BobO'Link]

Carrie Underwood, "Paradise City" - This one is much better but what's with that whistle? She at least sounds like a rocker. I still don't much care for the song (FWIW I don't care for Guns 'n' Roses version either - but I'm not much of a fan of them anyway so...).

Carrie Underwood w/Steven Tyler, "Walk This Way" - With Tyler singing it's hard to mess it up. Again, Underwood has the rock chops to pull this off. Quite surprising.

 

[BobO'Link]

The String Cheese Incident, "Walk This Way" - This one didn't work for me. It's interesting and at least better than a dance version but...

 

[jcroy]

I like the production of this one better and would like to hear Ann and Nancy do it this way without all that overproduced 80s sound.

Speaking of rawer mixes without the overproduction, this is purportedly the original raw mix of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".




(This was before Geffen records hired Andy Wallace to remix it into an "overproduced" gloss).

 

[John Dirk]

Heart's "What About Love" was actually a cover. It was written by little known band from canada, which consisted of american ex-pats living in toronto at the time.

I can see why others wanted to cover this song but, quality-wise, it was just fine as done by these lovely ladies.

 

[John Dirk]

Speaking of rawer mixes without the overproduction, this is purportedly the original raw mix of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".




(This was before Geffen records hired Andy Wallace to remix it into an "overproduced" gloss).

I love this song but Weird Al got his hands on it and now that's all I can think of as he did his characteristic excellent job with his parody.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Smells Like Nirvana​

 

[John Dirk]

Garth Brooks playing KISS "hard luck woman"
I dunno. I get the distinct feeling both garth Brooks and Kiss hated doing this but knew it was good for business. It's basically Kiss performing as if they weren't Kiss, so what's the point other than pandering? But as one of my favorite comedians, Dennis Miller says - "That's just my opinion. I could be wrong."

Taylor Swift playing Def Leppard "Hysteria"
This one sounds a bit more realistic. I'm not really familiar with Def Leppard so that probably helps here. Based on this song, I do think I'll take a closer look at them.

Carrie Underwood
Paradise City (Guns N Roses)
More pandering but in this case Carrie Underwood actually holds her own, something I hadn't expected. You just never know.

Walk This Way (Aerosmith)
Carrie actually sounds better singing Rock songs than Country to me. I really enjoyed the portion before Walk This Way. Didn't care for Walk This Way done in this style at all. Someone get RUN DMC on that stage please.

String Cheese Incident - Walk This Way
Very creative take on a classic song. Love it!

 

[TravisR]

Speaking of rawer mixes without the overproduction, this is purportedly the original raw mix of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit".




(This was before Geffen records hired Andy Wallace to remix it into an "overproduced" gloss).

If there's any song that defined my generation, it's this one.

I love this song but Weird Al got his hands on it and now that's all I can think of as he did his characteristic excellent job with his parody.

"Weird Al" Yankovic - Smells Like Nirvana​

This parody is a ton of fun. I'm sure there's clips of it on You Tube but I remember Nirvana saying how funny they found it too. Kurt Cobain was obviously troubled but he also had a sense of humor. A lot of Nirvana's songs and interviews with the band members are often pretty funny but that's been overshadowed by Kurt's terrible ending.

"Now I'm mumbling and I'm screaming and I don't know what I'm singing..."

 

[BobO'Link]

Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - A favorite and I like this "underproduced" version just fine. Frankly, without playing it back to back with the album version I truly don't hear that much of a difference.

"Weird Al" Yankovic, "Smells Like Nirvana" - In spite of not much caring for Weird Al I listened anyway. It's OK but nothing I'll listen to with any kind of regularity. I wonder how much it cost him to hire Dick Van Patten for that cameo...

 

[BobO'Link]

Taylor Swift playing Def Leppard "Hysteria"
This one sounds a bit more realistic. I'm not really familiar with Def Leppard so that probably helps here. Based on this song, I do think I'll take a closer look at them.

Ask and ye shall receive...

Def Leppard - "Hysteria":



Def Leppard - "Too Late Love":



Def Leppard - "Armageddon It":



Def Leppard - "Let's Get Rocked":

Walk This Way (Aerosmith)

Carrie actually sounds better singing Rock songs than Country to me. I really enjoyed the portion before Walk This Way. Didn't care for Walk This Way done in this style at all. Someone get RUN DMC ooasdfon that stage please.

While I vastly prefer Aerosmith's original I *do* like the version they did with Run DMC and the music video is humorous.