Best Cover Version of Dancing in the Street (Music Monday)
Cover Version by: The Dick Carpenter Trio (a.k.a. The Carpenters)
Opens up with bright magnificent brass sounds, founded on exhilarating drumming by Marvin Gaye—who was also one of the song writers, and with simple yet harmonically stunning back-up from the Vandellas, Martha Reeves’ exquisite lively vocals really speak out what the lyrics say and invite the listeners to do just that: dancing. This song has become one of (early) Motown’s signature songs and Rolling Stone magazine has ranked the Martha and the Vandellas' original version at #40 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list—it’s not that it really matters but it reflects how important Dancing in the Street is out of gazillion of songs through the decades.
Released in 1964, amid the tumultuous political and social events in the United States especially regarding the racial issue, many African-American activists considered the song as a “civil rights anthem to social change.” Though in reality the song was intended to be a simple dance song and Martha Reeves herself once proclaimed to a British journalist that “it was a party song,” some people interpreted the song lyrics as a call to riot and played it when they’re holding a demonstration, which made some radio stations take it off their play lists.
Regardless of the different views on the meaning, it is still a revolutionary song in terms of its music that has pioneered 70s disco. But above all, in and on itself Dancing in the Street is a magnificent song and quoting Martha Reeves, “It's a song that just makes you want to get up and dance”!
The Original Version
There’s a big possibility that it was Richard who rearrange the song, as he was the arranger of most of The Carpenters’ songs, and the trio gave a complete makeover to the song: a simplification in its instrumentation but with more complex notes especially in the solo parts and fills. There are no extravagant horns and no harmonic backing vocals, but with such accomplished musicianship the trio successfully delivered a wholly distinct version that is delightful and enjoyable nonetheless.
Awesome jazzy cover version
Awesome Comic Sketches and Illustrations: John Romita Jr. (WW)
(Click on images to view in original size)
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(All pictures shown in the sideshow are acquired from Comic Art Fans and all credits for making them available should be addressed to the persons who posted them at that site.)
John Romita Jr.
Best Cover Version of Pelangi: Koes Plus & Netral (Music Monday)
Cover Version: Netral
This is the first time I post an Indonesian song, with Bahasa Indonesia lyrics. I just hope the language won’t be a barrier for you and you can still dig underneath the words—catch the beat, rhythm, melody, and the energy. But for a brief introduction, “pelangi” means “rainbow.” What the song says is extremely simple actually. In short it tells how someone finds one particular morning to be beautiful with the presence of a rainbow and it reminds that person to the one he/she loves.
About the song Pelangi, I tried to track down when and in which album it was first released, but it was to no avail. The best hint I can find is that it was released in 1972, without any info about the album. The song itself is really quite simple, as simple as the story it tells. Whether you understand the lyrics or not, I’m pretty sure the upbeat pop-rock tempo, the groovy bass, and the catchy melody of the song can be very easy to enjoy. It might even tempt you to shake your body, or at least tap your foot.
Koes Plus' Original Version of Pelangi
In 1995, Netral released their debut album, Wa..lah. It was during the height of alternative wave in music industry across the globe, and immediately this three-piece band from Jakarta—the original guitarist of this trio had just passed away last July, R.I.P. Miten—became a pioneer of alternative-rock in Indonesia. One of the tracks in Netral’s debut is their cover version of Koes Plus’ Pelangi. They completely ripped the romantic-candy-pop tone off the song. With their punk, grunge, and rock influences, they successfully injected a wild, raw, energetic blast into the song and made it easily accessible for a whole new generation of the 90s.
Rocking Cover Version of Pelangi by Netral
Dearest: Original "Apartment Version" by Buddy Holly and the Best Cover Version by The Black Keys (Music Monday)
In his lifetime, Buddy Holly had only released three studio albums, two as a solo artist and one as the member of The Crickets. He left some unreleased songs, including some unfinished studio tracks and the recordings he made personally using the tape he bought two months prior to his death. The original, raw, recordings of the tapes later are commonly known as “The Apartment Tapes.”
“Dearest” is one of the tracks in “The Apartment Tapes” and according to this site, it was recorded sometime between January 1-19, 1959. The good thing about the tracks in those tapes is the intimacy between Buddy Holly and the songs he sang. There was no rush or pressure from studio schedule or producer or other musician. He simply did what he could do best: singing the music he loved, albeit it was not always him who wrote it. “Dearest” was written by Bob Gibson, Ellas “Bo Diddley” McDaniel, Prentice Herman Polk, Jr. and in “The Apartment Tapes” Buddy Holly recorded two versions of that song: with acoustic guitar and the other with electric guitar. An overdubbed version was released as part of a posthumous album, Giant. Yes, the overdubbed result is great and all, but to get the true intensity and romance of the song, you absolutely have to listen to Buddy Holly’s original, raw records.
Buddy Holly's Original Version (with Electric Guitar)
In 2011, a tribute album was released under the title Rave On Buddy Holly. Various artists and bands contribute in this compilation, including Sir Paul McCartney, Patti Smith, Fiona Apple, Kid Rock, and The Black Keys. The last mentioned is a rock band from Ohio that consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, vocals) and Patrick Carney (drums). In this tribute album, that duo performs the best cover version (yet) of Dearest. Their rearrangement of the song is, as described by Jeff Gonick of Paste magazine, "beautifully minimalist." It doesn’t lose the original intensity and the ambience gives a remarkable sense of longing. Without overly dressing-up the original version, The Black Keys change the tone and atmosphere entirely, and in a very good way. This track is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards (2012).
The Black Keys' Cover Version of Dearest
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