Infuriating Cover Songs

[jeffb28451]

Any Dave Matthews or Darius Rucker. Anything I don't get paid for.

 

[LBS-bass]

I'm not convinced that's any form of pitch correction or use of autotune as a modulation effect. I think it's two harmonies that are then doubled and the reverb has a low pass to shorten the "sheen" on the reverb tails. I'd need an isolated multitrack to know for sure, but the telltale signs of Antares or Celemony processing aren't popping out to me. Maybe it's a Waves Tune or Izotope Nectar type of pitch correction since I'm not well versed at spotting those, but they're certainly more rare than Celemony's Melodyne for more straight-ahead pitch corretion and Antares Autotune for the stylized modern pop vocal thing (aka the T-Pain vocal). This cover also came out in 2002 when pitch correction certainly existed, but wasn't yet ubiquitous.

As someone who has recorded a lot of this kind of harmony, I'd be shocked if anything about that is natural. But maybe she's the most gifted and talented singer ever. I don't really know

 

[jdh3000]

Rock audiences quickly figured out that Darius Rucker can sing 2 (TWO) notes very well. That is his entire range. How did country audiences get duped? Bear in mid, two notes is one more than Sade can sing.

County music has devolved to the point that it doesn't matter...many new ones are like that.

 

[Richard Martin]

Here's the original. Meh. It's no amazing song either. She basically sounds like Taylor Swift.

Taylor Swift basically sounds like Joni Mitchell.

There, I fixed it for you.

 

[two fingers]

Taylor Swift basically sounds like Joni Mitchell.

There, I fixed it for you.

Point was, neither is better.

 

[Mark 63]

Previous pop classics dropped in tempo to a dirge with breathy, nameless, faceless, faux-hurt vocals over the top. Take your pick.

Exactly how Jaye P Morgan ruined Happy and Peppy and Bursting with Love.

 

[The Owl]

Exercises in futility

 

[Rip Van Dan]

I just heard this in the grocery store, and got angry again.

I mean it's such a classic tune with some genuinely groovy guitar and vocal work, and the Counting Crows are a talented group with some artistic credibility ... what could go wrong?

That's surprisingly similar to the original Joni Mitchell song from 1970 with some very cool modifications. I never knew the Black Crows did that song!

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Phew!!!!!!! This one is really infuriating!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Nancy Sinatra does The Beatles, Day Tripper)

I never cared for her at all. The only reason she had a musical career was because her Dad was Frank Sinatra. Her "Boots Are Made for Walking" was terrible when it came out and they tried to put a bit of that in here. I had to play it to see what she did with it. Wish I could unhear that...

 

[silky smoove]

As someone who has recorded a lot of this kind of harmony, I'd be shocked if anything about that is natural. But maybe she's the most gifted and talented singer ever. I don't really know

The dip and swell from a compressor on the leading edge of the oooo's is definitely adding to the "artificial" quality of it. As for the pitches, a buddy of mine worked with her (Vanessa Carlton) in the studio a few years ago and I remember him remarking at just how insanely good of a vocalist she was on the sessions, so I wouldn't put it passed her to be able to absolutely nail those harmony pitches.

 

[LBS-bass]

The dip and swell from a compressor on the leading edge of the oooo's is definitely adding to the "artificial" quality of it. As for the pitches, a buddy of mine worked with her (Vanessa Carlton) in the studio a few years ago and I remember him remarking at just how insanely good of a vocalist she was on the sessions, so I wouldn't put it passed her to be able to absolutely nail those harmony pitches.

I've no doubt she's good but it's not human to have absolutely no trace of tremolo or vibrato in a vocal like that. You'd have to have superhuman vocal control to do it. Maybe she's superhuman and, if so, many kudos to her

 

[dkelley]

doesn't even improve with Vanessa Carlton eye candy

sure it does

 

[bassburner]

For me, any song where the bass line was obviously played by a guitarist.

**cough** **cough** Foo Fighters **cough** **cough**

 

[Lesfunk]

Phew!!!!!!! This one is really infuriating!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Nancy Sinatra does The Beatles, Day Tripper)

What a waste of the wrecking crew

 

[darwin-bass]

I really like the Crow's cover of BYT. As much if not more than Joni's original version.

But I get your complaint. My favorite cover gone bad is Frank Sinatra's cover of "Only Have Eyes for You"

 

[Mannyinnewyork]

As a young Manfred Mann fan i loved this song (written by Burt Bacharach). It wasn't a hit for them but it was for an American group called love.
Love fkd this up so bad. They didn't even get the chords right. I was disgusted.

 

[dkelley]

Here's the original. Meh. It's no amazing song either. She basically sounds like Taylor Swift.

please don't ever say that again.
Joni's a folk singer who wrote her own songs and played acoustic guitar (so was taylor swift, originally, so of course that is similar, not to mention neither had a great voice).

Taylor made it huge because someone figured out that her looks combined with her songwriting talent could be a perfect combination, and convinced her to become a pop princess. To her credit, she's a multi instrumentalist and prolific songwriter, unlike many pop princesses.

Joni made it huge because she was one of a very very small handful of musicians who wrote not only catchy songs that crossed over many genre boundaries, but also were political protest songs that managed to get airplay and get heard by politicians. To HER credit, she ventured into jazz and more advanced theory, put together a band that features Jaco on bass, and with that band created one of the most legendary live DVD concert videos ever made.

I can't think of any songwriting by Taylor Swift that qualifies as historically important, although I'm absolutely not diminishing her musical talent.

 

[Starflyer59]

Playing mustang sally, wagon wheel, anything by adele, stuck in the middle of you and sweet home alabama made me wish i wasnt playing bass at all.

 

[PennyroyalWe]

I may be alone, but I like the Counting Crows version better than Joni Mitchell's original. Similarly, I find Joe Cocker's covers of Beatles tunes better than the originals. What I CANT stand are these awful, tacky, synth-y-reggae covers that seem to be inexplicably on the radio the last few years, such as "Baby, I Love
Your Way" and "Lean On Me". Honestly, I could do without hearing any version of those songs ever again.

 

[tekhedd]

The "ooh bop bop" needs to take a flying leap though.

LOL please don't throw things at me, but I've always loved the autotuned "ooh bop bop." It's my favorite part (pronounced "only likeable part") of the song, which IMO is otherwise a blah, selfrighteous pop song. The original's completely boring because it doesn't even have the bops, just out of tune whining. I'm no fan of autotune but somebody should melodyne the original track, maybe it'd be a huge improvement.