"White Christmas" was written by Irving Berlin and originally recorded by Bing Crosby in the 40's. Not only is Crosby's version far and away the most popular version of the song, and the most popular Christmas song, it's also the best selling single worldwide of all time. Through this song -- Berlin's lyrics and Crosby's crooning -- I can experience a white Christmas while staying warm. It's a dream in the form of a song.
Among the over 500 covers of this song, the most covered Christmas song of all time, is the 89 version by the New Kids on the Block. I like this song better than I thought I was going to, but when I listening to it, I find myself dreaming of a white Christmas -- Crosby's "White Christmas".
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Wham! released "Last Christmas" in 1984; Taylor Swift covered it in 2007. The original is another one of my top 12 Christmas songs; it's also my favorite original 80's Christmas song, which is now a classic in its own right. The Christmas season doesn't begin for me until I hear this song on the radio. The music is somber for a Wham! song, but it's merrier than the lyrics. The lyrics are among the most depressing of any Christmas song. The singer gave "you" his heart on Christmas, but you gave it away the very next day, on Boxing Day. You couldn't even wait until December 27th? But there's some hope buried in the lyrics. There's always next year.
Although I prefer the original, I'm unembarrassed to say that Taylor Swift's version is my favorite cover of the song. It's the only cover that doesn't make me wish I was listening to the original. And who better to sing a song about heartbreak than Taylor Swift?
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One of the most popular and one of my favorite versions of "Winter Wonderland" is Bing Crosby's from 62. The 87 version by the Eurythmics, from the compilation album A Very Special Christmas, is not only my favorite version of the song, it's also one of my favorite Christmas songs (definitely in my top 12) and one of my favorite songs by the Eurythmics. The thoroughly original arrangement and Annie Lenox's voice capture, as no other version does, both sides of the snowflake: the warmth and merriment of the season, as well as the cold and loneliness.
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This post marks only the second time that I'm picking a non-80's song over an 80's song, and the first time I'm picking a post-80's cover over the 80's original. "Jump", from Van Halen's 1984 album, was released in December 1983. It was covered on TV's Glee in 2009. The original is classic synth-rock and is one of my favorite 80's Van Halen songs. When I'm listening to it, I can't imagine not hearing a synth line. The cover was one of the first songs I heard on Glee, and it was one of the songs responsible for getting me hooked on that show. Unfortunately, it ended up being of the few Glee songs that I really liked, and I soon grew tired of the high school drama. I no longer watch the show, but I still listen to the song. As much as I enjoy the original, only the cover makes me gleeful. It doesn't make me want to start watching the show again, but it does make me want to jump on a mattress.
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"Dancing in the Street" was released by Martha and Vandellas in 1964. David Bowie and Mick Jagger covered it in 1985. The original is classic Motown; the cover is over-the-top (although not overly over-the-top) 80's dance-rock. Bowie and Jagger may not make the best dance partners, but they make a natural singing duo. You can just hear how much they enjoyed working together. When I hear the original, I want to dance in my chair; when I hear the cover, I feel like actually dancing in the street -- albeit a deserted street like the one in the music video.
I know that some readers still haven't forgiven me for picking Devo's cover of "Satisfaction" over the Rolling Stones' original. Perhaps I've made up for that, at least to some extent, by selecting Jagger as the winner in this battle. Or perhaps I've dug myself an even deeper hole....
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Today's battle comes at the suggestion of one of our readers. In 1985, Tears for Fears released Songs from the Big Chair, one of which was "Shout". Disturbed covered the song in 2000. TFF is one of my favorite bands, but "Shout" is one of my least favorite songs of theirs, largely because the song is overplayed on the radio. But it's still TFF.
I have nothing in particular against Disturbed or their cover; it's just that heavy metal is not my cup of tea. That being said, the lyrics of "Shout" lend themselves to heavy metal, and for a heavy metal song, the cover is not un-listenable. Still, it's just too darn loud. TFF can get their point across without actually shouting. There are two "covers" of the song that are better than Disturbed's....
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"I Fought the Law" was popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four in 1965. It was covered by the Clash in 1979. Although the original is more fun, I prefer the cover, which is still a lot of fun and is one of the Clash's most fun songs. The Clash was a natural to cover a song about the fighting the law. Thankfully they resisted the temptation to take this song and themselves seriously. They don't sound terribly disappointed that the law won.
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"Venus" was released by Shocking Blue in 1969. It was covered by Bananarama in 1986. Not only do I prefer the cover, I don't like the original. It's lazy and unemotional. The Venus they're singing about might as well be a plant -- a drug. But there's no doubt that the Venus about which Bananarama is singing is a woman. Bananarama's signature vocal style -- singing in unison -- lends itself to this song. Who better to sing about the goddess of love (and other related things) than an all-female chorus?
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"It's My Life" was released by Talk Talk in 1984. In 2003, it was covered by No Doubt. The original is one of my favorite 80's songs, and it takes me back to 2003, not because that's the year when the cover came out, but because that's the year when I first discovered the original in college. The cover is my favorite No Doubt song, and it's one of the best covers of an 80's song. It's almost as good as the original -- it comes this close. It manages to sound 80's-y, while still sounding original and modern (for a decade ago, anyway, but it still hold up well).
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"Crimson and Clover" was released by Tommy James and the Shondells in 68. Joan Jett & the Blackhearts covered it in 82. Unlike Tommy James and the Shondells' "I Think We're Alone Now", "Crimson and Clover" is more dated, both musically and vocally, than its 80's cover. The album version of the original, which is the cut I posted, gets really psychedelic at about the halfway point. But that's not a bad thing here. This is one of the definitive late 60's psychedelic pop songs. Through songs such as this, I can experience the late 60's musically -- safely -- without ever having had to actually live through them.
Although punky, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts' cover is basically a classic rock song. It's harder than the original, but it's also less noisy. You can hear a lot of instruments in the original; the cover is almost all guitar. The cover is also sexy -- and that's not an adjective that I throw around to describe songs (or anything for that matter) -- from the very first words from Joan Jett's lips. Although not as sexual as Joan Jett's "Do You Wanna Touch Me", it is sexier. Although the lyrics are the same, when I hear the original "Crimson and Clover", it sounds to me as if Tommy James is singing about doing drugs. When I listen to the cover, it sounds as if Joan Jett is singing about doing something a lot more fun.
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"I Think We're Alone Now" was released by Tommy James and the Shondells in 67. Exactly two decades later, Tiffany covered it. "I Think We're Alone Now" is a song about youth, sung by youth -- Tommy James and Tiffany were 19 and 15, respectively. Tiffany's version feels even more youthful, but also more immature. The original ages better and better evokes, in its quiet moments, the feeling between two young lovers that there is no one else in the world. Congratulations world, you win this one.
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"I Got You Babe" was released by Sonny & Cher in 65. Exactly two decades later, it was covered by UB40 featuring (I refuse to write "feat.") Chrissie Hynde of the Pretenders. While Cher's never been my cup of tea, and Sonny was a better mayor and representative than a singer, Sonny and Cher work as a duo better than Ali Campbell (then-lead singer of UB40) and Chrissie Hynde. Yet the cover sounds better, and it's my favorite UB40 song. But not because of UB40. Because of Chrissie Hynde. Her singular voice is perfect for this song, foreshadowing the Pretenders' "I'll Stand by You" nine years later. I don't know whether I would prefer the original or the cover if the latter had just been a regular reggae pop song by UB40 without Chrissie. Thankfully I'll never have to know.
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"A Hazy Shade of Winter" was released by Simon & Garfunkel in 66. The Bangles covered the song -- as "Hazy Shade of Winter" (because articles are so old-fashioned) -- for the soundtrack to 87's Less Than Zero (based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis). Simon & Garfunkel is one of my favorite late 60's musical groups, and The Bangles is one of my favorite late 80's bands. However, neither version is one of my favorites from either band, although the cover does fit the film. The only memorable part of either version is the first 30 seconds of the Bangles' cover, which evokes the titular season. If only that season wasn't so short-lived.
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Our first showdown between an 80's original and a post-80's cover comes at the suggestion one of our readers: 85's "Take on Me" by A-Ha vs. the late 90's version by ska punk band Reel Big Fish (God, how 90's I feel writing "ska"). A courageous suggestion by a courageous reader, because "Take on Me" is one of the most quintessential 80's songs, unfortunately remembered more for its video than for its audio. Don't get me wrong, the music video is one of the greatest videos of the 80's -- one of the greatest videos of all time (which is basically the same thing as saying one of the greatest videos of the 80's) -- but the video, as least to some extent, depends on the song; the song stands on its own. As good as the video is, when I hear the song on the radio, I don't even see the video.
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"Get It On" was released by glam rock band T. Rex in 71. In 85, it was covered -- as "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" -- by supergroup Power Station (Robert Palmer + two members of Duran Duran), which released only one album in the 80's. 80's covers of 60's and 70's songs are sometimes slower. Sometimes they're faster. Sometimes they're softer. And sometimes, yes, they're even harder. "Get It On" is one of the hardest 80's covers of a pre-80's song, and was one of the hardest 80's pop songs overall before the mid-80's gave way to the late 80's. Although "Get It On" is definitely an 80's song, really the only truly dated part of the song is its opening, and that's only in comparison to the rest of the song. "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" truly lives up to its title. For a second-generation classic rock song in the midst of the 80's, this is one of your best bets.
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"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones was released in 65. In 77, Devo did a cover. Although their cover is not from the 80's, it is late-70's new wave, without which we wouldn't have the 80's as we know it. I'll just come right out with it: I prefer Devo's cover. I like the original, it's a classic, there would be no Devo cover without it, and I don't prefer Devo's version by a wide margin, but I do prefer the cover. I don't feel sacrilegious to write these words, because I don't view the Rolling Stones -- or any band (even an 80's band) -- as a God. No band's songs are untouchable, above being covered. It's ok if you genuinely prefer the original. I'm sure the vast majority of you do. But you don't have to. Even if you prefer the original -- even if you genuinely dislike Devo's cover -- Devo deserves, at the very least, kudos for having the courage to cover this song (and only twelve years later), and for making it their own.
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The most popular pre-80's version of "Groovy Kind of Love" was recorded by a group called the Mindbenders in 65, the year that marked both the end of an era and the start of a new one. It is difficult to imagine a more unlikely decade in which to cover this song than the 80's. It's also difficult to imagine a more unlikely artist to cover "Groovy Kind of Love" -- it's difficult to imagine a less groovy person -- than Phil Collins. From the 88 movie Buster, Phil's version -- which is slower than the original and less 80's than it could have been -- is nonetheless groovy in its own unique Phil Collins way.
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"(There's) Always Something There To Remind Me" was written by song-writing team Burt Bacharach and Hal David. There are several pre-80's versions of this song. It was originally recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 63, and first charted for Lou Johnson in 64. I'm going with what is probably the most popular of these pre-80's versions, the 64 cover by Sandie Shaw.
But by far the most well-known version was recorded by Naked Eyes and released in 83. When I hear their version, which is one of the most ubiquitous 80's songs on the radio, I usually forget that it's not the original, because it's much different than all of its predecessors -- and much better. The song's rather melancholy lyrics are juxtaposed with some of the most upbeat music from a decade known (and vilified) for its upbeat music. I defy anyone to listen to their version and not be in a good mood.
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Each post will pit against each other 2 recordings of the same song. Posts will cover either 1) a 60's or 70's version of a song (sometimes the original, sometimes itself a cover) vs. the 80's (or late 70's new wave) cover, or 2) an original 80's (or late 70's new wave) song vs. a post-80's cover. Unless otherwise stated, I prefer the 80's version. Debate and questions are welcome and encouraged.
Let's start with the first type of battle, and one of the most un-80's songs imaginable: "Funkytown". The original version was sung by Lipps Inc. Although first released in 1980, this song was recorded in 1979, and for all intents and purposes is a 70's song, one of the last gasps of dying disco. "Funkytown" was covered half a decade later by Australian band Pseudo Echo, released in 86. It is difficult to fathom how an 80's cover of a disco song would sound, but that's exactly how this sounds: an 80's cover of a disco song -- without sounding like a disco song. Although this recording, like many from the 80's, sounds dated, it doesn't sound nearly as dated, IMO, as the original. And the cover doesn't sound as dated as it might have had it been recorded in the early 80's.
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