Cover Versions vs Originals - Voting Thread Week 1

[spiritualized]

Lo and behold, here is the newest game in town, where you nominated the best cover versions in your musical culture and decided that the later version was far better than the original one.
Were your tastes in line with the general consensus, or is it just you ?
Time to find out !

The game will start with all 128 songs pitted against their original versions, in groups of 4, two per week. A couple of songs will not make the cut, as we have 130 unique nominations

You don't have to have nominated to participate.

Please feel free to add any comment, I hope there will be plenty to discuss.

Vote for who you think penned the best version of the song. If the original wins, the cover is eliminated.

In the second round, only cover versions will remain and they will be pitted against each other in a different voting format (to be determined by the number of songs going through the first stage.

The Spotify playlist is in order of original, then cover.

For this first week, we get, randomly selected, TWO of the most nominated songs by you.
The votes will close next Sunday @ 12:00 Western European, get your votes in early ! Good luck & Have FUN !

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake (3 nominations)
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules (4 nominations)

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr.

[SL3]

Great picks - loved listening to all of these!

I Will Survive - original
Cake version is fun but it's the Gloria Gaynor original all the way for me!
- Although the GG version on the playlist is a remake - this is her original version:
https://open.spotify.com/track/7cv28LXc ... OHL97LeG4A

Border Song - cover
Aretha takes the song next level!

As - original
This one is close but I'll pick the Stevie Wonder original

Mad World - original
This was a great cover but I still like the original best

Days of Wine and Roses - cover
Julie London works her magic

Last Kiss - cover
I never even realised this was a cover!

Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - cover
This one is new to me but I like what she did with the cover, the slower tempo makes the lyrics pop & the instrumentation shine.

Just Like Heaven - original
I like the cover but to me it mostly just sounds like Dinosaur Jr playing the song rather than them adding any nuance. (Also the original is in my top 1000 so I'm biased!)

[Schüttelbirne]

Gaynor's version on the playlist is some sort of re-recording if I'm not mistaken. I don't like it nearly as much as the original (and I doubt I'm the only one), so maybe it should be replaced? EDIT: SL3 beat me to it...

Group 1
5 | Gloria Gaynor | I Will Survive vs. 6 | Cake | I Will Survive
9 | Elton John | Border Song vs. 7 | Aretha Franklin | Border Song
1 | Stevie Wonder | As vs. 15 | George Michael & Mary J. Blige | As
16 | Tears for Fears | Mad World vs. 2 | Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules | Mad World

Group 2
10 | Henry Mancini | The Days of Wine and Roses vs. 14 | Julie London | The Days of Wine and Roses
12 | Wayne Cochran | Last Kiss vs. 4 | Pearl Jam | Last Kiss
13 | Dolly Parton | Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind vs. 11 | Rhiannon Giddens | Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind
3 | The Cure | Just Like Heaven vs. 8 | Dinosaur Jr. | Just Like Heaven


I think everybody just assumed other people would nominate Hallelujah, Hurt and Respect and that's why they didn't receive as much backing.

[Cadavaca]

Group 1: I prefer all of the original versions, although it's close with 2 and 3.
Gloria Gaynor vs. Cake
Elton John vs. Aretha Franklin
Stevie Wonder vs. George Michael & Mary J. Blige
Tears for Fears vs. Michael Andrews ft. Gary Jules

Group 2: Almost a clean sweep the other way!
Henry Mancini vs. Julie London
Wayne Cochran vs. Pearl Jam
Dolly Parton vs. Rhiannon Giddens
The Cure vs. Dinosaur Jr.

[bonnielaurel]

Group 1
Gloria Gaynor
Aretha Franklin
George Michael & Mary J Blige
Tears for Fears

There are a lot of covers of I Will Survive, but none of them comes close to the original, because of the vocal quality and the soulful groove. The next two are close calls, but I'll give the edge to the inspired cover. Tears for Fears wins easily.

Group 2
Julie London
Wayne Cochran
Dolly Parton
The Cure

Julie London adds something with her whispery voice. In the other cases the original has all it needs.

[Henry]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Border Song - Aretha Franklin
As - Stevie Wonder
Mad World - Tears for Fears

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London
Last Kiss - Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens (TBD)
Just Like Heaven - The Cure

[hero]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules

Did consider nominating As but when I listen to them I felt that the Stevie Wonder version did more for me.

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr.

For me a cover really has to do something extra compare to the original. The same tempo, production but with a different voice is in many ways pointless for me and I will most definitely go to the original. Just Like Heaven was a bold move considering the original is one of the greatest songs of the 80's.

[Nassim]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake : easy, I don't like Cake much anyway (the food as well as the band)
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin : tough pick, Aretha manages to add to the song without changing it too much. I feel a bit more drawn to the gentler Elton version
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige : my nomination I expected the least to make it to the 2nd round, I am probably biased by having known the cover first but I like hearing those 2 performers at the top of their games having a blast covering a song they obviously love.
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules : its overuse in every kind of movies, ads and tv shows, its crowning as the favorite song of people that "are deep and sensible you know" but yeah not really, and its legacy of thousands of sad sappy slow down covers of pop songs that have been used in almost every single movie trailer in the past 10 years kinda ruined this one for me, but if I get back to the basics, at the time I first heard it, it's both beautiful and hugely different from the original.

[Romain]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Border Song - Elton John
As - Stevie Wonder I didn't know the cover and, well, I'm fine without it.
Mad World - Gary Jules I love the two versions but this one brings back surprisingly good memories.

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London the voice brings a little more
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran I simply did not know this song. I discovered it and Wayne Cochran's amazing haircut (which I didn't know either). I give him a hairstyle point.
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton once again, an unknown song for me. I like the simplicity of the original more.
Just Like Heaven - The Cure two behemoths enter the battle. Sorry about the dinosaur but the original is so ingrained in my memory that even if it was better, I have to go with the creation.

[Edre Depeche Head]

Unfortunatley im tight on time today but I am familiar with both versions of I Will Survive and Just Like Heaven and that being said

Gloria Gaynor > Cake - Gloria has one of the best voices in Disco and I honestly do not like Cake's version or the album it is on.
The Cure > Dinosaur Jr - The Cure by far is better

[spiritualized]

Unfortunatley im tight on time today but I am familiar with both versions of I Will Survive and Just Like Heaven and that being said

Gloria Gaynor > Cake - Gloria has one of the best voices in Disco and I honestly do not like Cake's version or the album it is on.
The Cure > Dinosaur Jr - The Cure by far is better

no worries Edre, you have until Sunday...

[Miguel]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor
Border Song - Elton John
As - Stevie Wonder
Mad World - Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Rhiannon Giddens
Just Like Heaven - The Cure

[phil]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules


Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr.

[Rob]

I Will Survive - Cake
I'm one of the nominators of these. This is how you do a cover: a complete reinvention. It must be something of a joke on the part of Cake of doing I Will Survive in the most downbeat way. Gloria Gaynor comes out of a failed relationship belting as if the negative experience actually gave her strength (and in doing so basically laid the groundwork for Beyoncé's whole career), while Cake are dejected and barely can muster saying they will survive. The result is very funny, but affecting too. Gloria Gaynor's song is a deserved disco classic, but since I care more about deadpan humor than disco I will certainly go for Cake.

Border Song - Aretha Franklin
The differences between these two versions are more subtle, though still significant. I could have gone for either version, but there is no denying that the moment Aretha Franklin's song plays right after Elton's you feel she has made it her own. The fullness of her version wins me over.

As - Stevie Wonder
Now this is how I don't want to see a cover being done. The original is a perfect 10 for me. My favorite Stevie Wonder song, actually. It's not so much that the cover doesn't change things up: it is a duet after all. It does remove the extended crescendo near the end though. The problem is different, but one common enough for covers: making a version that over-emotes. Of course that is George Michael's schtick anyway, but it becomes all the more annoying for me when there is a previous version with impressive vocals that doesn't feel the need to oversell every word with heavy breaths. I always heavily disliked this cover so this the easiest choice in the game.

Mad World - Tears for Fears
I can feel Nassim's description of this song. It does feel like we indeed have gotten a lot of sappy covers of older songs after this one. Then again, the approach isn't all that different from what George Michael and Mary J. Blige did with As. The contrast is bigger though, as Tears for Fears are far more uptempo and more new wavy. I have always had a little trouble with the Michael Andrews/ Gary Jules version. It makes me uncomfortable thanks to the almost suicidal tone the song takes, which combined with its extremely emo teen view of the world somehow puts me off. Of course, extremely judgmental lines of "people going nowhere" come from Tears for Fears themselves, but somehow I swallow this close-mindedness better with a less over-earnest approach. Having said that, the lyrics make sure I won't voluntarily seek out this song in either version.

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London
There isn't much difference in versions this time around. Julie London is basically what the original would be like if it had lead vocals. This trick didn't actually work for me with Moon River, where I prefer the choral approach over the Audrey Hepburn headliner, but here I feel a more personal point of view sells the lyrics more.

Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran
I did actually know that Last Kiss by Pearl Jam was a cover, but I don't think I ever checked out the original. Probably because I don't care all that much about the Pearl Jam version. It is very different, though. I feel that the rockabilly rendition of the original fits the song way better. Pearl Jam's take just doesn't flow all that well.

Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens covers are always worth checking out and this is no exception. I like the Dolly Parton original. It is from the period when her voice was at her most warm. Nonetheless, Giddens finds a new musicality there and reinvents the song into something even more emotional and expansive.

Just Like Heaven - The Cure
Considering the great love for The Cure on this forum and the classic status of Just Like Heaven I suspect that their version is untouchable for many. Funny thing is, I discovered the song through a cover, although at the time I didn't know it. A cover I heard many, many times before hearing the original. I'm talking about the one by Katie Melua, an easy listening singer who was rather popular in the mid-zeroes in some European countries. Her version of Just Like Heaven is a soft, romantic ballad. Kind of lovely, but not very original in its approach. Certainly not when compared to The Cure's own take, which captures the giddiness of love in a way like few other songs. Really, Smith sounds like he is really, really happy to be in love. I do like the more aggressive, but still sweet take by Dinosaur Jr. and as per usual I especially enjoy their guitar work, but Just Like Heaven as done by their creators kind of stands alone as something unique.

Seems I went 50/50 here on original/covers preference.

[TheLastEnemy]

Group 1:
Gloria Gaynor. I enjoyed the cover version all over again, and would happily listen to it for its own sake, but the original (not the remix, as others have said) shades it for me.
Aretha Franklin. She takes this song to a new level. It was interesting for me to hear them both back to back, having never heard either version before.
Stevie Wonder. For me, the cover isn't bad, but it just isn't as good as the original, and the slower speed doesn't help it for me either.
Michael Andrews and Gary Jules. There probably isn't anything between the two versions other than the circumstances of first hearing the cover, spending the first Christmas with my future wife. The slower version does seem to suit the lyrics better. I do blame this version for countless downtempo covers since (any John Lewis Christmas advert, for example).

Group 2:
Julie London. Although I preferred her version marginally, it wouldn't bother me if I never heard either version again.
Wayne Cochran. As above. I couldn't see any point to the cover this time though.
Rhiannon Giddens. Very marginal but I felt she added a little something extra to her version, as she so often does.
The Cure. Love the original, despite not being a huge Cure fan. I often struggle with J Mascis's voice and this is no exception, if Lou Barlow had been singing I might have gone the other way (I don't know whether he was a member when they recorded this). After reading Rob's post above I am going to listen to the Katie Melua version now.

Thanks for hosting this, looking forward to next week's choices.

[DaveC]

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake - I like the Cake treatment better; Probably due to my general indifference to disco.
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin - Close call goes to the original.
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige - Not one of my favourite Stevie songs, but still surprised myself with this choice.
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules - The aspirational version [I want to escape these thoughts/feelings] appeals more than the hopeless version.

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam - Cover really makes more of the song, especially the vocal.
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens - Cover really makes more of the song, especially the instrumental arrangement.
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr.

[acroamor]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Cake
Love the Cake cover, what I feel is undiscussed is just how hard it goes, from the bassline to the guitar solo to the trumpet work.

Border Song - Aretha Franklin
Now here's a cover that does benefit from going bigger and broader.

As - Stevie Wonder
George Michael's version goes a little too sappy and overwrought for my tastes.

Mad World - Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules
What can I say - the piano ballad version lands nicely for me.

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London
I prefer London's voice to the absence, as well as the arrangement in her version.

Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran
Wayne Cochran's version works better for me - I usually like Vedder's singing but it really didn't work for me here.

Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton
A lot of slowed-down covers seem to imagine that it's impossible to have a quick song that's also emotionally resonant. This isn't one of the more egregious offenders, but Parton's quick, conversational singing never disappoints.

Just Like Heaven - Dinosaur Jr.
I've never had the strong attachment to the Cure that many other members of this forum do, and to that end, I'll go with Dinosaur Jr's cover here.

[Listyguy]

Group 1
I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor vs Cake
Border Song - Elton John vs Aretha Franklin
As - Stevie Wonder vs George Michael & Mary J Blige
Mad World - Tears for Fears vs Michael Andrews ft Gary Jules

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London (joke answer: The Dream Syndicate)
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr.

[mileswide]

Group 1
I Will Survive: 9. Gloria Gaynor v. 7. Cake
Border Song (Holy Moses): 5. Elton John v. 3. Aretha Franklin
As: 2. Stevie Wonder v. 8. George Michael & Mary J. Blige
Mad World: 14. Tears for Fears v. 16. Gary Jules/Michael Andrews

Group 2
The Days of Wine and Roses: 15. Henry Mancini v. 12. Julie London
Last Kiss: 13. Wayne Cochran v. 10. Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind: 6. Dolly Parton v. 11. Rhiannon Giddens
Just like Heaven: 1. The Cure v. 4. Dinosaur Jr.

[Nassim]

The Days of Wine and Roses - Henry Mancini vs Julie London : I don't know if the original is "better" but the cover doesn't add enough for me to vote for it
Last Kiss - Wayne Cochran vs Pearl Jam
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Dolly Parton vs Rhiannon Giddens : pass, I'm undecided on that one
Just Like Heaven - The Cure vs Dinosaur Jr. : Kudos to Mascis and Co for at least going for something different and interesting

[spiritualized]

OK my choices. Very little else to say, I loved reading all your comments.

I Will Survive - cover
Just like the last song of this week's choices, this is a BOLD cover, something no-one could ever consider doing again. Slowed down, adding brass, this feels more than a joke, more a tribute.

Border Song - cover
I didn't know either very well, but I feel Aretha's version is better by a margin (adding to the bare piano/voice)

As - original
I don't think Michael and Blige improved on the original, although the Louis Armstrong's voice imitation is quite annoying on the Wonder song.

Mad World - original
Heard far too much the cover... and apart from the very 80s keyboard bursts in the original, there is everything to like about it, I feel there is more emotion in Curt Smith's voice than the later version.

Days of Wine and Roses - cover
Her voice does indeed add to the song, albeit by a smidgeon.

Last Kiss - cover
I don't really like the plinky plonky guitar on the original.

Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - cover
I like Giddens' delivery here, she takes the song to a different level.

Just Like Heaven - cover
Just because I was the nominator . The original is of course a classic song and it won't be dethroned. But the sheer audacity of the Dinosaur Jr song is what attracted me to it. The "YOUUUU", almost death metal way, along with the pop sensibilities of the song is brilliant. And this end ! It felt like they didn't really know how to end it, so they said F*** it, let's cut it !

[spiritualized]

Results for this first week - great participation, thanks to all !

Winners (in bold, the covers, which go through to the second stage)

I Will Survive - Gloria Gaynor (12-5)
Border Song - Aretha Franklin (6-9)
As - Stevie Wonder (13-3)
Mad World - Tears for Fears (9-7)
The Days of Wine and Roses - Julie London (2-13)
Last Kiss - Pearl Jam (6-10)
Don't Let It Trouble Your Mind - Rhiannon Giddens (6-8)
Just Like Heaven - The Cure (15-2)