On the Shelf 112: And I'll Scratch Yours
Feb. 21st, 2014 06:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bedsitter23Here's what you do- record an album of your favorite artists old and new- Lou Reed, David Bowie, Stephin Merritt, Elbow, Neil Young, Radiohead, Randy Newman, Talking Heads, Arcade Fire (to name a few) and then ask them to cover yours.
Only some one like Peter Gabriel could pull that off.
At least that was his intention with 2010's Scratch My Back.
It mostly worked out, though it took him longer than he planned. No Bowie, but he got Eno. No Young or Radiohead, but he got a couple of replacements in Feist and Joseph Arthur.
I like Gabriel a lot, but I quickly realize that i haven't given that much thought to tribute albums in the last 20 years, and I also quickly remember why.
Everybody does their part. Each artist really does make each song their own, and in many cases, even better than the original.
Paul Simon does Biko and it sounds like it should have been on Graceland all along. Not only is the music a bit more lively, Simon has the better voice.
So, it goes down the road- Regina Spektor on "Blood of Eden", David Byrne on "I Don't Remember", Eno on "Mercy Street". Even a song you couldn't improve "Games Without Frontiers" is improved by being played straight and modernized by the Arcade Fire. Though not everyone outdoes the original, but they make it theirs. Randy Newman reimagines "Big Time" and you can't imagine it isn't an original (even if you've heard the song a 1000 times). Lou Reed's "Solsbury Hill" doesn't really do it for me, but many will like it as a swan song, and it sounds like it would have fit on Ecstasy or Set the Twilight Reeling
Which is the problem, if you will remember. I can't say Spektor or Arcade Fire aren't better, but I have the originals and i really don't need the covers. Simon's "Biko" and Byrne's opener are spot on, but not sure why I need them.
I didn't come here to bury Gabriel, though it sounds like I am doing that. It's just that I do love the originals and they are just too familiar for me to give up for brand new versions.
Only some one like Peter Gabriel could pull that off.
At least that was his intention with 2010's Scratch My Back.
It mostly worked out, though it took him longer than he planned. No Bowie, but he got Eno. No Young or Radiohead, but he got a couple of replacements in Feist and Joseph Arthur.
I like Gabriel a lot, but I quickly realize that i haven't given that much thought to tribute albums in the last 20 years, and I also quickly remember why.
Everybody does their part. Each artist really does make each song their own, and in many cases, even better than the original.
Paul Simon does Biko and it sounds like it should have been on Graceland all along. Not only is the music a bit more lively, Simon has the better voice.
So, it goes down the road- Regina Spektor on "Blood of Eden", David Byrne on "I Don't Remember", Eno on "Mercy Street". Even a song you couldn't improve "Games Without Frontiers" is improved by being played straight and modernized by the Arcade Fire. Though not everyone outdoes the original, but they make it theirs. Randy Newman reimagines "Big Time" and you can't imagine it isn't an original (even if you've heard the song a 1000 times). Lou Reed's "Solsbury Hill" doesn't really do it for me, but many will like it as a swan song, and it sounds like it would have fit on Ecstasy or Set the Twilight Reeling
Which is the problem, if you will remember. I can't say Spektor or Arcade Fire aren't better, but I have the originals and i really don't need the covers. Simon's "Biko" and Byrne's opener are spot on, but not sure why I need them.
I didn't come here to bury Gabriel, though it sounds like I am doing that. It's just that I do love the originals and they are just too familiar for me to give up for brand new versions.
