"I Will Always Love You" (Uh, yes, I did know it was a cover, thank you very much...Dolly Parton did it and it wasn't exactly a secret, so there!)
"Blinded by the Light" (I once got shouted down by a group of people who said I was wrong about believing it to have been written by Bruce Springsteen, so, yes, I am well aware of it being a cover)
"Red, Red Wine" (Song on an album comprised entirely of covers by a band who seldom performed original material so I'm going guess that it's also a cover)
"Nothing Compares 2 U" (G, who could have written this 1?)
"Hallelujah" (Am I the only person alive who thinks Leonard Cohen's original is way better than Jeff Buckley's? k.d. lang's is also better)
"No More "I Love You's"" (When the Medusa album came out a great deal was made about Annie Lennox doing a collection of covers so I just assumed it was one)
"The Only Way Is Up" (Actually, it's easy to forget that this one's a cover but then you don't tend to see it on such lists because Americans just got to American, am I right?)
These types of lists I occasionally see YouTube probably aren't meant for people like me. But then again, who are they intended for? Music fanatics know that there are famous songs that were covers by more obscure acts that preceded them while people who don't care about music so much probably aren't bothered about such trivia.
One that they never mention is "Do You Want to Dance" which I sort of knew was a cover all along but I couldn't have told you who wrote and/or first recorded it. I had been most familiar with The Beach Boys' 1965 cover — altered by then to "Do You Wanna Dance" — which, despite an enthusiastic but ultimately weak Dennis Wilson lead vocal, has sufficient booming kettle drums, a fine guitar solo and plenty of drama that it's easy to assume these qualities had always been a part of it. Maybe these people who are convinced Brian Wilson is a genius have been on to something all along.
Rewind seven years to Bobby Freeman's original and it's a surprisingly skeletal affair. It could be a dry run for what Brian Wilson would eventually do with it. The guitar solo is about the only element that rivals its future cover version. In place of those drums, there's what sounds like the gentle pounding of pen or pencil on a Kleenex box. Making do with what you've got, I get it. When fans of indie and lo-fi music go on about a recording that is "raw" I don't think they have a single like this in mind. (They're most likely thinking of some godawful Daniel Johnston demo from the eighties) But that's exactly what this is.
It's a jarring listen at first knowing what it would become less than ten years later but after a few listens Bobby Freeman's original version of "Do You Want to Dance" reveals merits of its own. While his voice is solid but unspectacular, he probably gives a stronger reading of it than either those with much better vocal chops (Cliff Richard, Bette Midler) or those of more modest talents (the aforementioned Dennis Wilson, The Ramones). It's nowhere near as catchy as The Beach Boys but it isn't without hooks. The nagging problem of there not being a chorus when one is badly needed is an issue though. Repeating the title of the song again and again must have been staring at him right in the face too! (For god's sake, even Cliff and The Shadows managed to figure it out!)
Coming in just after The Everly Brothers' "All I Have to Do Is Dream", this has been the second of what amounts to a two part series on cover versions. I didn't intend for them to be written that way but that's where we are. How about a change of pace next time then? Something distinctive that no one has successfully managed to copy or improve over the years. Something that stands alone. Up next is...oh crap!
Score: 6
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