It is no doubt impossible to hear Shocking Blue's "Venus" the same way anymore. While the vocal trio who popularized it even more in the eighties were hardly the greatest singers in their own right, the icy yet awkward singing from Mariska Veres leaves a great deal to be desired. The arrangement is more or less the same only the original lacks the polish and punch of what Stock Aitken and Waterman would one day do with it. 1970's "Venus" sounds like a dry run for what was to come sixteen years later.
Spoiler Alert: Banarama's famed cover version of "Venus" peaked at number four in Canada so it will not be reviewed in this space. (Actually it did top the retail chart conducted by The Record but this blog plans to stick to the RPM hit parade for as long as possible) Nevertheless, its shadow is considerable enough that it has made all future covers irrelevant and it even reduces its otherwise solid source material to the status of a glorified demo. While seldom mentioned in the category of 'Covers That Surpass the Originals', Bananarama's "Venus" is a giant step forward from what Shocking Blue managed to do with it.
Dutch rock group Shocking Blue had been at the forefront of the Nederbeat scene of the sixties. While the French yé-yé groups tended towards twee and/or baroque pop, a relatively harder edge was favoured by bands from The Netherlands. If they weren't quite in the same league as the likes of The Velvet Underground or The Doors or anyone in the emerging heavy metal scene, there was a dark heart to their work. It's easy to imagine Veres using Nico as a role model even if she clearly struggled to match the detached coldness of tracks like "Femme Fatale" or "Chelsea Girl". Yet, Shocking Blue borrowed from all over the place. The rhythm guitar playing comes straight out of the Motown school, the organ sounds like a novice trying to copy Billy Preston and the tune of "Venus" happened to be cribbed from The Big 3's "The Banjo Song". If nothing else, songwriter and Blue guitarist Robbie van Leeuwen had the good sense to steal from all over the place, an approach that generally allows for easier and less litigious musical theft.
So, perhaps we shouldn't feel too bad that this cobbled together fluke international smash would one day become overshadowed by Bananarama's zestier interpretation. The "Narns" (as Smash Hits would nickname them) and the SAW production team added a great deal but perhaps the smartest thing they did with "Venus" was that they had fun with it. That's not to say there aren't elements to enjoy and admire in Shocking Blue's original only that they're also present and correct in the Narn's cover with added frills to boot. It's hard to say whether it sounded like it at the time or not but now it sounds like it needs a stronger dance beat, better singers, a more sparkly production and the sense that it's about having a laugh rather than half-baked kinky sex stuff, cool as that shit no doubt is.
Score: 6 (with an unofficial score of 9 to Bananarama's remake; incidentally had any of "Cruel Summer", "Robert de Niro's Waiting..." or "Love in the First Degree" made it to number one in Canada then they would've had a sure fire 10...alas)
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