Murder89
Officer Friendly
Is it sacrilege to admit that I like this one more than the original? ----> Send Her My Love - Jeff Scott Soto 
Covers that are better than the originals... or just covers
- Thread starter Night Prowler
- Start date
There is very little in this thread I agree with, so far.
I'm particularly bewildered with all this Ozzy hate here. I'm far from being a big Ozzy fan, but I do love the first handful of albums he made with Sabbath, and his first few solo albums. So for that matter, I gave those covers a listen (I knew the Megadeth cover of Paranoid, but hadn't heard it in quite a while). Let's roll it up from behind:
The Jeff Scott Soto (never heard of him - who is he?) cover of Shot in the Dark is OK. It doesn't really capture the song in its essence for me, and it doesn't add anything new to the song either (either of which is what a cover should be all about in the first place, in my opinion), but it's an OK if a bit bland cover. The second guitar solo is pretty horrid, though.
I can't find very much to like with the Megadeth cover of Paranoid, but it's bearable. I like Megadeth, but here you can hear how far apart they are from Black Sabbath.
Now, onto Mr Crowley. H, I have never heard anything, anything so far off the mark as this. Mr Crowley is my favourite Ozzy solo songs, one of the greatest moments of 80's metal, and it is absolutely perfect the way it is. No, Ozzy is not the best singer in the world, but I'll be damned if there is a single voice that is so meant to be in this sort of song, something so demonic and evil. The music he does isn't supposed to be sung by a clear and technical voice. I have no idea what Mr Malmsteen and Mr Owens were thinking when they did this, but they deserve to be cast into the deepest pits of metal hell for it. This almost makes Killswitch Engage's rape of Holy Diver sound good. The organ intro already completely fails to capture the atmosphere or tension of the original. And I literally cringed when Owens kicked in with his trademark shriek. At least he doesn't do very much shrieking afterwards, and his role in the song is merely a failure to reproduce anything that made the original great - but at least it's not worse. Oh no, what's worse, what's infinitely worse, is what Malmsteen does. I was already half expecting it when I read that he's playing on it, but I was hoping that this man has at least a grain of decency inside him. To explain, I think that Randy Rhoads' playing on this particular song is something clearly not of this world. It may be the most amazing moment in the history of heavy metal guitar playing. I absolutely adore it, every single time I hear it. I want to fall on my knees every time.
I don't expect any guitarist in the world to be able to reproduce this decently or accurately, and I don't want anyone to try. But since his guitars on this song are what makes it so great, that essentially means people should just keep their hands off it. But for the love of God, they should never, ever, ever shit on Rhoads' memory the way Malmsteen does. I have to admit that I am not very fond of him as a guitarist. I'm just not into this shredding stuff at all, and what Malmsteen does just sounds like fretboard wankery to me. I cannot find anything particularly interesting or great in it. So yeah, he's fast, so what? Anyway, even if I assume the best, that Malmsteen does not want to inflate his ego here (ha ha) and wants to pay tribute to Randy Rhoads by playing in his own style, it is so clear why he shouldn't do it - it does not suit the song at all. His guitar playing is so out of place here, it completely ruins whatever sort of atmosphere Owens is toiling hard, though ultimately futile, to create. Not to mention how out of place it would be if the rest of the song had been done properly.
Please guys, tell me what makes you think this is better than the original.
I'm particularly bewildered with all this Ozzy hate here. I'm far from being a big Ozzy fan, but I do love the first handful of albums he made with Sabbath, and his first few solo albums. So for that matter, I gave those covers a listen (I knew the Megadeth cover of Paranoid, but hadn't heard it in quite a while). Let's roll it up from behind:
The Jeff Scott Soto (never heard of him - who is he?) cover of Shot in the Dark is OK. It doesn't really capture the song in its essence for me, and it doesn't add anything new to the song either (either of which is what a cover should be all about in the first place, in my opinion), but it's an OK if a bit bland cover. The second guitar solo is pretty horrid, though.
I can't find very much to like with the Megadeth cover of Paranoid, but it's bearable. I like Megadeth, but here you can hear how far apart they are from Black Sabbath.
Now, onto Mr Crowley. H, I have never heard anything, anything so far off the mark as this. Mr Crowley is my favourite Ozzy solo songs, one of the greatest moments of 80's metal, and it is absolutely perfect the way it is. No, Ozzy is not the best singer in the world, but I'll be damned if there is a single voice that is so meant to be in this sort of song, something so demonic and evil. The music he does isn't supposed to be sung by a clear and technical voice. I have no idea what Mr Malmsteen and Mr Owens were thinking when they did this, but they deserve to be cast into the deepest pits of metal hell for it. This almost makes Killswitch Engage's rape of Holy Diver sound good. The organ intro already completely fails to capture the atmosphere or tension of the original. And I literally cringed when Owens kicked in with his trademark shriek. At least he doesn't do very much shrieking afterwards, and his role in the song is merely a failure to reproduce anything that made the original great - but at least it's not worse. Oh no, what's worse, what's infinitely worse, is what Malmsteen does. I was already half expecting it when I read that he's playing on it, but I was hoping that this man has at least a grain of decency inside him. To explain, I think that Randy Rhoads' playing on this particular song is something clearly not of this world. It may be the most amazing moment in the history of heavy metal guitar playing. I absolutely adore it, every single time I hear it. I want to fall on my knees every time.
I don't expect any guitarist in the world to be able to reproduce this decently or accurately, and I don't want anyone to try. But since his guitars on this song are what makes it so great, that essentially means people should just keep their hands off it. But for the love of God, they should never, ever, ever shit on Rhoads' memory the way Malmsteen does. I have to admit that I am not very fond of him as a guitarist. I'm just not into this shredding stuff at all, and what Malmsteen does just sounds like fretboard wankery to me. I cannot find anything particularly interesting or great in it. So yeah, he's fast, so what? Anyway, even if I assume the best, that Malmsteen does not want to inflate his ego here (ha ha) and wants to pay tribute to Randy Rhoads by playing in his own style, it is so clear why he shouldn't do it - it does not suit the song at all. His guitar playing is so out of place here, it completely ruins whatever sort of atmosphere Owens is toiling hard, though ultimately futile, to create. Not to mention how out of place it would be if the rest of the song had been done properly.
Please guys, tell me what makes you think this is better than the original.
Forostar
Ancient Mariner
That was a great read Per!
"Highlights":
Golden Earring - Eight Miles High
topic plus link -> http://forum.maidenfans.com/http://foru ... 56#p328756
"Highlights":
Perun said:
Golden Earring - Eight Miles High
topic plus link -> http://forum.maidenfans.com/http://foru ... 56#p328756
D
Deleted member 7164
Guest
Malmsteen is a complete wanker. He botched Randy's leads and now someone even has a nerve to call that cover a better version?!
Yax
Ancient Mariner
Lack of Ozzy.Perun said:
And I totally disagree that the song is only suited for an Ozzy-style of singing. I think Ripper's Dio and Halford-esque vocals are a perfect fit.
Also! Dream On (Dio and Malmsteen... Even though Malmsteen wanks over the intro... Boy, Dio is like a million times better than Tyler).
Edit: I also like Malmsteens playing on Mr Crowley. It's a song on a tribute album. Not a note-by-note cover. You're supposed to interpret the songs in the same vein as your own songs and add your own playing style to it. If you don't, then what's the use? Then you might as well just listen to the original song. I don't want to listen to Yngwie imitating Rhoads. I want to hear Yngwie sound like Yngwie. Likewise, I don't want Blaze to try and sound like Bruce (and he didn't) - I want Blaze to sound like Blaze. That, which I think it totally the same thing, is generally accepted on the forum.
Same thing would apply to Blaze then, when singing Bruce-era songs.Perun said:
Murder89
Officer Friendly
Yax said:
That's another awesome cover.I actually like those fills and little solos here and there.As for Dio you said it all.
Perun said:
He has played with several bands(Yngwie Malmsteen,Talisman,Axel Rudi Pell, Journey, Trans Siberian Orchestra and more) among different music genres.Actually he's known for his ability to sing on different music genres - heavy metal, funk/rock, melodic rock/aor, pop, soul, even hip-hop.There are almost countless covers that he has participated, he has also played a whole concert dedicated to Queen.Right now he is a solo artist while playing with TSO(he was one of the singers on their Nightcastle album).
I''ll post links of a few covers so that we don't go off topic.
Gates Of Babylon - Jeff Scott Soto with Malmsteen
Carry On Wayward Son - JSS with Malmsteen
Let Me Entertain You
I Want it All
Cosmiceddie
Back From The Edge
W.A.S.P.'s The Who cover of 'The Real Me' is bloody amazing.
Sounds very uninspired and run of the mill - Unlike Mr Crowley.
Yax said:
What? You seriously think Ozzy's voice is so bad that any song with him is automatically second-rate? Especially when, as Per noted, the song's solo is legendary?
And Blaze is not the same at all. He joined Maiden and had to sing the Bruce songs. When did Yngwie and Ripper join Ozzy's band?
Yax
Ancient Mariner
Oh no, the song is not second rate. The vocals are. The song itself is top notch. Actually, that seems to apply to most of Ozzy's material.SinisterMinisterX said:
About Blaze, I'm not talking about the circumstances under which he sang Bruce's songs. I'm talking about how he had a way different approach to them (over at Maidenfans that is - Not talking about Maidencentral or whatever) - And it's acceptable. While when Ripper and Yngwie interpreted a song differently, on a tribute cd, where you're to my point of view you're supposed to do the songs in your own way (what's the point in making a tribute/cover that sounds the same?), it gets trashed for not sounding like the original.
I mean, Per's post came across to me like the only way Mr Crowley works to the fullest extent is if it's played in it's original way - Like if you imitate it rather than try and create something new.
The Flash
Dennis Wilcock did 9/11
Perun said:
I find Megadeth's cover far more powerful. Faster, riffs feel stronger and Dave Mustaine's vocals make the song more enjoyable for me. Only thing that's better on the original is the solo. It's so much better too and that lowers the difference of quality between the original and the cover.
Maybe that's because I like Megadeth more than Sabbath with Ozzy. I like Sabbath with Dio more than Megadeth, though. Feels absolutely special.
Yax said:
Well, maybe in my opinion that song shouldn't be covered at all.
I don't like cover versions very much to begin with. But some are good and work. Others... don't.
Maybe I overreacted a bit with my post, but I was genuinely gutted when I heard that. Mr Crowley really is one of my favourite songs ever, and to do things like that with it, just for the sake of trying to create something new... why don't they just write a new song in the first place?
bearfan
Ancient Mariner
taker64 said:
Good call, Ace does what should done with a cover, he keeps the original sound of the song and layers himself over it to do a new take on it. His cover of Into the Night (Russ Ballard) was good as well.
The Metallica covers are good for the same reason IMO, moreso than the Antrax ones, which tend to sound too close to the originals.
The Foo Fighters Medium Rare album, has some great covers as well, notably Baker Street, Band on the Run, and Darling Nikki .. the whole album is good.