"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
I'm no Celine Dion fan, but I thought she nailed it.
I was so mad the SECOND I heard her sing that song. I immediately knew it was a Steinman creation just from the sound of it and thought he should have altered the lyrics so the Loafster could have sang it.
It's an excellent song.
You gotta atleast admit that Jimbo didn't have a very good voice himself. I mean, he wasn't an embarassment, but he had a very average voice, which is why I think he liked to work behind the scenes writing for other performers.
Yes, I will admit that Steinman doesn't have the greatest voice in the world, but that's OK.
For me, the experience of Celine ruining (I mean, recording) this song was way worse, because I had already been in love with the Pandora's Box version for years before that. And besides which, it seems like every time I love a song, she later does a crappy version of it, which gets popular, and then I'm forced to hear it over an over again. (Like "Power of Love." I loved that song for so many years, and I was trying to get people into it, and then when her version came out nearly a decade later, people were freaking out over it, telling me I just had to hear "her" "new" song, and how wonderful it was, blah blah blah...) AAAHHHHHHHH!!!
OK, my rant is now done. : )
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"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
You know, it's funny, I remember very specifically when I was a kid and one of the groups I liked would cover a song my parents would always say the original was better and I'd say "No way, that one sounds so old and boring, the new one rocks"
Now I ALWAYS feel the new one sucks and the original was best.
Guess I'm getting old.
I didn't know about Pandora's Box until AFTER the Celine Dion one came out and like I said I knew right away it was a Steinman song. So then I did a little research and learned he had included it on the PB disc.
Yeah, I think it's extremely rare when a remake is better. I love covers when they're done live, like a tribute. Bon Jovi used to sometimes do "Drift Away" live, and it was wonderful. For one thing, it was before Uncle Kracker's crappy remake, and it wasn't a song you were sick to death of yet. And they would only play it every once in a rare while. And Richie sang lead on part of it - it was just awesome.
It can also be interesting if someone records a completely different arrangement, but when it's done like verbatim, I don't see what the point is. Perfect example of that is the Eagles tribute album done by the country artists - "Common Thread." Have you heard that? For the most part, every note and adlib is exactly how the Eagles had done it. That album just further proved to me how so many of the modern day country artists have no artistic imaginations. Which is sad to me, having grown up on country. But I digress...
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"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
I have to agree, there are very few remakes that I like. The two that come to mind that I do like are Aerosmith's remake of Come Together and Joe Cocker's remake of With a Little Help from My Friends.
Know what cover I love? Rolling Stones' version of "Ain't Too Proud To Beg."
We now have the great original R&B version, and also the Rolling Stones' rocking version. That was a GREAT cover!
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"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
I agree, but I think artists are sometimes afraid to do a song in a different way because they open themselves up to so much more criticism for "destroying" a classic.
An example of a "classic" song that should never in a million years have been remade, but was done so differently, it was actually interesting in a "well, that's... different... and it somehow works!" way is when Warrant recorded a version of "We Will Rock You" for a soundtrack. Have any of you heard that?
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"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
I have not, but I would certainly be interested in hearing it.
The soundtrack to Zoolander was almost all odd takes on old songs. That was kind of interesting, but seemed more like a novelty than a serious attempt at remaking the songs.
"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
I don't know that the voting would be very positive! I mean, good or not, we are talking about a sacred classic - It's "We Will Rock You" for heaven's sake!
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"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson
"Tell me, does it move you, Does it soothe you, Does it fill your heart and soul with the roots of rock & roll? When you can't get through it you can listen to it with a 'na na na na', Well I've been there before" -"Been There Before" by Hanson