A fresh take can be a good thing

Do you ever find that you like a remake of a song better than the original?

We're all sort of wired to think that the original of anything is the best, and a remake is always just a hack job. And sometimes that's true. I mean, what was up with the remake of Psycho - shot-for-shot?

No, Vince Vaughan! NO!

But sometimes someone does a remake of a movie or a song that you actually like better, especially if you hear the remake first.


This occurred to me because we were watching a documentary about Jimi Hendrix, and I found out that "Hey Joe" wasn't Jimi's. It was written by folk singer Billy Roberts and recorded by a number of other bands in the 60s. The documentary first showed video of someone else performing the song, then they showed Jimi doing it, and it was like night and day. Jimi was just so much better.

And while it might piss off some Hendrix devotees, I'll tell you right now that I prefer Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of Little Wing.

If you think about it, there are probably lots of covers that you like better than the originals.

• Elvis - Hound Dog (originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton)
• Aretha - Respect (Yup - that's a cover. It was originally recorded by Otis Redding.)
• Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (You knew that was Dolly Parton's song, right?)
• The Beatles - Twist and Shout (First recorded by the Top Notes. First charted by The Isley Brothers.)
• Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Okay, I was shocked to learn that this was actually recorded first in the 70s by Robert Hazard.)

The list could go on.

And what's cool about that is once you realize that there are plenty of covers that you already prefer, you allow yourself to be more open to new people doing remakes, particularly if they do something different with the song - not just a re-recording of the same arrangement. If you give it a chance, you find some really interesting stuff. I'll take Pompaloose's version of "Telephone" over Lada Gaga's any day. And Everlast's version of "Folsom Prison Blues" has become my favorite. It's just fun.

I *love* finding new music. But sometimes it's also cool hearing a new version of an old favorite - or a song that maybe you weren't even all that crazy about in it's original form. It's really cool what a fresh ear can do. C'mon - you know that you know what I'm talkin' about!

Spill it - what's your favorite remake?