“I’m in a Different World”by Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin
Original Artist: Four Tops
“Man in the Long Black Coat”by Joan Osborne
Original Artist: Bob Dylan
11 thoughts on “Volume 2.1.1”
DS&BG – This is going to be difficult because I am not familiar with this song. I gave the cover a listen and first off, it came off as a little slow. If this was playing on the radio, I would have probably changed the station. The fun part begins when you actually listen to the original song, I was curious as to how it was gong to play out. I must say I like the original better. I don’t think the cover is bad in anyway, just not done in a style that is pleasing to me.
JO – Again, as much as I listened to Bobby D, I am not familiar with this song, the way Joan sings this I would have thought it was her own (But that is common place with Dylan covers in my opinion, All along the watchtower a prime example). After listening to the Dylan track, I can see the feeling of the song was intact, however I think Joan put a little more emotion into the song making it more enjoyable. After listening to this song, I believe Tom Morrelo of “the Nightwatchman” may have borrowed some of the folky-ness stlye for a lot of his songs.
In conclusion DS&BG-0, JO-1
In DS&BG’s defesnse, I tend to shy away from cover songs where I feel the emotion has been changed into a softer, more slowed down pace. I like the artist to put their own spin on it, but I still like to preserve the original intent of the song, if that makes sense.
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin – I’m in a Different World
I’m a sucker for 80s synth-pop covers of Motown songs – Japan’s version of Second That Emotion almost made it to my selections and I’m a fan of Soft Cell’s segue into “Where Did Our Love Go” from “Tainted Love.” I wasn’t familiar with the original of this one either, but I do like it when an artist shines some light on a lesser-known track. The synths are firmly embraced here with the solo sounding a little like “While You See a Chance Take It”-era Steve Winwood and then percussively big and bold after said solo, but there are some nice guitar treatments as well. The arrangement builds nicely and the vocals are dreamy. Dee-lush-ous!
[Reminiscent of Howard Jones a bit as well – looks his 1st album was released the same year as this, 1984.]
Joan Osborne – Man in the Long Black Coat
Don’t know much of Joan Osborne’s work in general – I do remember her hit with Eric Bazilian’s “One of Us.” Her voice, at least on this track, reminds me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it – there’s a little Stevie Nicks’ raspiness, but that’s not quite it.
I needed some separation between this week’s offerings as, I think, they exist for very different purposes. While I am vaguely aware of the lyrics on “…Different World,” the arrangement here is designed to support Dylan’s choice words.
The initial verse clearly paints a scene before we get to the mystery of this man. There’s something darkly mythical here, like something in Neil Gaiman’s works.
The slow, plodding footstep of a beat (stepping towards the inevitable?), bluesy guitar solo and acoustic guitar with a bit of an extra vibration to it, like hearing pieces of the guitar that you normally wouldn’t (or if a peg were a little loose) – all lend a bit of eerie ghostliness to this tale.
I found both tracks immensely entertaining.
DS & BG, “I’m in a Different World.” I don’t think I know the original, or not well. Good number, and D. Stewart is a clever producer (obviously), especially on this kind of poppy stuff. Very Prince-y / ’80s middle part. B has a pleasant voice. Pleasant is in fact how I would describe this track, pleasant and dreamy.
I’m in a different world- I was not familiar with the original nor had I heard this song before. Bouncy, poppy, pleasant. I might have believed you if you said it was a lesser known Bananarama tune. Maybe that is bad purely on the production. I immediately began to think that part of the lure of a cover is knowing the original and relishing the new interpretation of it. At least for me. It also make one wonder about the artist’s motivation for the cover– what moved Davey and Babs to do this song.
Joan- Vaguely familiar with the original. The drumless, bluesy, 3/4 feel adds a nice heartbeat to this version. Osborne’s strong, occasionally husky voice also adds a nice texture. Once you know it is Dylan, it is hard to unhear him singing it especially with his rhyme schemes. I could have used a little more color– I thought the guitar was going to wander a bit more in a solo. Overall, pretty good tune; I like the original better.
I can’t speak to their specific motivation, but I think a cover can be of a song that speaks to the artist – enough to want to record it. Maybe even by a “secret band.” For example Cheap Trick’s cover of The Move’s “California Man.” Loose, & majorly generalized, opinion: An artist makes music for themselves, a performer for the audience.
I guess I was curious about the specific motivation for a particular song. I remember when REM covered Lou Gramm’s “Midnight Blue” in the late 80s. At first I thought it was a joke but the REMmers said that they thought it was a great pop song and it was really fun to play. Clapton has recorded versions of most of Robert Johnson’s songs at this point. For him, it seems to be about giving RJ his due.
I thought the same of REM’s cover of “King of the Road.” Also, there may be the case where an artist, or producer, sees something in a song and feels that with the proper arrangement, it could really “sing.” Say Paul Young’s version of the little known track from Hall and Oates – “Every Time You Go Away.”
I’m in a Different World: I watched the video version of this song in addition to the one posted and was most impressed by the guitar player’s 80’s style tennis shorts, sense of rhythm and spot on air playing by the poolside (no cable or amp in sight): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6Cql3UWAw). You can’t get more suburban white than that video…not sure but it may be me playing the keytar. I do vaguely remember this song from way back and believe I liked it then and it does bring back a certain nostalgic charm. However, listening with my current ears it tastes a bit too sweet (might also just be the mood I’m in at this particular moment). So; I’ll give it a “just fine” and note that I did lean in a bit when the synth solos kicked in.
Man in a Long Black Coat: I have this album and always liked it mucho so I am somewhat familiar with this version. The song in isolation does not hit me the same as it does in the context of the whole album but I still enjoyed it very much. Slow builder with cool Wurly coloring throughout. I like her voice. Suspect I would like the Dylan version better so I will check that out at opportunity.
Different World – Not real familiar with either version. Something about this song though. It kept sounding like something I’ve definitely heard before but I couldn’t put my finger on it.. That’s going to bug me.
Joan Osborne – Fairly straight cover of the original. I liked it. I don’t recall ever listening to her before. I should probably listen to a better recording of this.
DS&BG – I’ve seen the album this is from referenced over the years, but had not heard it. Has that 80s British Electropop vibe to it. Brought memories of the likes of Bananarama. In further digging, I noticed the album also has a cover of Dolby’s Leipzig and rework of a track by the lads from Swindon.
DS&BG – This is going to be difficult because I am not familiar with this song. I gave the cover a listen and first off, it came off as a little slow. If this was playing on the radio, I would have probably changed the station. The fun part begins when you actually listen to the original song, I was curious as to how it was gong to play out. I must say I like the original better. I don’t think the cover is bad in anyway, just not done in a style that is pleasing to me.
JO – Again, as much as I listened to Bobby D, I am not familiar with this song, the way Joan sings this I would have thought it was her own (But that is common place with Dylan covers in my opinion, All along the watchtower a prime example). After listening to the Dylan track, I can see the feeling of the song was intact, however I think Joan put a little more emotion into the song making it more enjoyable. After listening to this song, I believe Tom Morrelo of “the Nightwatchman” may have borrowed some of the folky-ness stlye for a lot of his songs.
In conclusion DS&BG-0, JO-1
In DS&BG’s defesnse, I tend to shy away from cover songs where I feel the emotion has been changed into a softer, more slowed down pace. I like the artist to put their own spin on it, but I still like to preserve the original intent of the song, if that makes sense.
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin – I’m in a Different World
I’m a sucker for 80s synth-pop covers of Motown songs – Japan’s version of Second That Emotion almost made it to my selections and I’m a fan of Soft Cell’s segue into “Where Did Our Love Go” from “Tainted Love.” I wasn’t familiar with the original of this one either, but I do like it when an artist shines some light on a lesser-known track. The synths are firmly embraced here with the solo sounding a little like “While You See a Chance Take It”-era Steve Winwood and then percussively big and bold after said solo, but there are some nice guitar treatments as well. The arrangement builds nicely and the vocals are dreamy. Dee-lush-ous!
[Reminiscent of Howard Jones a bit as well – looks his 1st album was released the same year as this, 1984.]
Joan Osborne – Man in the Long Black Coat
Don’t know much of Joan Osborne’s work in general – I do remember her hit with Eric Bazilian’s “One of Us.” Her voice, at least on this track, reminds me of someone, but I can’t put my finger on it – there’s a little Stevie Nicks’ raspiness, but that’s not quite it.
I needed some separation between this week’s offerings as, I think, they exist for very different purposes. While I am vaguely aware of the lyrics on “…Different World,” the arrangement here is designed to support Dylan’s choice words.
The initial verse clearly paints a scene before we get to the mystery of this man. There’s something darkly mythical here, like something in Neil Gaiman’s works.
The slow, plodding footstep of a beat (stepping towards the inevitable?), bluesy guitar solo and acoustic guitar with a bit of an extra vibration to it, like hearing pieces of the guitar that you normally wouldn’t (or if a peg were a little loose) – all lend a bit of eerie ghostliness to this tale.
I found both tracks immensely entertaining.
DS & BG, “I’m in a Different World.” I don’t think I know the original, or not well. Good number, and D. Stewart is a clever producer (obviously), especially on this kind of poppy stuff. Very Prince-y / ’80s middle part. B has a pleasant voice. Pleasant is in fact how I would describe this track, pleasant and dreamy.
I’m in a different world- I was not familiar with the original nor had I heard this song before. Bouncy, poppy, pleasant. I might have believed you if you said it was a lesser known Bananarama tune. Maybe that is bad purely on the production. I immediately began to think that part of the lure of a cover is knowing the original and relishing the new interpretation of it. At least for me. It also make one wonder about the artist’s motivation for the cover– what moved Davey and Babs to do this song.
Joan- Vaguely familiar with the original. The drumless, bluesy, 3/4 feel adds a nice heartbeat to this version. Osborne’s strong, occasionally husky voice also adds a nice texture. Once you know it is Dylan, it is hard to unhear him singing it especially with his rhyme schemes. I could have used a little more color– I thought the guitar was going to wander a bit more in a solo. Overall, pretty good tune; I like the original better.
I can’t speak to their specific motivation, but I think a cover can be of a song that speaks to the artist – enough to want to record it. Maybe even by a “secret band.” For example Cheap Trick’s cover of The Move’s “California Man.” Loose, & majorly generalized, opinion: An artist makes music for themselves, a performer for the audience.
I guess I was curious about the specific motivation for a particular song. I remember when REM covered Lou Gramm’s “Midnight Blue” in the late 80s. At first I thought it was a joke but the REMmers said that they thought it was a great pop song and it was really fun to play. Clapton has recorded versions of most of Robert Johnson’s songs at this point. For him, it seems to be about giving RJ his due.
I thought the same of REM’s cover of “King of the Road.” Also, there may be the case where an artist, or producer, sees something in a song and feels that with the proper arrangement, it could really “sing.” Say Paul Young’s version of the little known track from Hall and Oates – “Every Time You Go Away.”
I’m in a Different World: I watched the video version of this song in addition to the one posted and was most impressed by the guitar player’s 80’s style tennis shorts, sense of rhythm and spot on air playing by the poolside (no cable or amp in sight): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-l6Cql3UWAw). You can’t get more suburban white than that video…not sure but it may be me playing the keytar. I do vaguely remember this song from way back and believe I liked it then and it does bring back a certain nostalgic charm. However, listening with my current ears it tastes a bit too sweet (might also just be the mood I’m in at this particular moment). So; I’ll give it a “just fine” and note that I did lean in a bit when the synth solos kicked in.
Man in a Long Black Coat: I have this album and always liked it mucho so I am somewhat familiar with this version. The song in isolation does not hit me the same as it does in the context of the whole album but I still enjoyed it very much. Slow builder with cool Wurly coloring throughout. I like her voice. Suspect I would like the Dylan version better so I will check that out at opportunity.
Different World – Not real familiar with either version. Something about this song though. It kept sounding like something I’ve definitely heard before but I couldn’t put my finger on it.. That’s going to bug me.
Joan Osborne – Fairly straight cover of the original. I liked it. I don’t recall ever listening to her before. I should probably listen to a better recording of this.
DS&BG – I’ve seen the album this is from referenced over the years, but had not heard it. Has that 80s British Electropop vibe to it. Brought memories of the likes of Bananarama. In further digging, I noticed the album also has a cover of Dolby’s Leipzig and rework of a track by the lads from Swindon.
https://youtu.be/YfyTIrpiE_4
JO – Think her voice plays well on this. Would have preferred maybe just an acoustic guitar over all the production, but enjoyable nonetheless.