[Round 2: Cover One – Week 3]
“Hold On (I’m Coming)”by Bryan Ferry
Original Artist: Sam & Dave
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-XIKASAOoE
“Knocking on Heavens Door”by Guns N’ Roses
Original Artist: Bob Dylan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmNlUnsWZOQ
“Must Be Santa Claus”by Bob Dylan
Original Artist: Mitch Miller
BF – well done. when I saw the song title, i was thinking Oh boy, but really liked the version
GR – Oh look, a Bob Dylan Song! I think it is a good cover, just at this point i’m a little tired of it. but I can’t take away the fact that it was well done.
BD – What? Simply amazing.
I give these selections 3 snaps up in a circle
Bryan Ferry – at first i was like meh, but then the vocals, piano and the guitar started to grow on me. I heard some hints of other songs i like in there. I guess I’m going to have to check out Ferry and Roxy Music now. And holy moly, there are a lot of covers of this song. A LOT.
GNR – First of all, who selected such a terrible sounding youtube? This isn’t the proper way to ruin a dylan song, by doing it twice as well. I think i hear 2 of Axl’s 3 singing voices in this one. I love how axl fills in for the background singers in the first half, then we get actual singers backing him up for the second half. I was never the biggest GnR fan, but I respect Rose as one of the greatest front men of all time.
Bob Dylan – Yay bob gets to ruin someone else’s song now! I bet he decorated his neighbor’s tree as a kid.
Bryan Ferry – Hold On (I’m Coming)
I’m quite familiar with the Roxy Music catalog & a couple of BF’s 80’s solo records (namely “Boys and Girls” & “Bête Noire” – both quite strong), but I only know a handful of the tracks from his 70s solo efforts. More straight-ahead than most of the art-rock Roxy was producing up to that time, this one truly separates itself as a solo work. I think there can be a tendency to overblow a song like this, but here there is proper restraint in the vocals – there’s a nuance to his phrasing. That, combined with touches of the classic guitar riff and the expected, complimentary horns, makes this a worthwhile cover that rewards repeated plays. Soul man.
Guns and Roses – Knocking on Heavens Door
I like the instrumentation -rambling bass, quality guitar work, nice keys-, but don’t love the voice (it may be a bit of leftover prejudice).
Taking it to an anthemic-sounding, arena-ready rocker – a good version, just not my favorite style. (Maybe if it was Klaus Meine on vocals, I’d lift my lighter.)
Bob Dylan- Must Be Santa Claus
F.U.N., fun. I think I remember listening to the Raffi version when our daughterly-one was a wee lass. A nice juxtaposition to Dylan’s mystique – a welcome smile. Polka, polka!
“Hold On, I’m Comin’” / B. Ferry. This is OK, but I’m generally of the opinion that a cover should either improve upon or attempt to significantly reinterpret the original. I’m not hearing Mr. Ferry managing either (though admittedly, it’s a hard one to top).”
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” / GNR. I’m a big fan of “Appetite for Destruction,” but didn;t really keep up with them after that; what I did hear didn’t really measure up, and this one falls in that category. The super-simple three-chorder is nearly indestructible; this overproduced version proves that additional knocks on heaven’s door don’t really get you anywhere. I could overlook Axl’s annoying “hey heys” but the extra choruses, goofy phone-call interlude and children’s-choir style part kind of blow it up beyond recognition, and not in a good way (ie, none of it helps put the song across any better). Slash’s solo is nice, though.
“Must Be Santa Claus” / R. Zimmerman. I had not heard this version, or indeed, to my recollection, any version of this song; in fact I don’t think I have heard any of Dylan’s infamous Christmas album of some years ago. (I had to look up the song — is the Mitch Miller version the best known?) But this is a hoot — the polka/conjunto arrangement, complete with accordion, the double-time tempo, the call-and-response. All of it perhaps unique in Dylan’s oeuvre. And the roll call of the presidents’ names — Dylan sounds like he’s having a blast.
Bryan Ferry- This didn’t thrill me like the original though the horns and guitar went a long way to making this a pleasure to listen to. I’m not sure Mr. Ferry added much on the vocal side for my taste.
GnR- I feel for GnR on this song. It sounded to me like they had 4 or 5 different ways they could go with this song an after contemplating them, decided to throw everything in. It can be exciting to hear an artist interpret a classic song. But I think interpretation is different than just playing what and how you usually play. There has to be something of the source in there and I dont hear much of the progenitor. The ‘hey, hey’s would not have annoyed me so much if they had not been preceded by the “doe-woe-woe”s. I’ll bet somewhere in the GnR live archives there is a killer version of this. DID Chinese Democracy ever come out?
A note on Dylan- the only thing we are missing in this round is a song by Dylan covered by Dylan and then having him review it. It could happen.
“Hold On (I’m Coming)” by Bryan Ferry
I saw Bryan Ferry and was all calibrated and ready to hear some elegant, seductive crooning glam rock. This song was not that and once I reset my ears I found I enjoyed it. I did not know the original so I listened to the song without the original as a reference which is probably a good thing sometimes as your perspective isn’t as influenced before parsing, judging and editing begins. Thumbs up.
“Must Be Santa Claus” by Bob Dylan
is that really Bob Dylan? wow. I was listening to see if this was a joke or parody but will assume it’s not. So interesting hearing Bob Dylan’s voice singing with the Oom-pah-pah rhythm. Merry Christmas to one and all.
“Knocking on Heavens Door” by Guns N’ Roses
not a fan of Axl Rose so I see GnR through already tainted glasses. However, I must admit this cover is well done and over played but still glad it was offered up as a selection.
BF – If you asked me who the coolest human on earth is, my answer is Bryan Ferry. Slow blue eyed soul read of this one with a world weary vocal with a hint of sadness that is BF. Love the slow guitar lead and the horn punches throughout. Ferry is always good for a cover or three on his solo albums and puts his mark on each.
GnR – I’m not the right crowd to appreciate this.
Zimmy – I have never heard the original of this. Everyone on this recording seems to be having a blast, so it made me smile. Digging a Cajun/Polka vibe to this one.