Really digging the Bettye LaVette (2003) cover of Robert Cray (1986)'s "Right Next Door" (Both produced by co-writer Dennis Walker), where she's another actor in the same scene. Any other cases like this out there in musicland or is it unique?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yftyjsm7JNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtYltpS1iaU
― Adam J Duncan, Thursday, 26 November 2015 02:58 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBuEkXsDCnU
― just sayin, Thursday, 26 November 2015 05:00 (eight years ago) link
The whole Roxanne, Roxanne saga comes to mind
― too young for seapunk (Moodles), Thursday, 26 November 2015 05:55 (eight years ago) link
How much change is allowable with it still being a "cover"? Is "No Pigeons" a cover or a parody? The thread title first made me think of things like that, but then of things (can't think of good examples) where maybe just a few lines are changed, but between the arrangement/vibe and who is singing it, it seems clearly like an answer/critique/addition to the story. Tori Amos's Strange Little Girls was generally going for the latter, for example.
― Doctor Casino, Thursday, 26 November 2015 06:29 (eight years ago) link
this used to be common practice in country music (the most famous example being Hank Thompson 'The Wild Side of Life' -> Kitty Wells 'It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels'. it was a traditional melody, so Kitty didn't even need to give credit to Hank's songwriters)
...And the Answer Is: Great Country Answer Discs from '50s-'60s, Vol. 1)
― scarlett bohansson (unregistered), Thursday, 26 November 2015 06:41 (eight years ago) link
this is pretty common in r&b/hip-hop and you'll probably see an example on most mixtapes, the various female responses to chris brown's "loyal" were brilliant last year
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAZzO6mdG_U
it was the concept behind tori amos's strange little girls, yeah, probably worked best on her creepy eminem cover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0u8KeII-Io
― lex pretend, Thursday, 26 November 2015 10:16 (eight years ago) link
Yeah, a lot of that kind of stuff in "urban" genre, fuck you/back comes to mind https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F.U.R.B._%28Fuck_You_Right_Back%29
― niels, Thursday, 26 November 2015 12:43 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr-ekKXuloM
― rushomancy, Thursday, 26 November 2015 13:51 (eight years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHmoTN1AH4Y
― Josefa, Thursday, 26 November 2015 16:14 (eight years ago) link
^Thanks to Sheila B from WFMU for that one
― Josefa, Thursday, 26 November 2015 16:17 (eight years ago) link
Aretha's 'Respect' is the big one, right?
― campreverb, Thursday, 26 November 2015 16:46 (eight years ago) link
The rewritten/expanded lyrics of A New England that original songwriter Billy Bragg did for Kirsty MacColl's cover is a relevant example here. (Subsequently performed live by Bragg with female duet partners as an in-song answer record.)
― glandular lansbury (sic), Thursday, 26 November 2015 18:39 (eight years ago) link
The Etta James cover of Only Women Bleed surely qualifies here, right.
― charlie h, Friday, 27 November 2015 11:51 (eight years ago) link
julie tippetts' version of robert wyatt's "god song" is definitely an answer song.
― rushomancy, Friday, 27 November 2015 12:46 (eight years ago) link
Do these count?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3M3Igjnbhs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7gV5C5mB7A
― Mark G, Friday, 27 November 2015 13:04 (eight years ago) link