I don't have to ask if it's a classic. What's more impressive is that it's nearly impossible to screw up. Seriously, this coud practically be a POX...
Search, in addition to the Bee Gees' original and in no order:
The Soul covers
- The Tams
- Nina Simone (the definitive Nina Simone take - also killer)
- James Carr
The Country covers
- The Flying Burrito Brothers (Parsons' very sparing rewrite on the second verse takes it from good to stunning)
- Slobberbone (covering the burritos covering...)
- John Kennedy
The Rock covers
- Bonnie Tyler (what Joplin's cover should have been. yes, I said that.)
- Rod Stewart
- The Animals
The Reggae covers
- Eagle Eye Cherry
- Jimmy (more-reggae-than-eagle-eye-ha!) Somerville
- Busty Brown (ska!)
Destroy:
- Michael Bolton (starts out as merely useless, but quickly chinese-water-tortures its way to changeitchangeCHANGEIT!)
- Kim Carnes
- Rita Marley (not bad, really, just overproduced and overenunciated)
- Billy Corgan (though as with the cure's "purple haze," I may come around on this one some fine day)
- Janis Joplin, unless you want to know hear it sounds like when a woman comes apart at the seams right there in front of everyone and no one will do a thing about it. fuck it, that's a good enough reason for a search. it's still terrible qua cover though.
― rogermexico (rogermexico), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 03:45 (twenty years ago)
In my collection, I've got PP Arnold (very nice pop soul take) and Lulu (way over-orchestrated and she refrains from belting out as much as she probably wanted, but still okay).
I heard the Billy Corgan version on Conan O'Brien or Jay Leno and wanted to kill him - just awful.
― Dee Xtrovert (dee dee), Wednesday, 17 August 2005 21:46 (twenty years ago)
five years pass...
Doesn't seem to mention on this or the other thread that the song was written with the hope that Otis Redding would record it.
― BIG TOONCES aka the steendriving cat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 23 June 2011 17:27 (fourteen years ago)
oh, no kidding? i can hear him doing it.
― tylerw, Thursday, 23 June 2011 17:29 (fourteen years ago)
re: otis, though, it is sad to think of all the rad songs he would've recorded had he just lived a couple more years even.
― tylerw, Thursday, 23 June 2011 17:30 (fourteen years ago)
Yeah, never recorded this one because of the plane crash, apparently. I too am looking forward to not hearing Billy Corgan version.
― BIG TOONCES aka the steendriving cat (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 23 June 2011 17:32 (fourteen years ago)