To hate washy covers of songs

[powershowerforanhour]

Steppenwolf's "Born to be Wild" in the Volvo ad
Proclaimers' (I'm Gonna Be) 500 miles -Viagra ad
On the radio- some shit version of Toploader's Dancing in the Moonlight

All sung in a wishy washy breathy pathetic style. Probably by the same person. Who sounds like they could barely blow out a candle.

Born to be Wild is associated with one of the most famous counterculture films ever.
500 miles should be sung near the end of a concert with a horde of drunk fans roaring the "Ba dah bah" line back
Even Dancing in the Moonlight was a nice bouncy summer tune till she got her pallid hands on it.

I'm not against covers- and some slow covers can be decent occasionally- but this stuff has all the power of the tepid urine of an anaemic gnat.

Silentplikebath
What really annoys me about these crap breathy covers is that I've taught dozens of students who've gone on to study at conservatoire or done higher training in music across a range of genres and they're still working the gig economy with several jobs trying to get their break and then crappy breathy singers whisper awkwardly a cover version and get loads of exposure.

Agree with those who slate Lily Allen's version of Somewhere Only We Know, it's such a limp lettuce.

Conversely, I heard The Animals' cover of 'Bring it On Home to Me' before Sam Cooke's original, and Cooke's by comparison seems insipid. Which is probably blasphemy.

And I can't stand Jules whoever's version of Mad World, it lacks the necessary punchiness.

I did like Whitney's version of I Will Always Love You, until I heard Dolly's original, and I just can't go back.

I'm not a big fan of Johnny Cash's cover of Personal Jesus, but DH only found a liking for that song when he heard that version as he doesn't like Depeche Mode, whereas I've always liked their music. :)

Amummyatlast Sun 19-Jul-20 14:39:36
I think we need to add the recent cover of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast car’ to the list of shit covers. What were they thinking.

Totally agree.

I can feel a rising tide of rage just thinking about that Toploader cover. I couldn't get to the radio in time to switch it off, it was traumatic. Although I did like the mighty Ken Bruce's comment. That was blah blah, just what the world needs now.

Stillcoughing
My thoughts exactly

It was so underwhelming and hardly any effort was made to sing the vocal - truly crap, it's at no 2

It was so underwhelming and hardly any effort was made to sing the vocal - truly crap, it's at no 2

Lily Allen singing Somewhere Only wlWe Know and Leona Lewis singing Run both get on my nerves.

...and Leona Lewis singing Run both get on my nerves

At least Leona Lewis puts a bit of welly into her version eventually.

At least Leona Lewis puts a bit of welly into her version eventually.

Indeed, she was the opposite and gave it too much! And that choir was way OTT for a song about drug addiction Made the meaning of the song washy though, really odd choice by the record company.

I didn't realize that Toploader's dancing in the moonlight was a cover!
Same with Adele and her Bob Dylan cover of ' make you feel my love' which I found out ages after it was on the radio all the time! Adele did do a great version of the Cure's 'love song ' though! I know a tiny bit about music but I m not good with cover versions.

@CandidaAlbicans2

Oh my, that Smells Like Teen Spirit cover is just wrong. It's supposed to be powerful not that dreamy crap. And I agree with a PP that The House of the Rising Sun is just waiting to be ruined

Has anyone heard the cover of Sound of Silence by The Disturbed?
I hadn't but, wow, I love it as much as the original! Thanks for posting that Jude

Had to come back as I've just heard a cover of House of the Rising Sun by 5 Finger Death Punch. You've got to ignore the first 1:45 but after that it's a recognisable cover.

Not sure if I like it yet. And it's about 6 years old!

The house of the rising son is a song of unknown origin (probably an old slave song) Lead Belly was knocking it out long before the Animals.

The house of the rising son is a song of unknown origin (probably an old slave song) Lead Belly was knocking it out long before the Animals.

Very different it sounds as well.

You are definitely not being unreasonable! This gets my goat!

And many thanks to those above for highlighting the origins of house of the rising sun

Adele’s version of love song offends me as a cure fan however as a music fan I’m happy to hear others loving her version of this song and being introduced to it

How to take a good tune and turn it into a total pile of dirge.

One of my pet peeves...The John Lewisification of music. The Bangles version of Manic Monday is pure perfection and that awful breathy version makes me want to stab myself. Mind you i still rage when i hear All Saints cover of Under the Bridge . Just wrong.

Thinking about it the 60s was a bit of a golden age for covers. All those old blues and folk songs reinvented. All along the watch tower as well.