Karaoke Forums

Perhaps "Better" isn't the right word... How about "Different"...

Got an email request from one of my "regulars" for the MTV unplugged version of A-Ha's "Take On Me", and I thought "here comes a screw-up", but I was wrong. I downloaded it from Karaoke Version, and it turns out to be excellent.. She sang, or rather performed it on Saturday night, and nailed it.

I don't normally like remakes... I usually find them to be poor representations of the originals, but there are obvious exceptions. For instance, I'm a big fan of Jerry Lee Lewis' interpretations of several classic country songs such as "You Win Again" etc. By the same token, I'm not so sure about Chris Stapleton's version of "Tennessee Whiskey".

How about listing an example or two of remakes that you prefer over the originals?

_________________
Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

Michael Bolton's Georgia on my mind, when a man loves a woman, to love somebody and dock of the bay are all great remakes that are better than the original.

_________________
The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

And yet, the moment I hear "any" Michael Bolton remake, I immediately change the channel/station. Different strokes for different folks. It'd be a sad old world if we all liked and disliked the same things.

_________________
Earl
(BS, PHD & Certified CurmuDJeon)

[font=Times New Roman]"Growing Old may be mandatory... but growing UP is still optional."[/font]

I often prefer the 'remakes' of older songs simply because I never heard of the original. Tennessee Whiskey is a perfect example, I only heard the remake and loved it, disliked the original after I heard it sung a couple years later for the first time. Typical twangy country, Stapleton made it very bluesy and full of soul.
People that grew up and loved the original will most likely dislike the remake - I usually fall into that category as well. A few exceptions where I grew up with the old and prefer the new (or like both versions)
Disturbed - Sound Of Silence (originally Simon & Garfunkel)
311 - Love Song (originally the Cure)
Bad Wolves - Zombie (originally Cranberries)

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I would rather sing Bolton's Dock of the bay rather than the original mainly because I don't have to whistle but I still think that Bolton's has a better sounding ending.

_________________
The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Tennessee Whiskey is a great example of improving the original. It's a totally different song. Seems he used the I'd Rather Go Blind Etta James backtrack music and incorporated the words of T Whiskey into it. IMHO a nice improvement!!!

Michael Buble's "I'm Your Man" works way better for karaoke than the hard-to-find Leonard Cohen original (I may have sent pounds to a friend in the UK to get me a version of that).

Not sure if the Indigo Girls' cover of "Romeo & Juliet" is available for karaoke, but I prefer that cover to the Dire Straits original, which I also love. I'm also really partial to Sonic Youth's Carpenters' "Superstar" cover.

_________________
Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

I like Bernard Allison's Remake of Muddy Waters, Cadillac Assembly Line.
But to give Credit to the Older Blues Artists, the Genre seems to Evolve at
its own Pace.