Covers - copy or rearrange?

Roland

There are covers where you expect a close rendition of the record. Think Australian Pink Floyd. There are covers, like Valerie, where Ronson's arrangement is very different from the Zuton's original. 

My band wants to cover I Heard It On the Grapevine.  It's a song from my youth. I heard it for the first time on the night I drank my first pint of beer.  I love the electric piano intro, and the sparseness of the original arrangement.  So I am torn between reproducing it that way, and doing something much more rhythmical.  

If you were listening to a covers band would you prefer a reasonably faithful reproduction of the original, or an interesting re-arrangement?

John_P

Depends on the type of band and gigs.   A pub band can take a few liberties but if the rest of the set is bang on it can sound a little odd doing a totally new interpretation.

There a lots of bands doing rocked up or punk versions of pop songs, if they did one that sounded poppy and "nice" it might get a reaction.  

At the end of the day, do whatever version you enjoy playing, so long as the audience don't walk out

Fretwired

I think you can rearrange it as it's a pop/soul song that's been recorded by dozens of artists. Floyd's a good example the other way - people would probably expect something close to the original recording. Even bands that have recorded covers have kept their versions similar.

monquixote

Do the Gladys Knight version. 

Much more danceable

kin

have a listen to the Creedence version. 

Roland

Yes, I've listened to every version I can find, and we'll make a decision tonight about how we want to play it. That song was just an example. The question is whether you prefer a reproduction or a reworking?

digitalscream

We only do three covers out of a 14-song set - two of them are close to the originals (Bark at the Moon and Beat It, the latter being a bit more rock-y than the original), but the third is a mashup of Superstition and Sad But True. 

I think it depends on what the cover's for - if you're an original band and you want a cover to bring the audience back on-side, then appropriate covers have to be fairly close to the original. If you're intending something to shock the audience out of just standing at the back and get them moving, then a mashup or rearrangement is probably in order.

Jalapeno

Make it yours regardless, unless you're attempting to be a tribute band IMHO.

kin

i would think it depends on your singer, if he can do a passable Marvin Gaye imitation then do that , if he sounds more like Lemmy you might want to rearrange it a bit.

EricTheWeary

If you want to stay as close to the original as possible then you are always limited to playing songs recorded with the same instrumental line up that you have. If you start a cover and can't do the horn section/ school choir BV's/ 4th guitar,/ harpsichord on the third verse then why does it matter if the bits on the instrument you play should be exactly the same as you've lost the context in which they work? I think a cover should be the strongest version that your band can produce. Again, this is rock'n'roll not a f*****g recital. \m/

PolarityMan

Depends on the song and how closely it matches your existing sound.

axisus

I like covers that take a song somewhere different.

Roland

Me too. It used to be that the original artist would develop the song and arrangement over time. That's one of the reasons why live videos on YouTube are so rewarding. You see how they developed it, and how they tackled it live.  Nowadays a lot more artists are trying to reproduce the original recording on stage. 

I also get a lot of kicks out of understanding the song, de-constructing it if you like, and then building a new arrangement.  However what I don't like it when bands do this and lose the essence of the original, or end up with every song sounding the same.

However, it can be a mistake to assume that everyone else feels the same way.  So I wanted to know what other peoples views are

Snap

Hi, depends on the context. I like covers to be inventive, after all, you are taking someone else's creation, so for me I like to hear a fresh take. Different if you are a covers band though.