Every band will at one time or another cover a famous song. Some are standards that everyone covers and some are so obscure you may not know it’s a cover. If your a cover band, well you cover them all. But what if you’re an original band that wants to throw a cover song in the set. How do you do it. Do you remain faithful to the original or do you take it in a radically new direction.
Take Cheap Trick’s cover of aint that a shame. They certainly put their own spin on it. It sounds decidedly Cheap Trick yet it’s instantly recognizable and somewhat true to it’s roots.
Another good example is The Dixie Chicks cover of Fleetwood Mac’s classic Landslide. The feel of the song is very true to the original yet they capitalized on the strength of their three part harmonies. They made that song as much a part of them as it was a part of Fleetwood Mac.
Then there is the extreme treatment that Marilyn Manson gave to The Eurythmics techno hit Sweet Dreams (are made of these). I didn’t even recognize the song the first time I heard it. He definitely made the song his own leaving nothing but the title of the song true to it’s 80’s origins.
I don’t think one way is better than the other. As an artist you want to exercise your creative license on someone else’s song and make it a part of you. On the other hand, the audience may want to hear something more true to what they know.
Scott
