Covers?

[jamfan14]

Is it possible that Pearl Jam has played Rockin in the Free World more times than Neil Young ever has live? Does that make it "their" song?

How about Last Kiss? I'm guessing they've definitely played than J Frank Wilson and the Caveliers ever did?

Baba O'Riley? Maybe?

I suppose what I'm getting at - is at what point does a band/singer essentially claim ownership of a song, almost like adverse possession in property law. Not legally speaking I mean, but when collectively when people hear a song and say, oh didn't so and so sing that one - not even realizing there is/was an original version.

To me - I've always preferred the Because the Night version by 10,000 maniacs over the Springsteen version (probably because I was in my mid teens when that song was in constant rotation after their unplugged show on MTV), or Sinead O'Connor's Nothing Compares 2 U versus the original Prince version.

-

As for the songs above, maybe collectively Rockin is now a Pearl Jam song, definitely Last Kiss, and I'm guessing Baba is still a Who song - because outside of people who go to Pearl Jam concerts consistently, I doubt many are aware that Pearl Jam plays it (a lot!).

Any other ones that I'm missing?

(ps - I'm bored. will a new album/tour please come out?!).

[MadTIGERmaN]

PJ has played RITFW 308 times
Neil, has rocked it 612, and is his 7th most performed song. Its still NY's song.

PJ has never recorded a studio version of it have they? its not on Lo2L or the follow up. So unless youve seen PJ play it live or have tons of the bootlegs, youre probably not aware that they play it that much.

Its no where near Hey Joe or All Along the Watchtower with Hendrix
or Polk Salad Annie with Elvis
or pretty much all the songs off Led Zeppelin I (Yes, Dazed and Confused is even a cover, look it up)

[Wendy Carlos's Twin]

I'll give you "Last Kiss", though I was well aware of the song long before Eddie "discovered" it. Cheesy teenage "death drama" songs were very popular as a sort of comic relief on oldies radio back when it still existed, and the original version of "Last Kiss" was one of the most frequently played.

The rest of the songs you mentioned are nothing more than half-ass encore fodder on Pearl Jam's part. Nothing I would call definitive.

[Captain Termite]

Last Kiss probably counts as not being a cover anymore, in the sense that you mean.

But in general, number of times a song played is in concert is definitely not the way to determine the issue.

[CopperTom]

No cover will become Pearl Jam’s. That line of thinking is so fucking stupid.

They play too many covers. It needs to stop.

[Biff Pocoroba]

Crazy Mary got some radio play back in the day & moved a lot of Sweet Relief albums. Most of us were excited to see it in the sets back in '00. I still like the studio version and acoustic live non Boom ones.

[JuanHamm]

Crazy Mary got some radio play back in the day & moved a lot of Sweet Relief albums. Most of us were excited to see it in the sets back in '00. I still like the studio version and acoustic live non Boom ones.

Is Crazy Mary a cover or was it written for Pearl Jam?

[MadTIGERmaN]

Crazy Mary got some radio play back in the day & moved a lot of Sweet Relief albums. Most of us were excited to see it in the sets back in '00. I still like the studio version and acoustic live non Boom ones.

Is Crazy Mary a cover or was it written for Pearl Jam?

Its a cover, and definitely more in line with the subject than RITFW. Since most people don't even realize Crazy Mary is a cover.

[Monkey_Driven]

It is a cover, but Pearl Jam's version was released a year before Williams'.

[Captain Termite]

It is a cover, but Pearl Jam's version was released a year before Williams'.

Thereby making it not a cover.

[wease]

It is a cover, but Pearl Jam's version was released a year before Williams'.

Thereby making it not a cover.

Thank you. I’ve been arguing this point for almost as long as I’ve been posting here.

[JuanHamm]

It is a cover, but Pearl Jam's version was released a year before Williams'.

Thereby making it not a cover.

Thank you. I’ve been arguing this point for almost as long as I’ve been posting here.

Team wease.

[bodysnatcher]

I’d say it’s a cover bc no one in Pearl Jam had a hand in writing the song. At least, no credits were given. The fact that the PJ version was released first is an interesting twist, but the song was apparently been written before that

[wease]

I’d say it’s a cover bc no one in Pearl Jam had a hand in writing the song. At least, no credits were given. The fact that the PJ version was released first is an interesting twist, but the song was apparently been written before that

But it had never been released before Pearl Jam’s version of it.

Look at it like this: is Crazy by Patsy Cline a cover of Willie Nelson? He wrote it but didn’t record it. She was the first to record and release it. Is it a cover or just a song released by someone other than the songwriter?

[Monkey_Driven]

Do we know if Williams' version wasn't previously recorded and just not released until later?

Honestly I could go either way on this.

[MadTIGERmaN]

I wanna say Suspicious Minds fell into this category. There might have even been a lawsuit by The Col / RCA to keep the author from releasing his version until after Elvis's came out?

The question I have, is if you are saying this is a Pearl Jam song, then is Williams, the one who wrote it, actually doing a cover of the song? When you look at it that way, it seems silly.
Its a Williams song, Pearl Jam covered it.

[E.H. Ruddock]

Lots of John Prine songs fall into this situation too.

[Monkey_Driven]

And Springsteen's Because the Night.

[Captain Termite]

The question I have, is if you are saying this is a Pearl Jam song, then is Williams, the one who wrote it, actually doing a cover of the song? When you look at it that way, it seems silly.

I think a good way to think about it is that the original performer or songwriter can perform it without it being a cover, even if they are not one in the same.

[Bi_3]

In my ignorant opinion, the intent matters. If a song was written and demoed with the intent of another artist/performer recording it for commercial release (like a Rihanna song), then it is not a cover. If the song was written/recorded with intent to release some time in the future, but another artist got the rights to record and distribute it and was chronology first, then it’s a cover.