ITT: We discuss who performs a song better

[elliseamos]

Pretty straight forward, pick a song that at least two different artists/bands have performed (live or in-studio) and explain why you think one rendition is better.

------PLEASE SPOILER YOUTUBE CLIPS SO THAT THE PAGE CAN EASILY LOAD------

Songs to consider:

Summer Breeze
Sleepless Nights
Just Like Heaven
Kick Out The Jams
My Drug Buddy
The Nurse Who Loved Me
To Love Somebody

[elliseamos]

What made me think of this is hearing "Summer Breeze" as I started summer-break today.

I'd pick the Isley Brothers version, b/c i'm a sucker for guitar solos and IT'S THE ISLEY BROTHERS!

Seals and Crofts wrote a great song, but I truly believe The Isley Brothers nailed it.

Spoiler: show

vs.

[elliseamos]

clearly the first topic was too easy.

next up: Sleepless Nights

Spoiler: show

Beck


vs.

Eddie Vedder (& Friend)


I think Beck takes this round.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I like ed better in this round

[elliseamos]

I like ed better in this round

care to elaborate? personally i like guitars over ukes for this song, and Beck's delivery "feels" right to me.

[verb_to_trust]

Spoiler: show

Spoiler: show

This one is closer than you think....the vocal in The Cure original is obviously much better when compared to J's, but when J's guitar is paired with his laconic vocal delivery it fleshes out some emotion that is not there in The Cure version.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I like ed better in this round

care to elaborate? personally i like guitars over ukes for this song, and Beck's delivery "feels" right to me.

Usually i would agree with guitars over the uke, but i just really like this song better on the uke, and maybe its me being a pj homer, but i will usually take ed over anyone else singing.

Though i was gonna throw out "kick out the jams" for another song to choose between with the options being
Pearl jam
Rage against the machine
Presidents of the united states of America

And for me i really enjoy the slightly more sped up version from the presidents of the usa over pj and rage who both play it a little slower, i just think the presidents version is a little more fun

[verb_to_trust]

Gotta go with the President's as well

I've always thought Pearl Jam's version was pretty sub par....

[elliseamos]

I like ed better in this round

care to elaborate? personally i like guitars over ukes for this song, and Beck's delivery "feels" right to me.

Usually i would agree with guitars over the uke, but i just really like this song better on the uke, and maybe its me being a pj homer, but i will usually take ed over anyone else singing.

Though i was gonna throw out "kick out the jams" for another song to choose between with the options being
Pearl jam
Rage against the machine
Presidents of the united states of America

And for me i really enjoy the slightly more sped up version from the presidents of the usa over pj and rage who both play it a little slower, i just think the presidents version is a little more fun

did you leave out the original on purpose, b/c i think PJ's version is just trying to capture what the Motor City crew wrote.

[Dr. Van Nostrand]

I like ed better in this round

care to elaborate? personally i like guitars over ukes for this song, and Beck's delivery "feels" right to me.

Usually i would agree with guitars over the uke, but i just really like this song better on the uke, and maybe its me being a pj homer, but i will usually take ed over anyone else singing.

Though i was gonna throw out "kick out the jams" for another song to choose between with the options being
Pearl jam
Rage against the machine
Presidents of the united states of America

And for me i really enjoy the slightly more sped up version from the presidents of the usa over pj and rage who both play it a little slower, i just think the presidents version is a little more fun

did you leave out the original on purpose, b/c i think PJ's version is just trying to capture what the Motor City crew wrote.

Yeah, just figured on that one to go with covers only, since it seems to be covered a good bit

[elliseamos]

This one is closer than you think....the vocal in The Cure original is obviously much better when compared to J's, but when J's guitar is paired with his laconic vocal delivery it fleshes out some emotion that is not there in The Cure version.

I'd never heard Dinosaur Jr.'s version, so thank you for that, but I prefer the original. It has the right amount of "whimsy" that the song holds for me.

Yeah, just figured on that one to go with covers only, since it seems to be covered a good bit

got it. again, i like the original.

[elliseamos]

say what you want about ben kweller, but this specific performance is perfect. if you asked me, which nobody did, but i sort of asked myself i guess.

Spoiler: show

Lemonheads


vs.

Ben Kweller

[j's brain]

The Nurse Who Loved Me.

The original, by Failure, is WAY better than A Perfect Circle's version, which is still pretty darn good.

[elliseamos]

Maynard gets my vote in this match-up.

[LetMeSleep]

To Love Somebody.

Spoiler: show

Bee Gees


Slobberbone
The vocals make it for me. Sounds like a guy who's drowning his sorrows and lost his way. Love it.

[LetMeSleep]

Summer Breeze - Seals and Croft. Just sits better with me. Nicer tones.

Sleepless Night - Beck. Better tempo and less performed.

Just Like Heaven - The Cure (by a hair). All round winner overall, but DJr version is awesome and J's solos are like bacon. Who doesn't love bacon.

Kick Out The Jams - RATM. The MC5 version is the best. RATM version is my go to. POTUSA doesn't move me at all whilst PJs is just a race to the end.

My Drug Buddy - Lemonheads. Don't really like either artist but the Lemonheads is really sweet.

Nurse Who Loved Me - Failure. A more interesting listen. In fact, I shall listen to more Failure now.

[elliseamos]

yeah, slobberbone takes this one for me too.

also, i added a plea to the OP to spoiler youtube clips (either by edit or just moving forward).

[verb_to_trust]

Slobberbone all day. The Bee Gees aren't exactly on my radar. I'm a big fan of bands covering different genres though. Maybe the Bee Gees should come back from the dead and cover Lumberlung, return the favor?

[elliseamos]

[LetMeSleep]

Slobberbone all day. The Bee Gees aren't exactly on my radar. I'm a big fan of bands covering different genres though. Maybe the Bee Gees should come back from the dead and cover Lumberlung, return the favor?

Never met anyone who had heard of Slobberbone. Anyone else like them or catch them live?