There’s no greater highwire act for a musician like attempting a cover version.
Many have sat in bars or walked past buskers in streets who have absolutely decimated and destroyed favourites of many. Some even do a cover TOO well in a certain way, diminishing the ability for anyone to look past it and embrace the performer’s original work.
What does the best cover version do? It’s a delicate balancing act that sees the vision of the original version reinterpreted or played in the right spirit, whilst part of the interpreter’s essence is added. It’s about telling someone else’s story whilst teasing what else can be offered by the performer.
Imagine this situation magnified by getting a plum spot on Triple jjj’s Like a Version segment.
For international or established artists, the stakes are reduced. It’s about following through on tour hype, dropping a few cheeky one liners and plugging the remaining gigs.
For the local and the undiscovered, it’s the Aussie radio equivalent of 8-Mile. Sometimes there is only one shot. Bleary eyed on a Friday morning for a range of home-grown and unbroken artists, destiny sits in their own hands in a Sydney radio studio.
So ahead of Like A Version 2016 kicking off tomorrow with a very special Bowie tribute, we’re looking back at what makes and breaks a Like A Version.
THE OUTSTANDING
Where on earth do you start? Here, or here, or maybe here?
All three are earnest covers, showcasing the strengths of the various artists, namely the vocal talents and recreating the melodies of the originals. Here they excel whilst still wearing the skin of the initial tunes. But they don’t tell us much, bar highlighting Lisa Mitchell’s ability to create faux-Bossa Nova with a cowbell.
Remi’s sublime cover of recluses The Avalanches, is one of the absolute high points of LAV. Live instrumentation and vocals make it pop in a way the original hasn’t in years. Remi’s freestyling compliments the loose rhythm – it feels free and unfocussed. Covers should seem as effortless as this.
There’s a bitterness to Lana Del Rey’s original, with Bluejuice with highlighting brighter melodies and use backing vocals as sweetener. The song’s tone evolves from youthful longing and lament to something more mature and bittersweet.
An adaptation of Patsy Cline’s country classic that suits the beginning of the Arctic Monkeys’ and Alex Turner’s phase of ‘torch songwriting’ on their last two records. Turner’s baritone vocal range adds an intensity that hangs over every word.
THE GOOD
Chvrches took a risk and it paid off. Replacing the slinking guitar riff of the original with echoing synths was a gamble, but it comes together with the girl-boy vocals of the pre-chorus. Bold re-interpretation.
This song has been covered a million times in a million different ways, but the bongo rhythms during the verses are a winner. Notable shout out to the middle eight which turns into a freewheeling Neptunes cover quite effortlessly without killing momentum or requiring a dramatic key shift. Very slick effort.
Largely underrated live band from Melbourne, the ensemble take on Jagwar Ma’s Madchester inspired pop with grungy riffs and a brass section that propel the song forward. Great vocals from Nkechi Anele are just a cherry on top of the cake.
THE AVERAGE
Despite being a You Am I and Frank Ocean fan, this LAV leaves me (and a few others judging by the YouTube comments) cold. Instrumentation and tempo feels off as Rogers’ grit doesn’t suit the croon or vulnerability of the tune. The inverse of the risk Chvrches took – just doesn’t pay off.
This conversely becomes a discussion about staying well within your comfort zone versus gambling on a reworking. These are not easy dilemmas for musicians to navigate. The Wombats acoustic rendition of the well-worn the La’s hit is okay, but there’s nothing new or interesting they’re bringing to the table. It comes off as playing within your means rather than exploring boundaries, which perhaps lends credence to the critiques of ‘sameness’ that hang over the heads of modern indie bands.
… AND THE ‘ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENTS’
Despite their brilliant debut record and bringing their multi-coloured acid interpretation to the table, the vocal is flat and the suggestiveness of the original winds up getting lost in translation. Maybe it might make more sense after dropping a few E’s?
There’s a large quantity of LAV’s that come off as middling down tempo acoustic clichés. This is an example of such, performers wandering in with acoustic guitars and going through the motions.
Nailing or conversely missing the mark in a Like a Version appearance doesn’t make you a good or bad artist. It’s merely an important spot to showcase the talent and versatility of both the homegrown and those abroad.
For some, it’s just another radio spot. For others, it can be a stepping stone to bigger things.
