Monday, November 24, 2014
To Foo, Or Not To Foo
It's not often that a cover version improves upon the original.
On my return flight, the trusty ol' iPod shuffled into a tune by Australian pop rocker Michael Carpenter, a man who has released a good share of meaty power pop records, as well as at least 5 albums of covers. I obviously have these covers, because one of them, the Foo Fighters' "Everlong," began to play. I did not recognize the song or the artist, but I was mesmerized.
As my love for Dave Grohl grows deeper with each passing episode of "Sonic Highways," I decided to revisit some of the earlier Foo Fighters material that I recall liking, but have rarely returned to since its release. I listened to "Everlong," which I recall being a hit.
Grohl said this about "Everlong":
“That song’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonise perfectly.”
I love the lyrics, but I am not in love with the Foos arrangement. I'm getting more out of Michael Carpenter's version of "Everlong."
Carpenter's is up top and the Foos is below.
See what you think.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I'm agreeing with you on Sonic Highway. I just happened to come across it and I've become a big fan. Although I'm not a big Foo Fighters fan I've always found that most of their songs have something that's different from most of the stuff put out by their peers. Dave has a sense of melody that is lacking in most other 'rock' acts. The one minus for me is that the production on their songs is always the same. Guitars with a lot of distortion, screaming vocals, drum sound from a can, etc. But there's always some meat there. Now I think I see where he gets it as he's well versed in a lot of what he presents on the series. Really great watch for anyone with any interest in music.
As for Michael Carpenter, I enjoyed it but I liked the version that Grohl himself did on Howard Stern a number of years back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN1o5wsL8J4
Just saw the New Orleans episode and thought of you Sal since I know how much you love NOLA, with each episode I fall more deeply in love with this series, Austin was fantastic, and I'm learning too. And again, the interviewees: Ben Jaffe, Trombone Shorty, Dr. John/Allen Touissant (the latter talking about the former! So sweet.), Cyril Neville. The Meters worshiped/revered appropriately. Heaven, all that is.
So far I think I like the New Orleans Foo song the best.
I've always had a love/hate relationship with "Everlong". I was never sure the arrangement serviced the song. Quite honestly, in my head I hear Eddie Vedder singing it acoustic arrangement, yep. Sorry Vedder haters. :) Love Carpenter's version. And yes Grohl has done other versions I like better than the official one, though I wouldn't kick the original off my Phone/Pod/CD player.
I need to see Sonic Highways... been reading a lot about it, and this post piques my interest more. I'm not a big fan of Foo albums, but I did enjoy the first album, and also "Nothing Left To Lose" from 1999.
Post a Comment