Klaxons - 'It's Not Over Yet'
So, after Fraser went to great lengths to Make Pop Snobbery History the other day, are we all now agreed that cover versions are not the last resort of the creatively stunted? That it's not always about Simon Cowell trawling the karaoke bars in Blackpool to build up a list of the guaranteed granny-pleasers? That sometimes they can actually be a brilliant, considered, self-effacing, liberating method of self-expression? Because I love cover versions, I do. I've probably listened to Girls Aloud's version of 'Rehab' more than Amy Winehouse's, to Mandy Moore's 'Drop The Pilot' more than Joan Armatrading's, to Blake Lewis's 'You Give Love A Bad Name' more than Bon Jovi's. And I'm in no way suggesting that this means I find the originals inferior, quite the opposite: for me there's something hugely life-affirming about a great cover version, like a musical proof of the concept that you can have two different opinions and they can still both be right.
And while I'll admit to being irked by people who think that covering a pop song and making it mournful and acoustic is an infallible way of making it better (if you genuinely believe Travis's '...Baby One More Time' was better than Britney's, I'm afraid we will never be friends), I reserve my right to be contrary by admitting that I think it's ace when people take a song that wasn't exactly a laugh-a-minute the first time around and giving it a bit of a jauntiness upgrade.
So, we're all familiar with Grace's 'Not Over Yet', yes? Huge dancefloor hit back in '95, reworked by Planet Perfecto in '99, and just so you don't think I'm being pop elitist about this, probably one of my favourite dance tracks ever. Hands up, no holds barred, I adore the original. Handily, I also adore the Klaxons, so when I heard that they'd covered it, I may have literally fallen off my chair in excitement. But while I was preparing to listen to it, my heart leapt into my throat for a few seconds. What if they'd succumbed to the dreaded "ironic, lolz" cover version? The "isn't it hilarious when people try to make music in genres other than ours, which is clearly the only area of music that isn't owned by sellouts and charlatans and therefore the only acceptable way to do things, thankyewverymuch" version?
I needn't have worried: this is faithful with a capital fuh. The vocals are admirably sincere, making little attempt to echo the serenity of the original's but keeping to the general spirit and rhythm all the same. The distortotron appears to have been amped up to one hundred for the howling guitars and crucially, the chorus has lost none of its hauntingly insistent beauty. It's still the same song, just with a little more of a pop sensibility this time around. I don't doubt there will be some purists up in arms about the clear desecration of the sanctity of the original, but I couldn't give a flying font what they think. To me, this is a masterclass in how you do a cover version: with respect, with sincerity and with love. Oh, and with synths, obviously.
Download: Out now
CD Released: June 25th
(Steve Perkins)
Comments
I love covers!!! I think my fave would have to be Guns n Roses version of 'Since I Don't Have You'. Especially Axl saying 'yeah, we're f*&£ed!' in between lines. I do agree that if they are meant in a snarky 'oh how quaint, now lets show you idiots how to make music right' ironic stylee then they can be nasty. But as far as I'm concerned as long is there is some spirit of homage there (and I don't think many groups would bother to record something they thought was completely crap - but maybe I am too much of an optimist) then covers are fab!
Steve, you are a genius but Blake Lewis' version of 'You Give Love A Bad Name' is among the most disturbing and very possibly awful things in the musical world. :P
I'm not sure I like the version they've actually released as a single as much as the version I heard awhile back (which was more frantic) but the video is more than genius enough to make up for it and as you say, the sincerity of the whole thing (sheer dorkiness, indeed) is what makes it magic.
Oh I forgot and I have been dying to say this to someone for ages so I might as well do it here: the best bit is clearly the swannee whistle in the verses. How many songs have swannee whistles on, outside the cover versions on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue? Genius.
I absolutely adore this cover.
it has to be one of the best covers i've heard in recent years.
it has so much integrity and seems like a genuine cover of a song that the band really love, rather than a record label forcing covers onto an album to show diversity or to just fill up the space.
the production is fantastic and i'm completely in love with the vocals, although they arent as great live, it doesnt matter to me.
also, the video, for me, is like a futuristic Kill Bill.
what with the samurai's and the facial expressions and close ups.
all in all, it deserves 6 stars.
fantastic.
where can I get a swanee kazoo
regards
alan
Best cover version was Muse's version of You know how i feel by Nina Simone. This is my favourite since.