JPF Home Page Forums General Messages General Message Forum Uncoverable Challenge

OK
Rules are simple. Enter and post songs which you want considered as the official JPF song cover. We will then set up a poll and make a deadline for entries. I suggest 1 week from today to accept entries and song suggestions then 1 week of voting. participants should only vote once and only for one song, the results will be secret till voting stops.

That will give us time to record our entry in time for March.
Remember that people from different musical backgrounds will be entering so try and pick a song that is universally known not too difficult to arrange and can be adapted to fit many genres.


Those wishing to enter please post applications and songs to be considered for this challenge on this thread.

This is only a bit of fun but also can be a learning experience and useful exercise. It will take us out of our comfort zone.

BEST OF LUCK.

Okay, I'll start. like John (and a few others),k I think any song is coverable--just not necessarily by me. Figured I might as well suggest one nobody else'd pick.

How about "I'll Never Get Out of This World Alive," by Hank Williams. I always loved those sentiments. (And I believe it was the last song he wrote.)

joe

I'll nominate "House of the Rising Sun". It has all the qualities that Jim mentioned - plus it's a cool song

Scott

How about something in the public domain like "Loch Lommond"?

So just to make sure that I understand the rules... we have to suggest a song and then do a cover of it? I read the other thread, but I still don't quite get the idea behind the challenge.

It's supposed to be an un-coverable song, right? I.e. "Imagine" by John Lennon

Hi Kenneth the idea is to suggest songs to cover then we pick one by all voting. The one with the most votes is the song we ALL cover. Each person enters their version in the March competition on Ourstage and the song rated highest is the winner.

Stairway to Heaven
or
Freebird

Just to clarify, on another thread we were talking about "uncoverable" songs...in other words, songs that a particular artist's version has so deeply imprinted in our minds that only a fool would try to cover it. "Imagine" is a great example. But something like "House of the Rising Sun" probably doesn't work as well since dozens of good versions are out there.

Some of us said certain songs were simply uncoverable, while others of us disagreed. So I would also suggest, once we pick one, that we are each faced with making our own version as memorable as possible, either by nailing it as good as the original (good luck) or by making it our own with a different mood, arrangement or style.

I'll throw out these:

"My Generation" - The Who
"Born to Run" - Springsteen
"Nowhere Man" - The Beatles
"Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones
"Sunny Afternoon" - The Kinks
"Layla" - Derek and the Dominoes
"Free Man in Paris" - Joni Mitchell

good point Mark it is important to pick a song that takes us out of our OWN comfort zone and gives us all a challenge. I would prefer something to get my teeth into rather than a standard that has been done to death. No point in choosing a song I have performed many times.

Ha - I read everything in your original post except the subject line.

OK - forget House of the Rising Sun. Here's one I can't imagine anyone else doing (even if someone has):

Werewolves of London - Warren Zevon

Another that I'm sure some may have done but is not at all a standard and might be fun:

Subterreanean Homesick Blues by Dylan

Scott

Y'know, if I had to pick one of those already suggested, I'd go with Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." That's one--maybe the only one--that I'd be comfortable I could actually do. The others are probably technically beyond me (ignoring how I could manage to sing *anything* with a one-octave voice range).

And "Freebird"? I will on principle *never* learn to play "Freebird." Too many obnoxious drunks request it when you're on stage.

Joe

I didn't think the point was to make it easy, but to prove the uncoverable is coverable.

or to verify that uncoverable is uncoverable.

True. Just keep in mind that uncoverable by *me* does not necessarily mean uncoverable, period.

Joe

how about Tom Waits "temptation"

May I suggest Dylan's "It aint me babe," because it could have been an uncoverable song if Johnny Cash hadn't sung it as a duet, so it could be classified as a coverable song which should have long since been made uncoverable but hasn't yet been, so there is a bigger challenge for anyone who sings it to make it uncoverable.

I think that makes sense.

It's quite a simple song at heart so could be sung by any style of singer and interpreted in many ways.


Lucian.

Scott
Werewolves is currently in the charts COVERED under the guise of a song called All Summer Long by Kid Rock. It uses the backing track for Werewolves but also has a tinge of Sweet Home Alabama thrown in as did Werewolves.

It Ain't Me Babe had a couple of successful covers including versions by Sonny and Cher and by the Byrds.

Zappa did a hilarious and very musically adept cover of "Stairway to Heaven" in which a full horn section plays the lead solo note-for-note. I would have though this one uncoverable until I heard Zappa pull it off with his usual panache.

I like suggestions like "Imagine" and "Free Bird" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues" because the structures are very simple, making them quite possible for all of us to attempt...but the originals are so good that it makes us crazy to try. Still, there is always a way to arrange something to your own advantage.

I love Johnny Cash, but I cannot stomach his version of "It Ain't Me, Babe". Same goes for John Lennon and Harry Nilsson--they're both heroes to me, but I don't like their collab version of "Subterranean Homesick Blues".

So guys - what's the criterion here?

That no one covered it?

Or that no one should have covered it?

Scott

Big Jim says:



and



So I would say pick a song that no one should have covered.

I say try to avoid standards that have been done to death or songs that are too difficult to learn or limit us to just copying the original. Pick a song that CAN be adapted and arranged in many different ways. We may have to compromise to get a "one song fits all" formula. I do not really care what song is chosen as long as it offers a challenge and expands our comfort zone.

David Lindley and El Rayo Ex did a killer reggae version of this song - you can probably find his version on YouTube (I can't get there from here).

Been doing "Werewolves" for YEARS! "Subteranian" too. AND "House"

Bob pick a song you do not do....or is that too hard a task...I am having difficulty also finding a song I have not already done LOL

Me too!

Okay, so the object is to prove that anyone could do the song regardless of whether or not the cover version sucks? I don't think that requires any proof.

"isn't it a pity" -George Harrison
do you guys do that one?

if you are just looking for impossibility how about pink floyds.. "Several Species of Small Furry Animals Gathered Together in a Cave and Grooving with a Pict" I don't even think pink floyd could cover that one! and they did the original! it's off of Ummagumma.
talk about OUTSIDE YOUR COMFORT ZONE.. it may not be very well known , but I doubt it's been covered!

Those songs are coverable for sure. BUT, its just the excessive playing and hearing of them on radio and at parties over the years that have them SOOOOO ingrained as to think something that familiar can't be done in another form or sound.

It's an illusion based on the "loop affect"! But one so strong that it becomes reality!

I'd rather not hear "any" version of them or the original again!

WAY TOO familiar to start with.

My versions don't suck!{LOL}

Great tune! Eric Clapton and the late Billy Preston did a killer duet of that song at the "Concert For George" a few years back.

I think we have a winner!

So the question arises: how do you define "uncoverable"? A song that is so complex and technically challenging that no one has ever tried to perform it live (that Pink Floyd one), or a song & performance that is so in-grained into our minds that we can't accept it performed by another artist ("Imagine" John Lennon).

I think we are actually shooting for your second option here Tom, I just couldn't resist the urge to mention the floyd song.. after I posted my suggestion I actually looked at youtube and found some decent ( I suppose) covers of the tom waits song I was nominating.. so.. shows what I KNOW!

I do not know I am just looking to cover a song as a bit of fun to use as a challenge. Something that will give us a test. Now I will try anything remotely resembling music but that furry animal thing is not even a song it is just noises and people with bogus Scottish accents sounding like chipmunks. It must be the biggest waste of recording time ever spent. Floyd made some great songs but they also produced some of the worst DRUG ENDUCED crap ever heard and tried to call it art.

Like yeah man.. you would've FLET it if you weren't such a square..it was just the bad acid..

seriously though they were just pushing boundaries.. anyone that does that is gonna step in [naughty word removed] once in a while!

what is your definition of song.. there is alot of experimental music out there.. some of it DAMN hard to reproduce!

I'll Sug Billy Joel's "You May Be Right (I May Be Crazy)"...just 'cuz I always wanted an Excuse to Cover It..heh! (Tho the Sax Part might be a toughie to reproduce...)

Fun Challenge...(& It Just May Be a Lunatic..You're Lookin'-For!)

Big Guy-Hug,
Stan

Since I'm still not clear on the ground rules, and since I don't sing or play anywhooo, I'll just offer up Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." First, everybody knows the song (I would think) and second, the original is such a complex piece of music that any cover version would almost have to be creative and unique.

This is an interesting challenge. I look forward to hearing all the versions of whatever song is chosen.

Greg

I have the perfect song! It is a great song! A timeless song! Universal in its appeal! Out of everyone's comfort zone!

"For a friend" by the Communards.

Nah? Oh well.

Lucian

How about:

Lawyers, Guns & Money - Warren Zevon
For the Turnstiles - Neil Young

I'm sure you can find covers of these on YouTube, but there aren't any well known covers by other artists that I'm aware of.

Or off the beaten path..

Copperhead Road - Steve Earle

I thought of I am the Walrus just because it would be cool if someone did the lost William Shatner version as sequel to his spoken word version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, but I understand Oasis did a cover already.

Are you getting all these, Big Jim?

Only 6 more days to go...

I'm like Jim, just looking forward to trying out a predetermined cover as a welcome challenge. Sort of brings me back to the early band days when we were always learning covers, only now it poses both an arrangement challenge and a production challenge. Fun and very useful exercise to me.

As I was reading responses, I thought of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody. Even Queen couldn't pull the whole piece off live. It has been covered by an acapella vocal group, but I'm with Greg on nominating this one. Most of us know it, but probably never performed it.

I'm a Beatles fan and rarely will anyone else's take on their songs top the originals; however, I do enjoy good renditions of their songs from time to time.

A couple groups have covered "I Am the Walrus." Anybody remember a group called Crack The Sky from back in the 70s? I had an album of theirs with a live version of "Walrus" that was pretty cool. And more recently, the current incarnation of Styx did a fairly credible cover of it.

I think any Beatles tune, predictible as it may be, would be suitable for a challenge like this.

Of course, I still like the "Bohemian Rhapsody" idea.

Greg

Number nine? Number nine? Number nine.....?

Scott

I cant wait...only prob is I do not know how to work those voting thingies....tried one before and it failed miserably....could you do it for us? There have been a few song entries and I think everything should be included just to be fair. I would urge folk to vote for a song which ticks the boxes as being not too obscure, a challenge to cover, can be translated to several genres, suitable for both M/F and not too complicated musically. As for me I prefer to cover a song that other people suggest I think that would be more of a challenge so I will not put forward any songs nor will I vote. I will however try to record the nominated song and post it on Ourstage in March.

PS re the furry animals thing actually I will produce a cover of these noises and will post it on my soundclick in a few days. I will not enter it in Ourstage as I have a reputation to keep. LOL
Thanks to everyone for contributing so far.

I love that one!

I don’t think it should be anything overly long like Freebird, Stairway or Bohemian – Don’t forget we will be asking people to listen to this stuff!

Mark has made some good suggestions. We should pick a 3 minute wonder and go for it.

I think some non-musicians should be encouraged to take part in the suggestions because at the moment it’s just musos saying what they would like to cover. So far I don’t believe anyone has suggested anything outside of their comfort zone. How about some Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Madonna or Dolly – Like A Virgin anyone?

How about Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush? That's my suggestion