I've decided today (while taking a break from studying for finals and listening to music), this is going to serve largely as a series of pretentious opinions on songs.
Today's songs both came up randomly on my iTunes and were both covers of songs by legends covered by other legends. It just so happened that one cover was significantly more enjoyable.
I like: Imagine - Ray Charles with Ruben Studdard & The Harlem Gospel Choir
Something did come of that lost American Idol winner, Ruben Studdard, after all. Little did America know, he was meant to sing gospel music. This song by far trumps any other song produced by that television show (which shouldn't be surprising- it's Ray Charles). Lennon's original is a classic and a very pretty song/piano bit, but Lennon (probably because he's white) doesn't have the spirit/soul that Ray & Ruben have. They add an emotional, spiritual, soulful feel that can really only be found in gospel music. What's more they take a relatively predictable and slightly repetitive melody and embellish it by singing harmonies and adding the backing of a gorgeous gospel choir.
I dislike: It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry - Jerry Garcia Band
Garcia Plays Dylan, an entire album of Dylan covers, essentially slows down and adds guitar rifts to every single original. The shortest song on the album is over 5 minutes long, and the longest is over 14 minutes long. I love a jam band as much as the next person, and the slow tempo does work for a few of Dylan's songs that were meant to be more ballad-y (Forever Young & Simple Twist of Fate are both relatively well done). However, this painfully slow version of the original song gives an entirely new meaning to the line "can't buy a thrill."
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