Part I
Part II
Part III: Guitar Hero Edition
Part IV: Dare To Cover Johnny Cash Edition
Part V: I Won't Back Down Edition
Part VI: Bring It On Home To Me Edition
Part VII: The Kennedy Center Honors Edition
Way back in Part I of this series, we defined cover artists as being BOLD in a couple of ways:
*In choosing to cover a song already identified with another artist, the cover artist risks professional humiliation. Just DARING to cover certain songs is an act of boldness.
*Taking the original version of the song and performing it in a unique way is one of the boldest moves an artist can make. When done well, the cover version takes on a life of its own and almost sends the original into obscurity.
Can you think of any better way for a rock or pop artist to risk professional humiliation than to take a stab at covering a piece of classical music? The persona of the classical score--highbrow, sublime, deliberate--does not at first glance appear to lend itself to the chaotic and often amusing improvisation of rock. Indeed, the progressive rock era bands that consciously produced a rock/classical hybrid (Yes, King Crimson, Electric Light Orchestra, to name a few) were always known to be more "serious" than their pure rock contemporaries.
It's virtually impossible to send a score by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart or any classical composer into obscurity, no matter how good the rock/pop interpretation. The ten mentioned below are simply some of my favorites.
#10: Frank Zappa's cover of Ravel's "Bolero." The late Frank Zappa's irreverence, outspokenness, and overall wackiness made it easy to forget that he always surrounded himself with world class musicians. In 1988 he toured with a big band, adding horn arrangements to his own original songs and some covers. The cover of "Bolero" is remarkable in how it mixes big band and reggae,
Video: Frank Zappa conducts "Bolero"
#9: Rick Wakeman's cover of Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." Rick Wakeman is the legendary keyboardist most known for his work with progressive rock band Yes. When his version of "Rhapsody in Blue" (from the album Rhapsodies) came out in 1979, I heard it on a New York City FM radio station and thought that he was just one more classic rock icon struggling to stay relevant by putting a disco beat in his music. The Rolling Stones, Rod Stewart, and other classic rockers had given in to the same pressure at that time. Forty-plus years later, I now see the disco elements in Wakeman's cover of "Rhapsody in Blue" as its most endearing quality.
Video: Rick Wakeman "Rhapsody in Blue"
#8: Procol Harum's Reworking of Bach's "Air on a G String" ("A Whiter Shade of Pale"). Okay, so Procol Harum's rock classic "A Whiter Shade of Pale" is not really a cover of a Bach score as much as it is "inspired" by it. Still, I include it in this list of Ten Bold Covers because I suspect Bach himself (who died in 1750) would have appreciated the beauty of his melody accompanied by Gary Brooker's vocals.
Procol Harum's 2006 performance of "A White Shade of Pale" in Denmark proudly plays up the classical foundation of the song.
Video: Procol Harum "A White Shade of Pale"
#7: Ekseption's cover of Beethoven's 5th. The Dutch band Ekseption, active from 1967-1989, were classically trained. In 1969 they released a rockin' version of Beethoven's 5th symphony that remains an important early contribution to the rock/classical hybrid genre.
Video: Ekseption's cover of Beethoven's 5th
#6: Sky's cover of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. In 1980 the Australian/English band Sky released an amazing version of a Bach standard. The guitar of John Williams, the synthesizer and keyboards of Francis Monkman, and the drums of Tristan Fry all manage to make a familiar melody fresh and vital.
#5: The Who's cover of Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King." This cover was originally recorded during the sessions for the 1967 "The Who Sell Out" album, the band's last album before their breakthrough with the rock opera "Tommy" in 1969. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was not heard by the general public until the re-release of "The Who Sell Out" in 1995. What I love about it is the sheer rawness. Because the Who became one of the prime exemplars of rock-and-roll as a kind of high art form demanding lots of studio time to produce the perfect track, it's easy to forget that early in their career they could jam with the best of them. "In the Hall of the Mountain King" is one such jam.
#4: Apollo 100's cover of Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." Apollo 100's 1972 cover of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" was one of the catchiest tunes of the 1970s. The band's performance makes them major contenders for the title of World's Greatest One-Hit Wonder.
Video: B. Bumble and the Stingers, "Nu Rocker"
#2: Jethro Tull's cover of Bach's "Bouree in E Minor". Some people might be offended by all the covers of Johann Sebastian Bach scores on this list. They would say if it's not baroque, why fix it? (This entire post was designed to set up that line :-)).
Jethro Tull's version of Bouree appeared on their 1969 album "Stand Up," a breakthrough for them and one of the more important records in the history of progressive rock. Ian Anderson's vocals and flute, along with Martin Barre's guitar, produced one of the most original, recognizable sounds in the history of rock. They certainly did justice to Bach.
Video of Jethro Tull's Bouree
#1: Emerson, Lake, and Palmer's cover of Aaron Copland's "Fanfare For The Common Man." Released in 1977, ELP's cover of the Copland score became forever the definitive version. Keith Emerson was arguably the preeminent keyboardist of his generation, and "Fanfare" one of his many high points. They rhythm section of Greg Lake on bass and Carl Palmer on drums brought a dynamic quality to any genre the band dabbled in, including classical. Given the constraints presented by modern corporate radio and the short attention span values of streaming site audiences, it's hard to imagine something like "Fanfare" being recorded today. That's sad.
Video: ELP cover of Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man"
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