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d21 > Music > Covering up one’s own insufficiencies

Covering up one’s own insufficiencies

added 07.09.07
John Elmes is a fan of the well-crafted cover version. He isn’t a fan of Lilly Allen...

that’s the chance i’ve got to take | whiff of pee

That’s the chance I’ve got to take
For an intensely strong willed groupie, the mere whiff of a suggestion that someone might have produced a ‘better’ rendition of their idol’s number one hit is heinous to say the least. In a high proportion of cover cases, this is vindicated as an artist tries desperately to add his or her slant to a classic. The breed of reality TV music contest winners has shown this to be true – remember that awful version of ‘With a Little Help from My Friends’ by Sam and Mark or Mick and Dean or whatever the instantly forgettable duo were called?! If this is not enough to hammer home the nail into your stricken musical coffin, then picture Steve Brookstein’s nauseating grin as he warbled out ‘Against All Odds’ after winning X Factor. Not content with the fact that he performed an insipid adaptation of the original, but he chose Phil Collins. Enough said.

However, thankfully some artists are competent enough to sculpt a song into their own style. Johnny Cash’s ‘One’, Marilyn Manson’s ‘Tainted Love’ and my earliest memory of a cover, ‘Under the Bridge’ by All Saints, all provide adequate substitution for the genuine article. Upon the release of albums like Mark Ronson’s ‘Version’ and Radio One’s ‘Live Lounge I & II’, artists are testing the water of counterparts’ work and, in the main, returning excellent music. Offhand, Corinne Bailey Rae’s ‘Munich’, Sugababe’s ‘Living For The Weekend’, Lemar’s ‘I Believe In A Thing Called Love’, Jamelia’s ‘Numb’ from the 'Live Lounge' and Phantom Planet/Mark Ronson’s ‘Just’, Amy Winehouse’s ‘Valerie’ and Mark Ronson/Tigger’s ‘Toxic’ from ‘Version’ do not just suffice, but in Winehouse’s and Lemar’s exceed. That being said, the ability to make a decent cover can be problematic in the context of the coverer’s own musical offerings.

Whiff of pee
A case in point is Lily Allen. She is the only artist to feature on all three CDs, two tracks of which are covers of ‘Oh My God’ and ‘Naïve’ by The Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks respectively. Again her tawdry sound freshens up tracks that by most people’s standards are bog standard indie rock/pop songs. Her distinct London accent gives bite to the Chiefs’ provocative lyrics and her slightly childish tone adds wistfulness to the Kooks’ lyric “hold on to your kite”.

This knack of successful copying only acts as a mask. From the misty heights of musical innovation with her covers, she falls short with her own record. Of the three songs that were released into the charts, only ‘Smile’ offered any satisfaction and that was purely from her vocal range. The subject matter is contrived and continues to be milked to near dryness thanks to Kate Nash’s emergence (funny how they swear that each other’s music bears NO resemblance to the others!). ‘LDN’ is simply not representative of London as a whole and that self–obsessed ballad grates. She remains one of the more interesting musicians around, by dint of the fact that she cannot help herself slagging someone else off, or not being able to gain a foreign work permit because of fighting, but until she can harness in her own considerable talent – namely her voice – to something cogent, inventive and pleasant sounding, she will remain in my eyes a glorified tribute band; scraping a living in church halls, and pubs that reek of stale lager and piss.

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