Can you think of any examples of an artist redoing a song, and having the remake be more popular than their origional version?
An easy listening example would be Neil Diamond, who first did You Don’t Bring Me Flowers by himself, but then made the song a hit when he sang it with Barbra Streisand.
A rock example would be, even though both versions were popular, I that Aerosmith’s Walk This Way was a little more popular when they performed it with Run DMC.
Elton John’s Candle in the Wind. Was #6 in 1987 (14 years after it was originally recorded, BTW) and rereleased (with different lyrics, of course) in 1997, when it went to #1.
The Psychedelic Furs re-recorded Pretty In Pink for the soundtrack of the John Hughes 1986 movie of the same name. The original version of the song was from their 1981 album, Talk Talk Talk. The song was a bigger hit the second time around.
It was released as a B-side, I think. It was from Bono to his wife, after he’d missed an occaision that was important to her due to work. Originally, Bono did all the backup singing, and the vocals were gravelly. The production was pretty awful, too. Due to the wonders of file-sharing, the original is quite easy to find.
Hurt - Nine Inch Nails. I prefer the version that’s on the Further Down the Spiral V1 (hurt, quiet). V2 has a live version which I also think is much better than the original, but I don’t consider live versions to be remakes.
Although I think it’s a live recording, the version of St. Lawrence River on David Usher’s new CD is better than the original, mainly because the original was made on a cheap budget and this version just sounds so much richer.
On his greatest hits album, Eddie Money had a live version of his song Where’s the Party?. This version is wayyyy better than the orional studio version.
I would have rather put my own eyes out than suggest this a coupla decades ago, but it is my sincere belief that dozens of early Bob Dylan songs come off much better in their later, electrified iterations. Oh yeah.
If live remakes count, there’s Peter Frampton, who had monster hits with his live versions of “Do You Feel Like We Do” and “Show Me the Way,” after the originals never charted.
John Lennon first recorded “Across the Universe” as part of a project to raise money for some cause or another. He redid it for “Let It Be.” Neither was released as a single, but the second one obviously sold better.
If you’re into one hit wonders, you may remember Gunhill Road and their minor hit single “Back When My Hair Was Short.” The single version was a rewriting of the song on their original album, changing the lyrics from references to the 60s to more commercial (at the time) references to the 50s.
Joel, “Sweetest Thing” actually appeared originally as one of the B-sides to “Where the Streets Have No Name” along with “Silver and Gold.” I know because I still have the 45 single! There was also a cassette maxi-single that included all three of the aforementioned songs along with another called “Race Against Time.” That I only have the original cardboard longbox for. :smack:
In 1995, on The Riddlebox ICP released a re-mix of their song "Chicken Huntin’ " off the The Ringmaster. The original was slow and had just a beat, but for the “Slaughter House Remix” version they added electric guitars and bells and shit and not just the music, but also the vocals were faster-paced. The remix was so popular that at an ICP seminar, at the mere mention of the album the entire crowd began singing the chorus to the song at the top of their lungs.
FYI: ‘chicken’ is slang for rednecks. They ain’t talkin’ about actual chickens. That’d be stupid.
Psychopachik Vampire
Gordon Lightfoot rerecorded many, if not most, of his songs on his two “best of” albums. In almost every case, I prefer the new version to the original.
I can’t stand the newer “Layla,” nor can I abide the slowed-down “After Midnight” Clapton did. I like the first “After Midnight,” all peppy with the back-up singers and the horn section. But both remakes are pretty popular so, eh, to each their own.