Speaking of early posthardcore covers, there’s Cap’n Jazz covering Take On Me – the Is it better to be safe than sorry is where he really throws himself into it link
Or “Oh Darling”
The Fireballs Bottle of Wine. Tom Paxton, who wrote the song, said “If I tried to sing like that, my throat would jump out of my mouth.”
I came in to say Oh Darling before seeing these posts. And I daresay that the Fab Faux does it even better. Being too young to have ever seen the Beatles live, the Fab Faux is the next best thing (or maybe better sans the screaming girls).
He can’t really belt, but Sam Smith is good at pouring emotion into many of his songs, like the one below (shameless plug–I video’d it at a concert; can you hear me singing along?—ha ha):
Pretty much half of what McLusky did bus especially Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues - McLusky - Lightsabre Cocksucking Blues - YouTube
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds From Her to Eternity - Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - From Her To Eternity (Live 1989, Pro-Shot with well-balanced audio) - YouTube
or Jubilee Street (this starts as a slow burn and just gets so frenetic at the end.): Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds on Austin City Limits "Jubilee Street" - YouTube
Here are three (quiet) songs where the singer puts full emotion into their performance:
For my money, very few performances hit me like Susan Boyle doing “I Dreamed a Dream”. I have heard it a million times and STILL it gives me chills and brings tears to my eyes.
“bottle of wine”? I nominate “Sugar Shack” with Jimmy Gilmer.
So true. Insanely good.
Be careful what you ask for. Hats off if you make it through the whole song (indeed, the first 10 seconds). I actually love this song. It’s anger personified.
This was going to be my contribution, as well.
Glad to hear she finally got paid more than L30 (pounds) for that, too.
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I came in to say Oh Darling before seeing these posts. And I daresay that the Fab Faux does it even better. Being too young to have ever seen the Beatles live, the Fab Faux is the next best thing (or maybe better sans the screaming girls).
[/QUOTE] That's Jim Boggia singing lead--he is terrific. That video was a treat, thanks. Didn't know it was out there.George Michael singing “Somebody to Love” at the Freddie Mercury Tribute concert turned in a performance worthy of Freddie himself.
Sam Kinison’s kinda-sorta mostly spoken/shouted cover of “Wild Thing” by the Troggs. I can’t really do it justice (and I can’t truly call it a cover because the lyrics are so wildly different), but the following line should give you an idea:
“And you know she’s out there, laughing at ya Idontcareifitwaslastweekorthirdgrade! SOMEONE BROKE YOUR HEART! WHAT WAS HER NAAAAAAME!”
Not just the singers, but all the musicians in these songs pour it all out:
Killswitch Engage - Rose of Sharyn - Howard Jones is so powerful both when he’s singing cleanly and when he’s screaming
Apocalyptica - Not Strong Enough - Brent Smith from Shinedown guest sings in imho one of his best performances
Apocalyptica - Broken Pieces - Lacey Sturm from Flyleaf guest sings in this finale to their multi-part song cycle about obsession (above was part 2)
Blue Man Group w/ Venus Hum - I Feel Love - This cover of Donna Summer’s disco classic is pure energy; also a percussionist’s wet dream.
Nicole Atkins - The Way It Is - Live on David Letterman; she’s like Patsy Cline and Roy Orbison reincarnated
Postmodern Jukebox w/ Haley Reinhart - Creep - Their jazzy cover of Radiohead’s classic; though pretty much anything Haley sings is going to be awesome
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Ian Gillan was always a screamer, but he really went all out on “Child in Time” from the *** Deep Purple in Rock*** album.
[/QUOTE]My memories of this is the effect it had on me whilst listening to it tripping on LSD
Vocally, pretty much everything Johnny Rotten sang on Never Mind The Bollocks sounded like a man possessed. The music was far more slick and professional-sounding than anyone wanted to let on, but those vocals. Oh my. Transcendent. For the thirteen year old me, a total game changer.
Good song. Fun solo. His experimental stuff in interesting.
Reminds me of **The Yardbirds’ I’m a Man **: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JAdCePtwoW4
About 1:30 in, Jeff Beck starts trading licks with Keith Relf on harmonica. Then Beck goes nuts, culminating in him dry strumming his '54 Esquire way up the neck. This song and that performance is cited, along with how easily Beck made his guitar sound like a sitar on Heart Full of Soul, for building his reputation as a sonic experimenter and a genius player.
One of the highlights of my youth was being right at the stage (we were literally touching it) to watch Jim Morrison close Toronto’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival with a stunning version of The End. Perfect way to end a 12+ hour concert. Talk about “throwing himself into it”!
Here it is (I’ve set the link to begin at the 40’ 14" mark, so if it doesn’t work just move to that time).
Enjoy!