And let's not forget.................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soJBGLP7Akk
I’m sure many of you love the original.
Give this a try from my favourite singer Alyona Yarushina the YouTube star.
Especially from around 5 minutes 30, better than Plant sung it in my opinion.
Add to this the fact that if I’d been allowed to put together my own 100% perfect looking woman this would be her!😍😎
https://youtu.be/12sbpv-lbaA
And let's not forget.................
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soJBGLP7Akk
Of course-as with most "classic" records- it will never never match the original but she does have a talent, although, tbh, when I first watched it, I wasn't too impressed, especially with the quieter opening verses, as I didn't think her voice was anything particularly special and the phrasing didn't seem right. Then I remembered the old Sam Cooke adage of closing your eyes and just listening rather than watching and listening and it made more sense. Can't think what distracted me from the vocal 🤔😀
I think is always difficult to try and do "straight" covers of well known/loved songs (unless it's obvious homages like the Bootleg Beatles) as it's difficult to add new interpretations or better the overall original performances that made them hits in the first place. Better to alter the instrumentation or tempo. My own favourite re-interpretations of other people's songs are Johnny Cash's version of "Hurt" by Nine Inch Nails and Jeff Buckley's take on "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen. Both made these songs their own, although arguably this is because the originals were not well known and Cash and Buckley's versions were simply better anyway.
As for Rolph, no doubting his talent as an entertainer but raises (again!) the thorny issue of whether you can separate the "art" from the "artist". In the recent documentary on him, it was clear from interviews that his behaviour was escalating over time and in some of the comments he made later on it was almost like he wanted to get caught. Unlike Saville, Harris never gave me the creeps as a kid but still impossible to forgive his heinous behaviour.
Alyona covers a multitude of famous singers and songs and in my opinion she does justice to them all regardless of the singer she’s covering.
An amazing talent.
https://youtu.be/_icU11Hddl8
That, for me , was a better cover. She does have a very good voice but I always think that just doing "straight" covers, however good or enjoyable, is ultimately a bit self limiting. I'd like to hear her do more diverse interpretations of the source songs or even original ones ( though I know it's rare for great singers to also be good song writers but maybe she can work with a writer) .Has she done anything like this?
Sorry, not gonna listen to it as I find the original Stairway to Heaven to be up there with Bohemian Rhapsody as two of the biggest loads of boll*x recorded. I know I am probably in a minority of 1 but Stairway is such drivel. I was mad on Zeppelin when they started out and was so excited when I got tickets to see them in 1969. I was totally underwhelmed by them live. Still bought their second album and then I bought the 3rd album which I thought was sh*te and still do. Cannot stand them anymore other than those first two albums.
😂😂
Must admit to having a degree of sympathy with you Joy. Both are classics but both pretty meaningless overblown pomp rock in some ways. That said, popular songs don't have to be deep or meaningful do they? I enjoy both for what they are tbh.
As for Led Zep.-sacrilege as it may be-I was never really that into them even, though growing up, most of my mates were. In fact, many moons ago, when I was first learning guitar, a girl offered to show me how to play the picking passage to Stairway and I admitted (to much merriment!) that I've never heard of it!😲 In fact, I actually quite like the progression and no doubting the ability and talent of all the band members but just not really my thing -plus both Plant and Page could come across as rather knob-ish.
I never liked them that much , but Robert Plant was ok as a person I always called him Bob.
He married my brother's best mate sister Maureen and my brother and his mate often went to his house foe weekends they didn't have car so I used to take them and bring them back.
Our other mate who also used to go with us , become a .roadie with Paul Rodgers and Bob Marley through meeting Paul Rodgers there. Through being on the road with these stars he met and married a Miss Sweden( not sure if she was a miss world ) he has a house in Sweden and Bridgenorth. Used ejoy the jam seesions at the house
Never liked Zepplin riping of the blues artist's and calling them their own , Plant got the job due to Stevie Marriot turning them down .