Re-Recordings of Songs

[Tangram]

PG's original version of Here Comes the Flood crushes the rerecorded version. He also a a different version of I Have the Touch which I haven't heard in eons but I remember feeling the original was better also. I do want to get Live Blood to see what he did with the orchestra.

[Modry Effekt]

Re-recording and retitled version of Mirror Of Illusion, which appeared on the first Hawkwind album way back in 1970 as a more or less acoustic number. In 1992, it appeared as Mask Of Morning on Electric Tepee, with a decidedly more "modern" sound, I guess:

I prefer the original.
How about "Sonic attack 1981 " it is as striking as version on "Space ritual" well,almost as striking.

Hawkwind - Sonic Attack

[Adrian]

Does this count?



Emerson, Lake, & Palmer doing an Emerson, Lake, & Powell song.

I find the original much better.

This was originally on the Return of the Manticore box set, but I think it's been re-released a few times since then.

[Gravedigger]

This didn't exactly set the prog world on fire:

[Modry Effekt]

Re-Recordings of Frustration has it merits.Amazing guitar work by Joe Docko.

This is the original :

[JIF]

This was a song originally for Europe's second album, Wings Of Tomorrow(which was only released in Sweden). The version that I posted is from Out Of This World, their second worldwide release. I prefer this version.

[JIF]

How about this?

[philsunset]

Kevin Gilbert rerecorded a number of his songs as part of his writing process, as an exercise or to find a new perspective to the material.

[happytheman]

I had a German pressing of this song where Peter sang it in German.. wonderful version.. and a bit different than either self titled album or Fripp's Exposure album..

Here's a controversial re-recording: "Here Comes the Flood" by Peter Gabriel. Does it actually improve upon the original? I've always liked the way the 1977 version was arranged, and I think the 1990 version is different. The re-recorded version is good, but a bit too slow for my liking, and the chorus lacks the power and the passion of the original, in my opinion. I absolutely adore the 1977 version. Which do you prefer?



The 1977 version, from his self-titled debut album:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb7htoJAK7g

There's also the version included on the 2006 re-release of Robert Fripp's Exposure, which is a lot closer to the original than the 1990 version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wS8V8vCUqw

[polmico]

This didn't exactly set the prog world on fire:

First time I've heard that. I like it.

Peter Hammill did a bunch of re-records. "Sci-Finance," "Ferret and Featherbird," all of Love Songs.

Belew redid "Hearbeat" for one of his solo albums.

Bowie redeid "Panic in Detroit."

[GuitarGeek]

Belew redid "Hearbeat" for one of his solo albums.

Ade said that he did that because he felt that the King Crimson version hadn't been given the chance it deserved. I guess he felt that Heartbeat should have been a hit. I think he quoted Bill Bruford's belief that any song recorded by King Crimson would never be a hit, simply because it was recorded by King Crimson.

[IMWeasel]

The band Cracker did a whole album of their greatest hits re-recorded to spite their record company, because they had released a 2nd greatest hits album in 5 years.

[WeatherWiseCDC]

The widely-known version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" is actually a re-recorded version. An older version was included on Bowie's 1969 28-minute promotional film, Love You til Tuesday. The film wasn't released until 1984, but since a recorded, polished version of the song was included on it (predating the song's official single release by several months), I suppose it counts. I don't know if it was ever intended to be released, but considering the song "Love You til Tuesday" was released as a single in 1967 then re-recorded for Bowie's debut album, one can probably consider this version of "Space Oddity" to have been a completed track as well.

Since we're all familiar with the official single, here's the original along with its accompanying music video:

[happytheman]

Assuming Wakeman is on this version? This just proves you don't always get it right the first time round..

The widely-known version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" is actually a re-recorded version. An older version was included on Bowie's 1969 28-minute promotional film, Love You til Tuesday. The film wasn't released until 1984, but since a recorded, polished version of the song was included on it (predating the song's official single release by several months), I suppose it counts. I don't know if it was ever intended to be released, but considering the song "Love You til Tuesday" was released as a single in 1967 then re-recorded for Bowie's debut album, one can probably consider this version of "Space Oddity" to have been a completed track as well.

Since we're all familiar with the official single, here's the original along with its accompanying music video:

[davis]

One that I thought was terrible was when Chicago redid 25 Or Six To Four.

that's not bad, but I prefer the original - it was more vibrant. I can see where people who love synthesizer music would prefer the newer one.

[Scott Bails]

I absolutely love Genesis' "Behind the Lines" - Phil's drums are just sublime, and the fanfare-ish keyboards just inspire. But I also enjoy Phil's interpretation with the horns, etc. Always liked how the same song could sound so different.

And I also like The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86." I remember at the time that they were supposed to re-interpret an album's worth of their hits in a similar manner but really just couldn't stand each other enough to spend the time together to do it. Always wondered what they would have come up with.

[JKL2000]

I'd like to hear someone with a completely abrasive and/or inappropriate voice do a cover of Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Maybe Courtney Love or someone.

So, is this thread only about an artist rerecording their own music, or are we talking cover versions by other bands? I'm sort of assuming the former only, since there are lots of threads about cover versions.

Fish's Yin and Yang albums are compilation albums that are mostly (or all?) rerecordings of his solo material, plus a little early Marillion material (maybe just Institution Waltz?). I find it all pretty worthwhile, since Fish already did a lot of interesting acoustic and other arrangements of his songs in concert (not always, but fairly often). There are a couple of duff (IMO) tracks that just didn't require rerecording, like "Just Good Friends" with Sam Brown on vocals. I think was always because as an American the name Sam Brown meant nothing to me, and I found her voice pretty generic sounding. It's not a bod Fish solo song, but it's not a favorite either. But the full Yin/Yang set with bonus disks and slipcase make a nice package that's essential to the Fish fan, IMO.

[Halmyre]

Chris Rea re-recorded, or reworked, a lot of his earlier material for a 'greatest hits' compilation.

[GuitarGeek]

Re: 25 Or Six To Four,

that's not bad, but I prefer the original - it was more vibrant. I can see where people who love synthesizer music would prefer the newer one.

I don't think "synthesizer music" has anything to do with it, since there's not much synthesizer on the track. That's probably a drum machine, but I think you're hearing a real horn section, and that's most definitely a real guitarist doing all the Van Halen wannabe guitar licks. I think the worst thing about the track is the slower tempo, which just makes it sound sluggish. I can't imagine anyone thought that was gonna be a good idea.

BTW, I actually rather liked the new version of Don't Stand So Close To Me that The Police did. I thought it was interesting that they came up with a totally new arrangement of the piece, instead of simply doing something stupid like slowing the tempo down or putting a disco beat to the song or whatever. I read once that the compilation album it appeared originally was supposed to have all the songs redone like that, but for whatever reason, they only ended up doing just the one song and using the original versions for everything else.

Oh, and one other I remember hearing about was Cab Calloway redoing Minnie The Moocher in the late 70's. With a disco beat. Apparently, when he was showed up to record the song for The Blues Brothers, he got upset because they wanted to copy the arrangement he recorded back in the 40's. According to John Landis, when Cab realized what they wanted to do, he said "This is the same shit I did 30 years ago!". I guess Cab expected them to want to do something more reflective of the disco arrangement he had, at the time, recently recorded.

And I've never been able to confirm it, but I could swear I read once that Exile actually recorded two versions of Kiss You All Over. The first had this sort of disco feel to it, but I guess the group was really a sort of a country type group, and they subsequently redid the song with more of a country feel. To this day, I have no idea if that's actually true, and if it is true, I'm not sure which version was the big hit. There was a lot of sort quasi country/disco hybrid songs in the late 70's, so it's hard to tell which version it is I've heard.

[Rufus]

Budgie re -recorded some early classics i.e. Zoom Club , Guts , Breadfan etc. for their Back to the Egg CD ! Have not heard it so can't comment !

[Scott Bails]

I read once that the compilation album it appeared originally was supposed to have all the songs redone like that, but for whatever reason, they only ended up doing just the one song and using the original versions for everything else.

And I also like The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86." I remember at the time that they were supposed to re-interpret an album's worth of their hits in a similar manner but really just couldn't stand each other enough to spend the time together to do it. Always wondered what they would have come up with.

[JIF]

I absolutely love Genesis' "Behind the Lines" - Phil's drums are just sublime, and the fanfare-ish keyboards just inspire. But I also enjoy Phil's interpretation with the horns, etc. Always liked how the same song could sound so different.

And I also like The Police's "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86." I remember at the time that they were supposed to re-interpret an album's worth of their hits in a similar manner but really just couldn't stand each other enough to spend the time together to do it. Always wondered what they would have come up with.

I thought The Police were recording an album of brand new material then? It only turned a remixing session with Stewart Copeland broke his arm playing water polo.

[GuitarGeek]

I thought The Police were recording an album of brand new material then? It only turned a remixing session with Stewart Copeland broke his arm playing water polo.

They didn't remix Don't Stand So Close To Me, they did a whole new recording, with a completely new arrangement. The story I remember hearing back in the late 80's or early 90's (via a Sting interview in Rolling Stone, I think it was) was that they were going to re-record all the hits in a similar fashion. I think it was said on one of those MTV or VH-1 documentaries that the idea was to show "how the band had evolved" or whatever.

Now whether they only did one song because they couldn't stand being around each other, or if it was because of Stew learning what Tom Fowler and Alan White already knew (ie it's not a good idea to mix sports with working), I couldn't tell ya. I could have sworn Sting suggested he was the one who wanted to re-record all the songs, but Andy and Stew were against it, so they left it as it was.

[JIF]

Here's the original version of a song that was re-recorded with Ozzy on vocals.

[WeatherWiseCDC]

I'd like to hear someone with a completely abrasive and/or inappropriate voice do a cover of Lightfoot's "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Maybe Courtney Love or someone.

So, is this thread only about an artist rerecording their own music, or are we talking cover versions by other bands? I'm sort of assuming the former only, since there are lots of threads about cover versions.

Yeah, this thread is an opportunity for us to discuss re-recorded versions by the original artists (or those who simply recorded a song twice). It gives us a chance to make comparisons and to decide whether or not the most recent versions are better or worse.

Here's another one. Those familiar with The Guess Who will recognize the song "Guns, Guns, Guns." In 1978, Burton Cummings re-recorded it for inclusion on his solo career's first greatest hits album.



Here's the original from 1972:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d129O4qxp9Y