Great songs remade

[Pen Collector]

Just thought I would ask. What do you think of today's artist that remake some of the old classics?

I recently bought Michael Buble's CD that has such songs as Fever, Moondance, For once in my Life, Summer Wind, Come fly with Me and several others and I really like the way he did these songs. This young guy has a very good voice.

I also like "Manilow Sings Sinatra" by Barry Manilow. His is all Frank Sinatra songs and a couple he wrote as a tribute to Frank.

I am always looking for CD's like these. I know that I can buy these songs by the original artist but sometimes I like to hear other singers do their version of the classics. Do any of you know of other CD's like these that are good?

 

[Retro Grouch]

Sid Vicious sings Frank Sinatra's "My Way". LOL

Personally, I'm not a fan of artists remaking the classics. Seems they never achieve the same quality level as the original. As far as crooners go, I think Harry Connick Jr. does a good job.

Just my humble opinion.
Tom

 

[up196]

I like Manilow's cover of Chatanooga Choo Choo. Like the guy on the radio said, "When he sings that song, it stays sung!"

 

[The Wolf]

It seems like a lot of singers have put out albums of standards.
Boz Skaggs, Rod Stewart and Willie Nelson have all put out albums of classic songs.
Linda ronstadt put out one with Nelson Riddle that was quite good.
Bette Midler did a beautiful cover of "Skylark"

 

[Wild Root]

I hate to say it but, when I hear those renditions of the classics, it’s in an elevator, some waiting room or Kmart.

As for Manilow's Chatanooga, I don’t care for it. To me, Tex Beneke was the man who sung it best with the Modernaires and the Miller band. I really feel like I want to cut a rug to that one! I am a die hard purest and I love to swing dance. I learned to dance just to dance to those great first recordings of that music. Most of the stuff recorded today is better in sound quality, but the bands that support them and the style is some what cheese and it’s lacking something. It don’t have that swing! And you know, if it don’t have that, it don’t mean a thing.

I stick to the originals because I think they did it best. That’s just me.

Root.

 

[Kent Allard]

For the best remake of a classic song I'd have to go with Melora Hardin's cover of Begin the Beguine on "The Rocketeer" soundtrack.

Wow, only three posts on here and two concerning The Rocketeer. I'm gonna need to branch out more.

 

[kamikat]

I'm not much into the crooner stuff, but there are a few good remakes out there. I love Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's version of Minnie the Moocher and Brian Sezter's Mack the Knife. Big Bad Voodoo Daddy's original stuff really swings. They've done a good job of giving swing a modern feel. Brian Setzer is more rockabilly than swing.

 

[Wild Root]

Welcome KamiKat! I see you're new to the Lounge. Well, as for me, when I started to swing dance here in LA, Big Bad Voodoo was playing all the time at the Hollywood Derby. I got to see them play once at a venue and they put on a good show. I wanted to dance, but, every one there was just watching them play. For neo swing music, I think Big Bad Voodoo Daddy were the pioneers. For me, ever since Brian Sezter did that rendition of In The Mood, I was turned off. I do like his Stray Cat's stuff from the 80's though.

No, the stuff that really gets me going is an original recording of say Gene Krupa's 'Let Me Off Up Town' with Anita O'Day. Or 'Thanks For the Boogie Ride' When it comes to swing, it's the originals all the way! I have a collection of 78rpm's that include some rare stuff.

Root.

PS. I like you're Avatar. You wear 40's clothes very well! I dig the hat as well.

 

[kamikat]

Originally posted by Wild Root
Welcome KamiKat! I see you're new to the Lounge.

thanks for the welcome!

" Well, as for me, when I started to swing dance here in LA, Big Bad Voodoo was playing all the time at the Hollywood Derby".

That must have been a fun time. We don't seem to get many big names on the East Coast.

"I wanted to dance, but, every one there was just watching them play. "

I noticed that on their freeview Pay Per View special. I was really hoping to catch sight of some dancin' but no such luck.

My swing playlist on my iPod is about 50/50 original and neoswing. I like the old stuff, but many of the recordings haven't been remastered. I have a couple Andrews Sisters cuts that are so bad that I can't really hear them in the car. However, they happen to be great versions of the songs, so I keep them anyway.

"PS. I like you're Avatar. You wear 40's clothes very well! I dig the hat as well.

"

Thanks!!! DH thinks I look odd when wearing 40's clothes as "everyday" wear, but this comes from a man who wears 50's bowling shirts, pegged pants and a pork pie hat every day
kamikat

 

[Wild Root]

Well, you just tell him that 40's styles are better then what is made today by a long shot!

I have been collecting vintage since 1996 and I wear it as oft as I can. When I'm not at work, then I'm in a full vintage suit, shoes, tie and a hat. I'm just hard core like that.

Keep up the good looks KamiKat!

Root.

PS. here's a shot of me from about two years ago. It was taken with a 1930's box camera loaded with black and white 120 film. I was in a small town called Devlin. Devlin is in Ontario, Canada.

 

[Canadave]

Originally posted by Wild Root
... I was in a small town called Devlin. Devlin is in Ontario, Canada.

It MUST be small. I've never heard of it, and neither has MapQuest Canada. Where is it?

Great shot, btw!

David

 

[Wild Root]

Yeah, Devlin is small! I found a map that has it and its small! As you know, Ontario is loaded with not only lakes, but small, small towns. Devlin as you can see is just a few miles from Fort Frances and the US Border.

I love Ontario! It’s so beautiful and green! Yes, the mosquitoes suck, but I still like it.

Root.

 

[Quigley Brown]

Originally posted by Wild Root


I stick to the originals because I think they did it best. That’s just me.

Root. [/B]

Sometimes I don't understand what people mean by the 'original.' Some struggling artist may have written and recorded a song in the 1930s and it flopped, but when a big band star performed the same song later and it became a huge hit then people consider that to be the original. That's has happened quite a bit in the past.

 

[Wild Root]

Very good point! Lots of people I talk to think that Ray Charles recorded the first recording of Georgia on my mind. Well, it's an older song then the 60's! So, when I refer to the "Oringinals" I refer to the boys that made it a hit song. I have herd the first recording of In The Mood by Artie Shaw and it was about 6 mins long! It wasn't a hit till Glenn Miller got hold of it and made it a hit. I just like what I hear on my 78's and what the original big bands played. The sound of an old recording just sounds so nostalgic and old-fashioned.

So, there you go on that one.

Root.

 

[up196]

"In The Mood" . . .

Speaking of "In The Mood", have you ever heard a tune called "Hot and Anxious", recorded by Fletcher Henderson on March 19, 1931? It's worth a listen . . .

www.redhotjazz.com/fho.html

After you're on the site, scroll down till you find the song.

 

[Wild Root]

YEAH! I have heard that song! Dean Mora’s Modern Rhythmists play that song today! And it sounds exactly like the original! Check out the Dean Mora’s Modern Rhythmists at this link. They used to play at the Hollywood Argyle Hotel most Mondays. They play only original arrangements from the first song writers and the bands that made them famous. He only plays Jazz and early swing from 1926 to 1936 and plays them very well!

You can see and hear some cool stuff on his web site and here is a link. http://morasmodern.com/

Root.

 

[Rafter]

Just thought I would ask. What do you think of today's artist that remake some of the old classics?

I thought I would put a spin on this thread by reversing PenCollectors question.
What do I think of yesterday's artists that remake some of the new classics?

Enough said, I'm talking about Paul Anka's 2005 album, "Rock Swings".
Anka takes hits from the 80's and adds a swing arrangement to give them a completely different, and fresh new sound. Songs like "Jump" by Van Halen, "Smells like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana, "Wonderwall" by Oasis.

This is the kind of album you can't simply hear about, you MUST actually hear it to appreciate it.

Sonically amazing, musically impeccable, vocally superb, this album swings hard from start to finish. Crank it loud on a great stereo. Crank it loud in your car with the windows open and the top down. This is fun music, this is music to drink cocktails to, this is a seriously fun album that seriously swings hard!

I have to add a footnote here. This was not the first rock to swing concept album. The first was 1997's Lounge-A-Palooza, a multi-artist production
that featured Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme's version of Soundgarden's
Blackhole Sun.

 

[Spitfire]

The best Bob Dylan album in a very, very long time! Even better than Uncle Bob himself.:eusa_clap :eusa_clap :eusa_clap

Just like this old one is a fantastic tribute to the songs of the golden era.

 

[plain old dave]

I have yet to find a Western Swing tune that wasn't improved by Asleep At The Wheel's cover.

 

[Paisley]

Back in the late 30s or early 40s, there was a songwriter (ASCAP) strike, so some of the big bands swung classical music. Glenn Miller did "Song of the Volga Boatmen," "Moonlight Sonata," and there were several others.

Turning that inside out, Rod Stewart has done some four albums of standards. I love standards, and I love Rod Stewart, but I don't like Rod Stewart singing standards.