Results of last week’s battle: Who did it better? John Martyn or Kram?
For the 25th episode of Who Did It Better, let’s harness the power of three, and compare three different versions of Blue Öyster Cult’s “Dont Fear The Reaper” (
).
First up is a moody guitar-driven version by Jerry Chapman (CDBaby link).
Next, we have a sinister goth version by H.I.M. ().
And finally, a brand new atmospheric version by The Peptides (Free download here).
Which version (along with the original) should live together in eternity?
Listen to the podcast featuring both songs:
[audio: http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/backbeat.cachefly.net/coverville/audio/Coverville-WDIB-025-DontFearTheReaper.mp3]
Or Download
All I'll ever be able to think of when I hear this song is the Will Ferrell & Christopher Walken "Cowbell" SNL skit: http://www.livevideo.com/video/4B1CD4B7032349C49C…
I really liked the creepiness of the first one!
And I must agree with Dinah… they're just not the same without all that cowbell!!
Yeah, I agree, all three versions needed more cowbell.
Babies, when this is over, y’all gonna be wearing gold plated diapers.
What does that mean?
NEVER question Bruce dickenson!
I've gotta a fever and the only cure is more cowbell.
The "Reaper" cover appeared on H.I.M.'s first album; on the second, they did a blatant ripoff of the "Reaper" concept titled "Join Me in Death," retitled "Join Me" for us squeamish souls in the States.
Yeah, I picked neither, felt like they needed more percussion of some kind or another……….
The H.I.M. version was boring. But, the other two were good. I went with the Peptides, but the again I'm not a big Will Ferrell fan.
I thought they were all pretty terrible. Jerry Chapman and the Peptides both robbed the song of all its energy. And H.I.M. were trying way too hard to be evil. Reminded me of that skit on SNL where Chris Kattan and Molly Shannon were goth high school kids.
A sad, sad batch for a great, great song.
Some songs just don't need to be covered.
Sometimes hearing a bad cover can really make you appreciate the original, even with it's cheesiness. I now have 300% more appreciation for Blue Oyster Cult.
Just to be sure, I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like the rest of you. But when I'm wearing them, I make gold records!
Personally of the 3 of the songs, I felt HIM did the best cause to me it is a creepy song and the others tried to make it too light and airy.