Artists whose music only sounds good when tampered with

[Barking Spiders]

The mention of U2 in another thread prompted me to play some Apollo 440 remixes of U2 songs e.g. Even Better Than The Real Thing. This is the only way I can listen to U2. Similarly, I can't listen to Smashing Pumpkins except when their stuff has also been remixed for the dancefloor as Fluke did with End of The Beginning. So, are there any 'artists' whose songs  you just can't listen to unless they've been severely tampered with by others?

Edited May 12, 2020 by Barking Spiders

[Len_derby]

Although I played the original to death when it came out I now much more prefer listening to Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All-Stars. 

[Dad3353]

Almost any Bob Dylan stuff. Rare exceptions; very rare.

[Barking Spiders]

43 minutes ago, Len_derby said:

Although I played the original to death when it came out I now much more prefer listening to Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All-Stars. 

with you there. saw them play it in full at last year's Blue Dot festival. Great fun they were too

[cetera]

46 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Almost any Bob Dylan stuff. Rare exceptions; very rare.

 

You beat me to it. Great songwriter...... best sung by other people...

[ubit]

28 minutes ago, cetera said:

 

You beat me to it. Great songwriter...... best sung by other people...

You guys obviously aint heard this then

 

 

[casapete]

There are plenty of singer-songwriters who have had their work arguably covered by 'better' singers - as well as Bob Dylan you could also include Burt Bacharach, Kris Kristofferson, Brian Wilson and Jimmy Webb for example.  However for me there is always something about hearing the originator of the songs performing them that cuts through somehow. 

[P-Belly Evans]

Slightly off the topic, as I can tolerate Elvis, love Led Zeppelin and adore reggae. But put them all together =😍👍🎸😳. Not quite the sum of their parts but what a journey of discovery. 

[Lozz196]

3 hours ago, P-Belly Evans said:

Slightly off the topic, as I can tolerate Elvis, love Led Zeppelin and adore reggae. But put them all together =😍👍🎸😳. Not quite the sum of their parts but what a journey of discovery. 

I remember when they came out, was quite startling, Tortelvis on vox lol.

[P-Belly Evans]

14 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I remember when they came out, was quite startling, Tortelvis on vox lol.

Tortelvis is quite something. What a concept though. When George Clinton landed the mothership, Tortelvis was clinging onto the undercarriage! 

[TheGreek]

8 hours ago, Len_derby said:

Although I played the original to death when it came out I now much more prefer listening to Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All-Stars. 

Big fan of Dub Side however off the back of this I also bought Easy Stars Hearts Dub Band and RadioDread - both disappointing.

 

Here for your perusal...

[TheGreek]

Check out their version of Mr Jackson's "Thrilla"

Track Listings

Disc: 1

  1. Wanna Be Startin Somethin (feat. JoWil and Ruff Scott)

  2. Baby Be Mine (feat. The Green)

  3. The Girl Is Mine (feat. Mojo Morgan and Steel Pulse)

  4. Thriller (feat. Mikey General and Spragga Benz)

  5. Beat It (feat. Michael Rose)

  6. Billie Jean (feat. Luciano)

  7. Human Nature (feat. Cas Haley)

  8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (feat. Kirsty Rock)

  9. The Lady In My Life (feat. Christopher Martin)

  10. Dub It

  11. Close To Midnight

Edited May 12, 2020 by TheGreek

[dudewheresmybass]

14 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

I remember when they came out, was quite startling, Tortelvis on vox lol.

I worked for them in 91 iirc. 
nice guys- tortelvis’s transformation from ‘normal’ was a real eye opener 😳👍

fantastic live band 

[ribbetingfrog]

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a remix that didn’t ruin a song!

Loved U2 in that era.

 

all down to what sort of music we all like.

[upside downer]

Wrong topic, please ignore.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2020 by upside downer
Wrong topic, whoops

[Cosmo Valdemar]

20 hours ago, P-Belly Evans said:

Slightly off the topic, as I can tolerate Elvis, love Led Zeppelin and adore reggae. But put them all together =😍👍🎸😳. Not quite the sum of their parts but what a journey of discovery. 

Thanks to an odd upbringing,  I was familiar with Dread Zeppelin before I heard Led Zeppelin. Black Dog still sounds more natural to me as a slow reggae. 

[TrevorR]

The band that springs to mind is Cornershop. I really liked the single version of Brimful of Asha when it was a big hit in the charts. Of course at the time I never realised it was a Norman Cook remix. Then I heard the un-jiggered-with version of the track and it was unutterably dull. Leaden, lumpen, flat, repretitive (but not in a catchy hook way) and lacking in any sort of dynamics. Turned out the ONLY parts I really liked about the song was the Fatboy Slim Big Beat fairy dust sprinkled over the song. Since then every time I've seen or heard Cornershop as themselves - radio, Jools, TOTP2... wherever - both the songs and their performances of them have come across to me as awfully dreary and lifeless.

Yeah baby! [REMIX]

Oh no matron!  [ORIGINAL - Yawn]

 

[TrevorR]

2 hours ago, ribbetingfrog said:

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a remix that didn’t ruin a song!

What's your thoughts on this one then? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Barking Spiders]

49 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

The band that springs to mind is Cornershop. I really liked the single version of Brimful of Asha when it was a big hit in the charts. Of course at the time I never realised it was a Norman Cook remix. Then I heard the un-jiggered-with version of the track and it was unutterably dull. Leaden, lumpen, flat, repretitive (but not in a catchy hook way) and lacking in any sort of dynamics. Turned out the ONLY parts I really liked about the song was the Fatboy Slim Big Beat fairy dust sprinkled over the song. Since then every time I've seen or heard Cornershop as themselves - radio, Jools, TOTP2... wherever - both the songs and their performances of them have come across to me as awfully dreary and lifeless.

Yeah baby! [REMIX]

Oh no matron!  [ORIGINAL - Yawn]

 

Good call and fully agree. Another tune, though a bit less well known is Hard to Beat by formally hyped-to-the-max-but-nowt-ever-came-of-it indie merchants Hard Fi.  This the original, which I like lot...

but this is the London Elektricity remix, which I firkin love

 

[TrevorR]

12 minutes ago, Barking Spiders said:

Good call and fully agree. Another tune, though a bit less well known is Hard to Beat by formally hyped-to-the-max-but-nowt-ever-came-of-it indie merchants Hard Fi.  This the original, which I like lot...

but this is the London Elektricity remix, which I firkin love

 

Like 'em both! The original was produced by my chum Wolsey. His daughter and my little boy are best buddies and classmates! Well, we do both live in Hard Fi Central Station!

[Dood]

I LOVE mash-ups. I started enjoying Wax Audio's produce many years ago, but right now Bill McClintock is doing some top level 'tampering'!! I will quite happily listen to albums worth of quality mashing! Actually, as a guilty pleasure, two pop songs I didn't particularly like hacked together has made one fo my favourite mash-ups ever. Freelance Hellraiser's "A Stroke Of Genius"

 

Bill McClintock's PLAYLIST can be found here:

 

 

[fretmeister]

Anything and everything by the Beatles.

Love the songs, hate the vocals -but there are many excellent covers.

[TrevorR]

2 hours ago, Dood said:

I LOVE mash-ups. I started enjoying Wax Audio's produce many years ago, but right now Bill McClintock is doing some top level 'tampering'!! I will quite happily listen to albums worth of quality mashing! Actually, as a guilty pleasure, two pop songs I didn't particularly like hacked together has made one fo my favourite mash-ups ever. Freelance Hellraiser's "A Stroke Of Genius"

 

Bill McClintock's PLAYLIST can be found here:

 

 

I think this is probably my fave mash up...

 

[TheGreek]

To throw a spanner in the works....

Jive Bunny

[TheGreek]

...but infinitely better than the original..