“Where words fail, music speaks.” ― Hans Christian Andersen

To Cover, or Not to Cover (When it’s a good idea to leave well-enough alone)

This article was originally posted in March 2013, but is worth reposting for our new fan base.

It’s about that time of year when the group decides to add new songs to the play-list for the upcoming concert season. IT’S MY PARTY! is faced with many challenges when selecting songs. On the odd showcase event, it’s a no-brainer to perform as many original and arcane tunes as possible. However, that strategy would fail at our typical Western, NY performances, where the audience leans toward songs they know and already like. Although we try to strike a balance between a few originals, some esoteric numbers, and a good amount of charting songs from the ’60s and ’70s, we still have folks, from time-to-time, approach us after shows upset that they didn’t recognize many songs we performed. Recalling the big hits we just performed like, “Chapel of Love,” and “It’s My Party,” doesn’t propitiate these audience members, and they leave the concert disappointed. Unlike 2013, our recent balance of songs leans toward more recognizable tunes, including a spattering of male vocal hits.

This brings me to my thoughts on when and how to cover a particular song. There are some songs I would view as untouchable, in that the original shows such genius and musical pathos, it simply can not be attempted as a cover. Almost every Shangri-las song falls into this category. An attempt to cover “Leader of the Pack” would come off as stilted, that one, although recognizable to all, is best left alone. On the other hand you could give “Long Live Our Love” a try. We had included Dusty Springfield’s “I Only Want To Be With You,” in the past, but the attempt fell flat; clearly we were reaching too far on that one. We added this song back into our set list in 2018.

Sometimes the best strategy for some covers — and this would not sit well with those wanting to hear a recognizable tune — is to interpret that song in a unique or creative way. If you will, making that song your own. Look for the girls trying a few of these this year. Was Santana’s version of “She’s Not There” a good cover? Sure, and he put his own spin on the song. Any Zombies song is pretty much untouchable; don’t even try to replicate them! The entire Zombies album Odessey and Oracle is a masterpiece, but that’s a subject for a future post.

On the very rare occasion, the cover can actually eclipse the original recording. For this to happen, it can’t be one of those untouchables. The one instance that comes to mind is the artist, Lick the Tins and their ’80s cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” originally recorded by Elvis Presley in 1961. This song is ripe for a cover, hey, it’s not from one of the Sun sessions! Some may argue, it’s not one of his best. Lick the Tins took the song in a whole new direction. As Ron Stein, of whom It’s My Party is the brain child, said, “Lick the Tins performed the song the way it should have been originally recorded.” That coming from one of the top Elvis fans of all time!

So I will leave you with two links, one to the original Presley version, and the other to the wonderful rendition by Lick the Tins. Give a listen, and feel free to weigh in on this subject by posting your thoughts.