At Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 00:37:29 Greg Sager wrote:

>Quoting "John L. Micek" <jlmicek@mindspring.com>:
>
>...and produced by the Matrix, good.
>
>"Produced by" is the tip of the iceberg - they also wrote or co-wrote most 
>of the songs as well! >Wonder what Avril's songs would sound like without 
>the help?
>
[snip]
>Over the years I've come to realize that musical ability and songwriting
>ability represent two entirely different skill sets. I wouldn't be at all
>surprised if they are skills derived from two completely different parts of
>the brain. The world is full of musos who have chops that can bring down 
>the
>house, but who couldn't construct a halfway-memorable song if their lives
>depended upon it. Likewise, there are plenty of people out there whose
>instrumental and/or vocal abilities are less than facile who nevertheless
>are highly gifted songwriters.

An excellent overview, Greg. And most of which I agree with. Your 
observations about cover bands that can make songs their own has been 
something I've seen time and time again....The Carpet Frogs come to mind. 
They're still doing it...10 years later. And recently have been writing 
again. The originals are decent, but the covers still outshine. Greg 
Godovitz's and Bob Segarini's ANGER BROTHERS (an extension of the Carpet 
Frogs ideology) took the premise of a stripped down set of British Invasion 
songs to new heights. And the two gents are exceptional songwriters on TOP 
of that. Their 2002 s/t debut was a blend of both....with The Beatles "And 
Your Bird Can Sing" and Badfinger's "Baby Blue" mixed in with the originals 
to great effect.

I was in a cover band in the '90s called Spare Parts who also excelled at 
what we did....classic rock, current Top40 and eventually some originals 
which were recorded and mixed with one cover tune (a semi-acoustic version 
of U2's "Running To Stand Still") to critical acclaim up here. So, it can be 
done.

However, I've had a similar discussion about this on another list and I've 
got a real problem with artists whose sole output is cover material (Anne 
Murray, Kenny Rogers) especially if their vocal chops are suspect -- or 
those who once wrote extensively and who became vaccuous by virtue of their 
enterpretation of hackneyed and cliched material  for the sake of 
contractual obligation (Ringo Starr, Rod Stewart, et al). If you've got 
nothing to say artistically, then don't bother recording. I don't think 
anyone's waiting for the umpteenth remake of "It's A Wonderful 
World"....though Joey Ramone's version popping up as bumper music for the 
"Amazing Race" TV show last night was quite a treat.

I love cover versions of songs -- witness the four tribute CDs we've 
released to date. But, when it occupies the entire creative output of an 
artist, it's nothing more than filler. Wait until there's a good reason, or 
as Greg has pointed out....there's enough GOOD and/or obscure cover material 
to make it matter.

Jaimie Vernon,
Bullseye Records of Canada, Inc.