Tesla Covers Led Zeppelin's Thank You

http://www.gamersradio.com/content/view/4969/1/

Discuss.

Atomm wrote:
http://www.gamersradio.com/content/view/4969/1/

Discuss.

I lumped them into the "hair band" category when they came out. I was never a big fan, but they got a fair amount of airplay in Pittsburgh. Given the dearth of new "Classic Rock" (sounds like an oxymoron) I'll be looking for their new stuff. Sounded quite good.

The vocals were better than I'd expected, but the sound quality of same sounded kinda cheap, like a small-time production company did it (reminiscent, but to a lesser degree, of what I've heard from local Pgh bar band CD's). Maybe the sound quality suffers in the video, and it's not an issue with the source. . .or maybe it needed a little reverb or echo. . .or it was an intended effect, to simulate the originals sound more closely.

They stayed pretty close to the original, and I've always wondered why bands do that in the studio. If you're just doing it to fill out the set, or for fun while touring, a close copy isn't a big deal. If you're gonna lay down a version of a classic tune in the studio, I'd think a different spin on it would be in order.

Overall, a good, if straightforward, cover. I'll be looking for their new tunes.

Speaking of classic rock that died when grunge hit, remember the Black Crowes?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HW01bFuSwZY

Chris Robinson's later band. Chris is in his, "Jim Morrison, the dying years" phase here 🙂

This song's on my MP3 player.

DocJon wrote:

They stayed pretty close to the original, and I've always wondered why bands do that in the studio. If you're just doing it to fill out the set, or for fun while touring, a close copy isn't a big deal. If you're gonna lay down a version of a classic tune in the studio, I'd think a different spin on it would be in order.

Wow that could be a discussion unto itself. Should bands stay close to the original or take it to a new, different, although not necessarily good, level. I am personally mixed on this as sometimes I really like it when they do it true to the original, makes me enjoy it more to hear it as it was but with new talent. Other times I do like a different take on it.

I think for a CD track, stay true and go crazy when performing it live.

Speaking of classic rock that died when grunge hit, remember the Black Crowes?

Just FYI, they are going to be down in Washington, PA next month I believe.

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Please excuse any typos in my posts lately. I am REALLY HATING FireFox's spell checker. It does not catch a lot of typos and it times out it seems if you do not correct it quick. Then the red line just goes away leaving the typo there.

Really lame for such a good browser.

I am torn on this as well. I think it certain circumstances, a good, straight forward cover of a song is like tipping your hat to the original artist. It says, I respect what you've done.

Then, there are those bands who take an original and change it up. To me, that says, I am a talented artist and I can put a good spin on what you've done. It's not disrespectful, but it is more about the new artist and less about the old.

I just thought it was a great cover, especially since Thank You is one of my favorite Zep tunes. I use to play that over and over. Another one of my favorite Zep tunes was The Lemon Song. I mean, who can't love a song that says let me squeeze your lemon, let the juice run down my leg..... :-)

As for the Black Crowes, I have to disagree with you Doc. Remember, I was in Radio from 1994-2000. The Black Crowes got a lot of airplay from us. If anything, they seemed to stop getting played closer to 2000 than 1990's grunge explosion. If I remember, the Black Crowes didn't bust onto the scene until after the initial grunge explosion.

As for Tesla, their first Album was less classic rock and more straight forward, guitar rock. There were a lot of solo's. That probably helped put them in the Hair Band Category. The next two were more classic geared and I liked them, but nothing topped Mechanical Resonance for me. I wore that tape out so fast. The only other tape that comes close to getting that kind of overplayed damage was Master of Puppets by Mettallica.

Atomm wrote:
As for the Black Crowes, I have to disagree with you Doc. Remember, I was in Radio from 1994-2000. The Black Crowes got a lot of airplay from us. If anything, they seemed to stop getting played closer to 2000 than 1990's grunge explosion. If I remember, the Black Crowes didn't bust onto the scene until after the initial grunge explosion.

As for Tesla, their first Album was less classic rock and more straight forward, guitar rock. There were a lot of solo's. That probably helped put them in the Hair Band Category. The next two were more classic geared and I liked them, but nothing topped Mechanical Resonance for me. I wore that tape out so fast. The only other tape that comes close to getting that kind of overplayed damage was Master of Puppets by Mettallica.

Yeah, I guess they kinda just self-destructed. Did it seem to you like their CD's got less and less successful for every successive release?

Define the difference between "classic rock" and "guitar rock", please. I never really heard of the latter term, and one of the defining aspects of "classic rock", to me, WAS solos.

It's a fine line. Classic to me is pre-84. Boston and Yes are the tell end of classic rock as far as I'm concerned.

To me, Classic Rock is all about the song, the sound as it's put together. While the guitar riff plays a heavy part in the song, it's not so much in your face as as constant reminder of, Hey, I'm here and I rock.

Guitar rock is pretty much the same, with one exception. The guitar is turned up. It's in your face. I wouldn't say over modulated, as much as just as booming as the singers voice. Metallica comes to mind.

Ok so I love Zeppelin. Thank-you, Lemon Song, and Dazed and Confused are some of my very favorite songs.

In any case, I didn't beleive it until I heard this, but on the Stern show last month this guy comes on to say many of Zeppelins songs are direct (I mean direct rip offs).

Now look at this site and listen to the MP3, the comment here didn't listen... these are direct rip offs... it's a long mp3, 23 minutes. But I tell you even stairway is a direct rip off.
Linky

Now I still love the music and I think Zeppelin does a better job, but it's still stolen music.

I've always just liked the original version of any song/group as it was done the first time I heard it. It beats into your head and you get in tune with it. Change (miss) a couple of notes, or a different vocalist and it seriously changes the song.

Live concerts and other artists remaking a song just ruins it for me. Only Floyd and Steffenwolf held up to a concert as far as matching the music to the albums that were released. Every other concert I'd ever went to left me with a 'live' feeling, while ok, just had a level of disappointment for me.

I want a concert to sound different than the live album. Not bad, but different. Why else would I pay good money to hear the music live......

Ok, yea, these are direct rip off. However, in every example, Led Zepplin's version sounded 100 times better.....

Bubbaspanky wrote:
Ok so I love Zeppelin. Thank-you, Lemon Song, and Dazed and Confused are some of my very favorite songs.

In any case, I didn't beleive it until I heard this, but on the Stern show last month this guy comes on to say many of Zeppelins songs are direct (I mean direct rip offs).

Now look at this site and listen to the MP3, the comment here didn't listen... these are direct rip offs... it's a long mp3, 23 minutes. But I tell you even stairway is a direct rip off.
Linky

Now I still love the music and I think Zeppelin does a better job, but it's still stolen music.

Oh hell yeah.

From Wikipedia:

Many of Led Zeppelin's earliest songs were based on blues standards, and the album also included three songs composed by others: "You Shook Me" and "I Can't Quit You Baby", both by blues artist Willie Dixon; and "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You". Regarding the last of these, at the time guitarist Jimmy Page mistakenly believed he was adapting a traditional folk song he had heard on a Joan Baez record, but this was corrected on subsequent rereleases after it was revealed that the song was composed by Anne Bredon in the 1950s. Dixon, on the other hand, received proper credit as the composer of his two songs on this album (although "You Shook Me" would later be additionally credited to J. B. Lenoir) but would go on to sue Led Zeppelin over partial use of other material of his on the band's second album.

I'm sure there are other examples.

Lexx, not digging on concert renditions, huh? To my mind, studio and live are two different animals, not to be judged by the same criteria, and to be enjoyed for different reasons. In fact, I'll listen to material live that I'd never listen to on the radio or a CD, because I look for, and enjoy, different things. If you're going into a concert and holding studio criteria in your head, I can see why you'd not enjoy it.

As for covers, one example I always hold up is "Dreams", originally by the Allman Brothers, later covered, to great effect, by Molly Hatchet. I always marvel at the same song being approached in such different ways, and each being a really great song in it's own right.

I have a collection of "Down By The River" tunes as well. . .Neil Young, Roy Buchanan and Billy Price, Buddy Miles, and a few others. Each different, each good.

Yeah see Lexx I am just the other way... typically I frown on the well produced CD or radio versions and love the live versions. Was never a huge fan of Allman Bros until I saw them live, same with James Taylor.

I remember Kate Bush doing a version of Rocket Man I thought was great. Not sure I ever liked anything else of hers, not sure I like rocket man... but with her doing that version it was great.

Back when I first started at the radio station, I worked a ton of shows with a local band called the Nixons. Their live performances were incredible. Their indie release really captured that raw power and emotion, while not sounding like something produced in their garage.

Once they signed to a major label and rerecorded some of the same material, it didn't sound the same. Their live performances got them on as the opening act for Kiss's comeback full makeup tour, however, the only song that ever made it as a hit was Sister, which was nothing like the rest of their music.

I bring this up because they always ended their show with Rocket Man and a bottle of lighter fluid, a spark and a crispy new guitar. It was awesome!

And it was a case of the live performance out doing anything they put down in the studio.

Slipknot an Marilyn Manson are another good example of this. Even if you don't like their music, but you like heavy music in general, I guarantee if you see them live one time, it will completely change what you think of them. I went from hating Manson, to loving his work, because his live show was so powerful.