Music Is Universal, Or, Covers That (Respectively) Destroy The Original
We all love music. We also enjoy covers. What happens when a cover surpasses an original?
I’ve always thought that Bauhaus’s cover of “Ziggy Stardust” bested the original. Much more raw. Just better. Murphy and Co. tapped into something that Bowie hinted at in the original version. And that is saying something.
Then again, metal is metal. So you gotta’ prove yourself if you are going to top the classics. And imagine topping the original metal band (to my mind), Black Sabbath. Well, Charles Bradley (rest in peace, you sweaty soul God) did. He turned Bill Ward’s lament of a relationship dying into a painful wallop of emotion:
Charles Bradley performs soulful cover of Black Sabbath's 'Changes'
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That kills on multiple levels. Full stop.
And I am sure some of you heard this before (you, the educated BBG! masses). But I had not. And when I did hear it, I fell back in my chair.
Good songs can suffer a bad remake and still retain their luster. But a great song made greater by a great artist is another thing. Bradley didn’t just do the song justice. He did what Sabbath hinted at, and then went beyond them.
Music is amazing. We are lucky to live in a world where Iommi and Co. collided with Bradley.