best cover song

ori.elias5 · May 25, 2014, 04:20:16 AM

I was listening today to 2 great covers- "bad" and "diary of a madman" and figured out the Dream theater is probably one of the best cover bands i know. wow.

Which covers are your favorite?

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 04:39:19 AM

Quote from: ori.elias5 on May 25, 2014, 04:20:16 AM
I was listening today to 2 great covers- "bad" and "diary of a madman" and figured out the Dream theater is probably one of the best cover bands i know. wow.

Which covers are your favorite?

I still gotta check that Diary of a Madman one.

Sycsa · May 25, 2014, 04:56:59 AM

I don't really care for the covers (although I sometimes listen to a few of them on ACOS), but I share your sentiment of DT being one of the best cover bands, just because of the sheer amount of covers they've put out and the wide musical spectrum they managed to cover (no pun intended).

One point when I did care for a minute was when I heard that they covered Made in Japan. Purple was my favorite band at the time and I was well aware of the musical capabilities of DT, so I was massively looking forward to hearing it. It ended up being utterly disappointing, mostly because of the horrendous toy-keyboard organ tone of Jordan and his equally unfitting playing style. Playing on a Hammond organ necessitates a completely different approach and mindset than playing on any other type keyboard, something that Jordan never quite managed to nail perfectly (although the Blind Faith and the Bridges in the Sky solos are nice). Derek, on the other hand, knows how to play the organ, he even hauled around a big Leslie speaker in his DT days (unlike Jordan, who still digitally simulates it, which sounds bad) and had a B3 on stage for the most of his career. They could have made a killer Deep Purple tribute with him.

Tom Bombadil · May 25, 2014, 08:24:33 AM

Funeral for a Friend.

lithium112 · May 25, 2014, 03:09:19 PM

I love their cover of Cemetery Gates, up until Dave Mustain lays down his steaming turd of a solo. Their cover of Stargaze is awesome as well.

Edit: Just listened to Cemetery Gates again. Dave's solo makes me so angry. Seriously the worst guitar playing I've ever heard from a musician at that level.

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 04:33:52 PM

Quote from: lithium112 on May 25, 2014, 03:09:19 PM
I love their cover of Cemetery Gates, up until Dave Mustain lays down his steaming turd of a solo. Their cover of Stargaze is awesome as well.

Edit: Just listened to Cemetery Gates again. Dave's solo makes me so angry. Seriously the worst guitar playing I've ever heard from a musician at that level.

Yeah, his solo is inexcusable. Just pathetic.

black_biff_stadler · May 25, 2014, 04:44:10 PM

I've seen morons on youtube defend Dave by saying his inclusion was a last-minute decision (I literally have no idea if that means a few days or within 30 minutes of it being played) but if that's the case they shoudn't have played it in the first place or just let JP play it since, even at his worst, he'd be able to freestyle something sounding vaguely like Dime's solo instead of the colostomy bag we ended up with.

sneakyblueberry · May 25, 2014, 04:46:50 PM

Pretty much everything from the BC&SL bonus disc thing.

And Damage Inc with cookie monster.

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 05:05:57 PM

Quote from: sneakyblueberry on May 25, 2014, 04:46:50 PM
Pretty much everything from the BC&SL bonus disc thing.

Except TTAL.

Zook · May 25, 2014, 05:07:41 PM

What's wrong with To Tame a Land?

RaiseTheKnife · May 25, 2014, 05:09:44 PM

I was at the Los Angeles show when DT played Diary of a Madman, and it was so unexpected and breathtakingly awesome, so it ranks high for me. Compare that to Metallica's recent live rendition (which coincidentally I was also at that benefit show). If DT covers a band, they will do it proud.

Also, I really love Winter by Tori Amos. James comes across so vulnerable and exposed, and truly infuses the song with emotion.

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 05:09:58 PM

Quote from: Zook on May 25, 2014, 05:07:41 PM
What's wrong with To Tame a Land?

I kinda think it sucks, and James sounds pretty terrible on it IMO. They should have rerecorded it during the BC sessions where the other songs were conceived.

Zook · May 25, 2014, 05:11:30 PM

You suck and sound pretty terrible on it.

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 05:12:55 PM

Quote from: Zook on May 25, 2014, 05:11:30 PM
You suck and sound pretty terrible on it.

I know I would.

Zook · May 25, 2014, 05:17:23 PM

I'm listening now, and the only thing wrong to my ears is the production. Sounds kinda flat, but the performances are great.

wolfking · May 25, 2014, 05:18:36 PM

I guess for me hearing Maiden in a DT kind of way with keyboards and stuff leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I think that's my problem not DT's. I think James is quite flat on it though.

Sacul · May 25, 2014, 05:38:35 PM

Stargazer and Any Colour You Like, can't decide.

Setlist Scotty · May 25, 2014, 07:54:35 PM

I'm glad that DT covered as many tunes as they did over time - definitely one of the things that I miss with the current band (since the covers were MP's thing). Having seen as many shows as I have, I was fortunate enough to see them perform several different covers (all of Master of Puppets, Sheep, Echoes part 1, Machine Messiah, etc) but for me, hands down it was their cover of Rush's The Necromancer.

I still vividly remember them starting to play it, and me making the mistake of thinking they were playing Peruvian Skies. Only problem is that they had already played that song earlier in the set, so it couldn't be that one! Finally I realized it was the long lost Rush track, and then I kept thinking that they were only gonna do an excerpt of the song before moving on to something else. It wasn't until they got to the third (final) section that I could see they were gonna play the whole friggin' thing all the way thru!

Honestly, it's not one of my favorite tracks from Rush, but I LOVE the way that DT performed it. If there's been one thing I've been critical about with DT in doing covers, it was that they were too "faithful" to the originals - they didn't add enough of their own style to make it their own. But this was not the case with The Necromancer. Jordan playing rhythm guitars on his keys and doing one of the guitar solos in his own style, JL singing the song far better than Geddy did or could now and even JP adding his own flavor to the song.

rumborak · May 25, 2014, 09:21:19 PM

I'm always somewhat torn on their covers. On one hand, they are mostly absolutely masterful, and most bands could only dream of laying down such renditions.
On the other hand, I kinda also don't see the point. It's not as if they created a new version of the song (say, like G'nR did with Knocking on Heaven's Door) which would warrant a studio recording. After all, they're in the end recreating, to the best of their abilities, the original tune; to me that belongs on a live stage, not on a recorded track.

Sycsa · May 26, 2014, 06:03:34 AM

Quote from: rumborak on May 25, 2014, 09:21:19 PM
I'm always somewhat torn on their covers. On one hand, they are mostly absolutely masterful, and most bands could only dream of laying down such renditions.
On the other hand, I kinda also don't see the point. It's not as if they created a new version of the song (say, like G'nR did with Knocking on Heaven's Door) which would warrant a studio recording. After all, they're in the end recreating, to the best of their abilities, the original tune; to me that belongs on a live stage, not on a recorded track.

Agreed. Another sign that it was a MP thing is that they did a cover CD for almost every Transatlantic release with a similar mindset, mostly staying faithful to the originals.

Ben_Jamin · May 26, 2014, 08:48:06 AM

Quote from: Sacul on May 25, 2014, 05:38:35 PM
Any Colour You Like

My god this, they really captured it more so than Pink Floyd did. I'll add ALL of Darkside of The Moon, JR doing On The Run and including Theresa on The Great Gig In The Sky are all excellent performances.

Take Your Fingers From My Hair, The Queen Suite, and Odyssey are really energetic and wonderful.

One song I really wished they covered fully...Bohemian Rhapsody. I could see MP doing those high pitch vocals during the awesome middle section.

Daso · May 26, 2014, 01:51:38 PM

Quote from: Ben_Jamin on May 26, 2014, 08:48:06 AM
One song I really wished they covered fully...Bohemian Rhapsody. I could see MP doing those high pitch vocals during the awesome middle section.

You'd be missing on that whether they ever cover it or not, though

Grizz · May 26, 2014, 01:55:10 PM

Quote from: Daso on May 26, 2014, 01:51:38 PM
Quote from: Ben_Jamin on May 26, 2014, 08:48:06 AM
One song I really wished they covered fully...Bohemian Rhapsody. I could see MP doing those high pitch vocals during the awesome middle section.

You'd be missing on that whether they ever cover it or not, though

Wait WHAT

Rodni Demental · May 26, 2014, 04:36:32 PM

I like nearly all of the covers for what they are. I don't think there should be any rules when covering. Sometimes covers sound good staying true to the original but with a bit of a of an energetic jump start to give it new life. Sometimes re-interpretations in the artists own style is good, it might give you a completely new perspective on a song. Other times you might not resonate with a newer version due to ties with the original or unwillingness to agree that it was even necessary to change something that wasn't broken. Sometimes an artist just wants to express something that originally inspired them and might have a connection to that artists own music.

I don't know what DTs best cover song is, I actually especially like the most recent uncovered album from BL&SL special edition. Those studio renditions are well made and have a giant DT stamp on them that differentiates them from the originals. I just hope DT don't stop doing covers completely as they've certainly slowed right down..

rumborak · May 26, 2014, 04:56:44 PM

Don't get me wrong, it's not the fact that they want to do all these covers. It's the professional studio treatment those covers get that makes me scratch my head. I mean, I'm assuming that the BCSL covers were recorded in the same studio as the actual album, right? That's a lot of dough for recording your favorite tunes in an unaltered form.

hefdaddy42 · May 27, 2014, 07:50:23 AM

Yeah, but that was the only time they did that (studio recordings of covers). As a one-off thing, I think it's a cool job, and they definitely did a great job with it.

But as good a job as they always did on live covers, I'm glad that isn't really a "thing" anymore.

Setlist Scotty · May 27, 2014, 10:50:33 AM

Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 27, 2014, 07:50:23 AM
Yeah, but that was the only time they did that (studio recordings of covers). As a one-off thing, I think it's a cool job, and they definitely did a great job with it.

But as good a job as they always did on live covers, I'm glad that isn't really a "thing" anymore.

I fail to understand why anyone are glad they don't really do any covers any more. Aside from performing a cover album in it's entirety (which I can understand not liking, but still disagree with), doing a cover song here or there at a show is a great surprise, it's cool for fans of those bands/songs, it's something else that could be added as a B-side or part of an official bootleg and it could possibly introduce some fans (who don't know the band/song) to more music they might enjoy. The only "downside" could be that they could've played another one of their own songs - but really, is it that big of a deal to sacrifice one song on occasion to hear something different and unique?

lithium112 · May 27, 2014, 11:29:17 AM

BTBAM made an entire album of covers that stayed very true to the original recordings. In an interview they said that they greatly enjoyed the process of figuring out how to capture the original sound and tone of the recording, so maybe the DT guys felt the same way about their covers.

son_ov_hades · May 27, 2014, 12:58:34 PM

I really have a thing for the Damage Inc. cover with Barney on vocals. Napalm Death holds a special place in my heart and the crossing of Grindcore and Prog in a Metallica song is just so awkward and amazing.

cramx3 · May 27, 2014, 01:23:35 PM

Quote from: Tom Bombadil on May 25, 2014, 08:24:33 AM
Funeral for a Friend.

Love this, listened to it and the rest of the covers on ACOS yesterday while mowing the lawn. Not sure its my favorite, but its really well done.

In general, all the covers DT have done are awesome except the Master of Puppets album, just doesnt sound right with Rudess instead of another guitar. They play it just fine, but it doesnt sounds right to me.

Some notables for me:

Gangland by Iron Maiden - They totally changed it and its amazing.
The Big Medley - Multiple songs there, but a lot of awesome classic rock parts that are really well done.
Stargazers - Labrie dominates
Take The Time (from OiaLT) - the ending of the song that goes into the ending of Freebird is really fun and awesome
Queen - Anything theyve done by Queen has been awesome.

Ben_Jamin · May 27, 2014, 07:58:16 PM

Quote from: Daso on May 26, 2014, 01:51:38 PM
Quote from: Ben_Jamin on May 26, 2014, 08:48:06 AM
One song I really wished they covered fully...Bohemian Rhapsody. I could see MP doing those high pitch vocals during the awesome middle section.

You'd be missing on that whether they ever cover it or not, though

Guess you missed "wished" in my post.

hefdaddy42 · May 28, 2014, 03:37:38 AM

Quote from: Setlist Scotty on May 27, 2014, 10:50:33 AM
Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 27, 2014, 07:50:23 AM
Yeah, but that was the only time they did that (studio recordings of covers). As a one-off thing, I think it's a cool job, and they definitely did a great job with it.

But as good a job as they always did on live covers, I'm glad that isn't really a "thing" anymore.
I fail to understand why anyone are glad they don't really do any covers any more. Aside from performing a cover album in it's entirety (which I can understand not liking, but still disagree with), doing a cover song here or there at a show is a great surprise, it's cool for fans of those bands/songs, it's something else that could be added as a B-side or part of an official bootleg and it could possibly introduce some fans (who don't know the band/song) to more music they might enjoy. The only "downside" could be that they could've played another one of their own songs - but really, is it that big of a deal to sacrifice one song on occasion to hear something different and unique?

But they aren't different and unique - they are exact replicas of the originals. And I don't think it is a band's job to introduce fans to music from other bands.

Once in a blue moon is OK, I guess. But doing covers all the time seems beneath a real band. Do your own music.

Setlist Scotty · May 28, 2014, 12:44:54 PM

Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 28, 2014, 03:37:38 AM
But they aren't different and unique - they are exact replicas of the originals.

As I already said, if there's one thing that I didn't like, it was the fact that in many cases, they did play things too close to the originals. But even then, there is still little bits and pieces of them shining thru. And I still maintain that their cover of The Necromancer is awesome, as are several of their other covers.

Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 28, 2014, 03:37:38 AM
And I don't think it is a band's job to introduce fans to music from other bands.

While it obviously is not their priority, nor their job, what if they really enjoy a particular song and/or artist and want to play that song because it moves them, and they want their fans to experience the same joy that they have? Should they not be allowed to do so? By your reasoning, I guess they should never talk about their influences or what music they enjoy listening to, either.

Quote from: hefdaddy42 on May 28, 2014, 03:37:38 AM
Once in a blue moon is OK, I guess. But doing covers all the time seems beneath a real band. Do your own music.

C'mon hef - they never did covers "all the time". If the band did covers every night or even on a regular basis, you might have a point. But those one-off covers, and even the full cover albums were done extremely rarely - and in the case of the cover albums, it was after they already did a full set of DT music (nevermind the encore of DT music) on the second night of a two-night stand. And unlike plenty of other bands, they never did covers that they released as part of one of their actual albums (the bonus disc of BCaSL is not part of the official album). So even when they did live covers sporadically, the rest of the set still was of their own music, and these sets (even at 2 hours) lasted longer than what many bands will typically play for headlining gigs.

bosk1 · May 28, 2014, 01:15:46 PM

Stargazer, Any Colour You Like, and The Big Medley have to be some of my faves. It is hard to pick one out of those. But I like The Big Medley so much that me and a group of friends put together an alternate version and performed it at a gig a few years ago (but ours was Peace of Mind>Carry On My Wayward Son>Bohemian Rhapsody>Peace of Mind outro). In fact another former long-time DTF member played drums on it.

Zook · May 28, 2014, 02:07:03 PM

Quote from: bosk1 on May 28, 2014, 01:15:46 PM
Stargazer, Any Colour You Like, and The Big Medley have to be some of my faves. It is hard to pick one out of those. But I like The Big Medley so much that me and a group of friends put together an alternate version and performed it at a gig a few years ago (but ours was Peace of Mind>Carry On My Wayward Son>Bohemian Rhapsody>Peace of Mind outro). In fact another former long-time DTF member played drums on it.

But I'm still here.

Bosk, now that you're more into Maiden, did you like what they did with Gangland?

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