Deadeye21’s Song Roulette - Round 9 Results

[King Postwhore]

Nice!

[Deadeye21]

Bat for Lashes - The Boys of Summer
Sent by Puppies_On_Acid

Everyone knows the original. Such a great song, you gotta blast it several times per summer, right?

Here comes something that I actually think is the most perfect way to change this particular song, ever. This doesn't try to out-rock the original, it doesn't just stay in the original style but with a female vocal, this breaks it down to the barebones. It kept the melody and the chords, but also picked up on a few key features of the lyrics and ran with them. For me, this is a song of nostalgia as well as a love song. And by stripping it down to a piano and a bit of synth holding the chords, this is exactly what I'm feeling from the instrumental as sell. The Boys of Summer was always a killer rock song, but I never felt it captured the same vibe that the lyrics in isolation did. Boom. Here you go. Nothing's left out. No pace is lost. But there's just something extra special in the way this one is delivered that sticks it above and beyond for me.This might be better than the original, truth be told.

5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Karnivool - The Only Way
Sent by romdrums

So, Karnivool. This is probably very unfair to everyone else. I absolutely love Karnivool and they are pretty much the best thing Perth has ever put out (though I think Voyager is a better band for my own taste).

While the original track is a little more poppy and partially dance oriented, it really lent itself nicely to a rework by Karnivool. This thing takes the original riff and throws it straight back in your face with distorted guitars and Jon Stockman's bass tone. Like DAMN!! The thing is, this feels so right, like it could've been a Karnivool single. It's a perfect blend between Themata and Sound Awake!
Kenny's vocals don't really change it up too much from the original Gotye version, but it feels perfectly written for his voice. It really says something when by changing the genre while staying very respectful to the original song, you create something that sounds so much like something that Karnivool wrote themselves.

Horns way the hell up 
+
 

[Deadeye21]

Johnny Cash - Hurt
Sent by Sacul

Pretty much exactly the same sentiments as the Karnivool writeup and the Show Must Go On but kinda in reverse. In fact, it's so baffling this is a cover because this is the best known version of the song anywhere. While the Nine Inch Nails song kinda plays on an unsettling vibe, this version sits much stronger and more somber. This is such a powerful song and one of my absolute favourite songs that Johnny Cash ever put out. It's truly amazing. I personally love this a hell of a lot more than the Nine Inch Nails version. I think everyone does, including Trent Reznor himself, who said in an interview that hearing the song itself was like watching someone else having sex with his girlfriend, but the accompanying video made him realise the song wasn't his anymore. And I think that paraphrasing says it all.

5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Michael Kelsey - Kashmir
Sent by ReaperKK

Kashmir! Such a complex song and such an iconic one too.

I kinda love this version. This is a version that took a lot of risks by making it a solo composition, but he pulls it off admirably. I like that he manages to keep it reserved and yet bombastic too. This is actually a masterwork if we're considering how much he's managing to pull off at once. Getting it all here in one take, and seemingly all 100% live is beyond baffling to me.

It's just a problem that the original also has that holds this song back for me. I have always thought this song was too long for it's own good. The ideas are good, but the song becomes very repetitive once that first bridge is over and it's back to the main body of the song again. I don't know. As someone who isn't a huge fan of the song, I thought this one in particular was great.

4.5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

John Scofield - The House of the Rising Sun
Sent by Elite

Ok, so this is a song that I'm actually performing in my solo set tonight. Just to give you an idea of how familiar I am with the original.

This version takes an odd approach to it that I am surprised worked quite as well as it did. For a song that follows a very simple pattern and doesn't really stray from it, this has been turned into an impressive instrumental. The soloing is technical, soulful and masterfully executed here. The drumming and double bass keeps things fairly lively, which is great.

I think everyone here does a very admirable job; but I kinda wish I was able to be there to actually watch this performance rather than just listening to it. I feel this is a great jam session that would be fun to experience in a club. But, I feel that letting it be this long on the record was maybe a little too much. This is 7 and a half minutes of the same chord progression over and over, which isn't necessarily the most entertaining thing to listen to in full.

However, that massive negative aside. This is still really good. Props to John and his band for putting this one out there. I'm kinda keen to see what else they've got, so that's a plus.

4 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Bogáti Bokor Ákos - Yellow Submarine
Sent by HOF

Of all The Beatles tracks, there were e few that always felt kinda goofy in all honesty. This is one I never took all that seriously. It just felt so odd to me. Maybe it's because I wasn't there at the time, or because I lack the ability to get high (fearing needles, not being great with pills and honestly not really having it in me to smoke).

All of that said, I love this! His voice somehow reminds me of Arjen Lucassen, albeit with a different accent. I love the way the band comes in, I love the feeling of the song as a whole. I actually just have a really good time listening to this. Those vocal harmonies in the choruses are so cool!

Yeah, I don't really know what it is about this version, but this is great.I am intrigued, however. This video has very few views and the channel few subscribers. How did you come across this?

4.75 + 1

[Deadeye21]

SHEL - The Battle of Evermore
Sent by lonestar

Not a Led Zeppelin song that I'm familiar with. My preliminary listen tells me that this is very similar to the original.

Here's the thing, I like this better. Something about the instrumentation and the beautiful harmonisation gives me a feeling of almost a Minstrel telling the tale of the battle of Evermore. I like it. There just isn't all that much to say about it. These ladies absolutely nail the harmonies and I prefer their vocals to Plant's at the end of the day.

4 + 1

[Deadeye21]

LORD - Judas Be My Guide
Sent by wolfking

A song that was wasted on Fear of the Dark and then never played live despite it being one of the best of the era.

It's great to see someone actually dig this song out for a cover. The music sounds great, a modern tone but more or less playing the song note for note. The interesting change is in the vocals, adding a little bit of the harshness to the starting stabs of a few lines in the verses. But he utilises a style I don't like very well and then nails the vocals real nicely.

For a song that I reckon is one of the best of the No Prayer of the Dark era, this is actually a really welcome cover and I think it's been pulled off really well!

4.75 + 1

[HOF]

Bogáti Bokor Ákos - Yellow Submarine
Sent by HOF

Of all The Beatles tracks, there were e few that always felt kinda goofy in all honesty. This is one I never took all that seriously. It just felt so odd to me. Maybe it's because I wasn't there at the time, or because I lack the ability to get high (fearing needles, not being great with pills and honestly not really having it in me to smoke).

All of that said, I love this! His voice somehow reminds me of Arjen Lucassen, albeit with a different accent. I love the way the band comes in, I love the feeling of the song as a whole. I actually just have a really good time listening to this. Those vocal harmonies in the choruses are so cool!

Yeah, I don't really know what it is about this version, but this is great.I am intrigued, however. This video has very few views and the channel few subscribers. How did you come across this?

4.75 + 1

I actually found this on Bandcamp first. He's got a whole album of covers. I think I was actually searching for Kevin Gilbert stuff and he came up with a cover of "The Best of Everything," and then I ended up checking out the rest of the songs as well.

https://bogatibokorakos.bandcamp.com/album/covered

He also has a band called Yesterdays which have some interesting stuff. Most of the songs are in Hungarian though!

[Deadeye21]

Prototype - Sea of Madness
Sent by Vmadera00

Sea of Madness is really up there on Somewhere in Time, an album that's really high on my rankings for Iron Maiden. This one has some serious work to do.

It's definitely a great attempt. But, most of it is instrumentally great for me. This singer does a decent enough job, but this is a song that I come to mainly because of how great Bruce is on it. This singer really is not Bruce level, though I can't expect him to be. There are a few bits that stick out to me, like missing out that little "ooh" at the start of the quieter section between the solos and sounding kinda flat on the "madden-ee-ee-ess" sustained notes. I think he packs in a bit more aggression, which in some ways suits this version of the song, but only this version of the song.

Holy hell, the guitarist on this is great though! Nailed Adrian's solo on this. The instrumental saved this from being a total flop for me. I actually really like this down a semitone or two like this is, the drummer is absolutely bashing those drums and the bassist does a really nice job. I think the production is a little flat though.

3.5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Stevie Ray Vaughn - Little Wing
Sent by Stadler

Used to cover this in one of my many projects, or at leas the Concrete Blonde version. It's a great song, but one thing that really stood out for me was the lyrics. I remember hearing this one night in Bali and a restaurant called Ultimo and just zoning out enjoying the tunes.

Originally being a Hendrix song, what I'm about to say is blasphemous as all hell, but I actually think Stevie's guitar on this is the most definitive version for my money. Stevie has just the right touch for this song and does a lot with the relatively simple chord progression. Mind you, that's also probably because this version is an instrumental, something I thought would be a detriment to my enjoyment of the song, but honestly wasn't. Bit of an anticlimax of an ending though.

Stevie is an amazing guitarist and I think this may actually be one of my favourites from him.

4 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Lingua Ignota - Wicked Game
Sent by Senecadawg2

This is a song I really like through Corey Taylors cover version. I've since come to enjoy the original. This is a very different approach to it.

This is another piece that's very much defined by the vocal. Always has been. Lingua has a very nice voice, very operatic in spots (best shown off by the chorus). But the thing is, as much as I like her and I like the song, I'm not sure I like her voice for the song. Everything here is great, in isolation, but as a collective whole, I find myself kinda wishing I was just listening to Corey or Chris hitting this song the way I'm used to. Maybe I'm being overly critical here, but this one just didn't do it for me. Glad you love it though, Seneca.

The piano backing is beautiful.that's my biggest compliment to this. I think the piano works very well in favour of the guitar here.

3 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Chaos Addict - I Will Remember
Sent by Tomislav95

Toto's original version of this is something I never actually took two. It was nice, but it was just another ballad that didn't push the boundaries of what Toto could do. Then Chaos Addict came in and said "Ya know what, metal this up and it could be a good song". Turns out they were right!

This is actually a great cover, because it takes a lot from the original song but makes it way better! This singer rules the track, the guitars take a piano hook and make it just as melodic but rock it up to the Nth degree. The clean guitar tone is really nice, the drumming is great. This is just everything I want this song to sound like. I think the lyric itself actually lends better to this version than it did the original.

Good stuff!

4.5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Train - Ramble On
Sent by kingshmegland

I'm sorry Train, but you're not supposed to be this good. You can't be best known for Drops of Jupiter and Hey Soul Sister and then perfectly encapsulate this song.

This isn't one of my favourite LZ songs by a long shot, but this song recently came back into the fold for me with James LaBrie's cover. But here comes this one, which just really nails the original. His voice sounds exactly right, the harmonics to the lead break is pretty exactly right. I'm baffled by how this works. This is pretty damn good, I'm not gonna lie. It's a gold star for Train, but it's still not the strongest one I've heard in this round.

4.5 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Crippled Black Phoenix - Of a Lifteime
Sent by twosuitsluke

I pretty much don't listen to Journey, so this one was all new to me.

I really just wanna hear more Crippled Black Phoenix after this! That opening guitar tone is really cool, her voice is amazing and it's just a great sounding band.
The song is pretty good too. This flows really nicely and has some great guitar lines throughout. With this particular guitar tone, I'm almost reminded a bit of Spiral Architect by Sabbath and I kinda want to hear this band cover that next.

4 + 1

[Deadeye21]

Lemm - Absolunote
Sent by Revenge319

And at last, we make it to the last song of the day! I have nothing to compare this to, as you opted not to play the theme this time round.

So let's dive into this. This is certainly off the beaten path. I like the voice a lot, even if I don't know what it's saying at all. I kinda like the way the intro gets recontextualised as the song keeps going.

Man, this is really just not my scene for the first half, but that bridge bit and the instrumental section that follows it are really nice. I just don't really follow along with what the song is trying to do at all. Maybe it's through the lack of context because of the language barrier?

Sorry Revenge, glad you like this, but I really don't get it.

3

[Deadeye21]

Rankings

Now that was a good fun round! Here's my ranking for this time around.
Karnivool - The Only Way (I promise I tried not to be biased)
US Army - Time Stand Still
Johnny Cash - Hurt
Puppies_On_Acid - Boys of Summer
LORD- Judas Be My Guide - lonestar
Bogáti Bokor Ákos - Yellow Submarine
Tommy Johansson - Show Must Go On
Chaos Addict - I Will Remember
Michael Kelsey - Kashmir
Train - Ramble On
SHEL - The Battle of Evermore
Crippled Black Phoenix - Of a Lifetime
Stevie Ray Vaughn - Little Wing
John Scofield - House of the Rising Sun
Black.midi. - 21st Century Schizoid Man
Prototype - Seas of Madness
Lingua Ignota - Wicked Game
Lemm - Absolunote

[Deadeye21]

And here's the math! Very large change this time around. Hey Elite, you're moving up in the world too!

The score so far...
HOF – 32.75
kingshmegland - 31
TAC – 30.75
Tomislav95 – 30.5
Sacul – 30
Puppies_On_Acid - 29.75
lonestar - 29.5
jingle.boy.- 29.5
ReaperKK– 29.25
Buddyhunter1 – 28.75
romdrums - 28.5
Vmadera00 - 28.5
wolfking - 28
senecadawg2 - 27.25
twosuitsluke - 27
Stadler - 26.5
Elite – 26.25
Revenge319 - 26

[Revenge319]

A 3/5? That's actually better than what I was expecting!

The song structure is a little unusual, and I was almost considering sending a shortened version of it that has a more traditional song structure, at least in comparison. I'm unsure if it would have fared any better for you, though. I also don't know if the lack of a language barrier would've helped; in my case, I've never really understood any Japanese and I still fell in love with this song almost immediately after I first discovered it. Nice to hear that you did find a couple things to like about it, though! Above all else, though, I'm glad you gave it a shot.

I have a couple ideas in mind for the next round, so I'll have to think over that. I'll try to send soon! Hopefully I can crawl out of last place in these next two rounds...

[Deadeye21]

A 3/5? That's actually better than what I was expecting!

Nice to hear that you did find a couple things to like about it, though! Above all else, though, I'm glad you gave it a shot.

I have a couple ideas in mind for the next round, so I'll have to think over that. I'll try to send soon! Hopefully I can crawl out of last place in these next two rounds...

It wasn’t awful, it’s just not my scene.

I’m sure you’ll come up with something good.

[King Puppies and the Acid Guppies]

I've done well the last few rounds. My last 2 songs are going to tank my score, but that's OK. Everyone needs to hear these 2 bands at least once in their life. I'm sure most of you can figure out one of the bands....

[Tomislav95]

Glad you liked it. There are actually two singers on the song albeit they sing in similar style

[Deadeye21]

I've done well the last few rounds. My last 2 songs are going to tank my score, but that's OK. Everyone needs to hear these 2 bands at least once in their life. I'm sure most of you can figure out one of the bands....

 Are we sure I haven’t heard these bands already? That’s the main thing

[jingle.boy]

J-Boy is on a roll lately!

At least I'm doing something right in life at the moment.

Deadeye... While I'm glad to have given you a song that you adored so much, I'd have rather that you told me that you knew that version, and asked for something new that you hadn't heard before.  Personally, that's the primary purpose of most roulette's - to discover new music.

It does warm my heart to see three Zeppelin covers submitted. 

[Deadeye21]

In all honesty, I forgot it was this one til I saw it again. Didn’t remember the military but til I did the Impressions - too late then!

[Lonk]

Not bad, I knew it would be risky to send a Maiden cover so I'm happy with the score 

[Buddyhunter1]

Damn, I just got a paddling!

[HOF]

For the epic round bonus, is it ok to send an epic that has been split up into multiple tracks?

[Deadeye21]

For the epic round bonus, is it ok to send an epic that has been split up into multiple tracks?

Yeah, guess so.

[Buddyhunter1]

Sent something big and girthy.

[lonestar]

Sent something big and girthy.

Same....my epic should be registered as a weapon of ass destruction.

[twosuitsluke]

Sent something extremely predictable

[HOF]

Sent something awesome. I think.

[Revenge319]

Sent something that I'm surprised hasn't been sent yet.