Not usually a big enthusiast of covers (except for the now sadly deleted ukulele duet of En Gallop), but I listened to several done on the piano by a young lady called Zophishette that were excellent:
En Gallop - , minus the 'bitch'es, which have been replaced by 'and's! Otherwise, she sticks closely to the It's a shame she didn't take the opportunity to merge the two versions of this song, with that mind-blowing little pause near the beginning missing from hers just as it is on the Walnut Whales original, but she preserves the extra verses from that version and includes the other key moment when the two melodies come together late in the piece.
Cosmia -
Soft As Chalk - (apparently she figured this out by ear!)
Only Skin -
Divers - (remarkable for apparently being figured out only from early live performances)
If you only watch one, however, how about this tutorial for
Erin? I'll say no more!
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After writing this, I went on a Youtube search for more versions of
En Gallop, and this is what I found:
JC Chillan [Gillian Redmond, Julia Rutten and Christopher Rhys] - -
Gillian Redmond, Julia Rutten and Chris Helm -
Two very similar covers of the MEM version, cleverly arranged for harp, violin and flute - I found them a bit overblown, and missing the spirit of the original.
****Jomanna Newsom - - MEM version. the beginning sounds as though it may have been based on that long-lost ukulele version, but after that it deteriorates into a bit of a parody that didn't do much for me. Unfortunately his memory card ran out just when he seemed to be getting back into his stride again towards the end.
**Jomanna Newsom - - similar arrangement to the above MEM-based version; I found it a bit jarring in places, and I don't think the song suits a male vocal, either, though his voice is generally pleasant. However, the tone is satisfying, and he seems to grow into the song as it goes along here.
***sszreter - - nicely done harp-only rendition (no vocals) of the WW version.
****saidthemac's 3-year old child - - MEM version. Credit for teaching the youngster a wonderful song, but you wouldn't want to actually listen to it too often
Struggled with "ecomony"!
**Elle FW - - fingerstyle guitar version, male vocal. He gives it some interesting twists, with the vocals, timing, and he playing. Didn't work for me however, but well done for trying something different. Warmed to it towards the end.
***Doublewuzzy - - a respected Milkymooner, who I think did all the transcriptions upon which many of the Youtube covers of Joanna's songs are based, and that deserves massive credit. This is a piano-only (no vocals) version, and although short, sticks perfectly to the original.
Justin White (and friend) -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSFKAo4OtX0 - I really enjoyed this languid piano-and-percussion version, without vocals.
*****ChicagoSoul - - guitar, vocal, and toad-effect! I'm warming to these as I go along.
****Guyratus - - slightly quirky piano-only version (perhaps some distant vocals?) Don't think he quite nails the second half all that well.
**Simon Stockdale - - This is a guy with a guitar, but I think his vocal is the best of the male singers so far, and he presents this MEM-bases version in an unusually lively style which, surprisingly, doesn't spoil it for me.
*****Zophishette as discussed above
******* (Joanna's two original versions, of course, are both
**********, and if there was some way of combining the two versions, it'd be off the scale!)
I don't mean to criticise anyone's playing, by the way - all have my admiration for their skills; just giving my opinion on how I found the finished item.
Well ... there are more of these than I expected, and I have to stop now! I wanted to listen to all of them in one sitting, but it's cold and I'm hungry. I need to draw a bit closer to the heat and not forget that I must eat.
Posted: 23 Oct 2015, 05:01
