Themed Music Evening

On Thursday 7th August, we held another Themed Music Evening for our weekly get-together at the Scout Hall. This time the subject was "This Cover Is Better Than The Original (In My Opinion)" although not everyone agreed with that sentiment on all the songs. I received 19 suggestions to play, but knew we wouldn't have time to play everything so all the 'second choices' were eliminated, although I have included them in the list below. I played a small selection of my favourite covers whilst everyone got tea / coffee and biscuits and then we got started.  Those present sat in huddles of four or five and, as each track was played, the groups conferred to determine who had first recorded the track. Once the track was finished, I asked each team, in turn, what they'd concluded and noted who was right. Some were easily identified by everyone, some were correctly guessed by one or two teams but not the others and some were unguessable. Some people didn't recognise the covers, never mind know who did the original and, for a couple, people didn't realise that the more well-known version was actually a cover. Our selection covered jazz to punk and a couple of tracks were definitely more enjoyable for some people than others, but it was a fun evening and having a topic to discuss enabled people to socialise whilst the music was played. Unsurprisingly, The Beatles and Bob Dylan featured a few times.  

Soundcheck:
Jealous Guy by Roxy Music  (John Lennon)
I'm A Believer by The Monkees  (Neil Diamond)
Days by Kirsty MacColl  (The Kinks)
My Way by Sid Vicious / The Sex Pistols  (Frank Sinatra). If you've never heard this, I recommend a listen (and do get beyond the first 1 minute 8 seconds too).  Apparently Paul Anka (who wrote it for Frank Sinatra) loved this version. 

Playlist:
Valerie by Amy Winehouse  (The Zutons)
Make You Feel My Love by Adele  (Bob Dylan)
Eloise by The Damned  (Barry Ryan)
The First Cut Is The Deepest by Rod Stewart  (Cat Stevens)
Long Tall Sally by The Beatles  (Little Richard)
Dear Prudence by Siouxsie and the Banshees  (The Beatles)
Knocking on Heaven's Door by Guns n Roses  (Bob Dylan)
The Chain by The Highwomen  (Fleetwood Mac)
Love Me Or Leave Me by Nina Simone  (Ruth Etting) - we also played a short snippet of the original, from 1928
Mr Tambourine Man by Melanie  (Bob Dylan)
Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye  (Gladys Knight & The Pips)
Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers  (Les Baxter)
Tainted Love by Soft Cell  (Gloria Jones)

The ones we didn't get to:
Feeling Good by Muse  (Nina Simone)
Nothing Compares To You by Sinead O'Connor  (Prince)
Roll Over Beethoven by The Beatles  (Chuck Berry)
The Crying Game by Boy George  (Dave Berry)
Red Red Wine by UB40  (Neil Diamond)
Rockin' All Over The World by Status Quo  (John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival)
Mother Nature's Son by John Denver  (The Beatles) 

Jill S, 7th August 2025