Ruined by Remake

I bought "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" by the Righteous Brothers on itunes yesterday. Despite its unfortunate association with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis in Top Gun, it remains a terrific, under appreciated song. Bill Medley's sonorous baritone and Bobby Hatfield's otherworldly falsetto combined with Phil Spector's "wall of sound" production make for an electrifying experience if you really listen close. The echoing "Baby, baby, please, I need your love" at the end is positively ecstatic. I've already listened to it three or four times since last night.

One thing I noticed as I was searching for it on itunes last night was that the Hall and Oates version of the song is also available. I listened to the preview snippet and was reminded of how utterly sucky and lame that version is. It's awful. It's like the two fanciest guys in the high school choir singing it at the junior prom. It's such a pale, tame rendition, it makes me angry just to hear it.

It got me to thinking about other remakes that have been stupendously bad. Keep in mind, of course, that I'm interested in remakes and reboots as I have written about here before. I think reimagined art has the potential to teach and enlighten and entertain. I'm not a complete purist who thinks nothing should ever be remade - but I'm also among the millions of level-headed Americans who saw the remake of The Dukes of Hazzard movie coming from a mile away and knew, sight unseen, it was going to be about as good as a meal prepared by Oscar the Grouch and Kate Moss. Some things shouldn't be remade simply because they were dumb to begin with, but other things can be remade IF there's talent and vision and a purpose involved.

There have been some song remakes that have added something new and cool to the original. I love Social Distortion's version of "Ring of Fire" and think the Lemonheads remake of Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson" with its thrumming, heavy baseline is really cool. "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies is great along with pretty much every other cover they've made. I like "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix, U2, and the Indigo Girls. I enjoy The Beat's cover of "Tears of a Clown" almost as much as I enjoy the real thing.

However, some remakes are basically insults to the original, to the listener, and to non-hearing impaired people everywhere. In addition to the Hall and Oates shamefest that is "You've Lost That Loving Feeling," I would also like to nominate Gloria Estefan's version of "Everlasting Love," Tina Turner's remake of John Waite's "Missing You," "I Drove All Night" by Celine Dion, and especially "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" as killed by Michael Bolton to the Bad Remakes Hall of Shame.



What about you, my four devoted readers? Any musical remakes you can't abide? Any remakes you think are as good as or better than the original?

(Full-disclosure: Every obscure artist mentioned above was introduced to me by Captain Admiral. My musical world would be much more narrow without many nights spent listening at the Galleria with him at the turntable.)