Cover songs.

“With a little help from my friends” is a song from my childhood, but until a couple of years ago, I didn’t realize I had grown up listening to two different versions. The Beatles played the original version (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBDF04fQKtQ) and Joe Cocker made a remake (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CV1ULAAg5LU&feature=related). I honestly and truly thought they were two completely different songs until I realized they not only had the same name, but also the same lyrics. The reason it was so hard for me to realize they were the same song was because of the differences between the melody and the musical quality. I would say that the differences in the melodies were the biggest contributing factor to my belief that they were two different songs, I could find myself humming both songs in the same day and each time I would be humming different notes because each artist sings it so differently. The Beatles sing it with a very clear beat hitting each note they’re supposed to while Joe Cocker has a little more fun with the notes, going up and down and all over the place. Joe Cocker’s version also has female vocalists signing the chorus, which definitely changes the way it’s sung. The musical qualities of each song are also very different. The rhythms are different as is the speed; Joe’s is a little faster than the Beatles’. The Beatles’ version is much less intense than Joe’s and I would say that the difference in timbre helps this; Joe’s is definitely more complex, which only adds to the intensity. I would say the Beatles’ version is more organized, note wise at any rate. They have a clear definition between the chorus and the verses and they do pretty much the same melody for the verses, but Joe Cocker’s version is all over the place with the verses. As much as I hate to admit this, I prefer the Joe cocker version better. It kills me to admit that I like a Beatles remake better than the original, but I just love the added quality of soul in Joe Cocker’s version, this song makes me feel this intense sense of happiness and, as strange as this sounds, safety. Sorry Beatles, I am going with Joe on this one.