I don't think Alicia Keys did that great of a job. That drum machine ticking along, and way too loud over the piano is annoying. I think it was more hype around the new girl on the block singing a Prince song. She doesn't bring anything interesting or new to the vocal. She's mimicking him.

I'm not a huge fan of Prince covers in general. Everyone tries to do "Purple Rain" and frankly it's a song that shouldn't be touched by anyway. It's unsingable by anyone else.

Regarding D'Angelo: It's a bit of the same thing. New kid on the block doing a Prince song. It makes me just wanna hear the original.

And that's the problem with an artist like Prince. He's so unique and becomes his own genre that anyone else trying to cover his songs looks cheap and uninspired.

There's something tongue in cheek about "Get It Up" by TLC (from Poetic Justice). They added their sound to it (and they were very early in their career to be new girls on the scene but doing a Prince/The Time cover). But I do think T-Boz's husky and deeper voice worked well in the song. The melody is lower and dont' travel far from home base. So she's easily in the pocket throughout. It almost sounds like how The Time would've recorded it had they done it the first time in 1993.

With TLC's version of "If I Was Your Girlfriend," it becomes a different story. Clearly, a man singing it brings much more irony and impact on the narrative. But TLC singing it makes it a plea for a love they can't obtain. They're basically the other woman, or at least aren't coupled with the target of the narrative.

Jill's "With You" was one of the better ones. It brings out the country aesthetics that are inheret in the song to begin with. Yet the opposite is true for a then-country artist like LeAnn Rimes when she covered "Purple Rain." Sure it sounded country, but there was no emotion in it.

Mariah murdered "The Beautiful Ones," and it's one of the worst covers ever of a Prince song. Also, everything on Party O' The Times is horrible, IMO. Cyndi's "When You Were Mine" just drones on with her new-wave pop version and it's just bland. Yet there was another guy whose name totally escapes me that did a cover of that and it was great.

I'll give props for Living Color's "17 Days," because they brought out the rock side of it.

Me'lisa Morgan's "Do Me, Baby" and Stephanie Mills' "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" are superior covers. They knew how to cover something that fit their style and voice.

The first ones that came to mind are "I Feel for You" - Chaka Khan and "When Doves Cry" - Quindon Tarver.

I also very much like the cover of "Sexy Dancer" by Peaches and Bitch Lap Lap (AKA Feist) for its unconventional reverence--very Peaches.

I love Alicia Key's cover of Prince's "How come you don't call me".

A guy named Noah Guthrie did what I consider the greatest Prince cover ever on I Would Die 4 U:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACV3igR_-Y0

laytonian said:

paisleyparkgirl said:

I love Alicia Key's cover of Prince's "How come you don't call me".

.

Me too

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Also Meli'sa Morgan's "Do Me Baby", and

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Quindon Tarver's "When Doves Cry" - probably because how it was done fitted so well with where it was used in Romeo+Juliet.

[Edited 9/18/22 17:47pm]

https://youtu.be/7sntU3hoHN0 hands down my favorite

Stina Nordenstam

Chaka's "I Feel for You." Period. End of.

https://www.youtube.com/w...VhNFNYnJRc

I love Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings version of "Take Me With U"

https://www.youtube.com/w...SwFJ9rdYLQ

Susanna Hoffs also did a sweet cover

https://www.youtube.com/w...cMFqQiQOnw

and Etta James cover of "Purple Rain"

Ween's Schockadelica (released as "L.M.L.Y.P.").

The inclusion of Cat's "Alphabet St." rap is, IMHO, a nice touch.

LoveGalore said:

Surprised no one has said Cyndi's When U Were Mine. I still listen to that jam

I did mention it. But I never much cared for it. She brought out the new-wave sensibilities of it, but the ultimate delivery was lackluster.

TrivialPursuit said:

LoveGalore said:

Surprised no one has said Cyndi's When U Were Mine. I still listen to that jam

I did mention it. But I never much cared for it. She brought out the new-wave sensibilities of it, but the ultimate delivery was lackluster.

It also doesn't work as well sung by a woman. It breaks the guy/lie rhyme in the chorus, among other things.

Genesia said:

LoveGalore said:

Genesia said:

It also doesn't work as well sung by a woman. It breaks the guy/lie rhyme in the chorus, among other things.

I... am pretty sure that's intentional.

That may be, but it doesn't change my opinion.

alicia keys HCUDCMA is okayyyy but the bilal cover is a 100 times better. def worth searching out.

i know she gets a lot of hate here, but sinead o connors NC2U is obviously still great.

TLC's get it up is fantastic, and more sensuous than the original.

idk if i love it, but kode 9 and space's version of SOTT is pretty cool/interesting.

not a 'cover' but moodyman's prince sampling tracks are great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYhZeyZC1Ds

the l-vis 1990 refix of batdance is great too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvELwOugsbU

i love this one too -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3r7blGL1F8I

some cool weirder covers -

jesus and mary chain's alphabet st

incubus - lets go crazy (the music is great but the vocals are a bit weak tbh)

[Edited 9/19/22 13:45pm]

nosajd said:

laytonian said:

A guy named Noah Guthrie did what I consider the greatest Prince cover ever on I Would Die 4 U:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACV3igR_-Y0

https://youtu.be/ACV3igR_-Y0

Thanks. Links are only clickable for me about 50% of the time. There's no "link" emoji up top any longer.

tomds said:

Tom Jones: Kiss 😀

No. Just no. Jones always sounds constipated, not sexy.

tomds said:

Tom Jones: Kiss 😀

I actually like that one.

Warm ones

TrivialPursuit said:

funkbabyandthebabysitters said:

some cool weirder covers -

jesus and mary chain's alphabet st

incubus - lets go crazy (the music is great but the vocals are a bit weak tbh)

[Edited 9/19/22 13:45pm]

Thanks for reminding me about the jesus and mary chain alphabet st., which is cool.

Sufjan Stevens also did a cover, but managed to make the song completely unsexy, a feat.

TrivialPursuit said: