Vocal versions only, please. Give your opinions on Stevie covers…

Intro, “Ribbon In The Sky”

Any and all covers of “Knocks Me Off My Feet” (Luther, D. Jones, Tevin)

Incognito, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”

John Legend, “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing”

Jackson 5, “My Cherie Amour”

RHCP, “Higher Ground”

Whitney Houston, “Master Blaster Jammin’ LIVE”

BlackStreet, “Love’s in Need of Love”

Jodeci, “Lately”

Raven Symone, “Superstitious”

Raven-Symone (ballad version) or MJ’s, “With A Child’s Heart”

G. Michael and Mary J. Blige “As” It’s a’ight

Jackson 5, “I Don’t know Why I Love You”

Adisa said:

I actually like Michael's version of With A Child's Heart more than the original

here's another cover:
George Michael- They Won't Go When I Go

[Edited 5/6/08 11:47am]

I like "Knocks Me Off My Feet" by Donell Jones.

Adisa said:

That's the one right there.

I like both of Donny Hathaway and Main Ingredient's renditions of Superwoman.

Harlepolis said:

Yep.

NAY !
Give me the original !

Adisa said:

These are the only ones I really like.

But these two are all right too:

Intro did a good version of "Ribbon in the Sky", I remember bumping that all the time when it was the hottest song on the radio, lol.

I also love Jodeci's version of "Lately" except when they screamed at each other during Stevie's BET tribute. It's like "shut the fuck up!"

I also love Brand New Heavies' version of "I Don't Know Why I Love You".

bboy87 said:

George Michael has done many Stevie covers and I think he almost always does a great job. He's released great live versions of "Love's In Need Of Love Today" and "I Believe When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever" too.

Luther Vandross' version of "Creepin" is at least as good as the original

george michael's take on as is just great i absolutely love it

Hell naw. They need to make their own songs.

vainandy said:

vainandy said:

Nothing wrong with paying tribute to an artist, song or songwriter you admire. Besides, most of the artists listed in the first post of this thread have made their own songs, and very good songs at that.

Melissa M's version of "Part time lover" is not THAT BAD!

No, there's nothing wrong with remaking a song when the market is not flooded with so many remakes and samples that nothing original is being made any more.

I like a few remakes also but they have been songs like "Knock On Wood" by Amii Stewart, "Heard It Through The Grapevine" by Roger, or "I Feel For You" by Chaka Khan. Those were remakes that were totally different than the original, and most importantly, there were tons of other artists during that era that weren't making remakes also. When the 1990s arrived, it's like artists weren't capable of coming up with something of their own.

SoulAlive said:

It's 1000% better than the original.

Luther's remake of Knocks Me Off My Feet wasn't as good, but Stevie can't sing Creepin anymore without someone referring to the Luther version.

daPrettyman said:

I've never disagreed with you fellas (or Stevie) more. Hell the fuck no! Stevie and Minnie are pure sex on that track. I feel like slapping Lisa Fischer and the girls with all that "creep, creep, creep, creep" shit. No, no, no.

AlexdeParis said:

I actually agree with you. I never liked that Lutha version. After finally hearing the original, Lutha basically murdered it. And NOT in a good way.

I like Kirk Whalum and Wendy Moten's version of All I Do.

Timmy84 said:

Whew! I was beginning to think I was the only one. Anyway, off the top of my head, I like these ones:

Intro - Ribbon in the Sky
Blackstreet - Love's in Need
Jodeci - Lately
George Michael - They Won't Go When I Go, As, I Believe When I Fall in Love, Love's in Need of Love Today
Donell Jones - Knocks Me Off My Feet
Michael Jackson - With a Child's Heart, Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day
J5 - I Don't Know Why I Love You
Syreeta - I Love Every Little Thing About You
Aretha Franklin - Until You Come Back to Me (probably doesn't count since hers was released first)

The covers by little MJ are the only ones I think are as good as the originals (and it's important to note they're pre-Where I'm Coming From).

John Legend's take on "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing" is criminal.
[Edited 5/8/08 19:48pm]

vainandy said:

When you think about it, you are right. When Boyz II Men did their acapella rendition of "It's So Hard..." in 1991 people went nuts. The song appealed to so many people from different walks of life. And lots of groups and artists tried to duplicate BIIM's success with cover songs. Whitney succeeded in a big way the following year with "I Will Always Love You"
However, cover songs were rampant in the 60s and 70s, then died out in the 80's a little bit. Diana Ross did "Why Do Fools Fall In Love", Lakeside did the Beatles "I Wanna Hold Your Hand", and there were a few other chart-toppers you already mentioned. But BIIM caused a resurgence, for better or worse.

Totally agree with Adisa's emoticon reaction to all of those covers.

Plus this one is especially bad-ass:

AlexdeParis said:

AlexdeParis said:

I like Luther's better for the groove of the song and his vocal delivery. I like Stevie's for other reasons (the fact that it is more mysterious and dark). Luther's is all about "creepin" out on the one you "love".

Another reason I like Luther's better is because of his live versions. He did this song the first time I saw him in concert (and the last time). It was great.

That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

AlexdeParis said:

Amen to that. He murders almost any song. He also killed "Feel Like Making Love" and I never even cared for that song.

daPrettyman said:

Remember when we used to agree on almost everything?

daPrettyman said:

Luther was one of the few singers who could remake a song and make it sound as good as or sometimes better than the original version.I love what he did with "Creepin".The entire "If Only For One Night/Creepin" medley just blows my mind!!

AlexdeParis said:

I know. I'm not saying I "dislike" the song....I'm just indifferent to it.
No love lost...u r still my boy.

SoulAlive said:

I feel the same way. I'm not saying that I liked all of his remakes, but Creepin' is one of my favorites.

As for some of other remakes of Stevie's stuff, I have enjoyed several of them, but that doesn't mean they are better than the original. I really like Kirk Whalum's remake of "All I Do", but it doesn't compare to the original. I can say the same for "Too Shy To Say". I enjoy Diana Ross' version, but I love Stevie's. Same for Jody Watley's. It's a good remake, just not as good as the original.

I also like Tevin Campbell's remake of Knocks Me Off My Feet (which should have been a hit...especially since his and Donnell Jones' versions came out around the same time) is good, but doesn't compare (vocally or musically) to Stevie's.
[Edited 5/9/08 8:16am]