if you're covering the song without real comment, and you add nothing to it, why shouldn't you essentially be judged by the wedding band test?
Is it possible not to add anything? What's lost in Ted Leo's version is much greater than what he adds, but it is very much Ted Leo singing it not Kelly Clarkson, and I suppose a fan (or rationalizer) of his version could say that what he adds is his effort to get at notes that are somewhat beyond him and that by taking away the studio compression and precision of the original he's adding something more personal. And for me that's the symbol standing in for the event, the feeling that his effort makes it personal by definition - even though, actually, not a lot of personality or a lot of the song comes through in his version. The guitar playing is rather good, and percussive in a way that the original isn't. In any event, I can see his version being accessible/acceptable to some people for whom Kelly Clarkson is neither (though what in the hell are they actually accessing?), but my point is something is being added in his version, both musically and socially, even if the additions make the song worse.
(I've liked some Ted Leo that I've heard, but he really is shitty on this one.)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2009-01-17 05:46 am (UTC)Is it possible not to add anything? What's lost in Ted Leo's version is much greater than what he adds, but it is very much Ted Leo singing it not Kelly Clarkson, and I suppose a fan (or rationalizer) of his version could say that what he adds is his effort to get at notes that are somewhat beyond him and that by taking away the studio compression and precision of the original he's adding something more personal. And for me that's the symbol standing in for the event, the feeling that his effort makes it personal by definition - even though, actually, not a lot of personality or a lot of the song comes through in his version. The guitar playing is rather good, and percussive in a way that the original isn't. In any event, I can see his version being accessible/acceptable to some people for whom Kelly Clarkson is neither (though what in the hell are they actually accessing?), but my point is something is being added in his version, both musically and socially, even if the additions make the song worse.
(I've liked some Ted Leo that I've heard, but he really is shitty on this one.)