Saturday 28 November 2009

Wild Horses

Q. What do the Rolling Stones have in common with Bob Dylan?

A. They can't sing either.

Compare Susan Boyle's version of Wild Horses to the massacring of the same by the Rolling Stones. This can be done by putting "Wild Horses" into the search box of Spotify, and listening to the one after the other. If you do not already have a Spotify account (free) you will need to click on the "download" tab and follow the instructions from there.

The whole of Susan Boyle's album can now be accessed on Spotify. I found her rendition of Silent Night quite powerful.

PS. If anyone reading this ever bought a Rolling Stones record, and can explain why they did so in the comments box, it would contribute considerably to my understanding of human nature!

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Hello again, Joe. I had assumed Wild Horses was a Rolling Stones composition but now presume it isn't. Really enjoyed SB's version.

I don't own any RS albums but Zero syas I used to. MJ clearly has nowhere near the voice of SB but with pop/rock music that isn't always the only factor, for me. I quite like some early RS songs (e.g, Paint it Black) and I dare say 'Sympathy for the Devil' goes down well in Hades.

Has Spotify got Elvis Costello and Anne Sofie Van Otter's collaboration (I think it's called 'For The Stars')? There you have a top opera singer working in the pop medium but NOT simply singing operatic versions of popsongs.

Best wishes,

Frank

Joe said...

Frank

So far as I know, Wild Horses is a Rolling Stones composition, or a composition for them - rather my point!

So rock is about rock, and not about music? Hmm, I think I am beginning to get some hold of this ...

Will look at Spotify for the collaboration you suggest.

Unknown said...

I guess I mean that the quality of the voice is not the only factor (but it does help when the sing in tune).

Bob Dylan hasn't got the best voice in the world but has written some good songs that he delivers well. Leonard Cohen has a very limited vocal range, but can sing very movingly.

Anonymous said...

zero says
I can't say if Mick Jagger's voice is pleasing or not but I do recall my late father would often mention he couldn't see why women found him good looking!