Coco Freeman took a risk with his cover of Franz Ferdinand’s, “Dark of the Matinee.” He went “full” Spanish, and came up with something both familiar and new. For instance, many people enjoy the addition of Latin flavors to Coldplay’s,”Clocks”, or Maroon 5’s, “She Will be Loved?” Both of those are excellent, although neither deviates too far from the original English version. The albums contain some brilliant tracks. The project has produced several albums and has involved a variety of artist including Bob Dylan, Coldplay, Nirvana, U2, Jack Johnson, Artic Monkeys, Radiohead, and Amy Winehouse just to name a few. This project is known as Rhythms del Mundo, and is a gold mine of Latin infused cover versions of American and English pop songs. With fame, came an opportunity to partner with top artist from around the world as part of a charitable project to save the environment. The Buena Vista Social Club became an international success based on taut musicianship and mastery of the Afro-Cuban sound that is unique to their island home. Fifty years after its closure, American musician, Ry Cooder sought out the club’s house band and recorded an album of their music.
The politics and economics of the Cold War brought about the end of the club. Rhythms Del Mundo Project (Buena Vista Social Club and Friends)īefore Castro and Communism, there existed in Havana an institution called the Buena Vista Social Club. “Fotos y Recuerdos” is a great example of a derivative work that is inspired by, yet completely different from the original.ģ. At their worst, Spanish cover songs are poorly translated Karaoke, and at their best they build upon the work of their predecessors. Fotos y Recuerdos (Chain Gang by the Pretenders) SelenaĪlthough not a cover song in the strict sense because it is not a word for word translation, Selena’s “Foto y Recuerdos” is clearly inspired by the Pretender’s “Back on the Chain Gang,” which in turn echoes Sam Cooke. Note: Cue approximately 2:10, for a good example of Rachmaninoff’s influence on Celine Dion’s version of “Sola Otra Vez.”Ģ. Celine Dion brought an amazing voice, and Spanish gave that voice a “heart.” For giving Celine Dion’s amazing voice a more heartfelt feeling, “Sola Otra Vez” is the Spanish Version’s number one Spanish cover of an American Song. In the past, Celine Dion’s critics complained that she was “more voice than heart.” By singing in a romance language like Spanish, which is closely related to her native French, and not the harsher sounding Germanic based English, Celine Dion conveyed emotion and sentimentality not heard in the English version. And, when Celine Dion sang “Sola Otra Vez” we liked it a lot. With a five octave rang and a voice that is credible in French, English, and Spanish, how could Celine Dion not be number one on our list? She could sing the alphabet and we would like it.
Carmen incorrectly assumed that the song was in the public domain because Rachmaninoff had been dead for 30 years.
He borrowed heavily from the second movement of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. Sola Otra Vez (All By Myself) Celine DionĪ French Canadian singing in Spanish, a song originally written in English, based on music stolen from a Russian classical composer Now that’s a cover song! In 1996, Celine Dion remade Eric Carmen’s 1975 hit “All By Myself.” Eric Carmen’s original song turned out not to be so original.