September Gurls vs. Waterloo Sunset

[PopTodd]

That is a good version. (Thanks for reminding me..i do have this in my collection.) They also kicked ass on Paul Simon's Hazy Shade of Winter. (another song that stands up to cover versions...)

 

The Bangles are one of the great cover bands of all time...

 

LouieB

Agreed. That Simon & Garfunkel cover is actually BETTER than the original. But they also did great versions of:

• Going Down to Liverpool (Katrina & the Waves)

• Live (Emitt Rhodes)

 

And, truth be told, many of their originals are pretty great, too...

"Hero Takes a Fall"

"James"

 

I think they really started loosing their respectability with their second full-length, when they allowed producers to take over more of the creative process and tell them what they should be recording. Tried to make them into sex kittens and play songs written for them, instead of allowing them to write and pick their own material. Could have been a great band, instead of a nostalgia band with one great record (All Over the Place) and a handful of really good singles.

[Moss]

Waterloo Sunset was #42 and September Gurls was #178 on the RS list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

 

(I voted for SG but just thought I would throw that out there).

 

 

[GtrPlyr]

Speaking of "September Gurls" covers, here's a recent one done by the Dum Dum Girls:

 

http://www.avclub.com/articles/dum-dum-girls-cover-big-star,53070/

 

 

Also have to throw in a version from The Replacements:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvtVH2anf8c

[Artifice]

The question is which is the better song, not which is the better record. Waterloo Sunset can be sung effectively by any number of singers because it is a great song; September Gurls is not widely covered and the references to what a great song it is are mostly to the recording made by Big Star itself. (Can anyone name a cover of it??) There are some clear glitches on the original Kinks recording, but the over all effect of the song is still pretty powerful. Much of what we all like about the Big Star song is the excellent production and arrangement. SG was recorded from 1974 after Alex Chilton had already been a fairly sucessful rock star and learned alot about production. WS is from 1967 and frankly there are still some rough patches in the Kinks recordings during the Reprise years. (In the original recording the transition to the chorus/bridge is a somewhat awkward.) Alex Chilton was enamored of groups like the Kinks and channeling the British invasion, and with the extra years of recording experience that working with Dan Penn as producer of the Box Tops afforded him, he was quite the studio master on his BS recordings.

 

No matter how many times I hear the "song" Waterloo Sunset (sung by just about anyone) I get goosebumps. There are just such wonderful turn arounds in it.

 

Sorry to belabor these points, but this is an intersting topic to discuss.

 

LouieB

 

 

Actually, that's a great point. I agree. I still like ES's cover though

[The Inside of Outside]

Love both, but have a preference for SG. I do think it has to do with the production of the song - the sound is pure pop bliss.

[KevinG]

Voted for SG

 

Waterloo Sunset isn't even the Kinks best song.

[cryptique]

And "September Gurls" isn't even Big Star's best song. Whatever. It's a thread.

[KevinG]

And "September Gurls" isn't even Big Star's best song. Whatever. It's a thread.

 

someone woke up on the wrong side of the forum this morning.

 

If I were to have posted this poll I would have asked

 

Strangers vs. Watch the Sunrise.

[cryptique]

Watch the Sunrise.

Now yer talkin'