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This is a two part question.

1. Recommend me the very best reggae (or rocksteady or dancehall) covers of pop songs for download or purchase.

2. Somebody ages ago mentioned an entire compilation of dancehall covers of modern pop hits - what was it called?

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 08:42 (twenty-three years ago)

Boy In Da Corner.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 08:45 (twenty-three years ago)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

― Nick Southall (Nick Southall), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 08:45 (twenty-three years ago)

christ there's literally thousands of dancehall meta-covers (in other words, versions) of pop songs - it's something that forms a huge part of the fabric of the music: a continuous, eliptical referencing, adaptation and co-option of other sounds. just put any rhythm album on, any dancehall comp and you'll hear a lot more than you bargained for. there's a hilarious elephant man track (the name escapes me) which versions the entire melody of survivor's eye of the tiger, tho, if you want a laugh...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 08:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Dave yes I do know about the versioning thing (and as anyone who was at Glastonbury with me knows I own the Eye of the Tiger thing) - there's a specific dancehall-goes-teen-pop compilation CD I'm after though which someone mentioned. And track recommendations generally.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:01 (twenty-three years ago)

"Everything I own"-Ken Booth

― Michael B, Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:09 (twenty-three years ago)

Elephant Man does Eye of the Tiger? That I have to own...

― Jim Eaton-Terry (Jim E-T), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:27 (twenty-three years ago)

it's hilarious! i'd love to hear the pop comp - are they straight covers tom?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:29 (twenty-three years ago)

The only dancehally version of a pop song I own is Loucie Lou & Mishy One.

― Jim Eaton-Terry (Jim E-T), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:30 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't know! I remember it getting mentioned on some thread or other maybe 18 months ago, and thinking wow that sounds great but then completely forgetting the title. I'm hoping they're kind of faithful covers, like that version of Gabrielle's "Rise" that was on Greensleeves Sampler 22 (maybe by Capleton, can't remember) and completely redeemed an awful song. So how great will versions be of songs I love anyway!

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:32 (twenty-three years ago)

rise i think was by mr vegas... i may be wrong... if these are straight covers it wld be interesting as it's far less common than versioning... still, i given the choice give me the melody of In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry suddenly appearing in a Beenie Man track liek a total shock than a faithful cover of this song... dear me, i love dancehall!

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:40 (twenty-three years ago)

heh, that DOES sound good actually

― stevem (blueski), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Yeah the melody thing is great - that thing on gabba.net the other week which mixed dancehall and bhangra and then went into 99 Red Balloons! The best straight (ahem) covers genre is surely tacky Italo dance-pop. Or maybe Happy Hardcore.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:42 (twenty-three years ago)

the eye of the tiger track just cracks me up - what's it called tom? it's bugging me now...

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 09:56 (twenty-three years ago)

Rise was by Mr Vegas... Although the tracks are hardly modern is the compilation you thinking about the "Hustle" comp on Soul Jazz with covers of "Ring My Bell" and "Upside Down", Tom?

Great melody tracks: Elephant Man - "Approach" (which I expect you all know about), TOK's "Galangal", with the "Walk Like An Egyptian" melody.

― Nathan W (Nathan Webb), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 10:02 (twenty-three years ago)

No though playing Hustle inspired this thread.

Dave unfortunately I downloaded it under the title "Eye of Tiger Riddim". It may actually be another one as it adapts the backing track from EotT rather than the melody. It sounds like Elephant Man though.

― Tom (Groke), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 10:05 (twenty-three years ago)

I suspect you're after the Jetstar comps called Pop Hits Inna Reggae, currently up to vol 3.

― Tim (Tim), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 10:10 (twenty-three years ago)

i thought it was tok's pengeleng that versioned walk like an egyptian?

― Dave Stelfox (Dave Stelfox), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 10:27 (twenty-three years ago)

erm...it might well have been actually. I have brain storage issues with song titles these days.

― Nathan W (Nathan Webb), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 10:45 (twenty-three years ago)

The one that springs to mind immediately is Shinehead's Mama Used To Say/Billy Jean. It sounds a bit dated now but i adored that record at the time. Shinehead tried to repeat the trick with a version of Englishman in New York called Jamaican in New york, but since it was fairly reggae-ish to start with it didn't quite hit the spot in the same way. There was a cover of Gwen Guthrie's Ain't Nothing Going On But The Rent knocking around back in the day, but I never saw it in the shops. Anyone know about this?

― Daniel (dancity), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 13:27 (twenty-three years ago)

i liked the short-lived slew of early 60s pop covers like chaka demus & pliers and shaggy from the early 90s though this may be irrelevant.

― sean g, Tuesday, 12 August 2003 14:05 (twenty-three years ago)

Don't forget CJ Lewis' "Sweets For My Sweet".

― Nick H, Tuesday, 12 August 2003 14:54 (twenty-three years ago)

"Pengeleng" is amazing - somehow redeeming a *great* song, if that makes sense (as in, here's another way in which this song is great!).

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 12 August 2003 23:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Sanchez-king of the cover tune. He does Usher's "You got it bad" and Brian McKnight's "Back at One"
Anthony Cruz: "You Got it Bad," Ashanti's "Foolish"
Foxy Brown Tracy Chapman's "Baby can I hold you" and "Fast Car"
Yami Bolo: Eurythmic's "Here Comes the Rain Again"
Anthony Malvo and Daddy Lizard: Smokey Robinson's "Cruising"

The opposite way
Tanya Stephens does a version of "Work It," Sizzla does a number of wicked dubs of hip hop tracks...I'll have to get back with the names...

― cybele (cybele), Wednesday, 13 August 2003 01:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Favourite Reggae covers:

Susan Cadogan - In The Ghetto
Jimmy London - Bridge Over Troubled Water
The Paragons - I Want To Go Back
The Paragons - Blackbird
The Pioneers - Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye)
Singer Blue - If I Know Jah (which uses a version of Forgot About Dre)
Barrington Levy - Captivity (Take Five)
Randy's Allstars - Mission Impossible
Horace Andy - Sea Of Love
Horace Andy - Ain't No Sunshine

― dog latin (dog latin), Wednesday, 13 August 2003 01:34 (twenty-three years ago)

Slim Smith--"Lighter Shade of Pale"
Gregory Isaacs--"Get Ready"

― oops (Oops), Wednesday, 13 August 2003 06:11 (twenty-three years ago)

Um, that was Pat Kelly who did that "Lighter Shade of Pale" cover.
Slim Smith did a version of "I Wanna Hold Your Hand"
Also, the Heptones version of "Sea of Love" is purdy good.

― oops (Oops), Sunday, 24 August 2003 06:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Tom - I am kind of assuming that you wouldn't be very interested in the mass of soul/motown/60's&70's pop covers that tumbled out on Trojan/Pama/Studio One in the early/mid 70's.I luv lots of this stuff but I *think* you're looking for something a little more *worked over* rather than straight-ish covers of pop classics inna reggae stylee. (Heh -the Marcia Griffiths version of When Will I See You Again from one of the Trojan Club Reggae volumes seems to be her singing over the original record with a reggae guitar added on top to adjust the rhythm! - who cares about copyright?). Studio One Soul on Soul Jazz is pretty good - but as it says on the tin - straightish soul covers and nothing like Hustle!

A year on - Hustle really is still one of the best 5 albums of any genre ever.

― Dr. C (Dr. C), Sunday, 24 August 2003 08:18 (twenty-three years ago)

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