Also, I know BC has stated before that he realizes that many of their tracks don’t turn out “perfect.” Creating music is such a thing that exact replication, even if done by the original artist, is near impossible.

With that said, I’d like to hear your thoughts on which songs CS have produced that were, in your opinion, simply not that great. I think I’m more interested in tracks which as a whole, were not that great, not just one little part of a song.

Mysterious Ways – U2: The guitar riff throughout the song just does not even come close to the “bite” that U2’s version has. So much so that I actually switched to Legend’s version of the song when I wanted to perform it. Unfortunately, their version also has the same problem. SC’s version is such that, while most people would still recognize the song when it starts, it’s so far off from the original that I think some people may raise a few eyebrows.

Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve: SC’s version just lacks the rich musical sounds that the original has. It feels empty and uninspired. Plus SC’s version fades into the beginning of the song, which is weird for two reasons. One, the original does not fade in. Two, I’ve always felt that SC tried to avoid fades (both in and out) whenever possible.

She Don’t Use Jelly – The Flaming Lips: The opening guitar riff before the lyrics start is almost unrecognizable to the original. I know the original very well, and when I bought SC’s version and listened to it, I didn’t know what the song was until I took the CD out and looked at the song title. In addition, the third verse doesn't include the "callback" background vocals as the original does.

Two Princes – The Spin Doctors/Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-A-Lot: Both of these tracks have the same problem: the lyric-wipe does not follow how the song is supposed to be sung. The wipe just shoots across the line with no time/speed difference to help you get it right.

Push It – Garbage: Probably a difficult track to faithfully reproduce, because the original has so much going on in it, so I have to give SC props for doing a decent job. But on a whole, it really is quite substandard, in my opinion.

So let’s hear what you have to say.

That opening bag pipe or whatever it's supposed to be on Copperhead Road doesn't sound good to me at all. I had people at the front table looking around the room wondering what the heck that was. But the rest of the song kicks.

"Louie Louie"--The Kingsmen: the timing is off just a little...

"Johnny B. Goode"--Chuck Berry: there are three verses to this classic, yet the SC Foundation version uses only two! The second verse (the one that starts with 'He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack') is eliminated totally, and the third verse ('His mama told him someday you will be a man...') becomes the second verse, with the first verse ('Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans...') repeated as the third verse. What could be done for an encore, drawing a mustache on the Mona Lisa???

Best,

quote:

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Originally posted by Rockhawk:
"LOW" by Cracker
(Too "washed-out" with no real "punch"; weak solo as well)

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I didn't think that one was that bad really.

quote:

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Originally posted by Rockhawk:
"LOW" by Cracker
(Too "washed-out" with no real "punch"; weak solo as well)

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I also have to disagree. I own the disk and the original, and it sounds pretty flawless to me.

quote:

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Originally posted by karaokemonkey:
Closer--Nine Inch Nails
The famous opening drum line just doesn't sound as crisp or have that mechanical hiss that the original does. I assume SC tried to recreate it on an real kit, but it just makes me cringe. Any chance of redoing this one on a future 80's and 90's disc?

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Yeah, it's okay, but not great. BC has stated that if they had more time to produce the track, they may have gotten it closer (no pun intended) to the original.

The version of "Sooner or Later" by the Grass Roots in the SC Foundation--musically, it's perfect. There's just one thing that bothers me (hmmm, I'm starting to sound like Columbo...LOL!): the part after the key change where Rob Grill starts singing stuff like "Do you feel you've had enough?" is sung by a studio singer, while the poor person singing this version is stuck doing the BACKING part, which repeats "Sooner or later, love is gonna get'cha" over and over ad nauseam. It would have been more interesting for the singer (and made for much better listening) if the lead part had been done there.

For that reason, I use a lesser-quality manufacturer's version of the song (no disrespect to SC, but I have my preferences about how the song, as well as the others I mentioned before, should be done).

Best,

But there are a couple of songs that I was disappointed in:

"Fruit Cakes" - Jimmy Buffett, only 2 manufacturers offer this, and it is one of my favorites to sing, music is OK, but words in the spoken part really don't match up at all, of course the less expensive version's music is subpar at best.

"P###y Control" - Prince, again SC is the only one to offer this crowd pleaser, but...What happened?

i don't know the proper musical term for this, but the drumming on this song seems to be very bland. instead of the frenetic crashing hip-hop style on the original recording, the drumming on the karaoke version makes the song sound so m.o.r.

also, the lyric wipes are wrong in that the second verse starts wiping while the chorus is still heard in the background (the chorus should have been wiped twice).

yes, i agree: Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot has lyric wipes that are not in sync with the music.

No Scrubs - TLC is missing the word "ass", no substituted symbols or anything, just a blank following "...his dumb "
this song was done before sc's foray into hip-hop, so the current policy on bad lyrics wasn't in place at the time, i suppose.

Creep - TLC is missing the guitar riff thougout the entire song. the guitar is probably the most compelling voice of the entire song, but you can't hear it at all on the karaoke version of this song.

Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy - David Bowie & Bing Crosby was wiped as a duet. the wipes flash by too quickly between each singer (bing is still warbling "come, they tolllllllddddd me" when david comes in to sing his "peace on earth....can it be"), making it very difficult to follow along.

this song works only when both singers really know it and aren't the kind of karaokeans that have to follow the lyric wipes while singing.

actually, i wish for a redo of this song where the bing vocals are pre-recorded in the background, leaving only david bowie's lyrics wiping across the screen. this would give many of us the flexibility to sing this song solo, for it's often hard to find someone willing/able to do the bing part.

I've never had anyone request it more than once, they always opt for some other VH song the next time.

Just one spot in the middle of the song the wiping is off....not a big deal if you know the tune....total wipeout if you don't.

Excellent musical rendition though....

Eddie's initial "yeahhhhhh" (which is a big part of the song to me) is not present. Also a lot of the words are incorrect.

Warren G/Nate Dogg "Regulate"

The song cuts off before the end? The entire last verse is just not present.

Bush "Comedown"

There's no intro? I mean, sure it's a 55 second intro but I've always seen SC as one to go ahead with long intros and outros.

Beck "Loser"

Line at a time swiping, plus what should be background vocals are sometimes shown on the screen as normal vocals...I've seen tons of people thrown off by this.

Slipknot "Wait And Bleed"

The music is just not crisp, which is really unfortunate because this is the ONLY Slipknot song out there ANYWHERE on karaoke.

Also, I would like to say that in defense of SC's version of NIN's "Closer"...that it is the only FULL version of the song out there. Other companies that did this song cut the song short, which is really annoying.

Missing verses, and so on. I guess one of their biggest questions when they put out a song, is radio version or lp version; if it is a duet, or three, four, or whatever people singing, how do we go about it. How much vocal do we put on lyric swipe, or just leave it as background. SC has to answer these questions before they produce, and sometimes they give us two versions of a song, solo and duet version.

It is not that they just didn't get a song right, they did the best they could, and I for one am happy that they gave it a shot, especially on some of the songs that are mentioned above - it is better to have a good version by SC, then none at all, or a crappy version by someone else.

"Beep Beep" by the Playmates--why are there no backing vocals to play off? It's HARD for one person to sing...unless you're like my KJ friend who can sing it as is. I'm not that good--I NEEDED THOSE BACKING VOCALS!!

Best,

I've always had a big problem with "Yankee Rose" by David Lee Roth (from Brickette #5). The chorus goes something like this:

(singer) Show me your
(backing track) Bright lights
(singer) and your
(backing track) City lights
(singer) All right
I'm talkin' bout the Yankee Rose

Now, the problem I have is this: The part I have higlighted in bold is sung by only one backing singer, and it's the high harmony. So, in order for it to sound right, the karaoke singer MUST sing along with ALL the parts, and it's quite a mouthful... that entire passage is basically a long "run-on sentence." Roth DOES sing all those parts; but, he overdubbed it in the studio, as if he was his own backing vocalist.

I believe a better idea would have been for SC to simply have provided two backing singers doing the full harmony part. Then, the singer could try to squeeze an extra word in here or there if they choose, but they wouldn't be forced to.

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Another Sound Choice track that I am unhappy with is "The Memory Remains" by Metallica. In the original, the verses are overdubbed with a high voice and a low voice, an octave apart. I believe Sound Choice should have supplied the LOW voice on the track, allowing the singer to sing the more dominant higher part. Instead, you are made to sing the low part, while an unseen voice "belts out the highs." The karaoke vocalist sings the same exact range during the intro and the chorus, so why should you have to drop an octave and let a prerecorded voice take over for you?

With that being said there "Butterfly" song by Crazy Town is perhaps one of the best reproduced songs I have ever heard by Sound Choice. There is a lot of keyboard and programmable drums in the original with some funky background vocals. By any measure, very difficult to duplicate but Sound Choice NAILED it !!! GREAT JOB !

-FSU FOCKER