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Great Covers by Obscure Artists
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Now that the Twins have a Bajillion youtube videos —
i don’t think we can call them obscure anymore. Right David H. ?
But i think they are a great model for artists to bootstrap themselves into the music scene. (Great talent helps but it’s not enough.)
Does anyone know any exceptional song covers by artists we have not heard of?
I don’t know who Sia is but here is a great cover i found recently.
“https://youtu.be/CkklzmiDnTk”
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This discussion was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
Tom Fones.
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This discussion was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
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68 Replies
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Definitely not obscure, Tom!
The same YouTube algorithm that brought me MLT introduced me to Anne Reburn a couple of years ago. She’s at about the same level of YouTube fame as MLT, and her covers likewise get a lot more views than her original songs. Here’s one of her best covers:
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Hi David,
She has a lovely voice, nice in-tune harmonies & good bass playing! One of my favorite pop ballads!
I saw the Bee Gees do this live in Seattle back in ’79, & the audience was screaming like people did when the Beatles performed! That was a memorable night!Thanks! — Bud
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Here’s a more obscure group (21K subs) that I came across a few months ago that also has some good covers. The name of the group is “Shut Up & Kiss Me!”
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This one is a cover of a cover that actually became a hit in Korea and Japan, by Canadian artist Aselin Debison that got her some attention in the US and her album Sweet Is The Melody went to number 8 in the billboard charts in 2003. I first heard this cover in 2015 on a Rocky Mountain bus tour, and the tour guide who was Korean played this on the bus continuously. Went well with nature and mountain scenery of the Canadian Rockies.
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Oops nearly posted a copy like ten others. Delete………
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This reply was modified 10 months ago by Ian Boggs. Reason: I see that others have said the same. Time for me to shut up and play my guitar
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This reply was modified 10 months ago by
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In 1993 Israel Kamakawiwoʻole arranged Somewhere Over The Rainbow and What a Wonderful World into a melody and it became a big international hit for him. The song was featured in the movie, Meet Joe Black. I thought Israel’s Ukelele playing was quite something, until I heard Lisa do her magic with that instrument. Never thought a Uke could be so expressive.
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I love Judy’s singing, & also love Iz’s performances, & especially this one! Right on!
Here’s something else I think you’ll enjoy. Here’s an Instrumental cover of W. A. Mozart’s popular piece, “Rondo alla Turca,” by Tine Thing Helseth’s all-women group called — “ten Thing Brass Ensemble.” Tine is the trumpet soloist, currently rated in the Top 10 of Classical Trumpeters in the World! Her name is pronounced like “Tina Ting Helset,” & she’s from Norway. I like to see women take charge in the field of Music! ENJOY! (I’m trying to get thru everyone’s posts. It’ll take a while, but they all look great so far!)
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Hi Bud
That is just splendid, I never heard Mozart’s Rondo Alla Turca on trumpet. Tine, is amazing, and loved the kind of duel happening there between the trumpets and trombones. Having learned the trumpet at a basic level all those years ago, seeing Tine articulate all those beautiful notes, I can appreciate how amazing that is. My lips feel numb by the end just hearing her solo! 😁
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Hi Jung,
I found Tine on YouTube & she is amazing! She’s technically excellent with a very beautiful tone, and very subtle phrasing, but with lots of feeling. I watched several of her interviews, & you wouldn’t think she was Norwegian the way she speaks. And like the MLT’s, she seems genuinely very nice & down to earth!
Here’s a piece where she shows off her tone, facility, & feeling. She looks very effortless while playing! It’s Leo Delibes piece, “Les Filles de Cadix,” recorded on German TV in 2012. She continues to perform, & she’ll be 37 in August. Since I have a daughter, I like finding strong female singers & musicians! Women can be just as good as men in almost everything!
Tine Thing Helseth – Léo Delibes: Les filles de Cadix (2012) (youtube.com)
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Hi Bud
Wow, Tine is great with the trumpet. She tackles almost anything you wouldn’t expect on the trumpet and does it beautifully. It’s funny, I was just listening to her do Bach’s Marcello Adagio, one of the most hauntingly beautiful classical pieces I know, and she interprets it so beautifully.
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Jung,
Yeah, right on, I’ve seen this too! You may know this, but with the piccolo trumpet, when you finger a low note, like a D with the 1-3 valve combination, the 4th line D comes out an octave higher. So all the low fingerings come out an octave higher, because the tubing is 1/2 as long as the Bb trumpet. The higher notes aren’t really easier to play, but you can do valve trills much easier up high than on a regular Bb trumpet.
I hope she does another North American tour, but she hasn’t been up this way yet!
On a different note, my wife, daughter & I had our pictures taken with 3 actors from “The Lord of the Rings” yesterday at Comic-Con. The characters were Frodo, Sam & Gimli — Elijah Wood, Sean Astin & John Rhys–Davies! That was fun!
Take care! — Bud
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Bud, have you ever hear Alison Balsom play the natural trumpet? It’s pretty cool.
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Hi Claire,
Yes, I’ve seen Alison on YouTube also, & she’s a great player too! I’ve never played on a Natural Trumpet, & it’s amazing how much music the musicians from centuries past could get out of them; BEFORE valves were invented! The modern version of this instrument has 3 holes on the tubing. By covering or uncovering them, the player can make certain notes sound more in-tune.
You’ve probably seen this video, but I’m guessing that no one else has here. If you like the Piccolo Trumpet on “Penny Lane,” Alison demonstrates the differences between the modern Piccolo and C Trumpets compared to the Natural Trumpet. Thanks for mentioning Alison B. too! — Bud
Introducing the Baroque Trumpet with Alison Balsom | Classic FM (youtube.com)
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Hi Tom, hi guys,
great music! I’ve already presented the following music clip some time ago in another topic, but I like this cover version of “Fly me to the moon/ Lucky” better than anything else I have heard about it so far. Rick Hale seems to be a well-known artist by now. But his duet with Breea Gittery is probably rather rare:
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Beautiful!
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The Paperboys are a Canadian folk band from Vancouver, formed in 1991. The Paperboys mix Celtic folk with bluegrass, Mexican, Eastern European, African, Zydeco, soul and country influences (says Wikipedia). I now own four albums of the band and they produce varied and entertaining folk music. So they are not newcomers to the music business, but your question was: „Does anyone know any exceptional song covers by artists we have not heard of ?“ And I haven’t heard of the Paperboys here in the forum yet:
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Ilse de Lange is well known in the Netherlands and now also a bit more in Germany. I think she has a nice voice.
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Ah Yes …. The Paperboys ….lol….if my ancient memory serves me correctly… They opened up for Alan Frew (lead singer for Glass Tiger ) when Alan came to Ottawa either for his first or second dolo album for a solo gig at a downtown gig bar in Byward Market that no longer exists now ….. I was at that show….whichever for his 1st or 2 nd solo album, recall taking a photo outside of venue of sign with Alan’s name and The Paperboys ….
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I recall Aselin Dobson.. this topic is great…conjuring up all Canaduan stuff, I’ve long forgotten about ….🎼🎵🎶🤘🏻🇨🇦🍁
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Everyone – thanks for the response.
David H. – they should call themselves “Shut up and listen to me”. Nice find.
Jung –
the Izzy adaptation of Somewhere Over the Rainbow seems to be the standard now.
Long live Izzy’s music. It only comes along once in a lullaby.
Juergen – your knowledge of North American folk-celtic-blue grass never ends.
Fred – it’s funny – i had just discovered The Common Linnets recently.
They seem to think they belong in Nashville – which they do. Has Ilse gone solo?
Jacki – i’m happy that you like the topic.
Cheers
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Tom, Ilse DeLange recorded her first (solo) album “World of hurt” in Nashville in 1998. Not a succes in the USA, but in the Netherlans she was/is successful. She formed with Waylon the Common Linnets to enter the Eurovisions Songfestival; 2nd place. They broke up but Ilse continued with others the Common Linnets. Sometimes she perfoms sole, sometimes with band.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by Fred Van Der Wees.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 2 months ago by
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Hi Fred,
Ilse DeLange as a solo artist doesn’t ring a bell, but about two years ago I bought the album of the same name from the duo Common Linnits. I didn’t have in mind Ilse DeLange being part of the band. The album turned out well. Have Common Linnits produced any other albums? Otherwise, I enjoy listening to „Within Temptation“ and I also like the solo album by frontwoman Sharon den Adel “My Indigo”.
I have already presented Floor Jansen on various other topics. The finnish band „Nightwish“ originally recorded the cover version of „The Phantom of the Opera“ with their lead singer Tarja Turunen. I like Floor Jansen’s voice and her likeable charisma better.
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Jurgen, the Common Linnits have a 2nd album called II.
Ilse is in the Netherlands “more famous” as solo artist then as a member of the Common Linnits.
She has made several sole albums; sometimes with a band.
On one live album “Dear John”, are only songs of John Hiatt. On the album she starts the number “Have a little faith in me” 3 times because she is out of tune.
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A young woman with a great voice, who first became known for covering other singers’ songs. I’m curious if she will manage to establish her own songs.
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An other cover of a Dutch singer, number well known in Europe, not sure if it is well known in the rest of the world.
On youtube you can find more songs of her also in German and French.
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Juergen – nice find.
Fred – thanks for the info about Ilse.
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Thanks Fred, the 99 balloons are still flying… 😀
Caro Emerald should not be forgotten. I like her refreshing and inspiring way of presenting her songs. A happy mixture of pop, jazz and the glamorous sound of the golden 20s. I found the following beautiful cover song from the early days of her musical career:
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Yummy, indeed.
I have loved the Mamas and Papas upbeat and bouncy version since I was a kid.
I’m hearing a Duo Session in my head. 🙂
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Jürgen, I love Caro Emerald. Such a shame, IMO, that she’s not currently making music under that name. The Dutch woman behind the Caro Emerald “project” has decided to move on to her next “project” as The Jordan. She will hopefully return to being Caro Emerald in the not too distant future as I believe that she has a great body of work under that name.
I would highly recommend her two albums, Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor and The Shocking Miss Emerald and her EP, Emerald Island. She has also performed a number of other covers as Caro Emerald besides Dream a Little Dream. My favourite of them all is Madonna’s La Isla Bonita:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lJC9qsClWE
Other songs that she has covered are:
Meghan Trainor’s All About That Bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2ZTZr6T9WY
Portugal. The Man’s Feel It Still: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kPiBmEWMMU
Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zJBUaMh-8g&t=6s
You can also find covers by her on youtube of Wuthering Heights, Price Tag, Bad Romance and Perfect Day and probably some other too.
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Paul thanks for writing. Caro Emerald (Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, that’s probably her full name) has a beautiful voice and conveys a lot of dynamism and swing when she sings. Some time ago I bought the two CDs „Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor“ and „The Shocking Miss Emerald“ and I really like them both. My favorite track is “A night like this”. Since then I have somewhat lost sight of her and her music. I didn’t know that she had founded a new project called „The Jordan“. This of course makes me curious and I will look for this project.
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Fred,
99 Luft Balloons is definitely known in America.
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Not sure if The Flock are considered obscure but they do a really great cover of the Kinks : Tired of Waiting for You. Long intro with violin and then some heavy guitar and then horns … a bit Chicago like. Their first album is really very good in my opinion.
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Recently, I looked for Joni Mitchell, and specifically, Both Sides Now, on YouTube and found this interview of Joni by Elton John. Elton has a series of over 300 interviews in his Rocket Hour. He said this was the longest episode of all. They talked about a number of things; the Both Sides Now discussion begins about 13:25. Of course I was looking for that song since Mona and Lisa have the most amazing cover of it, which makes me tear up every time I hear it. Here’s the interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzzI7LjcBLM
Joni is not obscure, of course, but she said that her favorite cover of the song was by Mabel Mercer. Apologies to Mabel, but I had never heard of her before. There are a number of versions by Mabel on YT, here’s one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xv6G9Z5-SD8
Joni said that when she released her original version back in the ’60s, she got criticism, since she was so young, too young for sentiments like that. Mabel’s not young, but the Twins are.
The interview with Joni was fairly recent, in the last year certainly. I was wondering if she had ever heard Mona and Lisa’s version, since it’s my favorite cover of theirs. I always loved this song, and their version is incredible.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by Chris Weber.
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Great interview and thx for posting this. I’ve always loved Joni!
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Although they’re not obscure, I really enjoy the version done by Josh Groban and Sarah Bareilles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ethFJZXiA
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Very nice, Claire.
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This reply was modified 1 year, 1 month ago by
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I just discovered a vocal group called It’s My Party, which has been doing covers of 60’s songs for nearly 40 years in various incarnations. Here they nail both the singing and the choreography of a Shangri-Las classic:
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