This March, we pit 64 Beatles covers against each other in what we call Moptop Madness.
Yesterday’s winner: Joe Cocker, “With a Little Help from My Friends”
Sixty-one matches down, two to go. Yesterday Joe Cocker’s “With a Little Help from My Friends” became the first cover to reach the championship. Today we determine its competitor. Both today’s contestants had hard-fought battles to get here. Two days ago, Elliott Smith pulled ahead of José Feliciano at the last second and Booker T’s victory over Neil Young just prior was anything but overwhelming. This battle could prove the toughest yet though. Both these Abbey Road covers take worthy approaches, but in polar opposite directions. Smith leaves instrumentation behind for much of his a cappella “Because” while Booker T. and the M.G.s eschew vocals altogether on the instrumental “I Want You (She’s So Heavy).” This one could be close, so start campaigning early. The winner of this match moves on to the Finals tomorrow.
Listen to both songs below, then vote for your favorite. For added sway, try to convince others to vote your way in the comments. Voting closes in 24 hours.
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Elliott Smith – Because
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VS
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Booker T. and the M.G.s – I Want You (She’s So Heavy)
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[poll id=”66″]
Click here for the current Moptop Madness bracket. Check back tomorrow morning for the next match-up. Follow @covermesongs on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss any.
Ultimately, ‘Because’ suffers because it’s not even my favorite Beatles cover that Elliott Smith has done; that title goes to his cover of ‘For No One’, which, come on, is SUCH a perfect fit for him.
And the fact that this Booker T. cover is stellar doesn’t hurt.
With a Little Help From My Friends is a lock to win.
“With a Little Help from My Friends” doesn’t deserve to win. Both Jonathan Coulton and Jake Shimabukuro have absolutely stellar covers and yet Joe Cocker’s overrated take knocked them out of the running, so Booker T. had BETTER destroy him in the finals or I have no faith in the music-listening public anymore! (Perhaps that’s a bit harsh, but come on! His cover is good, but it’s not a masterpiece!!!)
The measure has to be originality. Elliott Smith’s Because sounds like the Beatles, too much so. In fact, Booker T’s I want you is also a bit like the original but nowhere near as much as the other song. So for my money, it’s Booker T, out of these two. But of all the covers I’ve heard here, Joe Cocker and Jake Shimabukuro are the absolute peak for giving us excellent new songs.