OVERHEARD: LIVE IN CONCERT

The Greatest Hit Album

I’m not a big fan of the Greatest Hit Album. If you don’t really know that much about a band it can be a good introduction. Or if you really like said band it can be a good addition to your collection.  

If you release a cover song on your new album, I’ll probably cringe just as much but won’t have as much of a problem with it unless it gets included on your greatest hits album.  You didn’t write it so take it off. Why are you pretending you created something. It may be up to the band or the label or who ever but please, take it off. Its just not right. 

I also hold TV and Radio responsible. When a music video is released, if those exist anymore, for a cover song it should say the original artist on the bottom of the screen and DJ’s should name the original artist when playing the song. Give credit where it is due. We are not properly educating the youth. Do we really want people thinking that Limp Bizkit wrote Behind Blue Eyes and Counting Crowes wrote Big Yellow Taxi. I know I don’t.  

On the other hand a cover song can introduce you to the original song at some point which is a good thing. But I think acknowledging up front is better. Up until a few years I did not know that the song Hard to Handle was originally by Otis Redding and not the Black Crowes. 

With the use of itunes and other services making it easy to download single songs, I think that we are losing something. I think most of us hit shuffle or create playlists or our own greatest hits list. I haven’t listened to an album from start to finish in a long time and I probably should. 

There are probably many more but here are they ones I’m aware of: 

Greatest Hit Albums

Aerosmith- Come Together by The Beatles
Three Dog Night- One by Harry Nilsson
Counting Crows- Big Yellow Taxi by Joni Mitchell 
Elton John - Lucy in The Sky With Dimonds by The Beatles. 
Elton John - Pinball Wizard (From The Tommy Soundtrack)
Limp Bizkit - Behind Blue Eyes by The Who
Eric Clapton - I shot the Sheriff by Bob Marley
Black Crowes - Hard to Handle by Otis Redding