Kyra Wagstaff Song Comparison

For my song comparison, I chose Elton John's "Tiny Dancer."

The first recording, which is by far my favorite (it's Elton John, after all!), was the original piano part performed by the singer himself. I think there's something definitely more genuine about this recording BECAUSE it's Elton John, the man who wrote the music, performing it. Every line seems to follow the lyrics accordingly, telling a story in a way that you are not focusing so much on the music as you are on what it's making you feel which, I believe, is one of the most important things and separates him from the other people who have taken on this piece, on piano or in a different form. It has a certain easiness and natural movement that I find to reveal the vulnerabilty of the composer, which also reflects in the lyrics, in this case.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqiQcJ-d8r8

Next I listened to a guitar cover of Tiny Dancer by a random guitarist on youtube. I felt that his vocals were really harsh at times and the guitar part was actually a lot weaker than I expected. Nothing really moved me, honestly. However, I suppose all songs are open to interpretation and, in this case, I'm not really a big fan. It sounded very choppy at times and the dynamics were lacking in all ways, pretty much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV79SOMdEcc&feature=related

Finally, I listened to a remix version of the song, which, as you can probably imagine, was interesting. Surprisingly, though, I really enjoyed it! Not quite the same, but then, it did have a feel to it that still did the song justice, just in a different sense. Honestly, it sounded like what they play over the loud speakers at Abercrombie and Fitch, meaning it was catchy and danceable. The vocalist had a very modern voice which I would consider a cool choice for it. It no longer told a story like the original, however, it still kept me listening without wanting to cringe at parts, as I experienced with the guitar cover. The version was much longer with all of the added remix beats, so it got a bit boring to listen to after the first few minutes, but all in all, I didn't mind it so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aFrAH8Wdss&feature=related