Adapting someone else’s composition is a heady challenge and an almost obligatory step in an artist’s career but one which is not without risk in certain cases. The stimulation may come from a sort of gauntlet of style being thrown down or from the great pleasure of reworking, reviewing a work that one has loved. Whatever the trigger, adaptation is always a test of an artist’s taste and the limits of his or her creativity and talent even. Certain new versions become even more famous than their originals, pushing the initial artist into obscurity. A recent example of this is the adaptation of Torn by NATALIE IMBRUGLIA which immediately became an international hit. But who remembers the original version by EDNASWAP on their “Wacko Magneto” album?
Covering is often an opportunity to play with the style of a composition, which proves that the original was a good song and that with the injection of different talent, it can be adapted to any given style. A famous example of this is the exceptional adventure of My Way. It was written by French man Jacques Revaux under the title For me, it was then presented to CLAUDE FRANÇOIS who adapted it with Gilles Thibaut...
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