Oh dear. Oh dolly!

Now Dolly Parton, I know that you're seen as bit of a legend in the country music scene; but listening to you cover Zepplin's most famous number brought tears to my eyes for all the wrong reasons. Actually, it made me think that maybe if I was born deaf, I wouldn't have had to endure the six minutes and 28 seconds of pure aural nausea such as this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp8-tJTUWto

Let me start by saying that I believe, there never has been, or never will be a song with such deep meaning, beautiful tuning and perfect guitar rifts as the one that is Stairway to Heaven by the Kings Of Guitar themselves, Led Zepplin.

The song begins as a slow acoustic-based folk song accompanied magnificently by recorders, before the electric instrumentation is introduced. And when it is introduced, there's only one phrase to sum it up; out of this world.  The final section is a high-tempo hard rock section highlighted by an intricate guitar solo by Page. And what a solo it is! It's dramatic, pure and above all, utter perfection. Then again, we wouldn't expect any less than perfection of from Page.
The song was released as part of  the album Led Zepplin IV in 1972 and was voted number 3 in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs. It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been released as a single there. I suppose that says it all; the song was adored. And rightly so: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9TGj2jrJk8

Then, along came Miss Parton and her choir with yet another ballsy, unorthodox cover of one of rock's most treasured songs and turned a classic into a crank. Oh Dolly!
When being interviewed by church pastor and news editor Rick Clark about her choice to cover the classic, Dolly said: "I'm sure some of them will think it's a big joke. I'm sure some of them are going to want to crucify me, and maybe they will. But in all sincerity, I did it because I love the song."
Take a look here to see the full  interview: http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/Evils%20in%20America/CCM/dolly_parton-exposed.htm

Well Dolly, needless to say, a lot of us also "love the song", the only difference is, you don't see us turning gold into muck.

My generation.,

Oh Hilary. Stick with the chick flicks, love. I'm sure you're a lovely girl and I thought you were great in Cheaper By The Dozen; but it's when you decide to cover one of the nations best loved rock bands like "The Who" that my mean side comes out and I just have to tell you how horrific your singing voice is.


My Generation is a song by the British rock group The Who. This song became a huge hit and is to this date, one of their most recognizable songs. It has entered the rock and roll pantheon as one of the most celebrated and referenced songs in the idiom. It was named the 11th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 13th on VH1's list of the 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll.
The song was released as a single on 5 November 1965, reaching number 2 in the UK (Who's highest charting single in their home country) and number 74 in America. So, needless to say, it has to be a great song, right? RIGHT!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI

I believe that  the most striking element of this song are the lyrics, considered one of the most distilled statements of youthful rebellion in rock history. The tone of the track alone helped make it an acknowledged forebear of the punk rock movement. One of the most-quoted and rewritten lines in rock history is "I hope I die before I get old", famously sneered by lead singer Roger Daltrey. God knows, I even know a person with that line inked accross his back. In a later interview with the band, Townshend who reportedly wrote the song whilst on a train journey said that when he wrote that line "old" meant "rich."

There has been many covers of this song from some of our mose well known and respected artists such as Oasis, Iron Maiden and Alice Cooper, and I'll admit, I thought the Oasis version was absolutely incredible. But as for Hilary, I'd rather listen to genetilia being scratched off a cheese grater than listen to her version of My Generation one more time. Diabolical isn't a strong enough word. Am i being too harsh? Decide for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvC6jDrxT-U

Lucy in the sky with diamonds.

William Shanter, who is this dude and why is he destroying one of out greatest Beatles classics?
When I first heard Shanter's version of one of my all time favorites, I thought it was one of those parody videos where some weird looking guy just takes the piss out of an amazing song and changes the words around a bit to get a reaction from the audience. So you can imagine the shock I had when I found out that Shanter did all of these things, except seriously expecting to make a hit record out of it. Dear oh dear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-yy2URAYqU

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was written by John Lennon and Paul Mc Carthy for the groups 1967 album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
At the time of its release, the Beatles claimed that the inspiration for the song came from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which he called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song sparked controversy when released, including being banned by the BBC because of the supposed reference to the drug LSD with the first letter of each noun in the title spelling LSD. Although Lennon denied that the L-S-D in the title was a reference to the drug, McCartney later said that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was inspired by LSD.
Rolling Stone magazine described the song as "Lennon's lavish daydream" and music critic Ritchie Unterberger said "'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' was one of the best songs on the Beatles' famous Sgt. Pepper album, and one of the classic songs of psychedelia as a whole. There are few other songs that so successfully evoke a dream world, in both the sonic textures and words." And if you listen to The Beatles version, it is, undoubtably incredible. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7F2X3rSSCU

Although both versions of the song got the LSD effect spot with bright lights, floating objects and colours, what really surprised me after listening to both Shanter's version of Lucy in the Sky and The Beatles version was not only did Shanter get millions of listeners, he also got thousands of youtube fans saying how fantastic his cover was. One or two listeners even went to say that they "preferred" this guy's version of the classic. Perhaps I'm being a bit harsh on Mister Shanter, but then again, any Beatles fan would be. Perhaps his version of the song isn't as woeful to other peoples ears as it is to my own but my God, it'd leave any Beatles fanatic crying into their ipod anyday.

Ronan's living in a fairytale if he thinks he can beat Shane.

I can't say I've ever been a big fan og Mister Keating. Actually, I've always seemed to call him the King of Karaoke and make a joke about how he sings through his nose. However, I did respect him for embracing the fact that he was Irish, that is until he took Shane MacGowan's epic Broadway tussle and turned it into to the aural equivalent of a trip round Tesco with his granny. 
He changed the line: 'You cheap, lousy faggot' to 'you're cheap and you're haggard' because he 'wouldn't want to offend anyone'.Take a listen and you'll realise that, quite frankly, he failed. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daAG5JfNNFQ

Fairytale of New York was released by the Pogues along with british singer Kirsty Macoll. The song was written by Shane McGowan and Jim Finer. 
The song takes the form of a drunken man's Christmas Eve reverie about holidays past while sleeping off a binge drinking session in a New York City. The remainder of the song  takes the form of a monologue between two Irish immigrants, lovers or ex-lovers. Throughout the song they speak about how their youthful hopes were crushed by alcoholism and drug addiction as they reminisce and bicker on Christmas Eve.

MacColl's melodious singing contrasts with the harshness of MacGowan's voice. The lyrics are sometimes sometimes bittersweet and more times just plain bitter as they sing: "Happy Christmas your arse/ I pray God it's our last". The lyric "Sinatra was swinging" is likely an allusion to Sinatra's "New York, New York," which was very popular in Ireland at the time, a reference to the problems of emigration, especially amongst the Irish who often emigrated to New York without a penny in their pockets in a desperate attempt to find work. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrAwK9juhhY


So when push comes to shove, one has to sit back and think. What does Ronan Keating really know about poverty, alcohol addiction and rural Ireland compared to Shane McGowan who is more than 20 years his senior, has grown up in poverty and battled with alcolism for his entire life? I'm just praying to God that Ronan honeatly didn't thing that he could portray in his voice the same amount of spirit and knowledge when covering this Irish classic. Because if he did, not only would he be singing through his nose, he'd be talking through his arse.