I chose the song “Sweet Jane” by one of my all time favorite bands the The Velvet Underground. The Velvet underground came about in New York City in the 1960s. The song opens with an electric guitar playing freely. The tempo is fast and very upbeat. Lou Reed’s voices pitch is deep and distinctive. The intensity of the instrumentation played by the other members of The Velvet Underground is loud and a great example of the heavier rock of that time. The organization of the song mixes both ordered and chaotic. The original song contrasts greatly with the cover version played by the Cowboy Junkies.
The Cowboy Junkies are a alternative rock, blues, and folk band from the 1990s. Their cover of “Sweet Jane” is very contrasting mood to the Velvet Underground's version. The text of the chorus of both songs are the same but rest of the verses share original lyrics by both bands. The main melody holds the same in both songs as well but the tempo, intensity, Timbre, and Pitch are altered from the original version.
In the Velvet Underground’s original version of the song the verses tempo is very upbeat and faster than Cowboy Junkies version. Velvets’ version is more hard rock and Cowboy Junkies is very soft and mellow. The organizational characteristics in the cover is very structured and this contrasts with the chaotic-ness of the original. This creates to different moods over the same text and melody. They took a very fast passed rock song and turned it into a quiet and meaningful folk song. The Cowboy Junkies’ changed the speed or tempo of the song and slowed it down greatly. If i were to describe the tempo of their version I would say it is like a slow dance song at a high school prom.
The intensity of the songs are also very different. The electric guitar and drums are more prevalent in the original version. The song has a loud anthem feel about it and the mood gives off a very happy and celebratory vibe. It makes me want to get up and dance and sing along with the lyrics. It gives off the feel of an upbeat rock song. Contrasting with that feel is this very soothing and somber mood that the Cowboy Junkies gives off. The Cowboy Junkies version has a very folk sounding vocal track.
The timbre of Lou Reed’s voice is loud and distinctive. For the most part of the song it seems as if he is yelling the lyrics. His voice is very “Rock n’ Roll”. However in the Cowboy Junkies song the lead vocalist has a very folk sounding voice. It contrasts the loud yelling of Reed’s voice and gives off a very beautiful sounding timbre. I first heard the Cowboy Junkies’ cover of this song in the film by Oliver Stone “Natural Born Killers”. The Cowboy Junkies’ version has very somber mood. The lead singer’s voice has a quiet Folk music tone. The timbre of her voice is soft and quiet. The timbre of the guitar is clean unlike the Velvet Underground’s version with a very distorted and crunchy sounding electric guitar.
I am a big fan of originals so my favorite would have to be the Velvet Underground’s version of the song. The organization is a very chaotic structure in the opening and in the solos really goes along with the free-spoken lyrics. I enjoy Lou Reed’s loud and distinctive voice. The lyrics are deep and really say something about what was going on at that time. I also like the up beat rock tone it gives off. Every time i hear this song I can’t help myself and have to sing along.
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