Original v. Cover: In The Air Tonight

[NSL]

This song is a classic for just about anyone. It never made it big, and it's a damn shame. Everyone sings along, whether they want to admit it or not, and everyone...EVERYONE...does the drum part (yes, the same drum part Tyson did for the movie). It's not any one genre, and that's just part of the beauty. Phil Collins is a musical genius, and doesn't get enough credit for it. However, Nonpoint covered this, primarily for the Miami Vice remake, and the original got a little bit of a comeback out of it. It's also being used for a more recent TV show, but the name escapes me.

The Original:

[youtube]Riw7j9b8fM8[/youtube]​

The Cover:

[youtube]6I6SpZU_nvg[/youtube]​

I love the new version. It was amazing to see live, and is still great to sing along too, rock out with, and just blast on a long trip down a highway. But, it's nowhere near the same league as the original. I knew that coming into this thread, but felt the need to spread the love for both. While the Nonpoint cover is a great rock song, it clearly doesn't cross genres like the original. It lacks the same emotion (for the most part), and that takes it down a few pegs.

What do you think?

 

[Dexter]

I'm listening to the cover now and enjoying it, but I don't even need to hear the whole song to know the original is going to kick its ass. In The Air Tonight is a classic for a reason... it's a fucking AMAZING song. BTW, if you're bored, check out this live performance. You get to see Phil actually play that badass drum part himself...



Also watch his face. The man is a natural performer. One of the all-time greats.

 

[X]

Honestly, I fucking hate Phil Collins. Always have. He had some good work with Genesis, but his solo work to me personifies bland commercial rock of the 80s. Sorry, it's hard for me to appreciate Phil Collins when I was just listening to Black Flag, it just doesn't work very well for me. Collins is a talented man. I just hate his music and think he's an overrated turd. Same deal with Billy Joel. Hate the both of them. They should be lounge singers.

That said, In the Air Tonight is probably the only solo Collins song I can stand. The drums are legendary. I'm not a big fan of the song though. I'll still take it over whoever the hell Nonpoint is though. No offense NSL.

Still. I fucking hate Phil Collins. May him and his Grammys rot in no-talent hack hell.

 

[SK]

Phil Collins wins here for me. Nothing Collins did ever matched up to this song, most people know it, even if only for the drums. Nonpoint's is good but just doesn't match up to Collins' effort.

I think I prefer Collins version because the build up throughout the song was perfect leading up to the drums, and Collins voice was perfect for the song aswell. It's a shame the lyrics weren't about an actual story cos that would have made it 10 times better, but still its a great song.

 

[Thriller Ant]

The Phil Collins version is very good, but I'll go with Nonpoint here. The original is legendary. Everyone knows the drum part going into the chorus, but I knew that before I knew the rest of the song and kinda found the rest of the song as a letdown. The cover takes that echoing drum, and continues that creepy mood and sends it through the entire song. They are both good, but I choose the cover.

 

[Tenta]

The cover takes that echoing drum, and continues that creepy mood and sends it through the entire song. They are both good, but I choose the cover.

Thriller, I love you man, but I couldn't disagree more with you on this one. Both of these songs have completely different tones to theme, with one based in a direct anger, and the other the type of creepy anger you were saying before. Nothing about Non-Point's song tells me they're going to act upon their anger, while the exact opposite can be said for Collins. It's that same theory of not messing with the quiet guy at the bar... He's probably the craziest. That's the same message I get here. Phil is angry, but his anger has driven him to madness. It's the same sort of madness that can make him sound angry as he tells of what he plans to do to the man who's angered him, yet also do it in a calm and direct manner. That right there is the language of subtlety, something that is completely lacking in Non-Point's version. There's no such subtle anger, just... Well, anger, man. And while that's all well and good, I just don't like it in comparison to this song, especially when Phil did it in the manner he did. While Non-Point put in a decent effort, I feel they missed the boat on the emotion they were going for. Thus, I'm going to have to award this one to Phil Collins.

 

[Mr. TM]

Nonpoint is the reason why Miami Vice looked decent for me to want to watch at all, besides the director's name. I loved the promo of this video that they played with the video. However, I really only enjoy the chorus in Nonpoint's version. Phil Collins version is all around better of a song, and remains a classic for me to this day.