Original v. Cover: Ring Of Fire

[NSL]

In the same spirit as the Ray Charles/Jamie Foxx thread, I'm making one for Johnny Cash and Joaquin Phoenix. Why? Because I think Phoenix did a great job covering Cash in the movie, and I was very surprised. When I heard he did the singing also, I was even more impressed.

The Original:

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The Cover:

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I have no idea how long it took him to learn the song so well, or how many times he tried and failed at singing, but I think he nailed it. That being said, no one out "Johnny Cashes" the man in black. He owns this song like Butterbean owns a ham hock. You simply can't be better than him, you just hope to be "good enough".

 

[Loveless]

I've watched Walk The Line and I'm really not convinced that Pheonix was actually singing in it, at least not unaided. If I'm wrong then I'm impressed but he still can't touch the original.

 

[X]

Yeah this is another very, very easy choice. Joaquin is a good actor, but there's not a chance in hell that he sung that song without any serious aids from the producers. Even if it was all of his own voice, it still simply doesn't live up to the original. How could it? No one can out-Cash the Man in Black, and this case is no different here.

 

[stingerlegends]

Johnny Cash still has more soul in his voice when doing this song. If that is Phoenix's voice, he does a good impersonation, but it's more like good Karaoke, just a good singer that doesn't capture the original's flavor completely.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Can I make another nomination here.



I know that this Cash's signature song, and I am a Johnny Cash fan, don't get me wrong. I just remember this song from all through high school. It always seemed to come on at the right time.

I love how Ness' voice sounds on the track. He puts just as much of himself into it as Cash does. True, I am a mark for Social D and Mike Ness, but I love the punk version and it makes me feel good, so what can I do. I vote Social Distortion.

 

[Mr. TM]

Awesome Job FTS, I always wanted to throw up Social Distortions version. Consider this fauxrep (apparently I already repped you recently). I consider it a good cover myself, but not up to the original.

I think Phoenix did a good job, for an actor, with low levels of music success. The movie was made enjoyable because of this. But he cannot compete with Cash. Cash's signature attired song, the reason why when we think of the biggest bad ass with an acoustic, we think of Johnny.

 

[CH David]

For me, I have to go with the original from Johnny Cash. Joaquin Phoenix did a pretty good job, probably with help from production and editing. It is Cash's bread and butter, and just like Ozzy with Crazy Train, no one can overthrow him when it comes to singing it. In original vs. cover, Johnny Cash gets my vote here.

However, if this were a cover vs. cover thread, Social Distortion would get my vote here, as I feel they did a great job of taking the country song, and adding a punk feel to it.