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Sounds Familiar...

Bryan Burnett | 19:49 UK time, Wednesday, 12 January 2011

Do you ever listen to a song and think you might have heard it all before? Well you will get used to that feeling on Thursday's show - and not just because you are getting old. The theme is 'sound alikes' and by that I mean the songs which may have been...er....heavily influenced by other songs. There are the famous examples which have ended up in the courts and I noticed just this week that the Bellamy Brothers have accused Britney spears of ripping them off! Do you listen to Belle and Sebastian get reminded of Marc Bolan and do you think that Lennon/McCartney probably should have got a credit on half the Oasis' albums? Get in touch with your ripped off riffs...

Comments

  • Comment number 1.

    Lou Reed has been a source of "influence" for quite a number of songs. Bowie certainly borrowing heavily from some of the Velvet Underground material.

    The latest excellent Richard Ashcroft album RPA& The United Nations of Sound has a great track:

    Richard Ashcroft and The United Nations of Sound - Royal Highness

    this on another day would be called

    The Velvet Underground - Sweet Jane

    incredibly similar, so much so that the guitar solo on the former I reckon is heavily influenced by the Lou Reed Live Rock n Roll Animal version, where Alice Coopers guitarist Steve Hunter is very prominent.

  • Comment number 2.

    Blame Holland-Dozier-Holland... 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)鈥 uses the same melodic and chordal progressions as 鈥淲here Did Our Love Go.鈥

  • Comment number 3.


    There's nothing new under the sun and everything owes something to something else. 'If there had been no Elvis' said John, 'there would have been no Beatles'.

    Thus T Rex - Hot Love owes a great deal to Blowin' Away - Laura Nyro

    and it follows on

    Goldfrapp - Oh La La owes much to T Rex - Jeepster

    Sorrow - The National owes a great deal to Take My Breath Away - Berlin

    Come Together - The Beatles directly borrows from 'You Can't Catch Me - Chuck Berry

    Spanish Stroll - Mink De Ville borrows heavily from I'm Waiting For My Man - The Velvet Underground

    I could go on forever but that'll do - however - there's the daddy of them all, of course - and indisputable - My Sweet Lord - George Harrison is a direct lift from He's So Fine - The Chiffons.. but eveybody knows that one..

    regardez - youse

    henri


  • Comment number 4.

    And there is the beauty of it Henri. I've had the Velvets records all my life practically and Mink DeVille and not once did I make the connection!

  • Comment number 5.

    Either by design, chance or something else:
    Foo Fighters Wheels
    sounds a lot like Tom Petty Learning To Fly
    Pet Shop Boys Where The Streets Have No Name sounds a lot like
    Frankie Valli Can't Take My Eyes Off You
    Klaxon: George Harrison and The Chiffons/ My Sweet Lord/ He's So Fine.

    Generalities:
    Scissor Sisters songs sound like early Elton.
    Rumer sounds like Linda Carpenter.
    Oasis tried to sound like The Beatles.
    Mika tries to sound like Freddie.

  • Comment number 6.

    #3 Sorry, henri, about the klaxon. Slow typer (dog distracted me), didn't see your post! At least we agree! ;o)

  • Comment number 7.

    Meant to say Pet Shop Boys version ...
    Ma heid's mince. Niteall!

  • Comment number 8.

    #4 Norrie your example just goes to prove that theft is justifiable on occasions. I had the same experience with....

    4th Time Around - Bob Dylan

    .....allegedly based on....

    Norwegian Wood - The Beatles

    I had heard both tracks many times before learning that Dylan had supposedly written it as a rebuke to the Beatles and imbued it with a similar quality in the rhythm. When you think about it you can hear the connection but both stand as great tracks in their own right.

    Paul from Ayr

  • Comment number 9.

    #4|: me too, Norrie - but,in fact, I only noticed a couple of weeks ago. The Velvet Underground came on the ipod and I mistakenly thought I was listening to the beginning of Spanish Stroll.And then it clicked.

    #5/6 no problemo, actually, having made the comment I'd much rather one of my other suggestions is played so strike the comment, Bryan - someone else will ask for George.

    And I've remembered that the first time I heard 'Human Racing' by Nick Kershaw I was quite convinced I was listening to a new Stevie Wonder single.I've just checked it again, I still think it's uncanny.

    regardez youse

    henri

  • Comment number 10.

    #8 Paul I can't resist....

    I don't believe you! You're a Liar!

  • Comment number 11.

    oh and I think Sky Blue Sky - Wilco owes much to I'll Be You're Baby Tonight - Bob Dylan

    but Bryan I doubt we'll be hearing Wilco, so it doesn't matter.

    I'm going to try that Norwegian Wood thing on Spotify...

  • Comment number 12.

    I heard it through the showdown / ELO and marvin Gaye

  • Comment number 13.

    The song remains the same ...

    'Run2'. ... New Order. V's. 'Leaving on a Jet Plane. ... John Denver
    'Creep' ... Radiohead. V's. 'The air that I breathe'. The Hollies
    'Beautiful Day! ... U2. V's. 'The sun always shines on TV'. ... Aha
    'Quicksand' ... La Roux. V's. 'When Doves Cry' ... Prince

    Or does it?

  • Comment number 14.

    Bringing the theme right up to date again (old themes never die):

    Isobel Campbell and Mark Lanegan - Come Undone

    a huge nod to

    James Brown - It's A Man's, Man's, Man's World

    an ever bigger nod to the Van Morrison version on a Night in San Fransico.

  • Comment number 15.

    'Sex & Drugs & Rock and Roll' ... Ian Dury. V's 'Last Child'. ... Aerosmith

  • Comment number 16.

    I love "Crying Blood" by V.V. Brown for many reasons, including the fact that the chorus sounds like a high-speed, insane "Monster Mash."

    Rich in North Carolina

  • Comment number 17.

    #10 Lying, Havering, whatevah, if it gets a play on GIO it'll be worth it :-)

    More recently I heard a single by Diana Vickers ( who was an also-ran on x-factor a few years back) it was supposedly self-penned but I found it very similar to something else from back in the day. Luckily I can't remember either track as I don't really want to hear it anyway!

  • Comment number 18.

    Primal Scream = Rolling Stones

    'Rocks' in particular but 'Country Girl' is pretty close.

  • Comment number 19.

    Does this theme mean that Bryan will play two tracks for every request, so that we can make judgement for ourselves?

  • Comment number 20.

    Barrett / Figure 5

    The first time I heard this jolly indie number was one friday night on Radio Scotland last year. Never caught the title or band and it bugged the hell out of me what the start of the song reminded me off. I soon realised it was Brain Damage from Dark Side of the Moon and thought what a rip off , how can they get away with that. Heard it a again a couple of weeks later with the title and realised it was a tribute to Syd Barrett. Actually quite clever and a good wee ditty.

  • Comment number 21.

    In My Arms - Teddy Thompson
    Working On A Dream - Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen

    These songs are twins separated at birth

  • Comment number 22.

    obvious one to start

    Who'd Of Known - Lily Allen and Shine - Take That

    also

    We Can Be Strong - Willy Mason and Layla - Eric Clapton from Unplugged

    The Lodi - Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rock - Frankie Miller



  • Comment number 23.

    Phil Collins - 'Sussudio'
    influenced by
    Prince -'1999'

  • Comment number 24.


    I'm pretty sure Franz Ferdinand are ripping somebody off. I just can't figure out who it is.

    ;o)

  • Comment number 25.

    Speaking of Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen, the master tapes to the Boys Are Back In Town by Thin Lizzy were lost until someone opened up the box marked "Kitty". Lynott had been trying to recreate the sound of "Kittys Back" by the aforementioned Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen and marked the master tapes simply Kitty. Not really that similar though and certainly not plagiarism.



  • Comment number 26.

    Senga - according to Noel Gallacher it is Right Said Fred....

  • Comment number 27.

    Listen to JJ Cale and you get where Clapton got his sound from. Cocaine is the obvious choice, being recorded by both.

    The Scissor Sisters - Mary is particularly Elton. Although their cover of Comfortably Numb is extremely Bee-Gees.

    Listen to the twiddly instrumental bit at the start of Tears of a Clown. Now overlay Annie Lennox - It's All Right: Baby's Coming Back on it. The same, innit?

    The bassline of U2 - With or Without You is basically The Magic Roundabout theme.

    Then there's the uber-nexus of similarity:
    * Warren Zevon - Werewolves of London
    * AC/DC - Back in Black
    * Boston - More than a Feeling
    No, not in the melody. Listen to the backing track. That chord sequence.

    Although if you want to do similarity of chord sequences, then the old I-VI-IV-V (G-Em-C-D for example) is prevalent in huge numbers of songs from the 50s and later. Try singing Every Breath You Take to the backing track of Stand By Me and you'll see.

    And I'm not even going near the 12 bar blues (Dear Ross, R: It's "Bars of 12 or fewer", dammit), or the entire output of the Quo.

  • Comment number 28.

    #20

    Oh well played Sir! Excellent track!

  • Comment number 29.

    #22
    22. At 09:36am on 13 Jan 2011, gaie wrote:
    obvious one to start


    Oooo thought for a second I could hear klaxons there but it was something else you were picking. You tease.


  • Comment number 30.

    #26

    You've only to listen to their cover of Substitute to realise that Oasis have been fooling us - they're really straining very very hard to be The Who.

  • Comment number 31.

    #29 I just thought because it had been in the papers and all - I couldn't believe it when I first heard, it's such an obvious steal, but apparently she doesn't care and neither I presume do they.



    this is going to drive me nuts because there are several instances where I can think of one song but can't remember what is reminds me of eg

    Come See About Me - the Supremes - maybe it's just any girl band, but the influence is very clear on Girls Aloud etc

  • Comment number 32.

    #27 Your uber-nexus should also include Sweet Home Alabama

  • Comment number 33.

    Have Love Will Travel - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and
    Little Wing - Derek & the Dominos

    not really a steal, but the same slidey guitar thingy that the Capt can give a technical term to.

    and wasn't Tom right when he said on the Classic Album programme that he was going to offer Don't Do Me Like That to the J Geils Band because it sounded like a J. Geils song?

  • Comment number 34.

    #32

    Yes - spot on. Forgot that one. And it's the more obvious one too.

    (I have a mashup of all 4 tracks called Sweet Werewolves of Alabama)

  • Comment number 35.

    #34 What are the odds on Mr Rock being played tonight?

  • Comment number 36.

    the Bo Diddley riff

    Not Fade Away - Buddy Holly
    Willie and the Hand Jive - the Johnny Otis Show
    New York Groove - Hello
    Magic Bus - the Who
    Faith - George Michael

    no doubt many more and one last year that guess what..

  • Comment number 37.

    #34 sounds good. Can you email me it

  • Comment number 38.

    oh sometimes I just amaze myself with astonishing feats of recall:

    Shark in the Water - VV Brown

  • Comment number 39.



    Accommodation for next blog night out!

  • Comment number 40.

    'If You Want My Love' by Cheap Trick clearly illustrates the influence of The Beatles...not any particular Beatles track I can name but maybe Henri could spot it. A bit more of a power ballad than we're used to hearing by them too.

    Allegedly John Lennon, when asked what he thought The Beatles would have sounded like had they stayed together, answered...Cheap Trick!

  • Comment number 41.

    Twisted 'Familiar' Themes

    Forget About You ~ T. Motors V鈥檚 Grandstand Theme
    Just Can't Get Enough ~ Depeche Mode V鈥檚 Family Fortunes with Vernon Kay Theme
    It's No Good ~ Depeche Mode V鈥檚 Doctor Who Theme
    Want A New Drug ~ Huey Lewis & The News V鈥檚 Ghostbusters Theme ~ Ray Parker Junior
    Hitchin鈥 A Ride ~ Green Day V鈥檚 Tweenies Theme






































    Z,Z,Z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z,z.....

  • Comment number 42.

    #37

  • Comment number 43.

    #5
    Mary Doll, you do realise that that Pet Shop Boys thing was a medley dont you?

    This tickled Norrie the last time we had this theme. Its the song Rod nicked "Da ya think I'm Sexy" from.
    For the new bloggers:

  • Comment number 44.


    "Aint Good Enough For You" - Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen

    and

    "Some Girls" - Racey

  • Comment number 45.

    #43 I did afterwards, Adam. And I don't know why I called Karen Carpenter Linda, either. Blame it on the mince heid. ;o)

    Better make amends -
    Don't like the Robbie Williams song "Shame", but its intro does sound suspiciously like
    The Beatles Blackbird an altogether superior song.

  • Comment number 46.

    Lets not forget the classic

    Air On A G String: J. S Bach
    and
    A Whiter Shade Of Pale: Procol Harum

  • Comment number 47.

    It is a belter Adam.

    What about Racey - Lay Your Love On Me and

    The Cure - Love Cats?

  • Comment number 48.

    Noel Gallagher 'borrowed' part of Neil Innes - 'How Sweet to Be an Idiot' for 'Whatever' by Oasis.

  • Comment number 49.

    #47

    Didn't Racey nick Mud's dance routines?

  • Comment number 50.

    #48

    More than *part* I'd say.

    Anyone want to catalogue pop music's debtors to Pachelbel?

  • Comment number 51.

    Songs which may have been...er....heavily influenced by other songs: ~

    Everything by the smiths and morrissey from their second song onwards may have been鈥r鈥eavily influenced by their first song.

    HOTEL CALIFORNIA by THE EAGLES rips off WE USED TO KNOW from STAND UP by JETHRO TULL.

    TAROTPLANE from MIRROR MAN by the late great CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND is remarkably like YOU鈥橰E GONNA NEED SOMEBODY ON YOUR BOND from GIANT STEP by TAJ MAHAL 鈥 mind you, TAJ MAHAL was in the original MAGIC BAND before DON VAN VLIET.

    COMBINE HARVESTER by THE WURZELS is very similar to BRAND NEW KEY by MELANIE SAFKA in my opinion.

  • Comment number 52.

    The music to 'Hello I Love You' by The Doors is very similar to 'All Day And All Of The Night' by The Kinks.

    #50 Was giving Noel the benefit of the doubt. More than the judge did!

    'All Together Now' - The Farm?

  • Comment number 53.

    Oasis - Don't Look Back In Anger, starts as Imagine then ends up like a Mott The Hoople Medley.

  • Comment number 54.

    Songs which may have been...er....heavily influenced by other songs: ~

    Everything by the smiths and morrissey from their second song onwards may have been鈥r鈥eavily influenced by their first song.

    HOTEL CALIFORNIA by THE EAGLES rips off WE USED TO KNOW from STAND UP by JETHRO TULL.

    TAROTPLANE from MIRROR MAN by the late great CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND is remarkably like YOU鈥橰E GONNA NEED SOMEBODY ON YOUR BOND from GIANT STEP by TAJ MAHAL 鈥 mind you, TAJ MAHAL was in the original MAGIC BAND before DON VAN VLIET.

    COMBINE HARVESTER by THE WURZELS is very similar to BRAND NEW KEY by MELANIE SAFKA in my opinion.

  • Comment number 55.

    Oops!

  • Comment number 56.

    Relax Fish repeats are the norm.

    Led Zeppelin ~ Immigrant Song - Sweet ~ Burning
    All Right Now ~ Free - Barenaked Ladies ~ One Week
    Salsbury Hill ~ Peter Gabriel - New Song ~ Howard Jones
    You Could Be Mine ~ Guns N Roses - Kiss Me Where... ~ Bloodhound Gang

  • Comment number 57.


    "No Promises" - Icehouse. Nod to Bowie.



    #56 Relax Fish - Great name for a band Mad Mac!

  • Comment number 58.

    That is another cracker Adam, never heard that before.

  • Comment number 59.

    The obvious conclusion from the above is that we are running out of notes. It confirms my belief that there is no point in listening to current music which is lacking in invention and intelligence, often illiterate (Lily Allen) and only a pale copy of the great songs of the 60s and 70s.

  • Comment number 60.

    Quite right Glen. I only listen to records made between 1970 and 1980 and featuring either B. Springsteen or D. Bowie. Nothing else needed.

  • Comment number 61.

    # 57

    Now I wonder who they'd copy from? One things for certain, inability to spell!

  • Comment number 62.

    Did anyone notice in the Ray Davies documentary that the video for Oasis - 'The Importance Of Being Idle' was nicked from The Kinks video for 'Dead End Street'!

  • Comment number 63.

    #56
    Ace spot on Gabriel/Jones - I love both tracks and had never spotted it.

    #59
    You know all the words and you sung all the notes
    But you never quite learned the song

    The Incredible String Band

  • Comment number 64.

    You know all the words and you sung all the notes
    But you never quite learned the song she sang


    Worthy of Lily Allen (or the Beijing phone directory).

  • Comment number 65.

    I seem to remember the Spanish winner of 1968 Eurovision "La La La" being very similar to Dave Davies hit of the same year "Death of a Clown"He sued and won his case.Other examples that come to mind are The Coral's"Dreaming of You"ripping off the Supremes"My World is Empty Without You".Everybody seemed to copy Chic's fabulous riff on "Good Times"including Wham on "Wham Rap".The Jam's "Start"reminds me of the Beatles "Taxman"but the oddest example that I've come across involves Kiki Dee's "Amorouse" translated from a French hit.Some American obviously thought they could do a better job with the lyrics and Helen Reddy had a big US hit with "Emotion",same melody,different lyrics!Cheers WIllie Bartke

  • Comment number 66.

    Oh help ma boab, I've just realised what I've done.

    The ONLY songs I'd like to hear are



    We Can Be Strong - Willy Mason and Layla - Eric Clapton from Unplugged

    The Lodi - Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rock - Frankie Miller

    Have Love Will Travel - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and
    Little Wing - Derek & the Dominos

    New York Groove - Hello


    everything else I disown

  • Comment number 67.

    Too late.....

  • Comment number 68.

    #65

    In which case:
    * Father Ted Crilly & Father Dougal Maguire - My Lovely Horse
    -v-
    * Nin Huguen and the Huguenotes - Unnamed B-side of song that came 5th in Song for Norway in 1976

    Ah gwan, we've been trying to get My Lovely Horse played for 3 years now! Ah ya will. Ya will ya will ya will.

    (If it helps, it was released by The Divine Comedy who of course wrote & performed it)

  • Comment number 69.

    #58 Thanks Norrie, though I am very surprised you've never heard it before.

    There are bits of Van Halen's "Jump" which remind me of Be Bop Deluxe and Soul Asylum's "Runaway Train" would surely fool even Gaie into thinking that she was listening to her beloved Tom.

  • Comment number 70.

    #64
    sung sang blue,
    everybody knows one
    sung sang blue,
    every garden grows one .......

  • Comment number 71.

    #65

    * The Jam - Start
    * The Beatles - Taxman
    * The Batman theme

    Just run the bassline from Start against the vocals of Taxman, replacing "Taxman!" each time with "Batman!"

    But not as blatant as
    * Van Morrison - Crazy Love
    Sounds awfully like he was listening to
    * The Band - The Weight

    or

    * Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl
    It's Lust for Life, no?



    Just to prove that the classical world isn't immune, listen to the opening of , completed in 1845. Familiar? No? Try what wrote in 1868.

  • Comment number 72.

    #71,the intro to "Lust for Life"could have been lifted from The Supremes"You Cant Hurry Love!Going way back to 1964-65 was an anglophile US group called Sir Douglas Quintet who repackaged the Beatles "She's A Woman"as "She's About a Mover"I liked it,mind you,Cheers Willie Bartke

  • Comment number 73.

    #71

    "Just run the bassline from Start against the vocals of Taxman, replacing "Taxman!" each time with "Batman!"

    My. The time in Bathgate must just fly by.




    :)

  • Comment number 74.

    #66 and #67 yep retractions aren't allowed on this programe









    paoloonebadapplepablo

  • Comment number 75.

    #72

    Also very similar to serial offender P.Weller's Town called Malice.
    And the Clash's Hitsville UK

  • Comment number 76.

    Yer Honour: I'd like to bring the court's attention to:
    * Ricky Nelson:
    Nice bassline, eh Deep Purple fans?

  • Comment number 77.

    #67 please don't say that


    #69 ach don't be silly, I'd know it, I'd just know it. We're talking a different astral plane here.

  • Comment number 78.

    * The Jackson 5: I Want You Back
    * New Edition: Candy Girl

    No, please don't play New Edition. I've had enough of it just checking my suspicion.

  • Comment number 79.

    Oh, I almost forgot - maybe I'm the only one one but everytime I hear , Lust For Life by Iggy Pop there is something about it that reminds me of Tiger Feet by Mud

    There is some kind of close correlation between Iggy Singing "Lust For Life" and Les Gray singing "That's Right That's Right That's Right Thats Right"....

    anyway, there you have it...

    regardez youse

    henri




  • Comment number 80.

    #79

    Nope: agree with you. Their combination of the two isn't online any more, sadly.

    But then again, they play a live mashup of Smells Like Teen Spirit's backing track with Billie Jean's vocals.

  • Comment number 81.

    #79

    of the Jackson/Nirvana live mash.

    By SmashupDerby anyway. I presume that because neither the Cobain nor Jackson estates have issued takedown notices, must be OK with both of them too.

  • Comment number 82.

    Capn is this another one of your specialist subjects?

  • Comment number 83.

    This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

  • Comment number 84.

    #83

    That was part of the plan!

    >8-D

  • Comment number 85.

    #82

    It's impinging on my specialist areas of covers & mashups, yes.

  • Comment number 86.

    I rermain convinced " Billie Jean" is based upon "I Can't Go For that" by Hall & Oats...

    I think we should hear it..

    regradrez youse

    henri

  • Comment number 87.

    Anything by Leona Burke, as they all sound like anything by Alexandra Lewis. Or is it the other way around, I get them mixed up.

  • Comment number 88.

    T. Stranglers - No More Heroes ~ Elastica - Wake Up
















    Tee Hee....

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