It’s not often that I find covers that I like about as much as the original, especially when the original is produced by a great group like Fleetwood Mac. However, Elton John’s cover of “Don’t Stop” certainly gives the original a run for it’s money. His intricate and layered composition gives the classic a fresh new feel.
The rhythm in Mac’s is driven by the drums and the bass. Both of these components are tightly woven together and in the pocket, they don’t stray from the rhythm to fill. The drums are the main source of rhythm in John’s, while the base supports, and the synth and piano help fill. The vocals drive the melody in each of the songs, while the piano supports in Mac’s version, and the synth supports in John’s version. The stadium piano provides soul and spunk, while the synth provides soul and funk. The melody of each song shares a stark affinity with each other, due to in part by the similar pitches and structure.
The overall pitch is contrasted in each song. Mac’s has a high, fleeting synth in the background, which is supported by a muted, low baseline, mid to low piano and mid to high vocals. Each of these elements stay the same pitch throughout the piece. The texturing of these different pitches mixed together coupled with the stalwart tempo gives the song a sense of simultaneous depth and thinness. John’s song, on the other hand, has elements that change pitch throughout, which gives the track a larger sense of depth. His synth starts low, and squeals up to a higher pitch, while the base grounds everything else in it’s consistency.
The timbre of each song also heavily contrasts with each other. Mac has a rich, crisp stadium piano that, combined with the reverb-vocals, provides the texture for the personality for the song. The muted base isn’t meant to stand out, and keeps time with humility. Finally, the slightly distorted electric guitar is a punch-in-the-mouth, a shrill watermark that brands the song, making it original and recognizable. John has more elements to his song with more variation in timbre. The deep, thick, low synth is a bit more soothing, especially when combined with the thick, echoed guitar solo. The flat throaty bass is a bit more flashy in this version, it begs to be noticed every time it’s slapped. The tension that is built throughout the song by the low tones and fuzzy timbres is finally released when the angelic, hearty, choral vocals are introduced to support John’s peppy singular voice.
Picking a favorite between these two songs is about as hard as granite. They both have qualities that I enjoy, and even worse, they both seem relatively flawless. This is an interesting point to note: while perfection warrants pristine timelessness (that is, that which is perfect cannot change, without forfeiting perfection), there are still clear differences in each song, so it cannot follow that each song could necessarily be perfect. But, music is all subjective, and subjectivity deals in ranges instead of absolutes.
I am biased towards the Fleetwood Mac version, because I heard it and them before Elton John. So, while I like the Elton John version better, my favorite version is the Fleetwood Mac one. This means, if I could only listen to either song once, I would choose John; if I had to choose either song to be the only song I can listen to for a year, it would be the Fleetwood Mac version.
Huzzah.
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