DISCLAIMER: The following blog post is a work of opinion. Any of the comments in this post about one song "ripping off" another song are not to be taken as serious allegations or statements of fact.
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It's another Showdown and this time, it's NOT about Cover Versions!
Ever noticed how some songs have remarkably similar riffs or chord sequences to others? How about those songs where you swear that there must have been a little bit of cheeky plagiarism involved? This blog post will examine whether the songs that may have creatively borrowed elements from others are greater than the original track they may be paying homage to/shamelessly ripping off.
Obviously, the original song deserves credit for being original and IF any of these songs are actually responsible for stealing, the thieves should be fucking ashamed. However, since I'm not absolutely 100% certain that any of these homages/rip offs are homages/rip offs, I'm going to judge each of the songs in these rounds as individual tracks linked only by similarities of varying magnitudes.
Right, let's get this started & hope I don't get sued!
ROUND ONE: Tom Petty vs. The White Stripes
Mary Jane's Last Dance - I love this song and wish I could hear the version that actually ends instead of fading out during the solo. Released for the first time on a Greatest Hits compilation in the 90's, this song about drugs, death or whatever you want it to be (according to guitarist Mike Campbell) stands toe to toe with some of Petty's signature songs in my opinion. The section of this song I'm comparing to the next one is a guitar riff around the 2:30 mark after the second chorus.
Fell In Love With A Girl - Some of you may be wondering why I picked this song as opposed to "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers, a song that actually gained notoriety after a radio station accused it of stealing the chord progression and vocal delivery from Tom Petty. Simply put, Jack White's vocal melody around the 45 second mark has always bothered me due to its similarity to Petty's guitar riff. Also, not that I'm fanning the flames or anything but a riff in "Blue Orchid" also first played around 45 seconds reminds me of the bassline from "Richard III" - Supergrass around 1:26 in...but that comparison is a little bit forced, even for me.
VERDICT - I don't think Jack White was paying homage to Tom Petty but I do believe White listens to Petty and has heard the song before. In my opinion, I believe White possibly borrowed the riff without realising but even if he didn't, I'd still award the win to Tom Petty for writing the better song.
ROUND TWO: Spirit vs. Led Zeppelin
Taurus - Still the subject of an ongoing court case, the opening acoustic guitar arpeggios do sound a fuck of a lot like the ones from Led Zeppelin's and quite possibly Classic Rock's most adored song. As far as the rest of the song goes, it's completely different to the rest of Led Zepp's track but other songs by Page and Plant do echo the psychedelic sound from this instrumental.
Stairway To Heaven - You might think the solo is overrated and you might think Led Zeppelin have created far better songs but come on, those first few notes are fucking perfect and the song deserves its place in Rock history for that AND Bonham's respective intros. It does sound a little stolen but at least the rest of the song stands apart. Just as well really, I don't want to hate Stairway as much as Robert Plant does.
VERDICT - OK, first of all, I believe Led Zepp did a bit of cheeky riff pinching. The fact that it sounds just tweaked enough to legally use makes me picture the band sat around a vinyl player with a guitar listening to Spirit thinking of ways they can get away with it, not to mention an entire fucking Wikipedia article dedicated to listing songs Led Zeppelin have creatively rearranged/covered. That being said, I'm giving the win to Led Zeppelin because we all know we'd rather rock out to "Stairway To Haven" over "Taurus", although I think Spirit deserve a writing credit at the very least.
ROUND THREE: Tommy Tutone vs. Bruce Springsteen
867-5309/Jenny - The song about a prostitute that ruined some poor sod's phone number. It took me a few listens to get into this track but it's reached the point now where I've created my own dance for the chorus involving a complex sequence of hand and finger movements. Anyway, I like this song & the chord progression that Springsteen copied. It's a standard little Pop Rock number, nothing else to say.
Radio Nowhere - This used to be the only Bruce Springsteen song I actually liked and then I heard the song that he fucking ripped off. You only have to listen to the first few seconds (which is all I ever recommend listening to of any Bruce Springsteen song as he usually hasn't opened his mouth by that point) to hear the similarity.
VERDICT - Springsteen's song came out in the late 2000's and by that point, you could argue that he'd made enough of a career to rely on greatest hits instead of stealing others. Plus, Tommy Tutone were actually honoured to have their only hit plagiarised by The Boss so for being good sports and writing a better song, Tommy Tutone get the win here.
ROUND FOUR: Queen vs. Muse
Bohemian Rhapsody - Widely hailed as Queen's best track boasting some of the most instantly quotable lyrics of any Classic Rock song. If I'm laying my cards on the table, I can take it or leave it. The first two and a half minutes before Brian May wakes up are too dull for me but once the song gets to the Wayne's World part, I'm hooked. In fact, it's that headbanging part with the epic riff that I believe Muse were heavily inspired by when they wrote their greatest song.
Knights Of Cydonia - I heard this song before Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock but I reckon it's fair to say that game made me fall in love with it...that and the music video. Either way, it's not as pompous as some of Muse's other material; it's just a great Rock song that also features vocal harmonies during a section with minimal music before building up to a climactic final section lead by a heavy riff. I wonder where they got that idea...
VERDICT - Unlike previous songs, it's not a specific riff or chord progression that Muse reworked into their own tune. It's more a case of them being inspired to borrow the same structure from another hugely popular Rock hit which, in my eyes, is more of them taking inspiration than writing a homage or rip off. Also, I easily prefer "Knights Of Cydonia" so the win goes to Muse.
ROUND FIVE: Rod Stewart vs. Wolfmother
Every Picture Tells A Story - Fun fact, my girlfriend and I actually made this "our song". Unlike her though, I'm not a big Rod Stewart fan. I find his voice a little grating but I'll admit that it fits bloody well in this song. Great mix of instruments and notable for being one of the few, if not only, songs I can think of that introduces the chorus in the outro fade out. It's also a fine song to drive to, provided you find the right roads on a warm summer afternoon.
Best Of A Bad Situation - Christ, where do I start? You may remember I briefly compared this to Rod Stewart in my recent review of the new album but once you actually dissect it, the similarities just keep on coming. The sudden introduction of vocals and the acoustic melody? Referencing falling in love with Asian culture? "Spent some time feeling sore" as opposed to "inferior"? "She wouldn't give me the time of day"? Even the song's title references a line in Rod Stewart's track ("Make the best out of the bad, just laugh it off"), come on!
VERDICT - If Andrew Stockdale comes out and says the comparisons are coincidental, he's full of shit. There are far too many references to "Every Picture Tells A Story" for this to be an accident but at the same time, I wouldn't call it a rip off. It sounds like he's tried to write an unofficial sequel to that song and is either banking on people not knowing enough about Classic Rock to get away with it or is hoping those who have heard it have positive connotations with it and enjoy it even more as a result. Either way, it's a win for Rod Stewart purely on the basis that Rodders did this song first, even though I do like Wolfmother's track a lot.
ROUND SIX: Killing Joke vs. Nirvana
Eighties - A punchy example of early Pop Punk before the rise of Green Day and the like. It's a good track, although a little repetitive for me to enjoy it as much as other hits of the time. I'm surprised they managed to drag the song out for nearly four minutes, if I'm honest. I guess that's what happens when you have a killer riff that will inspire a certain young Grunge frontman in years to come.
Come As You Are - "Hey Dave, reckon if I slow down the riff for this song and add a couple of notes here and there we could get away with calling it our own track?" That might sound like a bit of an unrealistic conversation but considering the band were aware of similarities between this song and "Eighties" before they released it as a single, I can't imagine it going any differently. Killing Joke heard similarities too and were rightfully pissed off at Nirvana for this plagiarism.
VERDICT - Oh, definitely Killing Joke. Even if Nirvana didn't directly steal the riff, they knew their song was too similar to "Eighties" and did nothing about it...well, they cashed in on it I guess but that was it.
ROUND SEVEN: The Gun vs. Judas Priest
Race With The Devil - You might know this better as a cover by Girlschool but the songs are still more or less the same, minus a few extra solos here and there. This song has a section around the 1:09 point where the guitars and brass play a few chords whilst the vocalist manically laughs. It's probably my least favourite part of the song but I'm bringing it up because there's another song that has a remarkably familiar sound.
Hell Bent For Leather - Remember that intro before the main riff that's also played before and after the solo? Remember how it sounds almost exactly like the chord progression in "Race With The Devil"? Well take my word for it, it does! I guess this is overkill but the first half of the riff that's played after Rob Halford sings "Hell bent, hell bent for leather" sounds a lot like the last quarter of the riff from "Stormtroopin'" - Ted Nugent too.
VERDICT - Whilst there's no doubt in my mind that Judas Priest took heavy inspiration from The Gun (especially since Judas Priest have actually covered "Race With The Devil"!), I do prefer "Hell Bent For Leather" as a song so Judas Priest get the win this round, although they also get a disapproving glare from me.
ROUND EIGHT: Eagles Of Death Metal vs. Pearl Jam
Speaking In Tongues - Solid riff, great solo, wacky vocals and a suitable finish. It's songs like this that make me like this band, even if their last album was dull. It was also released two years before the next song so it's probable that any similarities were unintentional...that being said, they still exist so they're suitable for this blog post.
World Wide Suicide - Same drumming, same fade-in intro and a hell of a similar chord sequence. Yes, both of these bands are Alternative and both of them probably have the same fans but is this a homage or rip off? In my opinion, it's neither. Both songs are similar and that's about it.
VERDICT - Tricky decision. I actually want to give the win to both Eagles Of Death Metal and Pearl Jam for creating two great songs that sort of sound like each other. Before I move onto the penultimate round, I just want to give a quick shout out to the album "World Wide Suicide" comes from, also titled Pearl Jam. It's a fantastic Alternative album and whilst it's a completely different style of music to the Grunge tunes the band used to write, I would personally rate that record equal to if not higher than Ten.
ROUND NINE: Iggy Pop vs. Jet
Lust For Life - One of the few well known Iggy Pop songs that isn't terrible and even then it gets repetitive pretty fast. It's still great to listen to the first couple of minutes though, especially that drum rhythm paired with the bass.
Are You Gonna Be My Girl? - Admit it, you ALL saw this one coming. Drum intro? Yup. Catchy bassline? Got it. Any other similarity? Well, there's not too much of them but come on, they couldn't have done much more to make you think of "Lust For Life" when hearing this song if they tried. They've also got another song called "She's A Genius" that sounds a hell of a lot like "My Sharona" - The Knack so this band don't have the best reputation when it comes to coming up with "original" music, even if they do have a bunch of other songs.
VERDICT - I like both songs but I only dislike Iggy Pop's music having listened to one of his double disc compilation albums (I'm indifferent to Jet's). Personal opinions aside though, I do prefer the Iggy Pop song so he gets the win. Plus, his came first and whilst I'm sure Jet didn't actively copy "Lust For Life", their lack of creativity resulted in writing a song sounding just like it.
ROUND TEN: Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Blackfoot
Free Bird - We all know how the solo goes for "Free Bird" by now, right? We all know those first few notes and most of us will probably know how the rest of the solo goes too. The guitar duel builds up as the song progresses with each musician giving it their all to create one of the most iconic guitar solos there will ever be. You'd have to be a fool to try and copy it and pass it off as your own.
Highway Song - This is Blackfoot's obligatory 7+ minute epic that all Southern Rock bands worth their salt have to record. However, the difference between this and "Fall Of The Peacemakers" - Molly Hatchet or "Ramble Tamble" - Creedence Clearwater Revival is that those songs don't copy the solo from the most well known Southern Rock epic of all time. You listen to the first few notes of "Highway Song" after the vocalist stops singing and tell me Blackfoot had no idea what they were doing when they wrote that track. Still not convinced? Listen to the rest of the solo and count the number of times you think "This sounds like Skynyrd".
VERDICT - I love both songs but Jesus, you'd have to be fucking crackers to think I wasn't giving this one to Lynyrd Skynyrd, not just for coming first but for creating the better song. Admittedly, I enjoy the softer half of "Highway Song" more than the softer half of "Free Bird" but there's no contest when it comes to the main event.
Do you agree with my comparisons? How about ones I've missed? If there are any songs you think were subtle homages or just plain rip offs of others, let me know on Twitter or in the comments. Next time, I might review the new Anthrax album or I might come up with another random post like this. I haven't done a video game one in a while so I might have a go at one of those soon. Either way, there's stuff in the works!
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