The recent passing of Michael Jackson caused me to revisit a cover Neil did of Billie Jean that I heard several years ago:

http://coverlaydown.com/tunes/bjfinn.mp3

Live track from The Andrew Denton Musical Challenge.

Enjoy

Mixed up version of the same track here :-

http://www.myspace.com/daveburnham

That's a great version if you feel like a dance.
On the other hand, one of the things I loved about the Denton version was how acoustic it was.

I know - the acoustic version is fabulous. I really think it's a great cover. Wonder if Neil ever met MJ? Some times I think of Billie Jean when I hear She Walked Her Way Down.

Maybe they "they" could release it as a single and give the money to charity etc...

Thanks so much for that. I know I have a copy somewhere but couldn't find it. I'll definitely be playing it on All Finns Considered this week.

Love the little radio station stinger at the end of the acoustic version.

(The track is great too.)

Heard it for the first time this week and it's not bad.

I adore this version of Billie Jean, Neil brings a wonderful and sexy quality to it.

quote:

originally posted by Semi-Detached :
it's not bad

correct - its a cover of Billie Jean.

I haven't actually heard Neil do a really bad cover (I Can See Clearly is in 'pretty naff' territory) but that's another topic altogether

I Can See Clearly Now was for charity wasnt it? I thought it was for the Fred Hollows Foundation. Pretty harsh to bag a song done for charity dont you think?

quote:

Originally posted by nailsinmyfeet:-
Pretty harsh to bag a song done for charity dont you think?

Thanks for enlightening me. I just thought it was a poor cover from a soundtrack to an equally poor animated film. Unfortunately knowing now that it was done for charity doesn't change my opinion of the track.

Sorry Hexed, know its off topic but had to come back on this......

I avoided listening to this at first, because "Billie Jean" is one of those songs that gets stuck in my head for days at a time. This afternoon, I caved in and listened...*sigh* (At least I no longer have "Man in the Mirror" on my Internal Continuous Playback Machine. That song is EVERYWHERE since MJ's death.)

The acoustic version is interesting--quite a different take on a familiar tune. Just for some context, what is the Andrew Denton Musical Challenge?

quote:

Originally posted by VocalicPage:
Just for some context, what is the Andrew Denton Musical Challenge?

I'm having trouble posting the wikipedia link so I'll just copy and paste from the site.
"Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge is an album released by Austereo in 2001 featuring musical challenges posed by radio comedian Andrew Denton to musicians, generally selecting a song in a style in contrast to their own. Following the success of the radio series, the album was released and then a second album followed in 2003, and later a compilation of the greatest of the two was released.
Andrew Denton hosted a morning radio program on Triple M in Sydney, entitled "Andrew Denton Breakfast Show." The Musical Challenge segment was created with Denton challenging musical guests to perform songs which don't necessarily suit their style, such as Jimmy Barnes singing ABBA's hit "Dancing Queen". Two CDs of these performances were released on Sony Music with proceeds from the sale going to the Children's Hospital at Westmead."


Personally, I enjoyed Neil's contributions, the Screaming Jets doing "My Heart Will Go On", opera singer Suzanne Johnson singing "Nutbush City Limits" and the Red Army Choir doing "Sex Bomb".

Thanks, Beajai! That sounds like something my music theory professor used to do at our end-of-semester parties. :P