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the difference between UK and US rawk
I have always wondered how best to describe the difference between UK and US rock music. Well now I don't have to. The lovely group, Whitesnake have provided me with the perfect illustration of the differences. I remember buying an album by Whitesnake called Saints and Sinners in 1984. The album wasn't much good, but it had a great single on it called Here I Go Again. I loved the gentle organ filled intro and the beefy rawk chorus. I lost the album somehow and this version seemed to disappear. Then in 1987 the band where reborn in the USA and they released an eponymous album which had a couple of big hit singles on it, one of which was Here I Go Again. I was a little bit non-plussed by this and questioned my memory. This didn't sound like the song I remembered at all. I have since learnt that the band re-recorded the song for their American debut. Anyway, this is a long winded way of telling you that I have now got hold of the original version of the song and you may be interested in hearing the two of them side by side. You can download the first minutes or so from each song. I know which version I prefer, but I'd be very interested to hear what you think.
UK version file ... US version
mr mcmuffin on 9 Mar 2004 @ 11:57 PM ✲ Permalink
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Comments
Oh yea, I was a big haired, moussed up chicklet with a TR-7 convertible and a Whitesnake cassette.
Over and over again. I sooooo wanted to be Tawny Kitaen. Everyone, shake your hair and crawl around that Jag hood. Woooooo.
back to the grind.
Posted by: jo | 10 Mar 2004 13:22:00
...and it was most definately the UK version. I've never heard the other one.
Posted by: jo | 10 Mar 2004 13:23:49
I loved the whole of Saints and Sinners, Bloody Luxury probably being my favourite. And I liked both versions of Here I Go Again. I knew the second version first, and was amused to discover that in the original he sang "like a hobo I was born to walk alone" (the word "hobo" was changed to "drifter" in the later version). I suppose they had no desire to be misheard!
Posted by: David (TEFL Smiler) | 12 Mar 2004 17:27:52
Yeah, Mrs McMuffin noticed the change too. I wondered if hobo was a negative term in US, a bit like our tramp, while drifter has a more romantic connotation. I do like your theory though! Do you think David Coverdale was trying to come out?
Posted by: Mr McMuffin | 12 Mar 2004 17:41:52
Here I Go Again kicks ass!
Definately the UK version is by far the best.
Posted by: Retro Girl | 12 Mar 2004 18:17:14
