You really can’t mess this one up.
“Someone Like You” is going to be covered endlessly anyway. It’s already a standard.
That being said, it’s hard to hear it with fresh ears, especially when it’s not Adele singing it. But to David Nail’s credit, he keeps the simplicity of the original and doesn’t try to out-sing its originator. He sounds like a less nasal Gary LeVox, which sounds pretty good, indeed.
His cover doesn’t elevate the song or bring any new discoveries to the surface, but neither is necessary to justify it being covered. A great song sung well is good enough for me.
Written by Adele and Dan Wilson
Grade: B+
Listen: Someone Like You
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnOSjTm96nw
You say that Nail’s “cover doesn’t elevate the song or bring any new discoveries to the surface, but neither is necessary to justify it being covered. A great song sung well is good enough for me.” I absolutely agree. About 5 years ago I made up a cd of country covers of “great songs sung well” to play in the car since radio is so bad.
Before I started reading the various country blogs about 3 years ago, I never heard anyone knock a cover for failing to bring anything new or elevate the song. There are quite a few times when I read about and then listen to a new song and find the singer’s vocals to be awful but the lyrics and melody are good. I wish a good singer would cover it. The original version is not always the best.
This is a really good match of singer and song. If Adele hadn’t already had a huge hit with this, you might think it was written for Nail’s voice. I don’t know that there’s anyone else in contemporary country you could say that about. Great cover.
I was surprised how much I didn’t mind this cover (only because I hold the original up to such a high standard). Andrew is right, it is a great match for his voice…and it is interesting to hear a man interpret the lyrics.
This may seem trivial, but the American flag on the wall behind him in the video seemed a bit gratuitous…minimally, it was distracting.
I can’t say this is better than Adele’s original, but I must say I love the changes he did to the vocal, they work marvelously.