Ace of Base- "All That She Wants"

The Kooks Cover- "All That She Wants"

The songs I have chosen to compare are The Kooks cover of “All That She Wants” and Ace of Base’s original version of the song. “All That She Wants” first released by Ace of Base in 1993. It is a pop song that uses horns and wood instruments to give it a hip groovy feel which is a sound known to be popular throughout the 90s pop era. The Kooks, an English Pop band formed in 2001, took on the challenge of covering this top hit and was able to put their own spin on it. As we compare and contrast these songs we will look at the change in tempo and speed as well as the different instruments used between these two songs.

It is obvious in comparing the two songs that the lyrics are the same. The Kooks also do not change organization of the song. It is rare that a band can cover of a song, while changing the lyrics. It tends to make the song seem like a totally different song and takes away from original songs influence. One could argue as well that they attempt to keep the pitch the same through out the song to give the same flow, although they do change the intensity and timber of the song.

When listening to these songs you can defiantly see the different emotions being portrayed by each song. As The Kooks slowed down the speed of the song, you can better able to hear the lyrics and in a way be more subjective to their meaning. By being able to hear the words he is singing more intimately, you are more willing to think about what it is he is singing out as opposed to wanting to just sing and dance around, as you do when listening the Ace of Base version. We also see more of a tension and release effect going on in The Kooks version of the song because, unlike Ace of Base, who open with an upbeat intro, they start off slow and raise the intensity of their song until they release toward the end of the middle of the song. The change in intensity we see has a lot to do with the different instrumentation used in the songs. Ace of base seems to have more noisy and bold sounds like the horn they open with while The Kooks keep their instruments simple and less noisy. These are the factors we see as having the most effect on timber and can be a very obvious difference between songs.

Although I was a fan of the Ace of Base version of this song before I heard The Kooks version, I must say I am a bigger fan of how The Kooks perform it. I would think that my bias toward the Kooks comes form an appreciation and like for Indie music and for he creative ability of bands to take a song they are familiar with and making it into their own. Not to say that I like covers more than originals just for the creativity, but sometimes there’s something to be said when you think you hear a classic song and then the remix comes out and it is a more appealing version than the first.