Comparing and Contrasting I Am the Walrus and a cover of it.

My choice of song for this assignment was I Am The Walrus by The Beatles with the cover version by Zappa. Both these songs have many similarities and differences, and both reflect the unique styles of each artist. Both of the these songs require the listener to be actively involved in listening to get the full meaning of what the musicians are trying to achieve More similarities from the two songs come from the melody, organization, and lyrical parts. Melodically the songs are basically identical. The Zappa orchestra takes some artistic liberties here and there, but the melody is in the same key and is the same rhythmically. Structurally the song is also the same. Zappa uses the same sequence of verse and chorus that give both the original version and the cover the same organization. One final aspect of these songs that is similar, are the lyrics. Zappa keeps all the lyrical parts of the song the same, because lets face it, changing the lyrics of a Beatles song is musical taboo. However, there is one thing about the lyrics that is a bit different. The timbre of the vocalists voice in the Zappa orchestra is more raspy and soulful which gives starts to give the Beatles classic a more Zappa feel. Another difference between the two songs is their speed. The Beatles version has more of a medium/moderato tempo while the Zappa takes a faster tempo. This may be because the Zappa version is live and he is trying to keep a high energy so that the crowd remains entertained. Due to this faster tempo, the Zappa version has a higher intensity and the instruments are playing much louder. This contrasts the intensity of the Beatles version, which has both a slower tempo, string ensemble parts, and less distortion on the guitar.            

            If I had to pick my favorite between the original version and the cover, I would pick the original. The Beatles are one of, if the best musical groups in history. Their genius is something that may never be seen in music again and I Am The Walrus is one of their best songs.  While this song does not make much sense lyrically, it shows the bands diversity and ability to switch up styles during changing times. I like this version better because I think the tempo used in the original is far better suits the emotion that this song conveys. Additionally, I think that the melody fits into a slower tempo rather that the faster one that Zappa uses. That is not to say that I dislike the Zappa version, because Zappa, like The Beatles, is a musical genius. He is well known for odd musical arrangements, and freakish lyrics. These two aspects of Zappa’s style make I Am The Walrus a perfect song for him and his orchestra to cover. The aspects that Zappa adds to his cover certainly make it an interesting song to listen to; it is however, impossible to beat The Beatles.