Rendition is one of my favorite words; It doesn't means copying, it doesn't mean plagiarizing either;It doesn't mean imitating, it doesn't mean stealing either. When we talk of music; rendition is just another way of recreating an existing song from the composer's perspective. Just giving the song a little bit of his/her own soul.
You must have come across a lot of renditions yourself....remember "Leaving on a jet Plane" by John Denver? Who can forget the divine rendition of this song by "Peter, Paul & Mary". In fact because of THIS rendition the original song became famous.
What is it that makes renditions so appealing to us? I guess it is the opportunity of seeing our good old song in a new garb which is what catches our imagination. Apart from that, sometimes these renditions appeals to your own musical affinities. Personally speaking I think that though Bob Dylan's forever young is one of the most beautifully written song, I find the original cover a tad loud for my own taste, but the lyrics somehow more than makes up for itJ. Recently I just stumbled onto Joan Baez's rendition of the same song and Boy o Boy!! Wasn’t I glad to find it? I must have played it for at least 50 times on my laptop since then.
I also feel that renditions have a life and touch of their own. They sometimes make you feel the way which is so hard to explain; when the original songs fail to do so. Though, I must admit that all renditions are not so great. Just take the case of "Knocking on the heaven's door" by Bob Dylan (who BTW seems to be most 'renditioned' music artist).
There are countless renditions of this song; The Grateful Dead, Aerosmith, Bryan Ferry, Mark Knopfler, Wyclef Jean, Roger Waters, Givan Tichy, Eric Clapton, The Sisters of Mercy, Warren Zevon, Seether, Cold Chisel, U2, Television, Guided By Voices, Avril Lavigne, Daniel Lioneye, Bon Jovi, The Lost Dogs, Randy Crawford, Beau Jocques, Chaozz, Zé Ramalho (Brazil)(info courtsey wikipedia) just to name a few. There are bound to be some bad one's in there simply by the law of average.
Particularly I like a rendition when it strips a song of everything that was entirely unnecessary and all I get to listen is the bare essential of the song, its very soul. Well..Isn’t it something to look forward to!!!
Here is a list of renditions I like a lot, there are not many but I will try to append this list in future:
Peter, Paul & Mary (Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver)
Sheryl Crow (Sweet Child O' Mine by G'N'R)
Joan Baez (Forever Young by Bob Dylan)
Joan Baez (Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan)
Avril Lavigne (Knokin' on Heaven' Doors by Bob Dylan)
Nirvana (Penneroyal Tea by Nirvana itself)
Time to go...
Stay Beautiful.
Amitabh
Amitabh
