Rolling In the Deep

3A.  For many years I rarely liked it when artists did covers of songs by other artists. Whenever I heard that someone was going to do a cover of a song by someone else, specifically an artist in a different genre, I was never one to be curious about it or excited about this new version. However, in the past few years I started to give these songs a chance. I wouldn’t say that I am a fan of covers in general now, but I have at least started to listen to them. I was always one to think that a song should stay with that one artist but as I learned more about music I realized that tons of songs are “covers” of music that I love and appreciate.

A cover that I recently heard is “Rolling In the Deep” by Adele covered by the band Young the Giant. The song “Rolling In the Deep” by the singer Adele is off of her album 21 released in February of 2011 and it is one of the most popular songs on her album. The song reminds me of upbeat blues song, and I found it refreshing to hear a blues song sung by a woman that was upbeat and did not give off the typical melancholy feeling that one gets when listening to a blues song.  Adele’s English accent keeps up with the additional back up singers on the track and follows along with the piano and other various instruments. When listening to the original version of the song I can hear a definite rhythm that stands out. The song has a consistent beat that is heard through the piano and clapping. The rhythm is the basis of the speed of the song and is what gives it an upbeat and fast tempo.

Adele – Rolling In the Deep

In contrast to the speed of the song in the original the Young the Giant cover takes on a slower tempo. Young the Giant a band that has recently been gaining success in the United States and Europe did a cover of this song, however unlike Adele all of the members of Young the Giant are males. Sameer Gadhia, the lead singer changed “Rolling In the Deep” by slowing the song down and taking his time singing the lyrics. The clapping is still prominent in the song, but they added a tambourine and guitar. The piano is no longer in their version of the song and they focus on instruments that the band usually works with regularly. The lyrics of both songs are the exact same as far as I can tell. Since this is not a song that speaks specifically about men and women it was easy for the song to translate from Adele to the men of Young the Giant. While the song, like many, is about love and the “scars” from that love it did not limit Young the Giant when covering the song.

Young the Giant – Rolling In the Deep

Unsurprising to me I can say that I definitely enjoy the Young the Giant version of the song more than the original. I found out about Young the Giant in October of 2010 when their CD was sent to the radio station that I work at and I was able to listen to it before everyone else. I immediately fell in love with their debut album and have since seen them live twice. I have been told that I do not favor female singers as much as males and have denied this theory, but it is hard to dispute this idea when I like the Young the Giant version better. I like that the Young the Giant version is slower, I feel that you can appreciate the lyrics more. But this may also be attributed to the fact that I like the lead singers voice more than Adele’s voice. I enjoy listening to Adele’s version of the song, but overall I can resonate more with the sound and the vocals that Young the Giant brought to the song.