I love the fact that The Manics will fearlessly cover a song they like and feel they could put their own personal vibe on. I absolutely hated Rihanna's version of Umbrella, but I heard it a lot because my daughter and her friends would play it all the time. I remember listening to the words once and thinking that they were powerful, excellent lyrics that just happened to be in a terrible song and sung with no soul at all by a silly plastic pop star. Then one afternoon I heard the Manics version and it blew me away. I felt that they too had realised the power and beauty of the lyrics and had managed to make the song into a rousing, rock anthem with just a bit of tongue in cheek slap down of Rihanna. Like "see we took your song and made it good". The Manics version of the song is so good it's almost like its a different song. For me the Manics version of this song is the definitive version. They have such an eclectic taste, which is seen in the different songs they cover.
I love the fact that The Manics will fearlessly cover a song they like and feel they could put their own personal vibe on. I absolutely hated Rihanna's version of Umbrella, but I heard it a lot because my daughter and her friends would play it all the time. I remember listening to the words once and thinking that they were powerful, excellent lyrics that just happened to be in a terrible song and sung with no soul at all by a silly plastic pop star. Then one afternoon I heard the Manics version and it blew me away. I felt that they too had realised the power and beauty of the lyrics and had managed to make the song into a rousing, rock anthem with just a bit of tongue in cheek slap down of Rihanna. Like "see we took your song and made it good". The Manics version of the song is so good it's almost like its a different song. For me the Manics version of this song is the definitive version. They have such an eclectic taste, which is seen in the different songs they cover.