P.P. Arnold - 'God Only Knows'

[DonnyL]

I came home from work the other day to the sound of my wife playing this record, and I was totally blown away ... this absolutely the most spine-tingling performance, arrangement and production of any Beach Boys cover I've ever heard!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS9PVTiS2Wc

[I. Spaceman]

Yep, that's great. She is an incredible singer, part of the Small Faces/Andrew Oldham/Immediate crowd.

[runnersdialzero]

Why the hell would anyone opt to go by "P.P."?

Nice version, though.

[oldsurferdude]

Sorry, but completely awful.

[GoodToMyBaby]

Too foeceful.

[Cabinessenceking]

some great horns is that mix, but I agree it is a little forced and grandiose.

[Summertime Blooz]

This sounds like what David Bowie based his version  of GOK on- very similar vibe. One big difference- Bowie is a great singer and this PP Arnold is awful.

[I. Spaceman]

Haha, you guys are so funny.

[I. Spaceman]

If anyone wants to educate themselves:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._P._Arnold

Bowie, a white guy, a better singer than Arnold, one of the most searing voices to ever hit wax? Don't think so.

[rn57]

P.P. Arnold is not a very versatile singer but for what she does she's pretty good. Her default mode is Northern Soul diva, though her best-known recording (in the US anyway), of Cat Stevens' "First Cut Is The Deepest," has her doing a gentler, more nuanced thing.  She seems to be trying for that "First Cut" style in her GOK cover but it doesn't come off - nor does the production, one of Andrew Oldham's clumsier efforts. Especially absurd is the piano flourishes that replace the original's sublime keyboard lines on the last verse.  I have the feeling Nicky Hopkins played the piano and was in one of his more, ah, perverse moods.

[DonnyL]

This sounds like what David Bowie based his version  of GOK on- very similar vibe. One big difference- Bowie is a great singer and this PP Arnold is awful.

wow !  That David Bowie version from the '80s is horse$hit !

anyway, to each their own of course, but P.P. Arnold's version gave me shivers and made me weep. The whole album is stellar. And really, she's a singer beyond Bowie in his wildest dreams !

[runnersdialzero]

Whitey can't sing better than any given black person.

[monicker]

Is reverse racism in vogue again?

[puni puni]

I think Daniel Johnston used this version as a model for his GOK cover, specifically the end section

[monicker]

But Daniel Johnston is white...he can't sing.

[Pretty Funky]

Is this Daniel Johnston another Zeppo Wilson or something?

[Aum Bop Diddit]

B.M. Arthur did an interesting cover as well....

But seriously folks, this is pretty much a song no one should cover.  In doing a cover version you either do something completely different with the song and/or top the original.  The latter is as close to zero chance as you'll get, and the former not likely to work considering the power of the original arrangement.  That said, "P.P." does a decent job -- doesn't embarrass herself.

[rn57]

This sounds like what David Bowie based his version  of GOK on- very similar vibe. One big difference- Bowie is a great singer and this PP Arnold is awful.

wow !  That David Bowie version from the '80s is horse$hit !

anyway, to each their own of course, but P.P. Arnold's version gave me shivers and made me weep. The whole album is stellar. And really, she's a singer beyond Bowie in his wildest dreams !

P. P. Arnold's vocal interpretation is far above Bowie's on this song. In interviews when it came out he said he was aiming for a Scott Walker type of vocal, but if Scott ever covers Brian I sure hope it doesn't sound like that. But I would guess, from Bowie's rendition, that he also had Andy Williams' (far better) cover of GOK in mind as well.

[Summertime Blooz]

I always dug Bowie's version even though I know that I am in the minority. It's very over-the -top and theatrical, not like the BBs version at all, but I'm down with that. Anyhoos, I guess I'll have to check this PP Arnold out even though I really don't like this cover- totally unfamiliar with her.

[hypehat]

Her version of The First Cut Is The Deepest is slamming.


As for this, it's too forceful for the song. Then again, I've never heard a cover of it I like.

[Jaco]

This way of singing (PP Arnold's), with lots of vibrato,  is in the style of the Ronettes, Crystals, Darlene Love, Ronnie Spector?
I believe one of the last two did also a solo version, but I can't find it anymore.

http://www.mountvernonandfairway.de/covered3.htm

[runnersdialzero]

pee pee lol