Sheer talent.
I am receptive to, but also very critical of people who cover already-great songs. The standard of review for covers of great songs is strict scrutiny -- you better be a great musician yourself, or else you will be doing injustice.
Now, as you know, this is largely a hard rock/heavy metal (HRHM) blog. As such, on their face, it would appear that classically trained musicians would not translate well into HRHM. But, if you think about it, they usually make very good covers of HRHM. Now, why is this?
Well, I have no idea, I'm just a law student, not a music theoretician. My only guess is that both require great proficiency with complex arrangements and technical skill.
Getting to the point. I found one of the best covers I've heard of a great song. The song "Estranged" by Guns N Roses is one of my favorite songs. So, naturally, when I saw that this person "vkgoeswild" covered it on Youtube, I was very skeptical clicking on the link. But she was excellent. She emphasized the latent emotion that saturates "Estranged." The piano is such a beautiful sounding instrument, and she does it up right.
Vika is from Ukraine (I think), and she has an extensive background in classical music. She has trained at many prestigious schools in Europe. I don't know the extent of her background, but I was blown away when I read her profile.
Vika's cover of "Estranged" serves a compelling musical interest, aka, the satisfaction of my ears, and therefore her cover is affirmed. In conclusion, her musical prowess, added to her physical prowess, makes her a very appealing all around package (plus, anyone with an accent is sexy... well, almost anyone).
Be sure to check her out on iTunes. Search for "vkgoeswild." She has a really great album out!
I am receptive to, but also very critical of people who cover already-great songs. The standard of review for covers of great songs is strict scrutiny -- you better be a great musician yourself, or else you will be doing injustice.
Vika Yermolyeva
(picture from her website: http://www.vkgoeswild.com/)
Classical nunchuck-kickin'-ass.
Now, as you know, this is largely a hard rock/heavy metal (HRHM) blog. As such, on their face, it would appear that classically trained musicians would not translate well into HRHM. But, if you think about it, they usually make very good covers of HRHM. Now, why is this?
Well, I have no idea, I'm just a law student, not a music theoretician. My only guess is that both require great proficiency with complex arrangements and technical skill.
Getting to the point. I found one of the best covers I've heard of a great song. The song "Estranged" by Guns N Roses is one of my favorite songs. So, naturally, when I saw that this person "vkgoeswild" covered it on Youtube, I was very skeptical clicking on the link. But she was excellent. She emphasized the latent emotion that saturates "Estranged." The piano is such a beautiful sounding instrument, and she does it up right.
Vika is from Ukraine (I think), and she has an extensive background in classical music. She has trained at many prestigious schools in Europe. I don't know the extent of her background, but I was blown away when I read her profile.
Vika's cover of "Estranged" serves a compelling musical interest, aka, the satisfaction of my ears, and therefore her cover is affirmed. In conclusion, her musical prowess, added to her physical prowess, makes her a very appealing all around package (plus, anyone with an accent is sexy... well, almost anyone).
Be sure to check her out on iTunes. Search for "vkgoeswild." She has a really great album out!
