The Musings Of An Opinionated Sod [Help Me Grow!]

Even better, watching artists performing other artists songs in front of those artists.

It’s a big deal to do that.

A song is so much more than just music and words, it’s about connecting to the story behind the song – often a personal situation the writer experienced or faced – so to just ‘play the notes’ does everyone a disservice.

A while back, I wrote about how the band Heart played ‘Stairway To Heaven’ infant of Page, Plant and Jones and how it obviously deeply affected them because they didn’t just capture the magic of the song, but elevated the drama of it all.

In the post I asked, what must be going through their heads while watching it.

Was it the amazement that a song they wrote in early ’70, was still being played – and loved by people of all generations?

Was it that the shock that a song they wrote in early ’70, could still have so much energy?

Or was it that a song they wrote back in early ’70, was being played for the President of the United States?

The emotion of knowing it literally couldn’t get ‘bigger than this’ or the simple realisation his impact on World history was assured?

Well I recently saw another video of an artist performing another artists song in front of them and this had a totally different energy to the Heart/Led Zep one.

This was pure extravaganza.

A mixture of energy, entertainment and sheer-bloody-power.

Unsurprisingly, it features two of the World’s most incredible performers … Beyonce and Tina Turner.

To be honest, while I’ve always admired Beyonce., I probably haven’t recognized just how great she is.

That changed with this performance.

Don’t get me wrong, I always knew she was an amazing talent, but it’s the way she delivers her performance that really got me.

Somehow, she has managed to recreate the force of Tina Turner.

It smacks you in the eyes.

You feel it inside your bones.

Part of it is because it feels the music is always about to run faster than the lyrics … the other is the backing singers routine is short, sharp and precise, keeping the energy of the music alive visually as well as sonically.

For me, Beyonce’s performance of Tina Turner’s classic ‘Proud Mary’ is a revelation and by the look on Tina’s face, it’s both a recognition of the impact she has made on culture and the realisation that the door she opened – at great personal sacrifice – was worth it.